Our Story
It all started in 2019, when our co-founder Sarah Imran joined the international marketing team at Millennium E&C Sdn Bhd (MEC), a Malaysian green technology company that specialises in innovative containerised cleantech solutions. During her stint, she followed the team to Dhaka, Bangladesh, for their first ever mission to introduce ClearWaste technology to the world - a technology that spent over a decade in stealth mode (and has since been patented in 153 countries across the globe!).
Sarah developed the marketing content for the Dhaka mission, ranging from presentations, brochures to videos, and also conducted a brand rejuvenation exercise for MEC which contributed to their receipt of the BrandLaureate SMEs Best Brands Award under the category 'Environmental Solutions'.
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Sarah fell in love with the ClearWaste technology, and saw its potential to drive socio-economic and environmental change in industries and communities worldwide.
Driven and determined, Sarah set off for the UK to pursue her Masters. With classes only in the evenings, she spent her days at the Westmont Enterprise Hub, incubating and launching the global proliferation arm for ClearWaste technology. In January 2020, Zapp World was born.
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Inspired by her Mom's use of the word 'zapp' to describe what a dish-washing machine does- "girls, zapp it up!" - Sarah felt the onomatopoeic 'zapp' was ideal to describe the immediate disappearance of waste through a futuristic process. Sarah collaborated with artists and web designers to bring the brand to life. She sought mentorship from serial entrepreneurs to craft Zapp World's business strategy, and joined forces with technologist extraordinaire Walid Surkhabi, and finance guru Usman Mughal to form the Zapp World UK team.
Several articles and webinars later, and gaining the support of the West London Chamber of Commerce along the way, Zapp World caught the attention of quasi-governmental stakeholders including the NHS and Local Authorities. The team conducted a series of knowledge-sharing sessions, feasibility studies and site visits with a range of NHS Trusts, and even visited Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) to learn about how UK's waste is being managed. When the spell of COVID-19 fell upon the world, the team stayed motivated and continued its activities online - which is when they came across a call for businesses to apply for the Innovate UK Smart Grant.
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Zapp World applied for the Innovate UK Smart Grant twice. The first time alongside Cranfield University and Dingley Dell Farms, proposing a programme to decarbonise the Agrifoods sector. The second time alongside Cranfield University, Exeter City Council and the Royal Devon & Exeter NHS Trust, proposing a programme to deploy ZappWaste technology for medical waste at Exeter's MRF. Both applications achieved high scores, but were not awarded - just by a whisker! Nevertheless, the knowledge gained through the application processes remain invaluable for what's next to come.
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In the East, MEC successfully deployed units in the world's biggest slum alongside Brihan-Mumbai Municipal Corporation, and in Chennai, on a mobile trailer that zapps waste on the go. As part of ongoing R&D, MEC launched medical waste trials with Malaysia's leading facilities management company, UEM Edgenta.
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On the heels of the commencement of medical waste trials, Zapp World developed proposals for similar programs in Brunei. With Jai Sidhu joining the team as Bornean lead, studies were conducted to explore potential in the oil & gas industry, as well as for a sensational 'Decarbonising Borneo' strategy that would involve collaborations with NGOs.
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In the meantime, Zapp World kept busy with inquiries from other jurisdictions including Indonesia and the UAE. With new member Florian Loloum onboarded as investment strategist and representative for French Territories, Zapp World developed significant traction in the Pacific region, with market feasibility studies recently completed, and currently in the phase of technical discussions.
This brings us to the present day - January 2023 - MEC completes medical waste trials. Zapp World has done another round of re-branding, has welcomed venture builder Zehan Teoh to the team, and has recently identified a new technology that zapps emissions into valuable fuel - ZappAir.
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Today at Zapp World, we remain committed to our vision of proliferating Zappers across industries and communities worldwide, and welcome anyone from all walks of life to join our cause. Let's get zapping!
