The national Ecolones startup represented Costa Rica in the “Sap Innomarathon” contest, an event of social innovation that allows emerging companies and enterprises to develop solutions that aim to solve social problems in Latin America, in line with the global objectives of the UN.
Ecolones consists of an incentive system that gives people “virtual money” back for each bottle, can or recycled container. This becomes a profit that allows the user to obtain discounts on products, services and experiences.
Having gone through these stages and being recognized by so many people opened many doors for us. The feedback to all the new companies was incredible, we received a great source of knowledge and network with experience. We are sure that with the new technologies, ecolones could replicate in other countries with great success,”
stated Pietro Sudassasi, Director of Innovation of Ecolones.
In addition to an economic prize of 5,000 EUR, Ecolones will receive guidance from SAP for 12 months to help develop their project. Mentoring includes technical and commercial support for the new company. In this period, SAP laboratories will provide human resources for entrepreneurs so they can boost their solutions.