Alumni in the News

Entrepreneurship on the Rise in the Medical Supply Chain in Africa: A Tale of Four Pharmacy Disruptors

Originally set up to improve diagnosis and prescribing for pharmacies in Kisumu, Kenya, Maisha Meds faced a growing demand for pharmacy management, stock keeping, and supply chain tools. Two years on, Maisha Meds offers pharmacy owners a cloud-based android app which is a point of sale (POS) system that collects procurement and patient data; it also negotiates prices with manufacturers and coordinates deliveries with distributors.
https://www.cgdev.org/blog/entrepreneurship-rise-medical-supply-chain-africa-tale-four-pharmacy-disruptors

Alumni in the News

Our Impact story | Gham Power

We have come far from where we started as a small solar enterprise in 2009. Over the years, we have helped thousands of households, hundreds of small – large enterprises access reliable, affordable and clean electricity through solar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ5oD314kvU

Alumni in the News

Iska launches in Nigeria with 9mobile

The service is a product of award-winning weather forecasting company, Ignitia, who uses a proprietary forecasting model to predict tropical weather patterns down to a 3 square km range.
https://tech.africa/iska-launches-nigeria-9mobile/

Alumni in the News

Mukuru locals enjoy better hygiene from fresh life toilets

Born out of a thesis project by three graduates of Massachusetts Institute of Technology –MIT (US-based private research university ranked among world’s top universities), who have been in the country implementing it since 2010, Fresh Life toilet, has seen many slum dwellers enjoy what most would take for granted: a toilet.
https://mobile.nation.co.ke/lifestyle/better-way-to-dispose-waste-for-urban-slums/1950774-4830638-nbq4a3z/index.html

Alumni in the News

Ingressive trains techpreneurs, entertainers to boost innovation

A technology integration firm, Ingressive, has trained investors and techpreneurs during the Tech Meets Entertainment Summit 2018 to deepen innovation in entertainment, monetise fan bases, and collaboratively discover new solutions for the industry.
https://guardian.ng/technology/ingressive-trains-techpreneurs-entertainers-to-boost-innovation/

Alumni in the News

Tala secures investment from PayPal

She said PayPal’s investment will help Tala bring visibility and access to underserved populations in emerging markets across the globe.

https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2018/10/tala-secures-investment-from-paypal/

Alumni in the News

D.C.’s Soupergirl didn’t get a ‘Shark Tank’ deal. Then a shark had second thoughts.

“I have my own criteria for what I will invest in and what I won’t invest in, but just because something is not personally investable to me does not mean it’s also not a tremendous product that has phenomenal potential,” Higgins told me in an interview Monday. “They moved me in their pitch. They’re wonderful, they’re passionate, they’ve been at it for a long time, and I felt like with a little bit of mentorship to set them in the right direction, they could really be even more successful than they’ve already been.”
https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2018/10/22/d-c-s-soupergirl-didn-t-get-a-shark-tank-deal-then.html

Alumni in the News

Soupergirl on Shark Tank: Mother and daughter team want to fix the food system

“Our food system is broken. We’re trying to fix it. Soupergirl believes in real, responsible food. We support our local farming community. We compost. We use wind energy. We treat our staff respectfully and ask the same of our vendors. We cook healthfully and our soups are plant-based,” the vision on their website reads.
https://www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/soupergirl-on-shark-tank-mother-and-daughter-team-want-to-fix-the-food-system/

Alumni in the News

Demo Africa 2018 Winner

The 7th edition of Demo Africa concludes in Casablanca, Morocco, and HawKar will be heading to Silicon Valley next year
http://hawkar.tn/index.php/2018/10/20/demo-africa-2018-winner/

Back To the Roots
Alumni in the News

Better together: Why some food companies enter into partnerships

Now Nature’s Path, the largest organic cereal company in the U.S., runs the ingredient sourcing, distribution, manufacturing and supply chain aspects of Back to the Roots cereal. Items such as Back to the Roots Biodynamic Cinnamon Flakes still belong to Back to the Roots. Recipes and packages won’t be changed without Back to the Roots approval. But, Arora said, those products now will benefit from the category expertise of a longtime leader.
https://www.fooddive.com/news/better-together-why-some-food-companies-enter-into-partnerships/539411/

