At Impact Hub Berlin, we believe that only through collaboration can we create a future that works for all – both people and the planet. Circular Together is our circular economy-focused incubator for impact-driven entrepreneurs that puts partnerships at the core of its programme.
Collaboration is the key to innovation.
Programme
Purpose-driven founders need meaningful, long-term partnerships in order to solve the greatest challenges of our time. Circular Together is where they unlock their full potential. We support early-stage Impact Entrepreneurs with stipends and tailored business coaching, giving them the space, tools and network needed to secure strong partnerships and grow their impact.
Challenge: The Circular Economy
While an increasing number of people around the world materially benefit from mass production in its linear form, it’s become overwhelmingly obvious that this concept is utterly unsustainable.
We’re seeing the world over that the ‘take-make-dispose’ model leads to severe deforestation, biodiversity loss, land degradation, depletion of natural resources, disruption of freshwater cycles and catastrophic climate change. This approach to production generates immense pressure on our natural environment that – if left unaddressed – will result in irreversible repercussions. In short, the planet is running an ecological deficit.
The concept of a circular economy – one in which resources are reduced, reused and repurposed instead of wasted – offers solutions to many of the challenges faced by production while still allowing for economic growth. Circular initiatives have been sprouting up in several industries, but so far most have been unable to thrive beyond a nascent stage.
Why is that? Major barriers hinder the proliferation of circular economy concepts, notably: a lack of knowledge regarding the implementation of scalable solutions, high production costs, low incentives, and a lack of synergies between different players and stakeholders.
For the Circular Together programme, we look for solutions that tackle these two sub-challenges:
Why do current solutions often only cater to a small, niche market? Two of the biggest drivers for consumers are convenience and affordability. Do you offer a solution or prototype that’s circular, accessible and affordable? Or an innovation that can make many such circular products more viable? If yes, then we want to know about it. Our programme helps you to scale, preparing you to enter the mass market and have a far-reaching impact.
Many industry players now feel the pressure to act in a more sustainable manner, but at the same time, they’re under pressure to ensure smooth production and generate profit. If your product or services help small to medium enterprises or larger corporates to become more sustainable, or lowers the cost of circular solutions, we can help you to approach pilot customers and implement your ideas.
Why should you apply?
Who are we looking for?
- Circular Together is your perfect match, if you
- have developed an innovative solution that drives the transition to a circular economy.
- are tackling a challenge relating to ‘convenient and affordable products’ or ‘sustainable and profitable production’.
- have a functional prototype of your process or service.
- apply an entrepreneurial mindset: a willingness to learn combined with high resilience.
- are on a team consisting of at least two founders.
Timeline
Teams can apply via the online application form.
Attend the previous cohort’s Demo Day to get inspired.
Join our Circular Economy Hackathon to refine your idea before applying.
Be sure to submit your application by 31st October 2022, 11:59 CET.
We’ll select a shortlist of the top 15 teams. If you’re in that selection, we’ll inform you via email.
The top 15 teams will pitch their solutions to our Advisory Committee. The committee will have the final call on admission to the programme.
Official programme kick-off and onboarding.
Your time to shine!
Startups
The new generation of impact entrepreneurs has huge potential to drive the transition to a circular economy. Meet Berlin’s most promising contenders.
Startups: first cohort
Cearch
+Cearch is a web-based knowledge management tool to manage all grey literature (research produced outside the commercial and academic publishing channels) on the circular economy, so it can more easily be included in future evidence synthesis for purposes like the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change’s Assessment Reports.
rrreefs
+rrreefs rebuild degraded coral reefs with sustainable materials using pioneering technologies. Their reefs cater to the needs of corals and are customised to local conditions and water flow, regenerating valuable ecosystem features: fish stocks, biodiversity, coastal protection, and tourism.
Startups: second cohort
Circular Sweater Project
+The Circular Sweater Project is developing the first fully circular sweater. Their completely biodegradable sweater can be produced on demand. It’s designed to meet the growing demand for truly ethical and sustainable clothing and accelerate circularity in the fashion industry.
