The ExpLOI project brought together yesterday in Antananarivo, its scientific partners and actors involved in the circular economy. Led by the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), the project strengthens research on plastic pollution while supporting new entrepreneurial initiatives in Madagascar
Research at the heart of partnerships
On the scientific side, ExPLOI consolidates its collaborations with the Institute for Research for Development (IRD) and the Institute of Fisheries and Marine Sciences (IHSM) of the University of Toliara. These partnerships support in particular research on plastic pollution, oceanographic campaigns and the strengthening of scientific capacities in Madagascar.
The Antananarivo meeting thus brought together several actors around the issues related to plastic waste in the Indian Ocean. Scientific work should contribute to better documenting this pollution and strengthening local competences for its monitoring.
Ten projects accompanied for four months
ExpLOI is also making progress on the entrepreneurial side. Twelve project leaders, representing ten circular economy initiatives, are entering a pre-incubation process. For four months, they will benefit from support to structure and develop their projects. At the end of this course, the winning projects will be able to benefit from a start-up grant of up to 50,000 euros or more than 249 million ariary. This funding should enable them to take a new step and give greater scope to their initiatives.
Implemented by the IOC, ExPLOI benefits from the support of the AFD and the French Global Environment Fund (FFEM), with the scientific partnership of the IRD. The project thus combines research and entrepreneurship to strengthen responses to plastic pollution in the Indian Ocean.
