Techstars, a global startup accelerator that helps entrepreneurs succeed, announced on Thursday, October 6, that it has renamed Techstars Paris into Techstars Sustainability Paris.
Techstars Sustainability Paris will invest in early-stage high-growth impact startups tackling some of the most significant issues, such as water, energy, or waste management, with Raphaele Leyendecker as managing director.
“As France is building what it takes to bring french startups to become the next green unicorns, it will inevitably go through bridging the actual gap between the franco-french ecosystem and the global economy,” says Techstars.
The accelerator is industry and tech agnostic, meaning that these companies can be hardware and software but also deeptech, biotech, and fintech early-stage companies.
Raphaele Leyendecker is a sustainability and digital entrepreneur, startup board member, and early-stage investor. She is also versed in strategic innovation and venture building, working with 55+ corporations such as Engie, Suez, and Schneider Electric.
In 2022, Techstars Sustainability Paris invested in 24 startups. These startups will have access to financial, human, and intellectual capital to fuel the success of their business. As a part of the accelerator programme, the companies receive $120,000 in return for 6 per cent equity.
Techstars claims that 16 of its 24 portfolio companies are not French. Since it’s a hybrid programme, companies don’t have to be based in France to apply.
“Many international startups indeed see France as a great entry to the European market where we can get them access to a broad network of corporates and investors. With the evolution of the Venture Capital market, Techstars thinks Paris can become the capital of Sustainability for startups,” says the company.
Outlander Materials
Based out of Rotterdam, Outlander Materials is one of the 24 startups that Techstars Sustainability Paris invested in. Lori Goff and Francois Schockaert founded Outlander Materials, a clean biotech company focused on upcycling food waste streams to new alternative materials such as UnPlastic.
UnPlastic is a circular product made from food industry sources, by-products, and brewery waste. Its composition makes it functional and compostable, and it will never break down into micro- or nano-plastics.
Its properties make it suitable for food and packaging applications.
With UnPlastic, the company aims to offer an alternative to commercial single-use plastic packaging that minimises plastic and food waste.
“We found the programme to be exceptionally curated, personalised & tuned to our specific needs and phase of development (rare among programmes) and elegantly combined with 11 other phenomenal companies making a real, tangible contribution to sustainability across the globe,” says the founders.