Regional Award for Macedonian Green Business Idea – Portable Stove for Outdoor Cooking

On October 3, at the Startup MosaiK Studio in Sarajevo, BiH, the regional awards for green business ideas from the Balkans were presented. The jury awarded prizes to business ideas focused on promoting local food from farmers – ProdukteFresh (Kosovo), producing bags from textile waste – Julbeg (BiH), filtering pools and wastewater with herbs – NGO Ljuta (Montenegro), producing mobile stoves for outdoor cooking – MobiStove (Macedonia), producing fashion accessories through the work integration of women with mental health challenges – HERC (Serbia), promoting ecological habits among children through outdoor activities and the sale of seedlings – Divovi Zlatara (Serbia), and offering work integration for people with disabilities through the collection of electronic waste – NRG doo Čačak (Serbia).

“This is the first time that my innovation ‘Mobi Stove’ is being presented at a regional level. I am glad that the jury recognized the innovation and its potential for commercialization and a viable business model. At the same time, I am also pleased that all attendees showed interest in the product, the ordering process, and the method of delivery. Mobi Stove is a stove with an innovative system and design, intended for safe, easy, and efficient outdoor cooking, using minimal energy available in nature, such as biomass waste (dry twigs, pine cones, pellets, etc.) and, due to its good and controlled combustion, it does not emit polluting gases. My product is intended for mountaineers, campers, foresters, cyclists, eco-tourism operators, outdoor music festival organizers—in short, nature lovers. Meanwhile, I am developing a model that will be intended for developing countries, where 2.3 billion people cook on open fires and inefficient stoves that emit large amounts of gases. The regional award is both motivation and an opportunity to bring this patented product to market as soon as possible,” said the winner, Trajče Rushev.

Our country also participated in the regional competition with the idea “Urban farm in a container for the production of microgreens using an aeroponic cultivation system” by Snezhana Jacovska (Smart Indoor Farm) and “BIOHIDE” by Angelina Serafimovska from LeatherandHide.

The “Green Ideas” competition has existed for 13 years and is a pioneering program in setting the standards and values for businesses that simultaneously benefit the environment, are important to communities, and have economic viability. ARNO has been organizing the competition in Macedonia since 2015, including training, media calls, and support programs for all those who have a green idea or a green business in its early development stage.