The purpose of this award is to recognize and highlight initiatives by companies, startups, cooperatives, communities, and educational institutions that best promote and are already driving the country’s transition toward a circular economy.
The ceremony took place at the Idea Vilariño Auditorium and was attended by First Lady Lorena Ponce de León, Walter Verri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Mining (MIEM), Carmen Sánchez, President of the National Development Agency (ANDE), and Manuel Albaladejo, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) representative in Uruguay.
Hifa is a startup aiming to transform the world of materials. After three years of research, Gabriela da Rosa (M.S. in Biology – Udelar), Guadalupe Sonneveld (Industrial Designer – Universidad ORT Uruguay), and Felipe Machado (Biotechnology Engineer – Universidad ORT Uruguay) succeeded in creating a biomaterial that is 100% environmentally friendly from production through disposal, using agro-industrial waste and an edible mushroom as their starting point.
The biomaterial has properties similar to those of plastics, with the added benefit of being completely eco-friendly. The startup is currently in the pre-incubation phase at CIE_BIO. With support from ANII and ANDE, they have technically validated the material and are now assessing the commercial viability of the startup.