00:04Thanks so much. Yes, I am here with the CEO and co-founder of a startup here at VivaTech,
00:12which is getting a lot of people talking, not just the people here at the salon,
00:17but also President Macron himself. We'll come to that in a little while.
00:21Kydos Asfal, Kubik co-founder and CEO. Thank you for being with us.
00:25Thanks for having me.
00:26Just to tell everyone a little bit more about your company, it turns plastic waste into low-carbon buildings.
00:32It's won many, many awards, but among those, the Global Startup Award Startup of the Year
00:37and the first African company to win that award. So congratulations for that. Welcome to VivaTech News.
00:43Tell us a bit more about your mission at Kubik.
00:46So at Kubik, we believe in building dignity through clean and affordable living for all.
00:52Our product is using hard-to-recycle plastic waste to turn it into low-carbon and low-cost building materials.
01:00We believe that we can be fighting three of the key challenges that cities face around the world.
01:05Climate change, affordability and plastic waste.
01:09And when you say buildings, we're talking about entire buildings, houses, businesses?
01:16Anything with a wall. So our product makes walls.
01:20And we're able to replace cement-based products and use something a lot more sustainable and affordable
01:26so that real estate developers can be focusing a lot more to catering to low-income communities.
01:33And so, for example, you're particularly active in Addis Ababa, in your home country of Ethiopia.
01:40Is it right you're building a daycare?
01:42This links in as well with your previous work in your previous life for UNICEF, right?
01:46Yes, we're really excited about this.
01:48Our first operation is in Ethiopia.
01:50We've been partnering with the mayor's office in Addis Ababa
01:53to build a daycare that we can showcase to the country and to the world.
01:57Fabulous. So how did this actually get started?
02:02As I said, you worked for UNICEF before, so you're not in the construction trade.
02:07So my co-founder, Panda, comes from construction.
02:10And I've worked at UNICEF for over eight years as an innovation leader there.
02:16In 2018, I read some news about a trash avalanche in Addis Ababa, very close to where I was living.
02:24And that really started having me think about what I need to be doing back home
02:28and what I should be doing around cities.
02:30So we partnered together to create the first ever circular economy project for UNICEF
02:35in Cote d'Ivoire, where we've built over 300 classrooms throughout the country.
02:40And you're here at Vivotech, obviously, spreading the word about your company,
02:42but also somewhat of an investment journey.
02:45Absolutely. We started Cubic two years ago.
02:48Like any founder will tell you, it is very tough raising money.
02:52Certainly is, yeah.
02:53But we've been very fortunate to have incredible partners that are mission-aligned with us,
02:58that have helped us along the way.
03:00And soon we'll be announcing a closure of an investment round
03:03that has brought together some phenomenal investors to get us where we are today
03:08and will get us to grow even further.
03:11Exciting times.
03:12And as I mentioned before, yesterday, you had a one-on-one chat with President Macron,
03:16not just a couple of words.
03:17He really spoke to you for a while.
03:18What did you talk about?
03:19We were really thinking about what we can do with Cubic to transform cities and reimagine
03:25the fight against climate change with our product.
03:28He was really impressed with our traction and our work in Ethiopia.
03:32And he really wanted to see how France, as a leader in climate change, can be able to support us
03:37in our growth.
03:38Fantastic.
03:39And, of course, Africa, the fastest-growing continent on the planet.
03:43Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring journey at Cubic with us.
03:47Kiddus Asfel, thank you very much.
03:49Thanks again for having me.
03:50And with that, back to you in the studio, Marjorie.
03:53Thank you.
