Mushtic, Lebanese Startup Offering Bio-Based Material Solution, Wins Local Hult Prize Semi-Finals

Mushtic, Bickfaya-based startup that converts mushroom into a biodegradable material that substitutes plastic, just won Lebanon’s local Hult Prize last weekend. They will be traveling to London to enroll in the global Hult Prize Accelerator. 

“We have a mission to replace plastic in Lebanon,” says Charbel Sayah, the co-founder and General Manager of Mushtic. Sayah and his team are presenting a bio-based material solution made out of mushroom and agricultural waste; replacing petroleum-based materials such as Styrofoam while offering the same shock absorbance and insulating properties. “We want to scale up faster because the wave of banning plastic and Styrofoam is coming. The regulations are also helping Mushtic to be part of the environmental wave that will help our environment and will be protecting us from the negative impact of the pollution.”

The team representing Holy Spirit University of Kaslik is composed of three other co-founders: Rayanne Beayno, the CEO, Lama Antonios, the CTO, and Michel Semaan, the Advisor.

“We are predicting a future based on the need of the end-user and based on the messages sent by nature,” Sayah adds.

The Hult Prize Lebanon was held at what once was about to become a cinema complex but was interrupted during the Lebanese civil war, "The Egg." Like many buildings across the Lebanese capital, it is a bullet-scarred building that has been preserved to maintain its apocalyptic outlook to remind the Lebanese people of how ugly and ruthless war is.

Attended by the esteemed office of the country's Prime Minister Saad Hariri, along with a batch of other public figures such as Dr Amine Awad of BLOM Bank and Nabil Tabbara of VISA, seven teams represented seven Lebanese universities to compete at Lebanon's Hult Prize. Next, Hult Prize’s regional competitions will be visiting 26 cities until April 28^th.

For more, visit: www.mushtic.com