Sustainability has become a crucial issue globally over the past decade, with entrepreneurs and innovators playing an important role in promoting sustainability initiatives. Recursive’s new vote and awards for April recognizes and celebrates innovative and inspiring climate technology entrepreneurs from the Central and Eastern European region, who are leading the way in sustainable business practices.
These entrepreneurs understand that sustainability is not only the right thing to do, but also makes good business sense. By promoting sustainable practices, they reduce their environmental footprint, improve their efficiency and increase their profitability.
Additionally, they create a better future for us all by improving the well-being of communities, reducing poverty and preserving resources for future generations.
Join The Recursive to recognize these elements climate technology entrepreneurs for their commitment to building a better and more sustainable future for our planet and its inhabitants!
Dimitar Enchev is a Bulgarian entrepreneur and investor with years of experience in the energy transition field. Enchev is Managing Partner of PostScriptum Ventures, a private equity fund focused on sustainability and energy transition investments and is also co-founder of Global CWPa company that has developed and produced a number of large-scale renewable energy projectsincluding the largest wind farm in Europe.
Jakub Lubonski is CEO and co-founder of Bin-e, a smart waste management system based in Poland that uses AI to recognize a type of waste and automatically sort it into the appropriate fraction. Lubonski’s background is in marketing and software services, and is passionate about environmentally friendly solutions.
Gorecki is one of the founders of Intelligent Hives, a management solution capable of automatically detecting dangerous situations, anomalies and changes in environmental factors in hives. Gorecki holds a doctorate in computer science and is a former member of the Lodz Solar Team, the team that developed the first Polish solar-powered vehicles, as well as the “Gateway The Things Network” project.
Vukicevic is a Serbian entrepreneur and co-founder of wellness innovation company Better & Better, a company that produces natural and vegan toothpaste with organic ingredients and sustainable packaging, as well as a plethora of other sustainable, vitamin-infused oral care products, such as plastic-free natural floss and bamboo toothbrushes. Vukicevic is also the founder of the successfully acquired startups Meural and Rockethub.
Vigroux is a serial entrepreneur who has co-founded and invested in over 25 companies in Eastern Europe. Its latest sustainability-related projects include Fenix, an online store for refurbished smartphones, and bonapp.eco, a mobile application fighting food waste allowing users to purchase food close to its expiration date in grocery stores, restaurants , bakeries, cafes or hotels nearby.
Matija Zulj is an impact entrepreneur and founder and CEO of AGRIVI, a Croatian startup whose vision is to change the way food is produced and positively impact over a billion lives. AGRIVI helps many companies around the world produce nutritious, healthy and sustainably grown food by digitalizing their crop production and agricultural supply chains.
Olga Rajcic is a North Macedonia-based entrepreneur and co-founder of Challenger, a mobile app that motivates its users to walk, run or bike more and be rewarded by getting discount codes for products and services at local businesses. With extensive experience in business development and community management, Rajcic entered the world of entrepreneurship in 2018, when she became CEO of Challenger and a fierce advocate for sustainability in North Macedonia.
Arapakis is co-founder of Enaleia, a social startup with a vision for a more sustainable marine ecosystem. Enaleia established the first professional fishing school in Greece and also launched a large-scale plastic cleaning program, Mediterranean CleanUp, working with fishermen. Arapakis is a graduate of Athens University of Economics and Business, TEDx speaker and Ashoka Changemaker.
Evangelopoulos is the founder of Augmenta, a high-tech company that provides farmers and agricultural service providers with solutions that are both intuitive and actionable. The Greek entrepreneur describes himself as a computer engineer, farmer and technical diver, and is an expert in circuit design, programming and big data analysis.
Artur Racicki is a serial entrepreneur with experience in cleantech companies. So far, he has co-founded four startups: SEEDiA, Fair Water, FCAPP and Social Kiwi, and has two exits with Sport24.pl and Social WiFi. The startup he founded in 2016, SEEDiA, builds a smart system of energy-independent solar products, including smart benches, solar boxes, solar screens and solar bus stops.
Orlin Radev is a Bulgarian entrepreneur with experience in e-mobility and IT industry. He has founded ten companies over the past 15 years and has also been active as a mentor and angel investor. Radev is a leading expert on the topics of e-mobility and electric vehicle charging worldwide, and is also a speaker and consultant on the topics of e-mobility, electric vehicle charging and commercial development in the electric vehicle charging sector.
Aga Maciejowska is CEO and co-founder of Plan Be Eco, a startup with a solution that calculates scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions throughout the supply chain and creates automatic reporting carbon footprint following the GHG protocol and compliant with industry standards. .
Toader-Pasti is a Romanian entrepreneur who has worked on numerous projects related to green homes, solar energy and sustainable cities. In 2012, he co-founded EFdeN, a student-led NGO that aims to make Romania more sustainable through better housing, products and education. Under his leadership, more than 250 companies supported the project with a cumulative budget of more than three million euros. He is also a co-founder and director of EnergiaTa, which changed the law to make domestic renewable energy production a reality in the country.
Roman Laus has created or co-founded several companies, such as Home Institute, Global E-learning and Global DTP. He was a founding member and program director of Future Port Prague, the largest international futuristic event in Central Europe. Thanks to his network and the knowledge acquired during the Future Port course, he decided not only to organize events on future technologies, but also to take action. So in 2020, Roman founded Mewery, Europe’s first cell-based food tech startup developing microalgae-based cultured pork with the potential to change the entire cultured meat industry.
Stiliyanova is a Bulgarian entrepreneur and ambassador for the European Climate Pact. She is co-founder and CEO of Osnova, a Sofia-based startup that advises on sustainable businesses. Startups help their clients measure their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, set relevant science-based targets, and make sustainable changes.
Holterman is the CEO of Nijhuis Saur Industries which provides robust and adaptive solutions for sustainable and resilient use of water, energy and resource recovery for light and heavy industries, utilities and commercial buildings . NSI today offers innovative technologies, engineering and consulting services, in-house manufacturing and R&D, as well as turnkey project execution (including DBFOM), operations and on-site maintenance and mobile water solutions.
Vote here for the most influential sustainable development entrepreneur in CEE
