From Waste to Worth: Eden Materials' Validation Trip to Kenya

Agricultural waste is abundant across the Global South, yet it is too often burned, left to rot, or treated as a liability rather than a resource. At the same time, affordable and sustainable alternatives to fossil based plastics remain out of reach for many markets. Eden Materials is changing that by transforming agricultural byproducts into biodegradable plastics designed for real world conditions and local value creation. 

During the Pears Challenge ClimateTech Validation Trip to Kenya, Co Founder and CEO Jordan Mizrachi traveled to Kakamega and Bungoma, Kenya’s sugarcane heartland, to test assumptions, build partnerships, and explore what it would mean to launch, not just pilot, his venture in Kenya. Here, Jordan reflects on how the experience reshaped Eden Materials’ strategy and confirmed Kenya as its first market.

1) What was the most inspiring or surprising part of your validation trip to Kenya?

The most inspiring part of the validation trip was seeing, feeling, and living briefly in Kenyan culture, with the purpose of integrating that experience into our business development. I think the beautiful thing about the Pears Challenge is that we didn't come in with the notion that our technology will automatically fit in and, just like that, is going to save the world. Instead, we focused on going to Kenya to learn about the culture, prioritize partnerships, keep an open mind, and try to work with local industries and communities. Truly we couldn’t have done it without our mentors, who helped us navigate the entire local process. On a personal note, the most exciting thing was speaking a little bit of Swahili or speaking in the local tribal dialects, for example the Luhyas. Seeing people’s faces light up when I even said just a few words… It was inspiring to really see with my own eyes that Israel and Kenya can work together, beyond just agriculture, to share technology, create partnerships, and solve the world’s most important problems together.

2) Which parts of your solution do you feel were validated in the field? 

I feel like the entire trip validated the need for our solution, and validated the idea that Kenya is the place for us to pilot. We found partners that we could work with and sugar mills that could supply us consistently with feedstock and inputs for our product. Finally, we met with the Ministry of Industry who really confirmed for us that Kenya is open for business, and is very eager to industrialize. I really appreciated the business culture there, and the trip felt as if it validated our entire business model. It pivoted my mindset from aiming at America or Europe, and shifted my focus to Kenya being the first market that we go after.

3) What did you discover in Kenya that made you rethink the path you originally envisioned for your venture?

In Kenya, I found that it's a country that wants to experiment and adopt cutting-edge technology, and work hard and do amazing things. I originally was focused on European and Western markets first. But now, I have the validation that Kenya could be an even more optimal market than Europe. In Kenya, people are driven to find solutions to their problems using the right technology, even if it’s new. I found the country to have very streamlined regulations and strong inter-sectorial collaboration that involved everyone to work together; government, universities, private industrial companies, and the technology sector are all working together. I found that Kenya is a very strong ecosystem for Eden Materials to start working in. 

4) Where do you see your venture in one year from now? What’s next?

One year from now, we aim to build our pilot site for Eden Materials. Our next step is to complete our research between 2026 and 2027, after which we intend to develop a 100-ton-per-month pilot facility in Bungoma, in the heart of the sugar belt region. Bungoma is one of the locations where we conducted our validation trip with the Pears Challenge. This site will enable us to sell our product by converting waste feedstocks that are currently burned or left to rot into value-added products made in Kenya from Kenyan waste. We believe this pilot plant can be both technically and economically strong, creating jobs, addressing environmental challenges, and working closely with the local economy to build something meaningful. One year from now, we expect to have a solid and viable business established in Kenya.

Eden Materials is a cleantech startup developing affordable, biodegradable plastics from agricultural waste. Their patented process transforms this abundant byproduct into a bioplastic that naturally breaks down in composting conditions, offering a sustainable alternative to fossil-based plastics. For more information, check out their website: https://edenmaterials.io/