bas van abel

“Bas van Abel is a charismatic speaker with an amazing story. How many designers can say they single-handedly put a new phone into the world? We invited him to share this story at the TEDxAmsterdam conference, and he blew the audience away. The same happened at the Next Conference in Berlin. His talk is not a ''sales'' talk at all, but more the story of an incredible adventure - not just what worked but also what did not work, how hard things are, and what compromises were made. His dedication to a fairer world shines through, and his talk invited the audience to rethink their own choices.? I warmly recommend him as a speaker."

- Monique van Dusseldorp, Curator (CogX, Emerce, Digital Dutch Day, NEXT Hamburg)

Bas van Abel is an entrepreneur, designer and engineer. He has more than 20 years of experience in social innovation, with a passion for system change. He believes that companies play an essential role in the transition needed to achieve a more sustainable economic system. As a designer, Bas delves into the invisible world behind our production systems, brings the problems to the surface and uses his companies to show that things can be done differently. Bas is a speaker who not only inspires his audience, but also gives practical examples to help you get start your own mission-driven business.

Bas is founder of the successful sustainable smartphone manufacturer Fairphone (fairphone.com) and co-founder of circular startup De Clique (declique.com) and advises companies in their sustainability transition. He is a co-author of the book “Open Design Now” and is an Ashoka fellow, a network of the world's most prominent social entrepreneurs. His work has been featured in various media, including CNN, The New York Times and Der Spiegel.

With Fairphone, Bas has built up almost 10 years of experience as CEO in starting up and growing a company into a successful international player in the extremely competitive telephone market. Fairphone's success is built on its design approach, which takes people and the planet into account as much as possible when sourcing the materials, designing and manufacturing the Fairphone. Under his leadership, the company raised 20 million euros in crowdfunding, was the fastest-growing technology startup in Europe and was named the most sustainable Consumer Electronics company in the world by Greenpeace. In addition, it has won many (inter)national awards, including the Dutch Coolest Dutch Brand 2020 award, The UN Momentum for Change award, and the German Greentech Award. Bas is still involved with Fairphone as a non-executive board member.

With De Clique, Bas set up a new successful social enterprise in 2019, which focuses on the reuse of organic residual flows such as coffee grounds, peels and cutting and food waste. With its raw materials service, De Clique collects residual flows from large companies, supermarkets and catering establishments in urban areas. Together with partners, it develops products in which the residues are used as raw materials for the production of bread, soap, beer, meat substitutes, animal feed and compost, among other things. It sells these products back to its customers. De Clique has successfully raised an investment based on a steward-ownership, whereby only non-voting shares with a profit cap are issued so that the company can only be guided by its mission. De Clique is one of the first Dutch companies to realize this setup.

Before starting his business, Bas worked for 10 years, including as a creative director at Waag. Waag is a media lab that works in a team of designers, artists and scientists, applying public research methods to technology and society. At Waag, Bas has supported both profit and non-profit organizations with their innovation challenges. He also set up the Amsterdam Fablab, a public mini-factory, at Waag and launched the world's first open-source restaurant.

His experience as an entrepreneur in combination with his creative and technical background, ensures that Bas can deliver a catchy story based on his own experience and expertise, in which he can delve into many different topics such as entrepreneurship, brand development, product design, sustainability and chain design. His experiences and insights as an entrepreneur are both inspiring and practical for an innovative approach to sustainability.

Bas van Abel’s awards & accolades

Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the World Economic Forum & the Schwab Foundation
Global Economy Prize 
Dutch Design Award 
German Environmental Award
Greentec Award
Start-up of the Year 
Runner-up Dutch start-up of the year (3 years in a row)
Emerce MT/Sprout Start Up of the Year

Fairphone’s awards & accolades

World Economy Prize 
European Business Award for the Environment
United Nations Momentum of Change Award, presented by Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon
New York Design Awards - Winner Product Design
Voted the Coolest Dutch Brand
Awarded fastest-growing European tech startup
Named the most sustainable Consumer Electronics company in the world by Greenpeace
10/10 score at iFixit for repairability
First mobile phone to receive Blue Angel certification
Partnership Of The Year prize (Responsible Business Awards)
3x D&AD Design Pencils 

Selected Press links: Forbes, Big Issue, Tech Funding News, The Guardian, Pioneer’s Post, World Economic Forum