Toyota Impact Challenge / Cambodian startup lands $10k for smart recycling solution
By: Robin Spiess - Posted on: January 21, 2019

Seated in the gallery of an old garment factory-turned-creative workspace on Saturday afternoon, three teams of entrepreneurial Cambodian youths waited on the edge of their seats to hear which of their startup ideas would win $10,000 in seed funding – a considerable prize that could see their fledgling business concepts take flight.

This event marked the final round of competition for the Toyota Impact Challenge, a joint venture between Toyota Cambodia and local community centre Impact Hub, which sought to attract startup ideas focusing on transport, road safety, and smart city solutions.

After undergoing six long months of incubation and startup development, the three challenge finalists went head-to-head on 19 January, presenting their ideas for creating a smarter, cleaner, and safer Phnom Penh. Following hours of presentations, SmartBIN – a startup dedicated to solving Cambodia’s considerable waste management problems – emerged victorious.

SmartBIN: Promoting Recycling in Phnom Penh
The SmartBIN concept was borne of the team’s realisation that the act of recycling, which is currently far from popular in the Kingdom, could be made more attractive if recyclers were offered monetary incentives. To this end, the team – consisting of five founders, Kim Chanamrithvatey, Chhuy Songhour, Khim Synat, Ven Arunroth, and Chim Minea – created a “smart” recycling bin with separate labeled sections for cans, bottles, and plastic cups, and developed a system by which bin users can receive points for each item they recycle.

Using a phone app developed by the team, users have access to a map of SmartBIN locations in the city. When users dispose of their recycling, each SmartBIN is built to automatically tally the number of recycled objects and display “points” for the recycling on a smart screen. Users can scan the bin’s QR code to deliver those points to their personal SmartBIN phone apps, and can eventually trade in points for big discounts and coupons at local restaurants and stores.

http://sea-globe.com/cambodian-startup- ... -solution/