LocationsWhat Happens When Innovation Gets the Right Start?
June 19, 2026
What happens when young innovators are given the right support at the right time?
Pit-To-Table’s approach to circular design has recently gained recognition at the New European Bauhaus Festival 2026 in Brussels, where it was mentioned by the President of the European Commission. Transforming discarded olive pits into high-quality, sustainable surfaces, the team demonstrates how a by-product of Cyprus’s olive oil industry can be repurposed into a durable, design-oriented material.
By combining circular economy principles with practical application, their work reduces organic waste while offering an alternative to conventional materials. It also responds to a local challenge — the accumulation of olive waste during harvest — by turning it into a usable resource. This recognition reflects how solutions developed in a local context can resonate at a European level.
This moment is not just a milestone for the team, but reflects what early-stage support can enable.
*Photos provided by Pit-To-Table
Building the foundation
Pit-To-Table emerged as one of two winning teams under the UNDP Youth Innovation Factory (YIF), a hands-on venture builder supporting young people aged 18–35, implemented in collaboration with SocialTech Lab. It connected participants with civil society organisations and private sector actors, grounding innovation in real-world challenges across Cyprus.
Rather than focusing on ideas alone, the programme supported teams to test and refine practical solutions through mentorship, training and engagement with communities.
At the end of the process, two standout teams were selected through UNDP’s Innovation Challenge and awarded €25,000 each. Beyond their individual projects, the teams also exchanged knowledge and expertise, reflecting the collaborative spirit at the heart of the programme.
The other winning team, NEEMA (Nature Enhanced Engineering Materials) Labs has been developing VELO, a biodegradable, plant-based alternative to leather made from prickly pear cactus. Using locally sourced cactus trimmings, the team reimagines agricultural waste as a resource for sustainable manufacturing, contributing to efforts to move beyond conventional leather and plastic-based materials.
Pit-To-Table emerged as one of two winning teams under the UNDP Youth Innovation Factory (YIF), a hands-on venture builder supporting young people aged 18–35, implemented in collaboration with SocialTech Lab. It connected participants with civil society organisations and private sector actors, grounding innovation in real-world challenges across Cyprus.
Rather than focusing on ideas alone, the programme supported teams to test and refine practical solutions through mentorship, training and engagement with communities.
At the end of the process, two standout teams were selected through UNDP’s Innovation Challenge and awarded €25,000 each. Beyond their individual projects, the teams also exchanged knowledge and expertise, reflecting the collaborative spirit at the heart of the programme.
The other winning team, NEEMA (Nature Enhanced Engineering Materials) Labs has been developing VELO, a biodegradable, plant-based alternative to leather made from prickly pear cactus. Using locally sourced cactus trimmings, the team reimagines agricultural waste as a resource for sustainable manufacturing, contributing to efforts to move beyond conventional leather and plastic-based materials.
*Photos provided by NEEMA Labs
From idea to impact
While both teams have continued to develop their solutions in different directions, their journeys share a common foundation, with an emphasis on sustainability, innovation and collaboration, reimagining the island’s products as new resources.
Upon receiving their awards, both teams continued to develop their solutions; moving from early-stage experimentation to more advanced models. They strengthened their concepts, engaged with new partners and began positioning their solutions within broader innovation and sustainability ecosystems. In some cases, this included securing additional support and exploring pathways for scaling.
Their progress was monitored by UNDP over the year through dedicated reports, where the teams shared how their ideas had evolved since receiving seed funding.
This trajectory highlights an important reality: initial support can act as a catalyst, but it is up to the innovators themselves to carry that momentum forward, with progress shaped by iteration, collaboration and new opportunities.
NEEMA Labs’ work, for instance, has contributed to collaborations supporting ongoing academic research in sustainable materials, illustrating a different pathway through which innovation can generate impact.
While advancing their own solutions, the two teams have also drawn on each other’s strengths, collaborating across areas like research and design. In this process, Pit-To-Table worked with NEEMA Labs to further develop its material and the collaboration gradually took on a bicommunal dimension. This was recently recognised with a Bronze Stelios Foundation Award.
*Photos provided by Pit-To-Table and NEEMA Labs
Why does early-stage support matter?
While the achievement always belongs to the innovators themselves, these examples highlight the role that structured, early-stage support can play in enabling ideas to take shape and develop.
At its core, UNDP’s Innovation Challenge approach is designed to provide space, resources and initial support for locally grounded ideas to be tested, refined and taken forward by the innovators themselves.
Experiences like these demonstrate how early-stage interventions can help unlock different pathways of progress, from wider recognition to collaboration and knowledge generation.
Because sometimes, what starts as a local idea can grow into something much bigger.