GoodieGo
+GoodieGo has created an intelligent vending machine which integrates marketing and sales options as well as precise measurability tools. The vending machine can be used for product testing and customer behaviour measurement. They sell healthy products from local sustainable food startups. With real time sales data they can reduce waste and optimise refilling routes.
Kolo.Track
+Kolo.Track digitalises the organic market and fixes inefficiencies, by making regenerative farming financially more sustainable and increasing the security and transparency of organic products. They aim to integrate an automated compliance control and information exchange into the daily activities of farmers.
Lotta Ludwigson
+Lotta Ludwigson have designed a fully plant-based and biodegradable blazer: Cupro. They put circularity at the core of their brand and show that it’s possible to produce garments that are in line with customers’ values.
Moving Light System
+Moving Light System is an adaptive shading system that minimises energy use, preventing both overheating in hot weather and undercooling in cold conditions. The adaptive shading system aims to reduce buildings’ CO2 emissions by regulating temperature on the facade.
The Sustainable Loop
+myriad fashion is a B2B service for direct knitting of beech wood fibre for garments. They produce garments by using a direct 3D-knitting technique.
VYLD
+VYLD develop innovative period products made from seaweed, proving that circularity, empowerment and high-quality products that are beneficial for both people and the planet, go hand in hand. With their approach, they reimagine menstrual products while reframing the stigma that is still associated with periods.
Startups: third cohort
3Dimensioni
+3Dimensioni make furniture from recycled wood, metal and plastic, guaranteeing a long life for their products by offering 3D-printed replacement parts.
Foll-eau Me
+Foll-eau Me’s early-stage concept is to reduce the consumption of plastic by selling locally-sourced drinking water in bottles produced from edible and compostable algae.
Grow With You
+Grow With You is a subscription-based rental service for toys, with a mission to reinvent consumption patterns from childhood on.
Hyve Local
+Hyve Local is designing a digital platform that makes seasonal and local food consumption easier by providing simple, nutritional recipes to caterers.
Wardrobe Affaire
+Wardrobe Affaire have launched an MVP second-hand clothing platform that allows sellers to rent out their items while waiting for a buyer.
New Dawn Silicone
+We Are Galaktika are testing a recyclable period cup made from silicone, to combat the plastic waste generated by existing menstrual products.
Team
We’re a team of thinkers, doers and bridge-builders. Above all, we’re enthusiasts for social innovation and radical ideas. We aim to get the best out of teams and pull the strings necessary to make a startup successful. Meet the team behind Circular Together:
Programme Team
The programme delivery team is made up of Impact Hub Berlin’s circular economy ecosystem experts. Together, they utilise their diverse experience in order to find, select, coach and support the city’s most promising circular startup teams.
Advisory Commitee
Our committee bring decades of collective expertise to the programme, helping us to design its output and select the most promising ventures. Meet our experts:
Marc Weissgerber
+
Chief Strategy Advisor to the Director Emeritus at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Marc on LinkedIn
FAQ
The programme takes place in Berlin, Germany where we will provide you access to one of Europe’s most vibrant startup scenes and connect you to like-minded entrepreneurs, decision-makers and startup experts. It’s a prerequisite that you are located in or willing to relocate to Berlin.
We designed Circular Together to boost early-stage startups with a ready or almost ready prototype. The focus lies on solutions that have the potential to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. You should be prepared to either start testing your solution with first pilot customers, or expand your existing customer base.
You’re eligible to apply if you:
- Live and are registered in Berlin or plan to at least for the duration of the programme.
- Have not previously received an Exist Programme or Berlin Startup Scholarship.
- Base or plan to base your venture headquarters in Berlin.
- Have not yet registered your company (or have been a registered company for no more than three months before your application date).
- Have not yet received major external investments like prize money or business angel money, or major public funding before beginning the programme.
- Can commit full-time for the six months of the programme
- Are not registered as a university student for the duration of the programme.
- (For non-EU residents) Have a valid Schengen Zone visa including permission to be self-employed.
