When Kamal travelled to the UK from Egypt to study, he didn’t anticipate that his dissertation might have the impact to make a revolutionary change in the construction industry and to become his new venture.
Kamal decided to use his dissertation to focus on solving three of the UK’s biggest infrastructure challenges: carbon emissions, rainwater runoff and winter flooding. Although this was not an approved topic at the time, with a little persistence he managed to persuade his tutor to change their mind.
Kamal’s solution was Carbon Negative Permeable Pavement System (CNPPS), the first recycled road surface that absorbs carbon during manufacturing and reduces runoff by allowing rainwater to soak through. After developing the concept, Greenwich i3 Centre offered him training in business development and mentoring, plus materials and facilities to turn his idea into a product.
In 2017, Kamal won the university’s Enterprise Challenge and in 2018 was a finalist in the Mayor of London’s Entrepreneur Competition, but, he says, he would not have been able to finance or research CNPPS without the support of the i3 Centre.
Kamal has now raised the seed funding for CNPPS and will launch a new round of funding in March 2019. “It was a tough journey, full of ‘no’s’ from different investors, but with dedication there is always a way forward”.
