Circular Economy Design Thinking Workshops

Reducing food loss through innovative, circular approaches

Welcome to the Application Portal for the Design Thinking Workshops, which are part of the Circular Economy in the Food Sector Incubator Programme 2025

Description

Through the European Union’s Global Gateway Strategy with partial co-financing from the BMZ, the CIRCULAR Economy in the Food Sector Programme (2024–2027) supports Sri Lanka’s transition towards a more sustainable and inclusive economy. The programme focuses on reducing food loss, food waste, and eliminating single-use of plastics in the food sector through innovative, circular approaches.

Central to this project is the Circular Innovation Incubator, which brings together aspiring entrepreneurs, students, and early-stage businesses tech develop innovative solutions for some of the most pressing challenges causing food insecurity. For more information about the program, please see the Design Thinking Workshops under the Circular Economy in the Food Sector Incubator Programme Factsheet.

The Circular Incubator programme will go hand-in-hand with a series of Design Thinking Workshops that guide participants through ideation, prototyping, and refinement of circular business concepts, co-creating practical, scalable solutions to the food sector’s most pressing challenges.

What is the Design Thinking Workshop About?

This is a two-day, hands-on innovation sprint where selected participants will:

Address real-world challenges identified with private sector partners
Work in multidisciplinary teams to ideate, prototype, and present solutions
Receive expert mentorship in circular economy, sustainability, innovation, and business design
Pitch ideas to a panel of experts, with the top teams invited to apply for the Circular Innovation Incubator

Workshop Medium: English

You can apply for the workshops below, choosing the application option that best describes you among individual applicants, applications on behalf of a group, or applications on behalf of a company.

Apply as an individual

Apply as a group

Apply as a company