Sabrine Chennaoui, CEO | Hatem Hamdi, CTO
Monsapo is transforming waste into worth, fostering sustainability and innovation in every drop.
1. Describe the problem/the industry that you are trying to mediate (and precise the UN SDG-s you are solving).
Our primary focus at MONSAPO is addressing the environmental hazards stemming from improper disposal of used cooking oil and traditional cleaning products. The indiscriminate disposal of these substances leads to severe pollution and waste management challenges, impacting clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), and climate action (SDG 13). By repurposing waste cooking oil into eco-friendly cleaning products and utilizing innovative recycling technologies, we aim to mitigate these challenges and contribute to a more sustainable future.
2. How did the idea to create the company come to mind? How did your team come to be?
The idea for MONSAPO originated from a family tradition passed down through generations. Inspired by my grandmother, Mahsouna, who transformed leftover cooking oil into soap, we saw an opportunity to modernize this concept with advanced technology. The founding team, consisting of myself, Sabrine Chennaoui, and Hatem Hamdi, connected on LinkedIn, he is an industrial engineer with more than 10 years of experience and I have 8 years in marketing and sales background, we share a mutual passion for environmental innovation. Over the past two years, we’ve worked tirelessly to bring this vision to life, leveraging our diverse skills and experiences to address pressing environmental issues.
3. Why did you choose to participate in the Paris Techstars accelerator program? What are you looking forward to the most?
We chose to participate in the Paris Techstars Accelerator program due to its strong emphasis on sustainability and technology. We anticipate leveraging the extensive network of mentors and investors provided by Techstars to scale our technology and expand our market reach. Moreover, the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded startups and gain insights from industry leaders in sustainability excites us the most, as it aligns perfectly with our mission to drive positive environmental impact.
4. What are you the most proud of in your initial journey with your company?
In our initial journey with MONSAPO, we take immense pride in our bootstrapping journey establishing ourselves as a reputable consumer goods brand in the Tunisian market. Despite facing financial challenges and resource limitations, we successfully onboarded 1,000 clients and sold over 5,000 units, demonstrating strong market demand and validating our business model. Building upon this foundation, we are transitioning to develop a scalable, technology-driven solution with global potential, aiming to revolutionize environmental sustainability on a worldwide scale.
5. How do you plan to measure the positive impact of your company in the next 5 years?
With a single machine annually, our technology cuts CO2 emissions by 34 metric tons, cleans up 500,000 liters of water, and reduces the use of 5,000 plastic bottles. Imagine what can be done with a thousand more?
In the next five years, as we expand our offerings to include larger units for NGOs and food plants, as well as compact versions for households we remain committed to measuring and maximizing our positive environmental impact through tangible metrics. These include tracking the reduction in CO2 emissions facilitated by our recycling activities, monitoring the volume of water pollution averted through proper recycling of cooking oils, calculating the decrease in plastic bottle usage thanks to our sustainable packaging solutions, assessing the energy savings achieved through our technology, and measuring the reduction in overall waste generated by our clients through the use of our eco-friendly cleaning products and recycling solutions. Through rigorous measurement and continuous improvement, we strive to make a meaningful impact on global sustainability challenges, one drop at a time.