Egerton University students’ startup which they dubbed Hyapak was done by duo Joseph Nguthiru and Charles Rugendo and won the third edition of the Total Energies Startupper of the Year Challenge.
The startup made headlines with the two students coming from the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and was awarded Kshs. 1.65 million as prize money for their hugely exciting Best Business Creation Project out of more than 1012 entries in the competition that was held by Total Energies.
In attendance at the awards ceremony was held at the Serena Hotel on Thursday, the Cabinet Secretary for ICT Joe Mucheru called on the youth to fully embrace innovation. He viewed this as the future of the nation.
The Principal Secretary to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining Andrew Kamau on his part said that the government is ready to help innovators in the country to reach new heights and become established businesses.
The duo are now set to represent Kenya in the Total Energies Africa finals.
Besides the financial support, the startup will receive personalized coaching and a media campaign to ensure their project becomes even more visible.
“The win means a lot to us and to our team. We can’t wait to see the impact that we will have on our planet’s environment and on the generations to come,” said Joseph Nguthiru.
The startup is a project that converts water hyacinth into biodegradable alternatives to single-use plastic products.
In previous times, the project has won the IGAD East Africa Youth for Development for Climate Action Award. Thereafter, it came out in third place in the World Engineering Day hackathon earlier this year.
Charles Rugendo thanked their university, their families and their entire team for helping them make the project a success. Off they go to the Total Energies Africa Finals!