The Orange Corners Innovation Fund (OCIF) is just one of many programmes through which the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) supports ambitious entrepreneurs at home and abroad. To enhance collaboration between innovative Dutch and African businesses, RVO’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project fosters partnerships between Dutch companies and businesses from Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Uganda. Together, they worked on addressing local challenges in circular economy, digitalisation, energy and transport through sustainable innovations.
SBIR Phase I, which concluded late last year, saw the selection of sixteen innovative projects, many led by OCIF winners. Over the course of six months, these 16 business pairs — each consisting of a Dutch and an African partner — received up to €34,000 to conduct a feasibility study and develop a detailed plan for the next steps. These plans were then pitched to a jury in November 2023. In each participating country, at least two businesses were chosen to progress to the next phase, where they will work on the prototyping of their sustainable innovations.
What sets SBIR apart? To spark vibrant collaboration, this innovation competition flipped the script. The businesses from Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Uganda were in the lead: their innovative concepts became the foundation for the partnerships, bringing local challenges to the core of the collaboration. Each business handpicked their Dutch partner to co-develop solutions tailored to their community, in true locally-led innovation fashion.
Selected Orange Corners alumni:
Ghana:
- Green Construct ALS Ghana Limited and Spaak Circular Solutions B.V.: Recycling aluminum sludge into clinker for sustainable construction materials, reducing environmental impact in the building industry.
- Godfrey K. M. Tietaah Memorial Ventures and Spaak: Converting organic waste into yarn to create a sustainable textile industry in Ghana through innovative fiber production.
- NAYA Success Axis and Royal Haskoning DHV: Developing biowaste-powered dehydrators for drying chicken meat, reducing waste and improving shelf life in Ghana’s poultry sector.
- West African Feeds and TNO: Upcycling post-harvest waste into insect protein, providing a sustainable protein source while promoting waste management and local economic growth.
Morocco:
- Atarec and Marin: Upgrading the WAVE BEAT wave energy technology to harness Morocco’s coastal energy potential and produce renewable electricity.
- Foodeals and BEHOLDING B.V.: Using an AI-driven platform to connect unsold food with consumers and charities, aiming to reduce food waste and combat hunger.
- IZI Proteine and Agri-wallet Holding B.V.: Establishing an insect farm that recycles food waste into protein, contributing to sustainable feed and food production in Morocco.
- PCS Agri and Quantified B.V.: Enhancing crop yield predictions in greenhouses by combining visual data with real-time climatic and soil moisture information to improve efficiency in Moroccan agriculture.
Côte d’Ivoire:
- Biosave and Royal Haskoning: Scaling up organic fertiliser production through improved composting techniques, benefiting farmers and the environment in Côte d’Ivoire.
- Ceedow and Digi Surfer B.V.: Providing digital education to artisans via the Ceedow platform to help them expand their businesses and reach more customers in Côte d’Ivoire.
- Limawa and Coolfinity Medical B.V.: Developing solar-powered refrigeration for fish markets to improve preservation, market access and sustainability in Côte d’Ivoire.
- SkanMed and MEDx eHealthCenter B.V.: Using the SkanMed platform to provide teleconsultations for maternal and child care, improving healthcare access in rural areas of Côte d’Ivoire.
Of these projects, African Feeds, Green Construct ALS (Ghana), Atarec, Foodeals, PSC Agri (Morocco), Ceedow and Limawa (Côte d’Ivoire) were also selected for phase two.
Looking back at phase I: Yassine Bentaleb and Chaimae Sqalli Adoui – Foodeals
Yassine Bentaleb and Chaimae Sqalli Adoui (Foodeals) partnered with Jop Blom’s BEHOLDING B.V.. They look back at their collaboration:
At the start of the SBIR project, there were three potential Dutch partners interested in working with us. We organised meetings with each of them to find out our common interests, and based on this we chose to partner with Behold International, as they have a very niche focus on sustainability and impact businesses. This fits with what we’re doing and what we’re looking for. Jop is a very successful entrepreneur with a large network. His Dutch-Moroccan partner Ahmed Larouz has a lot of knowledge about the Moroccan market and also a big network here. So we really complemented each other.
For the first phase, we worked with Behold on 3-4 big topics, such as the B Corp certification. They came to Morocco, helped us fill in the assessment, assemble all the necessary documentation. We’re currently waiting to hear back from B Corp Africa. Jop and Ahmed also came to work with us on our pitch and business model, and they did a number of workshops with our team. And we also worked on technical improvement of the MVP. Our MVP is tested and validated already, but we have many new innovative features we’re looking to implement with the budget from phase 2, such as a mobile application to help food retailers in Morocco manage short shelf life products.
For phase 2, we’ll continue to work with Jop, because we have a long-term vision together. We’ll also have the chance to add others to the team, who bring new knowledge and networks. We’re also thinking of creating a Foodeals Holding in the Netherlands, from where we can easily expand to other countries. This would also give us better access to European networks, European VCs. We’re also working on a logistics app, as transportation of products under the right conditions is challenging. This app will connect all our stakeholders in real-time, from supermarkets, wholesalers, restaurants and hotels to end consumers or charities.
OCIF and SBIR
The partnership between Orange Corners Innovation Fund and SBIR ensures that both existing networks of entrepreneurs and new innovative ideas are supported, amplifying their impact across Africa. Using our combined expertise, we foster sustainable innovation and strengthen ties between Dutch and African businesses, so that innovative businesses such as Foodeals are able to scale faster.
