Founders Challenge winner Anferra in the final - Young Idea of the Year 2025

In this year's final of Young Idea of the Year 2025, organized by Företagarna, the winner of the incubator's "Founders Challenge" competition - Anferra - was one of 10 finalists. Joining Anferra was one of our Alumnae, Saaya Sorrells-Weatherford, CEO and Co-founder of EmiGreat, who was also one of the participants in the program. Another Founders Loft alumni was found on the Jury, Natali Sou, co-founder of Meela.

Read more about Young Idea of the Year here: https://foretagarna.confetti.events/arets-unga-ide-2025 About Anferra

Anferra originates from the Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship and is incubated by Chalmers Ventures. In 2024, they won the "Founders Challenge" - a competition initiated by Founders Loft to highlight companies that contribute to the fulfillment of the global goals.

The company promotes circularity in two different industries - steel processing and chemical production, by transforming waste into valuable raw materials. They help manufacturing companies increase their recycling rate by taking care of a type of hazardous waste, known as grinding swarf, which is currently landfilled to a large extent. Its patent-pending process can convert grinding swarf into a water purification chemical, iron chloride, which meets EU standards for drinking water purification. The process also generates hydrogen gas, which could become an important energy source in the future.

Read more about the company here: https://www.anferra.com/

About Founders Challenge:

Founders Challenge is the incubator's annual idea competition focusing on the Global Goals, aiming to find entrepreneurs who want to contribute and make a difference. The Global Goals, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are a set of 17 interconnected goals established by the United Nations in 2015. These goals aim to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. They provide a framework for countries, organizations, and individuals to work together towards a more sustainable and just future for all people and the planet. The goals cover a wide range of issues, including education, healthcare, gender equality, renewable energy, sustainable cities, responsible consumption, and environmental protection.

Read more: https://www.globalamalen.se/ About EmiGreat:

Emigreat is a legal-tech startup and international human resource management software that enables companies to take ownership of their employees' relocation. The company was founded by foreign-born individuals who faced their own struggles with the immigration system in Sweden. The company works to democratize immigration by simplifying global mobility and facilitating immigration processes. Saaya Sorrells-Weatherford was named Female Founder of the Year in 2023.

Read more about Emigreat here: https://www.emigreat.io/

About Meela

Meela is a Founders Loft alumni company that has developed a technical solution and platform that matches patients with psychologists, psychotherapists, and therapy methods. Meela was founded in 2021 by Natali Suo and Tiffany Boswell. Tiffany comes from a family of psychotherapists and dropped out of her psychology studies to build Meela. Natali is a serial entrepreneur and has previously founded Stressgäris.

Read more about Meela: https://meelahealth.com/