On 31st March 2022 UNIDO ITPO Italy organized an online B2B meeting between Eco Zera Pencils, a women-led young startup from Botswana producing eco-friendly paper pencils made from recycled newspapers, and Chico Mendes Altromercato, one of the most important fair trade cooperatives in Italy.

During the meeting - facilitated by UNIDO ITPO Italy Investment Promotion Expert for Botswana Mr. Enrico Siepi and UNIDO ITPO Italy’s Special Advisor in Energy and Environment for Botswana Ms. Onneetse Ndadi - the Owner of Eco Zera Ms. Wada Kealotswe explained the main features of its ecological innovative production and provided useful information on its capacity - which amounts to up to 2,500 pencils per day. From the other side, Chico Mendes Altromercato presented its ethical mandate, the activities and information about its retail network that could absorb part of the paper pencils production made in Botswana. In light of the meeting, samples of the paper pencils produced by Eco Zera will be now shipped to Italy to further evaluate opportunities for collaborations.

This activity was organized within the framework of the project “Fostering international partnerships between companies and/or institutions operating in the energy and environment sectors” (#FIPEE), funded by the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition and implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy.