Kyma Co-Founders Farida El Agamy, Dima Samaan, And Samar Sayegh Want To Engineer A "Refillution" To Safeguard The World That We Live In Kyma's refill and reuse model is an attempt by three women to disrupt the manufacturing processes of an industry that they believe has been quite limited on innovation.
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Everyone wishes to keep a tidy household- and that'd explain why all of us have a number of plastic bottles containing cleaning products in our homes at any given time. And when the last drop has been squeezed out of any of these bottles, it's safe to say that we'd just throw away the empty container, and then replace it by buying a new plastic bottle filled with the requisite cleaning product. It's this scenario that Kyma co-founders Farida El Agamy, Dima Samaan, and Samar Sayegh want to reimagine- what if, instead of buying a new bottle, we could reuse the empty one by refilling it with the product we need?
And that's exactly what their UAE-born startup is proposing. "Kyma has reengineered and reinvented cleaning by creating surface cleaners in tablet form," the co-founders explain. "By adding water to a reusable bottle and dropping in this tablet of concentrated cleaning product, we are able to reduce our use of single-use plastics in our home." CEO El Agamy, CMO Samaan, and COO Sayegh say that Kyma is the result of the three women coming together as friends wanting to battle the global problem of plastic pollution, and find ways to safeguard the future of the planet we all live in.
"Much of single-use plastic enters our oceans, and it has harmful effects on everyone," they point out. "Up to 90% of the water we drink and the food we eat contain microplastics, and by 2050, scientists predict that the ocean will contain more plastic by weight than fish. We were shocked to learn all of this, and this is where Kyma was born." Kyma's refill and reuse model is thus an attempt by these women to disrupt the manufacturing processes of an industry that they believe has been quite limited on innovation. "We need bold innovations that challenge existing designs, materials, and business models," they say. "Our priority is to rethink traditional approaches, and pave the way for new solutions such as reusable and refillable models."
Related: Meet The Dubai Startups Cutting Waste With Science
Kyma's current line of products. Image courtesy Kyma.
Kyma proudly declares its cleaning products to be non-toxic and biodegradable, and the co-founders say that the "refillution" the company is spearheading is finding favor among the UAE's population. "Kyma was created with the mission of empowering customers by offering them the option to be sustainable, and the opportunity to contribute to enhancing the future of our planet," they note. "We believe the consumer of the future wants it all, the opportunity to have a high-quality effective product, while also reducing their impact on the planet. Our goal is to make sustainability convenient, affordable, and attractive."
And while they may have started with making sustainable cleaning products under the Kyma brand, El Agamy, Samaan, and Sayegh are clear that that they want the company's portfolio to grow further. "Our plan is to continue developing products that will impact everyone's life, and reduce our consumption of single-use plastics," they explain. "We aim to build a lifestyle brand that uses chemical and technological innovation to reengineer fast-moving consumer goods to make them more ecological and consumer-friendly."
Kyma co-founders Dima Samaan, Farida El Agamy, and Samar Sayegh. Image courtesy Kyma.
EUREKA: Farida El Agamy, Dima Samaan, and Samar Sayegh on how to make an idea a great one
1. Find a problem- and then solve it "Identify a problem that you are facing personally as a consumer that has no evident solution, and come up with an idea that would solve it for you! Chances are, that if you're continuously facing an unsolved problem, there is an unaddressed gap in the market."
2. Dare to try, fail, and try again "It is very likely that the idea you will eventually end up working on is not among the first ideas you came up with. It's important to be okay with trying things, them not working out, and moving on."
3. Speak to entrepreneurs that have done it "The best advice in entrepreneurship comes from the people who have done it and managed to build a successful company. Their advice and insight will make it easier for you to take a decision regarding your next steps."
Kyma is one of the companies included in the 2022 edition of our annual 10 Great Ideas feature, which celebrates individuals and innovations that impress with their ingenuity. Check out the full list of 10 Great Ideas in our print issue here.
