Fungi Life

Marybel Montoya Alvarez has been selected as part of UNICEF Innovation30: Young Innovators Shaping the Future.

Countries of Solution Deployment: Colombia, Argentina

Innovation Accelerator: Royal Academy of Engineering, United Kingdom 

Marybel Montoya, now 31, agrees with most of her lab colleagues that the fungi she works with looks unappealing. Entertained by the teasing observations, she enjoys revealing their true, hidden beauty. Her innovative platform, Fungi Life, is revolutionizing the approach to sustainable biotechnology by offering a unique solution to industrial pollution and ecological degradation challenges.    

Young children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of synthetic waste, and Fungi Life leverages the untapped potential of fungi to produce versatile biosurfactants from waste materials. These biosurfactants offer eco-friendly alternatives for applications ranging from cleaning products and cosmetics to pharmaceuticals and oil pollution remediation. Today, 96 per cent of the surfactants found in everyday products are derived from petroleum. By contrast, Fungi Life's products are biodegradable and non-toxic, and they reduce children’s exposure to toxic chemicals and environmental pollution.    

Marybel's journey into fungi-based biotechnology began during her university environmental studies. Her collaboration with Maria Isabel Gaviria, a fellow biologist with expertise in fungal isolates, laid the foundation for Fungi Life’s innovative approach when she was 25. Today, they both envision a world transformed, "In a 10-year horizon, we imagine that we can generate a profound impact on the productive matrix of society."     

Fungi Life directly impacts three Sustainable Development Goals: clean water and sanitation, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. Marybel’s message to other young innovators is simple, “Believe in the power of innovation, and let it guide you towards a sustainable future.”