AB InBev has launched an accelerator fund for startups and entrepreneurs looking to tackle global sustainability issues.
The brewer has highlighted 10 such issues - such as water stewardship, farmer productivity, product upcycling, responsible sourcing and green logistics - and is inviting innovative UK startups to apply to the 100+ Accelerator fund.
Successful applicants will be announced in September during the UN’s climate week. They will then be given mentorship from InBev’s incubator and venture capital team ZX Ventures, up to $100,000 (£76k) in funding, and “access to new networks”.
The first three months of the scheme will take place in the home market, barring a five-day soujourn in New York at the very start. It will culminate in March with a global demo day in Leuven, Belgium, where the businesses will pitch for further funding from InBev and external investors.
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The name of 100+ Accelerator is a nod to the 100-plus eco-challenges InBev claims to have identified. The beer giant plans to run the initiative annually until at least 2025, tackling a different set of sustainability issues each year.
Current sustainability challenges “provide us with some of the greatest opportunities for development and innovation” said 100+ Accelerator global director Maisie Devine.
“We want to empower driven and committed entrepreneurs who are solving problems in their own communities. The 100+ Accelerator will draw on our company’s entrepreneurial spirit and our constant drive to deliver faster, better results.”
The move marks another step towards InBev’s 2025 sustainability goals, which it announced in March. It has vowed to make 100% of its packaging returnable or made of majority recyclable materials, and to reduce its carbon emissions by 25% across its supply chains.
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