10 Innovative Startups From the 100+ Accelerator Changing the World Right Now
Two years after launching the 100+ Accelerator we have seen how our startups have skyrocketed. They are creating impact worldwide and helping us become more sustainable, innovative and transformative every day.
The 21 companies that began this journey have raised more than 120 million dollars in investment and half of them have long term contracts with our company. This is the story of our top ten innovators:
1. Yushuo
Every year, 2 million electric vehicles enter the market and it is estimated that annual sales of electric vehicles will surpass 3.5 million by 2030.
Those electric vehicles have batteries that last approximately 5 to 8 years before they need to be replaced. However, while those batteries are no longer applicable for EVs, they can still be used for other applications.
Yushuo recovers EV batteries from electric cars and trucks and gives them a “second life”. The company refurbishes them and creates systems that can be used for on-site renewable energy storage.
Through the 100+ Accelerator platform, AB InBev partnered with Yushuo to pilot their technology at two breweries in China. We began working with them in the fall of 2018 and since then have installed a 6 MW storage unit at Suqian.
The project quickly accelerated when the and as part of our scale up plan, we have recently partnered with the World Bank Sustainability Fund to install a 20 MW unit at our brewery in Foshan.
2. SmartHop
SmartHop is a US company that is also part of our first cohort of startups. They offer Artificial Freight Dispatcher that helps the trucking industry make smart decisions to plan & match loads.
They are an Autonomous Dispatcher for truckers to plan, search and book loads faster, improving the profits of trucks and making logistics more efficient. Recently, Smarthop raised $4.5M in funding from Equal Ventures, a New York seed-stage venture fund, with participation from Greycroft and existing investor Las Olas VC.
3. Green Mining
Less than 1% of the glass consumed in Brazil gets recycled.
Aiming maximum efficiency in the recovery of post-consumer packaging, Green Mining has developed an Intelligent Reverse Logistics technology to efficiently retrieve post-consumer packaging and bring it back into the production cycle. Their traceability system ensures that all collected material is sent for recycling. Green Mining set up their business to improve recycling and reverse logistics for glass waste in Brazil.
Since November 2018, they've collected and recycled over 1.000 tons of glass and started to expand to other materials and avoided over 180 metric tons of carbon from being generated.
They are operating in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasília.
In December 2018, Rodrigo Oliveira, as a representative of Green Mining, received a congratulation called “Vote of Jubilation” from the São Paulo City Council in recognition of the initiative launched. In February 2019 came the 1st international recognition: Green Mining was in the Top 5 ABI´s startup on the “Better World Award”, held in Belgium. In October they won the Climate Ventures Green Business Ideas Competition, which enabled the startup to represent Brazil on the worldwide Climate Launchpad program in Holland. They were also chosen as the winner of the 1st Brazilian edition of the European event Greentech Challenge in the end of 2019. Green Mining was invited to present their solution at the International Urban Cooperation of the European Union and at Sardinia Symposium in Italy.
Since March 2020 they partnered with the supermarket Pão de Açúcar, from the French Group Cassino, to create a glass waste drop-off at their stores and already expanded the initiative 400%. June 2020 Green Mining become a partner of the UN Global Compact, the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world.
4. Verqor
90% of the farmers in developing countries have no access to financial services due to financial exclusion. This sector faces lack of resources for covering high costs of the production, it means they buy low quality supplies and have no access to technology. Farmers deliver low quality production, receive low incomes and limit their growth to own resources, this leads to economic stagnation.
Verqor gives farmers access to credits for purchasing quality supplies and technology, through its online platform using an alternative credit score criteria.
Verqor is committed to give all the tools to farmers to ensure their economic growth. One of their main values is offering online courses of financial education that are open any time to AB InBev farmers. Verqor provides farmers with IoT monitors that allows them to make data driven decisions in the fields and implement sustainable practices.
Today Verqor works with the main Non Banking Financial Institutions in Mexico for funding the credits. Together with Grupo Modelo, Verqor is also offering low-cost credits for fields irrigation systems that reduce the usage of water. Verqor is a finalist of MassChallenge Mexico, a program that will accelerate the growth of the company and expansion of operations. Verqor is raising a seed round, with the purpose of disrupting the agricultural sector with financial products.
5. EW Tech
Cleaning and disinfection are a must in every industry and it usually implies the use of strong chemicals in order to ensure the safety of the production process.
EW Tech offers 100% natural solutions for cleaning and disinfection processes. The solutions are generated “on site” using electrical charge, water and salt. No harmful chemicals, no transportation, no special storage required.
