MCN Update: 10 March 2017
Please save the date(s) for the Mentor Capital Network’s spring USA tour.If you’re interested in the work of the Mentor Capital Network (formerly known as the William James Foundation), or …
Interview: Axios Impact Investment
Peacefully indomitable may sound like an oxymoron, but that is exactly how I would describe Aaron & Abigail Sebesta’s calm but determined attitude and presence. Immediately intrigued by their life stories they spoke about during our house hunting together, I wasn’t surprised when less than a year later they took a huge step in pursuing their dream of moving to South America to help farmers finance their operations. Now in Cusco, Peru, their business–Axios Impact Investments–is embarking on a true social enterprise mission to solve one of the world’s biggest problems.
https://thatsdurangoblog.wordpress.com/axios-impact-investment-interview/?fbclid=IwAR3UDc6cThCUAjx36oQJSRigsniHT1TuI-IW2LeNZr_fg86RCo5MpDlffJU
Healthier Cereals Snare a Spot on New York School Menus
The New York City public school system has quietly replaced breakfast cereals made by the Kellogg Company, the titan whose name is virtually synonymous with cereal, with those from a small California upstart called Back to the Roots.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/01/dining/cereal-health-new-york-city-public-schools.html?_r=0
Back to the Roots, NYC Schools Take ‘Undo Food’ Movement One Step Further
Back to the Roots was that something different. Though miniscule in comparison to food industry giants such as Kellogg, the California startup — which last summer got a $10-million funding boost from investors — offers a lineup of organic cereals with half as much sugar as conventional brands and no preservatives or added vitamins.
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/startups/libby_maccarthy/back_roots_lands_major_deal_new_york_city_schools
MCN Update: 2 March 2017
Investors Seeking Dealflow Dear Ian, : Please help out our investors:The Mentor Capital Network (formerly known as the William James Foundation) is regularly asked by our investor partners for examples of …
Garden Spaces Join the Sharing Economy
Alfrea, a company based in Linwood, New Jersey, is trying to extend the sharing economy to garden spaces. The company was founded in 2016 as an online marketplace for renting land and finding farm hands for hire. Alfrea has since expanded to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Frederick, Maryland. The company has plans to expand nationwide. The website also has as a farmers’ market platform which allows farmers to sell produce at any time.
https://foodtank.com/news/2017/03/alfrea-plants-garden-spaces-sharing-economy/
Tanzanian start-up turns urban waste into ‘plastic lumber’
Christian Mwijage decided he could tackle those problems in one go – by turning discarded plastic bottles into building materials that can be used instead of wood.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-tanzania-waste-recycling-idUSKBN15W28P
MCN Update: 14 February 2017
Field Updates: First, I want to talk about Laureate Education. Unlike most of the companies we talk about, they’re not an MCN Alum. But last week, they became the first Public …
‘Our Focus is letting people know that waste is a resource’ – Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola speaks with Mr. FAB on Under 40 CEOs
Bata Media Limited tells yet another story that is bound to speak to young, aspiring business leaders.
https://www.bellanaija.com/2017/02/our-focus-is-letting-people-know-that-waste-is-a-resource-bilikiss-adebiyi-abiola-speaks-with-mr-fab-on-under-40-ceos/
Esoko: Transforming agriculture in Africa through m-Commerce and digital financial services
Learn more about how Fasiba connects smallholder farmers to inputs, finance and information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1Y2KaTl4vQ&feature=youtu.be
Shark Tank Solar Entrepreneurs’ Next ‘Bright Idea’ Launches on Kickstarter
“When we were students first creating our technology in 2010, we designed it with the needs of disaster victims in mind. We wanted to provide comfort and safety after dark to those who had lost everything,” says LuminAID co-founder Anna Stork. “It’s 2017 now, and we live in an increasingly connected world — there are actually more more mobile phones than people on the planet!
