Oslo | 26th November 2019: Saathi has received investment from Katapult Ocean. Katapult Ocean invests in and helps build and scale profitable businesses with a positive impact on the ocean. We have been selected as one of twelve global companies to participate in the second accelerator cohort taking place in Oslo from November 25th 2019 to February 20th 2020. In the selection process, Katapult Ocean had a pipeline with more than 850 startups to select from.
“We are very excited to be a part of the “Katapult Ocean” Accelerator program, 2019. We look forward to the exciting journey ahead filled with learning, growth networking, market understanding, and funding opportunities. According to a report, Sanitary Pad is the 5th most common plastic item on European beaches. At Saathi, our innovation can contribute positively to solve this problem” said Kristin Kagetsu CEO & Co-Founder Saathi
“For every 100 metres of beach, 4-6 sanitary products are found. Most sanitary pads contain 90 percent plastic, and replacing these with pads made out of natural fibres can make a huge impact. We are also excited about Saathi´s social impact, empowering girls and women in rural areas by giving them access to healthy, environmentally friendly sanitary pads. Menstruation is a part of life, plastic pads shouldn´t be.”, said Maren Hjorth Bauer, CEO and Co-founder of Katapult Ocean
Saathi is proud to attend the Katapult Ocean accelerator program together with these 12 impact-driven ocean startups, from 9 different countries:
- ARC Marine (UK) – disrupting the marine industry by accelerating reef creation in offshore construction projects which historically have caused damage and pollution
- Algalife (Israel) – Inside out good fabric
- Hydrolift Autonoumous City Ferries (Norway) – Our smart, green ferries will revolutionize urban transport systems globally
- Innomar (Norway) – Innomar AS makes fishing sustainable
- Marimetrics (Canada) – Marimetrics has developed a real time aquatic animal health diagnostic tool for aquaculture
- Nautix Technologies (Denmark) – Nautix provides next-generation ship management software for smarter, safer, and more reliable ship operations
- Oceanium (UK) – Marine-safe bio-packaging and plant-based food & nutrition products from sustainably-farmed seaweed
- Pinovo (Norway) – Clean and Circular Abrasive Blasting Method for Surface Treatment – stopping microplastics from entering the Ocean (Paint = Plastic)
- Raino Tech4Impact (Kenya) – Leveraging technology to decentralize and democratize cold-chain access in fisheries and aquaculture in East Africa, reducing cost and entry barriers
- Saathi (India) – Saathi manufacture 100% biodegradable and compostable all natural sanitary pads from banana fiber
- Sanoor Technologies (USA) – Sanoor has developed a cutting-edge optics solution that will enable next generation sub sea communications.
- Tracio (Iceland) – Keeping seafood fresh and safe
About Katapult Ocean: Katapult Ocean‘s vision is a thriving ocean in harmony with economic development. To fulfil this, Katapult Ocean invests in and supports startups with a positive impact on our oceans. We do this through our ocean impact accelerator, the Katapult Ocean fund and by creating positive awareness of the great business opportunities in a sustainable ocean.
Katapult has made 23 investments in exciting ocean tech companies from 14 countries. All portfolio companies participate in a 3-month long accelerator program out of Oslo, Norway. They have a global network of more than 100 mentors supporting this, and a team based in Oslo, Norway and San Francisco, US. The investments are backed by a fund with international investors (Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Singapore). They have built a platform to push the green shift in the ocean industries, Katapult impact is much bigger than the direct investments we make. We work with corporates and investors to encourage more investment, piloting and engagement with ocean tech startups. Since Katapult Ocean was founded in April 2018, they have become a leading force in ocean technology impact investments. They have recently joined the accelerator network of the UN Global Compact Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business, and have been invited to sit on the Norwegian Prime Ministers advisory network for the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.
About Saathi: We at Saathi are worldwide UN-recognized sustainable manufacturing company in Gujarat, India. We are making the first completely biodegradable and compostable sanitary pads from waste banana tree fibre. We have our own manufacturing facility in India. Our vision is to be a leader in sustainable manufacturing as our technology can be used not just for sanitary pads but also other adsorbents as well to ensure they are good not only for the earth but our bodies as well. Our business is innovative and sustainable and is built on the foundation of being a green business ready for the circular economy and all the government policies that are now shifting towards greener manufacturing. We have a multi-layered impact throughout our supply chain: banana farmers receive additional income, consumers are able to use an all-natural product which doesn’t cause irritation or rashes, and finally we have a product that is compostable and therefore doesn’t have any negative impact on the environment either through plastic waste or CO2 emissions which traditional pads have, Saathi’s team consist of 85% women employee and we are dedicated to supporting women empowerment. We have employed low-income women in our production team and also running an initiative called #ONEMILLIONPADS partnering with NGO to distribute pads among underprivileged rural women in Jharkhand.