Green Business Incubator empowers ecopreneurs, upcycling projects

AMMAN — After a six-month run, the Green Business Incubator, a project with a focus on upcycling and entrepreneurship came to a close on Sunday.

A closing ceremony for the project was held by the Irish embassy and Jordanian nonprofit organisation TTi to celebrate the project’s completion.

The project was implemented by TTi and co-financed within the framework of the Polish development cooperation of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The project aims to promote environmental protection and an eco-friendly lifestyle by providing business support services for 20 entrepreneurs (ecopreneurs). Beneficiaries are mainly women and young people living in disadvantaged communities, and the projects helps turn their ideas into sustainable new products that could generate profit for them and their families.

“We consider our project with TTi to be very innovative in a sense that improves the potential of Jordanian upcycling entrepreneurs, and helps them get the support needed to thrive,” Polish Ambassador to Jordan Lucjan Karpinski told The Jordan Times. 

Karpinski added that too many ecopreneurs’ upcycling concepts were being introduced for the first time, adding that the results of upcycling and its environmental impact will be visible in the coming few years.  

Upcycling is the practice of creating a usable product from waste or unwanted items, or adapting an existing product in some way that adds value, according to a statement from organisers. 

“What is interesting is the fact that the idea of upcycling is being promoted to a broader public, and may attract other environmental enthusiasts,” Karpinski said. 

The ambassador added that the project has helped bring ecopreneurs together, in order to create a solid network that will help them deliver the desired outcomes of their entrepreneurial projects. 

TTi co-founder Neda’ Kharoub said that the project focused on social, green and upcycling entrepreneurs. 

“Upcycling is one of TTi’s areas of focus,” Kharoub added. 

According to Kharoub, upcycling and handcrafts are very promising in Jordan, and the project helped entrepreneurs obtain the knowledge and guidance needed to take their production and upcycling expertise to a different level. 

The project gave a special focus to upcycling as an innovative pathway to commercialise unavoidable waste. The statement added that the project has created a chain of positive impacts by strengthening youth and women’s capacity to contribute to their communities and the environment while also becoming financially independent.