- (For non-EU residents) Have a valid Schengen Zone visa including permission to be self-employed.
Unfortunately, this is not possible.
Yes, but you have to liquidate or sell your old company in order to fully focus on your new one.
No, this program is for entrepreneurs with no pre-existing knowledge about entrepreneurship.
Only if there is a legal document as proof that you have full power over the rights of the idea/prototype/technology.
No, you must leave your employment.
Yes, this is possible, but only if you can prove that there are no open seminars from the curriculum that you have to finish.
By submitting your application you should receive a confirmation email. If you haven’t received a confirmation, please contact us: circulartogether@impacthub.berlin.
The selection team of Impact Hub Berlin will screen all of the applications. In that phase you might be contacted by Impact Hub Berlin, if any questions should come up.
After screening all applications, the selection team will choose up to 15 teams that will be invited for personal interviews.
In the next step, Impact Hub Berlin will invite teams for the Pitch Day, where our external Advisory Committee composed of experts in the fields of circular economy, sustainability and business management will finally decide on the admission into the program.
In choosing the participants, we’ll take into account the entrepreneurial skills of the team, the potential for scaling and the positive impact of your solution. We’ll also take into consideration how persuasive you are in your pitch / application.
Applications will be assessed on:
– Social and ecological impact
– Business model and feasibility
– Potential to scale
– Team
The diversity of the team also plays a key role and we aim to have an equal gender split within the cohort.
Our focus is on collaboration – to be selected for the programme you must have a team of at least two founders and up to a maximum of 5 founders. Please not that every participant has to be a shareholder/co-founder of the company that is to to be founded. If you have a great product and are currently seeking co-founders, reach out to our team who may be able to advise or connect you to potential co-founders.
Circular Together will combine input from experts as well as highly individualized business coaching. As such we will cater to the specific needs of our start-ups and deem them highly relevant. We would expect that you attend all of the events and engage full-time.
The programme will be conducted in English. Please submit your documents and materials in English to attract the broadest range of potential partners and investors.
The Impact Hub Berlin designed the programme, implements all measures and ensures a smooth transition. We belong to a global network focused on building communities for impact at scale. With 100+ communities of almost 24,000 change-driven entrepreneurs in more than 50 countries across five continents, Impact Hub is one of the world’s largest communities and accelerators for positive change. The programme is supported and funded by the European Union (European Social Fund) and the Senate of Berlin.
We take the Covid-19 situation very seriously and follow a safety-first policy. Through the use of technology, we’ve been able to maintain and in certain aspects even strengthen our programme delivery. We carefully align our policies with current developments and will do our best to support you whatever these may be.
All participants of the programme receive a stipend of EUR 2,000 per month, which should cover all costs incurred. In addition – but only for those startups that qualify and show high potential – we may also fund an ‘exposure trip’ to another Impact Hub outside of Germany for the purposes of implementing pilot projects or for traveling to conferences.
Yes, generally the scholarship falls under the “Einkommensteuer” (income tax) and is “Sozialversicherungspflichtig” (subject to social insurance contribution). Whether and how much tax you have to pay for the scholarship depends on your personal situation. Please contact your tax department and/or consultant.
No, your other benefits will be affected by this income.
OfficeHours
Got a question? Join our OfficeHours. Every Thursday, 3-4pm, the team of Circular Together presents the program and answers any open questions. This is followed by an open room where applicants can interact with each other and network.
Impact Hub Berlin
Impact Hub Berlin empowers entrepreneurs and organisations to create innovative solutions for people and the planet. Established in 2014, we host a coworking community of impact-driven members, run a creative space for inspiring events, and consult startups and companies on social innovation and sustainability. As part of the Impact Hub global network, made up of 100+ locations and 24,000 members, we’re both locally rooted and globally connected in our mission to help achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Get in touch
Impact Hub Berlin GmbH
Rollbergstraße 28A
12053 Berlin
Germany
T: +49 30 259 257 25
M: circulartogether@impacthub.berlin
This project is supported and funded by the European Union (European Social Fund) and the Senate of Berlin.