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/02/prweb14044605.htm
The next round of beer innovations
A pilot program partnership with Boom Algae takes carbon dioxide and other waste byproducts of fermentation and feeds them to the algae. The algae is harvested and sold to Living Ink Technologies, which uses it to make a 100-percent biodegradable green ink. “It sounded wacky at first,” says Upslope’s founder Matt Cutter. “But we’re hoping this is successful and leads Boom Algae to the next step, where eventually it becomes something that can handle more or all of the CO2 from our brewery.”
http://draftmag.com/brewing-innovations-research-science/
Building the better fishbowl: Aquaponics combines fish, greens to create cleaner food
The commercial for the AquaFarm, a three-gallon fish bowl topped with a lid for growing potted plants that its inventors call “a self-cleaning fish tank that grows food,” pretty much sums up the way aquaponics works—even if the pitch, at times, sounds like some green-techie hipster satire straight out of a “Portlandia” skit.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/life/building-the-better-fishbowl-aquaponics-combines-fish-greens-to-create/article_cad5319e-e4e0-11e6-8d01-cf596ef1a536.html
C. Ethan Smith of Roads Ahead et al.
Our supply chain is pretty eco-friendly. We use local businesses that are within six miles of us. If we order materials outside of Ohio we make sure to do ground shipping versus airfreight. We also seek to use materials that are eco-friendly and made in the U.S. Notably, we strive to lower our carbon footprint through the use of organic materials.
http://www.hivelocitymedia.com/founders/cethansmith092613.aspx
An Amazonian super-leaf drink loved by Channing Tatum, Richard Branson and Leonardo DiCaprio is giving indigenous farmers a lift.
Every morning before dawn, the Amazon-dwelling Kichwa tribe partake in a 2,000-year-old tea-drinking ritual. Guayusa (pronounced gwhy-yoo-sa) is their brew of choice, served in a hollowed-out gourd. Rather like many of us before our first caffeine hit, the Kichwa say they are not ‘Runa’, which translates as ‘fully alive human being’, before their first bowl.
http://www.billionaire.com/travel/2701/indigenous-brew-an-amazonian-superleaf
This New Sanitary Pad Is Made Of Banana Fiber And Decomposes Naturally In 6 Months!
The main focus behind the venture was however the sheer unavailability of commercial sanitary pads to women, especially in rural India. “Only 16% of women in India use sanitary napkins. What are the other women using? Kristin asks.
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/This-New-Sanitary-Pad-Has-No-Plastic-Or-Chemicals-And-Dissolves-Naturally-In-6-Months/#.h0im96vah
Purasol successfully interconnected projects between 1.5 and 270 kW under the new regulation
Since 2008 Purasol has installed about 1000 projects in Costa Rica, under which the first on-grid, triphase, open-delta, and micro-grid systems in the country. Purasol has been on top of the game ever since.
http://www.purasol.co.cr/news/purasol-presenta-proyectos-entre-1-5kw-y-270kw-bajo-el-nuevo-reglamento/
Sara Polon started her soup business with her mother. Now it’s overflowing.
Sara Polon, 39, founded Soupergirl, a vegan soup delivery/restaurant, with her mom in 2008. Soupergirl’s soups are on the shelves at health food stores and Costco. She lives in Cleveland Park.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/hungry-soupergirl-to-the-rescue/2017/01/17/08840f16-c21c-11e6-9578-0054287507db_story.html
Tala in the news
In emerging markets and the developing world, access to banking, capital, and financial resources is far more difficult than here in the U.S., due to a less developed financial system, lack of credit tracking, and oftentimes and informal economy. Santa Monica-based Tala, backed by Google Ventures and Lowercase Capital, has developed a tool that allows anyone with a cell phone to build a financial track record, specially for people in emerging markets.
http://www.socaltech.com/interview_with_shivani_siroya_tala/s-0068771.html
Sanitary Pads Made From Banana Fibre to be Delivered in Jharkhand
Social enterprise Saathi, founded by three MIT graduates, aims to deliver one million biodegradable sanitary pads made from banana fibre to women in rural Jharkhand.