Through the 100+ Accelerator platform, AB InBev partnered with EW Tech to pilot their green solutions in a Brewery in Colombia. We were able to replace caustic soda and disinfectant solution for CIP in Bottling lines saving 100% of energy, 70% of the water and 60% of the time. The Pilot proved that strong chemicals can be replaced without affecting the effectiveness of the process.
Currently this technology is being scaled up to Tocancipa, the largest brewery AB InBev has in Colombia.
6. BanQu
Millions of the poorest farmers and recyclers work extremely hard everyday in global supply chains but are completely invisible. In 2016 BanQu set out to change that using a unique for-profit/for-purpose model that creates unprecedented transparency & traceability for the FMCGs while building a true Economic Digital Passport for the last mile smallholder farmers and first mile recycler/ waste pickers.
Overall - BanQu is live in 41 countries with over 500000 last-mile-first-mile beneficiaries.Our global footprint not only grown but we now have proven success in 5 major categories:
- Recycling & Waste Management
- Smallholder Farmer/ Worker Ecosystems & SME Financial Inclusion
- Mobile Money and last-mile banking
- COVID-19 Response/ Restore/ Restart platform ensuring track & trace of donor funds, secured marketplace for life-saving supplies and long-term financial inclusion of SMEs
- Reducing/ eliminating child labor in supply chains of consumer brands
7. RSU
Every year the consumption of electricity increases as well the waste generation.
It is mandatory to reduce the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity, to avoid more problems for the environment, such as air contamination and global warming, shortage of potable water is a challenge we are already facing in many countries.
RSU Plants are the solution for generating electricity, avoiding water and soil contamination, creating sustainable jobs for people and reducing global warming using waste that today goes to landfills and dumpsites.
Since RSU was part of the 100+ Accelerator Platform many cities and private companies around the world have approached RSU asking to partner and find solutions for their waste and energy problems.
Because of this visibility RSU was also able to attract more than 200 US Million from Green Investment Funds in order to build out facilities in 5 different countries.
8. Baswood
Baswood was the first 100+ Accelerator startup to be acquired (by Cambrian Innovation in 2019). During the program, Baswood used their unique wastewater treatment technology to pilot at the Karbach Brewery in Texas. Their solution allowed the brewery to reduce the biosolid content of its wastewater by 97% and improved water reuse. Today, AB InBev is scaling up the solution at our Houston brewery and is hoping to achieve similar results to the pilot implementation. In addition to its work with AB InBev, Baswood/Cambrian Innovation has installations all over the world and works with large multinational companies like LVMH-Domaine Chandon, Keurig Dr Pepper and Discovery Land Company.
9. Rise
Beer Saved Grain is the main by-product of the brewing process. It is just malted barley that has been boiled and crushed, and it is rich in fiber and protein. Every year 42 million tons of this leftover barley is being discarded or underutilized worldwide. This represents a financial burden for the companies, a huge environmental issue, and a misappropriation of resources that are extremely healthy and delicious.
Rise Products is a food-tech startup that specializes in the upcycling of healthy by-products into healthy, tasty and sustainable food products. Starting with the beer industry, we collect and convert their saved grain byproduct into a flour which we sell bulk and wholesale. Our flour is a superfood, high in prebiotic fiber, and low in carbohydrates. It is also a good source of plant-based protein.
After being primarily B2B, we have recently launched baking mixes that are easy to use and approachable to home bakers. Since 2017, we have diverted 50 tons of food waste from the landfill, preventing them from turning into greenhouse gas emissions. We are a team of scientists, engineers, chefs and brand experts, aiming to convert different byproducts into nutritious, tasty and sustainable sources of food.
In 2018, we started our partnership with 100+ Accelerator. On November 11th, 2018, we first collected hundreds of pounds of Budweiser Saved Grain from Newark, transported it to our facility in Long Island City, NY, and converted into flour. We worked with chefs to develop recipes and prove the functionality of the flour. The Saved Grain from Budweiser produced a excellent protein-rich and subtly-flavored flour. The products were praised all over the country. Since then, we have continue our partnership with AB-InBev, and we were able to reduce tons of greenhouse gases from the environment. We are continuously working with Saved Grain division, to work together to make AB-InBev to become zero waste businesses.
10. Molecoola
Molecoola drives consumer recycling behavior by offering loyalty points and rewards for everyday items on a fun, easy-to-use and convenient app. With Molecoola, consumers can recycle everything from beer bottles to computers. To date, the company has collected and recycled over 600 tons of material. In addition to AB InBev, Molecoola works with many large corporate partners including Unilever, P&G and SC Johnson.
