Celebrating women entrepreneurship

Dr Özge Akbulut develops energy- and cost-effective, no material leak methods for the near-net-shaping of ceramics towards the circular transformation of the ceramics industry. Self-standing, malleable formulations of advanced ceramics that are generated in her laboratory solve multiple problems that cannot be pursued by the existing slurry-based or powder compaction methods.

These doughs contain a minimum amount of organic matter and are highly reproducible to facilitate standardization and digitalization of the process flow. They i) do not need expensive molding, ii) can be shaped via forces below 10 N with existing equipment, iii) do not generate tool wear, iv) can conform around curved surfaces, and v) are recyclable without additional energy-intensive steps such as ball milling.

Dr Özge Akbulut says: “This manufacturing scheme enables small batches and eliminates the financial barrier to shape advanced ceramics. At the same time, it ensures robustness in the face of any possible supply chain crisis.”

Dr Özge Akbulut has been a faculty member at Sabanci University since 2012. She received her B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering at Sabanci University in 2004. Her PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2009) focused on the cost-effective fabrication of biomolecular devices and surface science. She continued her studies on developing tools/techniques for resource-limited settings as a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University from 2009 to 2011. She is the cofounder and CEO of Surgitate, a company that has designed and produced tactile surgical training platforms since 2014. Today, she also acts as the Chief Science Officer at Fark Labs, empowering entrepreneurship activities on sustainable materials in Turkey.

Diana Ceresmis is the CEO of Uphave and calls herself a visionary in the retail fashion tech industry. Her journey with Uphave began from her personal need for access to remote vintage and second-hand shops. It quickly transformed into a mission to make sustainable fashion accessible to all. The Uphave platform develops an automation tool that will create digital identities for pre-loved fashion garments. It empowers boutiques to sell online and reduce the environmental impact of the fashion industry.

Diana Ceresmis says “We’re on a path to redefine fashion by connecting shoppers with unique, pre-loved pieces from shops and helping them make sustainable choices. Uphave is the culmination of my passion for retail, fashion and technology and our goal is to revolutionise the way we shop and reduce the environmental footprint of the fashion world.”

Greta Colombo Dugoni is the CEO and co-founder of Bi-rex, a venture aimed at transforming the world of paper production. Bi-rex’s approach involves creating sustainable paper from agricultural and food waste, including coffee grounds, citrus peels, grains and more. This technology reduces water consumption during production by up to 95%, slashes carbon emissions by around 70% and minimises energy usage by 95%.

She started the company together with Monica Ferro who she met at the university laboratory. Combining their expertise and backgrounds, the project started in academia and has become a start-up.

Greta Colombo Dugoni obtained a master’s degree in Chemical Sciences from Università degli studi di Milano in 2016 and completed her Ph.D. in Industrial Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano in 2021. She has a background in organic chemistry and has always focused on waste reduction and sustainability.

At an academic level, she had been involved in waste treatment projects In the past, including nuclear waste, and in the study of green and sustainable solvents and processes.

She has spent the last two years developing her skills in business management, strategy and economics. She is now involved in strategy, competitor and market research. Her scientific background gives her an extra edge and enables her to bring out the full potential of Bi-rex’s project and vision.

Carla Gómez Cano, Industrial Electronics and Automatic Control Engineer from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), is co-founder of THEKER Robotics, a start-up specialised in robotics, Deep Learning and Computer Vision, together with Jiaqiang Ye Zhu, Albert Badías and Victor Lacal.

According to the company, THEKER has developed the most advanced microelectronic soldering and desoldering technology in the world, pioneering the desoldering of components and promoting the circular economy.

In addition, the company has created a system for identifying and collecting objects in hostile conditions, with a wide range of applications. The mission is to explore all of them, working towards a net-zero and sustainable future as well as committing to the reindustrialisation of the territory.

Martina Ivanova co-founded Peelo in 2019. Her vision: reducing food waste across households by half. Peelo produces reusable food packaging and thus substitutes single-use plastics and keeps food fresh longer.

The Peelo team developed their wax coating technology themselves, replacing the hand-made with an automated production process. This enables them to scale their production and make their packaging available to consumers on a large scale, which was not possible before. Not only could they satisfy demand on a global scale, speed up production, but also were they able to deliver a product with better properties to their customers.

According to Martina Ivanova, one piece of Peelo wrap can substitute more than 300 metres of plastic wrap, while keeping food fresh longer at the same time. So far, they have sold over 150 000 products to over 20 000 customers, substituting over 45 000 km of single-use wrap across European homes – more than the earth’s circumference. The Peelo team is proud to have saved tons of food with this as well.

Martina Ivanova says: “Peelo brings together my passion for sustainability, technologies and quality products with value. My goal is to feed one billion people with the food that we save.”

Karin Kogermann is a full professor and Head of Institute of Pharmacy at the University of Tartu. She is also a co-founder and CEO of EsaDres, a start-up company in Estonia, a company that manufactures personalised wound dressings.

EsaDres aims to change wound care by providing personalised solutions for the treatment of chronic wounds. The goal is to bring innovative manufacturing technologies closer to the patients. EsaDres provides customised and on-demand manufacturing of dressings in clinics at the hospital pharmacy and offers clinics an option to design and prepare a wound dressing on site, depending on the patients’ individual needs.