August 23, 2023
Third annual Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst cohort, includes 20 new members from 12 different countries and territories, pushing the boundaries of global innovation
MEET the newest community of leaders
August 23, 2023 (New York, NY) – Today, Bloomberg announced the 2023 class of Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts, a global group of founders, entrepreneurs, scientists and visionaries whose remarkable contributions and ideas have helped create a more sustainable, inclusive and prosperous world. First launched in 2021, the community has become a valuable launchpad for game-changing ideas, providing the group with exclusive access to influential leaders and opportunities brought together by Bloomberg New Economy. These 20 individuals from 12 different countries and territories will convene in the coming months and at the upcoming sixth annual flagship Bloomberg New Economy Forum, November 8-10 in Singapore.
Bloomberg News’s editorial team selected this group from more than nearly 200 nominations, based on their impact in one of these five areas: Commerce, Finance, Resilience, Security and Sustainability. You can find out more about these areas and the selection process here.
“This new class of Catalysts showcases the diversity of human ingenuity, commitment and tenacity that are powering progress in every corner of the economy,” said Erik Schatzker, Editorial Director of Bloomberg New Economy. “Using the reach of Bloomberg’s global newsroom, we canvassed the world for a group of bold thinkers whose work and spirit channel the theme of this year’s New Economy Forum in Singapore, ‘Embracing Instability.’ Our hope is that by interacting and collaborating with one another as Catalysts they’ll not only accelerate innovation but enhance the planet’s resilience for future generations.”
The 2023 Class of Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts are:
Marina Belintani, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, MABE Bio (Brazil): MABE Bio has a solution that creates a plant-based biodegradable leather alternative with a regenerative production model that contributes to the reduction of the carbon footprint of the textile industry through reforestation activities.
Felipe Cardoso, Founder and CEO, Eco Panplas (Brazil): Eco Panplas has developed a technological solution that performs the decontamination and recycling of lubricant plastic packaging in an ecological way, without the use of water, and without waste generation. Moreover, inputs like plastic, oil and labels are recovered, recycled and sold, eliminating environmental risk. The technology also has applications for other types of contaminated plastic waste.
Manu Chopra, Co-Founder and CEO, Karya (India): Created as the world’s first ethical data cooperative, Karya enables economic opportunities for rural Indians, giving them a pathway out of poverty.
Shahir Chowdhury, Founder and CEO, Shikho (Bangladesh): Shikho is an edtech company dedicated to democratizing access to high-quality education. They are building a digital learning ecosystem centered on modernizing the delivery of the Bangladeshi National Curriculum and upskilling today’s learners for tomorrow’s workforce.
Mariana Costa Checa, Co-Founder and President, Laboratoria (Peru): Laboratoria seeks to close the gender gap in tech by training women in LATAM, offering technical and life skills. Since its inception, Laboratoria has graduated over 3,300 women and it is currently operating in Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, México, Panamá, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Alfonso de los Rios, Co-Founder and CEO, Nowports (Mexico): Nowports is the first and largest digital freight forwarder in LatAm, mixing logistics with financial and technological tools to ship cargo in an efficient, transparent, and secure way.
Guy Hudson, Co-Founder and CEO, Loam Bio (Australia): Loam’s mission is to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, at a gigatonne-scale. CarbonBuilder, their microbial seed inoculum, enables the storage of long-term stable soil carbon, while their SecondCrop carbon projects offer farmer-friendly pathways to participate in carbon markets.
Claudia Kolonas, Co-Founder, Pluang (Indonesia): Pluang is the only multi-asset wealth platform in Indonesia, providing access to US stocks, crypto, gold and mutual funds in one app. Accessible for users with just 50 cents, Pluang’s mission is to provide frictionless access to wealth management in Indonesia.
Filip Lövström, Co-Founder and CEO, Roam (Kenya): Founded in 2017, Roam became the first company to deliver locally produced electric motorcycles and buses in Kenya. In 2022, they received the largest funding round by an EV company in Africa. Today, Roam is the leading provider of electric vehicles across Africa and was recently a finalist in Prince William’s Earthshot Prize. In 2023, they launched the first Roam Hub, a public access charging station that is helping to develop Africa’s EV infrastructure.