http://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/sanitary-pads-made-from-banana-fibre-to-be-delivered-in-jharkhand-1335229.html
Maine Maritime athletes to wear 100 percent recycled, organic uniforms
“Atayne was immediately attractive to us for a variety of reasons,” Maine Maritime Director of Athletics Steve Peed said in a news release. “Obviously we get to feel good about using 100 percent recycled products, but as a public institution, we have an opportunity to keep business in Maine through a Brunswick-based company that employs people in Maine and around New England.”
http://bangordailynews.com/2017/01/12/sports/maine-maritime-athletes-to-wear-100-percent-recycled-organic-uniforms/
Man Who Survived a Terrorist Kidnapping, Cancer and The Bachelorette Becomes Successful Mushroom Entrepreneur
In 2009, Alejandro Velez had overcome a lot of obstacles to get where he was. The then senior at UC Berkeley had survived being kidnapped by terrorists while growing up in Medellín, Colombia, had beaten cancer and was just a few months away from beginning a lucrative career on Wall Street.
http://people.com/human-interest/man-who-survived-a-terrorist-kidnapping-cancer-and-the-bachelorette-becomes-successful-mushroom-entrepreneur/
Confronting the Last Mile Problem in the Developing World
After her first trip to India, she decided to return with a plan to address this problem. As a graduate student at MIT, Rajasingh traveled to India two more times to conduct research through MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI) and her thesis focused on the gap between making technologies and getting them to Indian villages. A tip from her thesis reader, Media Lab lecturer Joost Bonsen, connected her to a Harvard student that was cross-registered in one of his classes, Jackie Stenson who shared her passion and they came up with the idea for their company over lunch at Mass. Avenue’s Flour Bakery.
https://alum.mit.edu/slice/confronting-last-mile-problem-developing-world
Jiko Power: Enhancing Rural Communication
Globally, there are currently 1.5 billion people who have no access to the main grid, and who are predominantly located in poor rural areas in developing countries.
http://cleanleap.com/jiko-power-enhancing-rural-communication
Analyzing the battery debate
As a string-trimmer operator during high school and college, Zack Kline says he got tired of the trimmer’s noise, fumes and gas consumption. So, he sought an alternative. He’s been operating battery-powered equipment since 2011—using Stihl for about the past four years—and says it’s come a long way since then.
https://www.landscapemanagement.net/the-battery-debate/
Drinking Water for the Developing World – The Power of Paper – Folia Water Filters
Dr. Theresa Dankovich and her colleagues have developed an inexpensive water filter system – think of your standard drip coffee maker – where the paper is impregnated with silver nanoparticles that decontaminate the water passing through.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXfZlThPEg0
Saathi: Healthcare startup makes biodegradable pads from banana fibre
Saathi – – an Ahmedabad-based startup founded by three Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates — Amrita Saigal, Grace Kane and Kristin Kagetsu, has developed a biodegradable sanitary pad made from banana fibre for the Indian market. “Last year, we filed for a patent. The product has been developed in India and we started manufacturing in our own unit at Ahmedabad from October.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/saathi-healthcare-startup-makes-biodegradable-pads-from-banana-fibre/articleshow/56363299.cms
A cacao tour of southern Belize — from bean to bar
At the end of the winding driveway leading up to the lodge you’ll find Maya Mountain Cacao, or MMC. Owned by American entrepreneur Emily Stone, MMC (www.mayamountaincacao.com) sources premium cacao from local, mostly organic farmers. Once they drop off their bounty, the beans are graded for quality and then fermented, sun-dried on mats and packed in burlap bags for shipping to chocolate makers.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/travel/ct-belize-cacao-farms-travel-0115-20170105-story.html
Addressing the Taboo: Menstruation in India
A shocking 2011 report put the estimated use of female hygiene products in India at about 12 percent of all 355 million menstruating women. This figure is the result of twin barriers to access and affordability that force the other 88 percent to rely on unsanitary alternatives such as cloth, ashes and husk sand.
