GITEX Global closed its doors last month, having welcomed 4,500 companies and 100,000-plus attendees from 170 countries. One of the world’s largest tech and startup events, it is known for hosting competitions and challenges to showcase some of the most innovative rising companies from around the world, via its North Star Dubai event.
North Star is a technology startup event held annually at GITEX Global, where this year’s Supernova Challenge took place. The challenge is the biggest startup pitch competition in the MEASA region. This year, $200,000 in cash prizes were up for grabs.
Biosolvit, a Brazilian biotechnology startup supported by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund & Accelerator programme (MBRIF), won this year’s Overall Industry Pioneer Award at the event.
“We had the opportunity to present our company and technologies to investors, potential clients and business partners, which will undoubtedly open new possibilities for us in the MENA region,” Guilhermo Queiroz, CEO and Founder of Biosolvit, reflected on his company’s experiences during the competition. “I do believe that the SuperNova award helped investors recognise and understand the massive effort that we have been putting into making the world more sustainable by developing new clean technologies. This recognition will change the future of Biosolvit forever.”
Already the recipient of many other awards, the company offers products aimed at improving global sustainability and enabling the circular economy. Via its BioGreen arm, BioSolvit develops new materials from renewable raw material sources for home gardening and agribusiness purposes. Via its BioBlue arm, it reuses discarded waste in production processes and remedies oil spills by absorbing contaminants and then reusing the materials from both scenarios in the manufacturing of ecologically-sound products that contribute to the preservation of the environment. BioBlue also focuses on water treatment at home and within the industrial process.
Backed by the Dubai-based fund, the company has been able to establish a presence in the UAE, and was recently awarded along with four other MBRIF-backed startups free licences to operate at Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, a massive planned green city project that is intended to be highly sustainable. The awardees would be operating out of the city’s free zone.
“[In regards to] Masdar City, we are in the process of finalising the business plan. We need to decide if we are going to only operate a business office or if we will be focused on finding a partner or investor to build a new factory there,” Queiroz explained. “This decision will be taken in the next months. Currently, we are focused on doing business in the UAE as it establishes itself as a new and global home for creative, environmentally friendly, and technology companies.”
Biosolvit was joined by MBRIF programme peer Desolenator at this year's Supernova Challenge, a fellow sustainability startup from the Netherlands that ended up winning the competition's first prize, Best of the Best.
For Biosolvit, the future is looking to be quite busy.
“We are currently focused on supplying Biosolvit products to our first clients, while also connecting with universities and the wider innovation ecosystem to pave the way for new product development partnerships,” Queiroz said. “After we successfully embark on our new journey to develop BioSolvit products, we will be studying the feasibility of building our own factory to supply the huge market we are operating in.”
Another goal for the company is to start doing business in the Middle East.
“Being a part of the MBRIF accelerator programme and getting the license to operate in Masdar Free Zone will undoubtedly open the door for great opportunities in the UAE and the region. Operating in Masdar is a major step towards connecting with potential clients within the oil & gas and steel industries,” he noted.
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