Charlot Magayi, Founder, Mukuru Clean Stoves (Kenya): Mukuru Clean Stoves makes its innovative and safe stoves with locally sourced recycled metal and distributes them through networks of local women business owners.
Vidyut Mohan, Co-Founder and CEO, Takachar (India): Takachar is helping to reduce air pollution associated with crop-residue burning. It also aims to increase profits for farmers by developing small-scale equipment that can convert residues to valuable chemicals on-site.
Pelonomi Moiloa, Co-Founder and CEO, Lelapa AI (South Africa): Lelapa brings industrial AI research to serve people across Africa with a focus on practical tools for developing economies. Lelapa’s custom language models are able to outperform larger multilingual language models in African languages given their niche design and training.
Hilda Moraa, Founder and CEO, Pezesha (Kenya): Pezesha is a holistic data analytics financial platform that enables working capital credit for small and medium enterprises in Africa.
Oriana Papin-Zoghbi, Co-Founder and CEO, AOA Dx (United States): An AI-enabled early detection cancer platform, AOA Dx is pioneering the field of glycolipids through the utilization of tumor marker gangliosides, the next class of biomarkers in early cancer detection.
Aminath Shauna, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Republic of Maldives (Maldives): Maldives is a country that is under threat due to rising sea levels. Minister Aminath led the working group at COP27 on consultations for climate adaptation and served on the Maldives’ Climate Change Advisory Council, leading the national effort to become carbon neutral. Prior to being named the Climate Minister, she was Policy Secretary under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Shruti Shruti, Co-Founder and CEO, ApnaKlub (India): ApnaKlub is a wholesale platform that digitally connects retailers from rural and semi-urban parts of India to FMCG brands from around the country, providing them with high-quality products at better-than-local wholesale rates while maximizing margins.
Beth Tellman, Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer, Floodbase (United States): Floodbase provides historic and real-time flood data for underwriting new types of flood insurance. It was originally developed to provide previously inaccessible data to at-risk nations following flood catastrophes.
Regi Wahyu, Co-Founder and CEO, HARA (Indonesia): HARA uses blockchain to collect and manage farm data, from soil and crop conditions to pest infestation, cultivation process, land ownership and grains transaction in a bid to help improve farmers’ livelihoods.
Adam Wenchel, Co-Founder and CEO, Arthur (United States): Arthur helps companies monitor their large language models to ensure bias mitigation and to reduce instances of AI hallucinations, helping to keep a company’s machine learning on track.
Vriko Yu, Co-Founder and CEO, Archireef (Hong Kong SAR, China): Archireef’s team co-designed the world’s first 3D-printed terracotta Reef Tile, delivering an adaptive biomimicry design for the purpose of sustainable coral restoration. The startup was founded in Hong Kong 2020, and has since expanded operations to the Middle East.
Last year’s class of Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts includes an accomplished group of business leaders. Among them two are “unicorns” – Esusu, co-founded by Wemimo Abbey – and eFishery founded by Gibran Huzaifah.
“Being a part of Bloomberg Catalyst has been an invigorating journey,” said Wemimo Abbey, co-founder and co-chief executive officer of Esusu. “The program’s platform and connections have significantly accelerated our capacity to drive innovation, exemplified by the dynamic collaboration that emerged from a fellow Catalyst’s insights during the Forum. This experience has expanded my perspective and fostered relationships that continue to fuel our company’s growth and amplify our impact in the industry.”
Bloomberg provides a platform to scale and accelerate Catalyst’s ideas by connecting them in-person as a community. Most notably, the 2023 Catalyst class will join Bloomberg’s annual New Economy Forum convening in Singapore 8-10 November. In its 6th year, the Forum brings together the world’s most influential CEOs, leaders, visionaries, scientists, entrepreneurs, and policymakers, and helps facilitate strategic business partnerships. Catalysts will also benefit from visibility, awareness and recognition across Bloomberg’s multi-channel network reaching hundreds of millions; gain insight and perspective into cutting edge technologies and high-level policy and finance; and receive peer-to-peer leadership and mentoring throughout the year.
For additional details on the Bloomberg New Economy Catalysts and the Bloomberg New Economy Forum visit www.bloombergneweconomy.com. Join the conversation on social media using #BloombergCatalysts and follow #NewEconomyForum on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
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Rob Koh
rkoh22@bloomberg.net
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