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/menstruation-in-india/
Amazons turning waste to wealth
On her return to Lagos, she confronted a city with a major waste management crisis, producing 10,000 tonnes of refuse daily, much of which clog the city streets and leaches chemicals into the soil and groundwater.
http://thenationonlineng.net/amazons-turning-waste-wealth/
The next generation of food tech? Nobel Laureates discuss future of food
The Nobel Foundation’s ‘Your plate, our planet’ event featured talks by start-ups boasting the world changing power of new food technologies like ‘food computers’ and tropical weather forecasting.
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Science/The-next-generation-of-food-tech-Nobel-Laureates-discuss-future-of-food
Croton nuts: Africa’s new biofuel that literally grows on trees
In 2012, serial entrepreneur Alan Paul established Eco Fuels Kenya (EFK) to explore the potential of croton, following early research that suggested promise. His company is now the driving the movement to bring croton biofuel to the mainstream.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/28/africa/croton-nuts-biofuel-aes/
Sanivation Turns Waste Into Fuel in Kenya
Emily Woods wants to make sure that everyone has access to a clean and safe toilet. She says that more than a billion people in the world do not have a toilet, and globally 1,000 children die every day from fecal related infections. Along with her team from Sanivation, Woods is turning fecal matter into fuel, and working to make the world healthier and more efficient.
https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/14015/Sanivation-Turns-Waste-Into-Fuel-in-Kenya.aspx
Five Oregon-Made Products That Will Help You Survive The End of Days
In parts of Africa, women and girls sometimes spend four hours a day gathering wood for inefficient open cooking fires. Two Oregon MBA students came up with a solution: the EcoZoom stove, an insulated cast-iron stove that burns much more efficiently. The company started in Portland but its offices are now in Nairobi, Kenya—a testament to the good it’s done in the developing world. Post-Trumpocalypse, this could be the new La Cornue.
http://www.wweek.com/outdoors/2017/01/03/five-products-that-will-help-you-survive-the-cascadia-earthquake/
Faire Collection: Amanda Judge
Inspired by a desire to research poverty reduction strategies in the developing world, Amanda Judge left her work in the financial industry to study social and economic development in Ecuador. Upon arriving in Ecuador, Amanda quickly realized that the best way for communities to sustainably bring themselves out of poverty was through viable employment opportunities and holistic education programs.
https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/faire-colleciton
Arqlite Founder named Echoing Green Fellow
Arqlite turns plastic waste into value by manufacturing construction materials from all forms of plastic waste.
http://www.echoinggreen.org/fellows/sebastian-sajoux
Tech Female Spotlight: Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola; CEO Wecyclers
The idea for Wecyclers was developed while I was in the US as a student at the MIT Sloan School of Management, following a five-year career as a corporate software engineer at IBM. I was assigned to a study project to help people at the bottom of the pyramid (people living on less than $2 a day), i decided to work on waste with focus on its uses, collection and processing.
http://smileandmobile.com/2015/10/29/tech-female-spotlight-bilikiss-adebiyi-abiola-ceo-wecyclers/
Baldor Specialty Foods and Misfit Juicery divert organic waste from fandfills
Through McQuillan’s prevention strategy, Baldor is partnering with companies such as Washington DC’s MISFIT Juicery, who recovers unsellable and blemished produce for its cold-pressed juices. Baldor will now be sending its food trim to MISFIT to be made into juices.
http://www.andnowuknow.com/behind-greens/baldor-specialty-foods-diverts-all-organic-waste-landfills/laura-hillen/52103#.WHpdVFMrKUk
From DNA to laws to data, five key tools to combat trafficking in 2017
U.S.-based software group LaborVoices provides a mobile phone based service allowing factory employees to anonymously report abuse, late wages, safety conditions and child labor.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-trafficking-idUSKBN14J01D
Africa’s Entrepreneurs: Strong but Struggling
For example, First Access has created technology that utilizes financial service provider data in innovative ways to provide credit scores to clients in informal markets. Initiatives like this one help mobilise capital for entrepreneurs who otherwise would not have access. We need to think harder about ways to give SME’s access to funding on terms that aren’t restrictive.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ambassador-amina-mohamed/africas-entrepreneurs-str_b_13876004.html