During the four Info Days organized by UNDP and the Ministry of Environmental Protection during the Challenge, 170 interested candidates was present, while a total of almost 40 proposals for innovative solutions applied. The expert jury chose as many as 29 project proposals that will receive mentoring and technical support for the further development of their ideas.

In the first phase, the selected teams will receive training in areas such as business planning, product promotion, market research, as well as assistance in the preparation of specific analyses, project documentation, etc. The phase of preparing projects for co-financing starts at the end of August and will last until December 2022. After the end of this phase, at least 5 of the best solutions will be provided with co-financing to be implemented in practice. Part of the co-financing, in the amount of 360,000 euros, will be provided from the project funds, and the candidates will also attend training on complementary methods of financing.

UNDP will also organize an additional presentation of projects and solutions to commercial banks and the donor community with the aim of securing further sources of funding.

Companies from the private and public sector, as well as local governments, participated in the Challenge, and ideas were proposed for new or improved business models and technologies that will lead to more efficient use of resources and the reduction and reuse of waste in production processes.

Ideas for establishing "industrial symbiosis", ie. partnerships that allow the waste or by-product of one producer to be used as a resource of another producer, such as a solution for the use of waste generated during the production of fruits and vegetables - which is used for the production of natural cosmetics.

The realization of these ideas will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the implementation of the Green Agenda in Serbia.

You can find the list of selected solutions here.

The project "EU for the Green Agenda in Serbia" with the financial support of the European Union and in partnership with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is implemented by UNDP, in cooperation with the Embassy of Sweden and the EIB.

Source: eKapija