Alumni in the News

Mexican pottery advocates Colectivo 1050° innovate with traditional crafts

Since 2009, the Oaxaca-based organization Innovando la Tradición has been invested in rethinking the imperatives of clay-based crafts, while promoting sustainable practices. Besides running educational activities across potters’ communities in the region, the group’s commercial branch, Colectivo 1050°, identifies opportunities for the distribution of handmade objects to contemporary and high-end markets. AN Interior contributor Benoît Loiseau speaks with cofounder Diego Mier y Terán about the organization’s challenges and hopes.
https://archpaper.com/2018/10/an-interior-interviews-mexican-pottery-colectivo-1050/

Alumni in the News

GOEFER launches energy-saving technology pilot program

FREDERICK, Md. — Early-stage technology company GOEFER teamed up with ROOT’s five partner organizations to conduct a pilot program of the company’s proprietary energy technology, which analyzes energy usage and gives users greater control.
https://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/business/goefer-launches-energy-saving-technology-pilot-program/article_051b797d-a707-54e1-b1ab-1a5ec1c0e954.html

Alumni in the News

Impact-driven orgs find mobile-app success with Philly startup MilkCrate

Four years later, things have changed a bit: Berman, the 33-year-old founder and CEO of Milkcrate, LLC, said her start-up has “evolved” to a new, broader focus. Now she’s using her app’s platform as a customizable blank canvas for organizations looking to reach their audience through their very own smartphone app.
https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/philadelphia/milkcrate-app-platform-philly

Alumni in the News

DC’s Soupergirl soups will make a pitch on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’

Polon, a former stand-up comedian, has grown the business to 35 employees and two retail locations in D.C., a home soup-delivery service and an expanding retail network including local farmers’ markets, more than 50 Whole Foods and other natural-goods stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic and 20 Costco stores from Massachusetts to D.C.
https://wtop.com/tv/2018/10/dcs-soupergirl-gets-a-shot-at-shark-tank/

Alumni in the News

Company chooses Buffalo over Florida … for our weather

Lindsey Tropf faced a doozy. A judge questioned why someone from Gainesville, Fla., would choose move her company, Immersed Games, to Buffalo.
“I won’t have to lose two weeks of development every year fleeing the state from a hurricane,” Tropf said. The Shea’s crowd approved, with laughter and applause.

https://buffalonews.com/2018/10/05/company-chooses-buffalo-over-florida-for-our-weather/

Alumni in the News

Providing Clean Drinking Water in a Back Pack

The backpack provides all four elements of municipal water supply: collection, treatment, transport, and protected storage, which empowers people worldwide to easily and quickly purify contaminated waters. In addition to being durable and robust, the DayOne Waterbag also provides a 95% delivery costs savings compared to bottled water.
https://www.nxt-chptr.com/tricia-compas-markman/

Alumni in the News

Durham-based Optimal Solar Takes Top Prize at Black Founders Exchange

As winner of the pitch contest that concluded the Black Founders Exchange Program at American Underground on Friday, Parker was awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to the San Francisco Bay Area to meet potential investors, as well as an offer to join venture capital firm Backstage Capital’s three-month incubator program.
https://grepbeat.com/2018/10/01/durham-based-optimal-solar-takes-top-prize-at-black-founders-exchange/

Alumni in the News

Refashioning the fashion industry

The textile and clothing industries continue to be the backbone of Cambodia’s export-driven economy, employing 800,000 people around the country, which is 86 percent of all its factory workers, and contributing 40 percent to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP). The country is also home to Sustainability Champion, Tonlé, one of the frontrunners in processing pre-consumer waste.
https://theaseanpost.com/article/refashioning-fashion-industry

Alumni in the News

Indian startup turns air pollution into ink

Arpit Dhupar knows that only too well. He grew up in Delhi and developed breathing problems at a young age. Now 25 and a mechanical engineer, he has taken on the fight against pollution by tackling diesel generators.
https://www.dw.com/en/indian-startup-turns-air-pollution-into-ink/a-45664168

Alumni in the News

Meet the tech whiz building robotic teddy bears to comfort sick kids

The experience sparked the idea for Jerry the Bear, an adorable robot teddy that simulates symptoms of Type 1 diabetes — including fluctuating blood sugar, bathroom urgency and feelings of dizziness. It’s designed so kids can better understand their own health and help normalize their experiences.
https://nypost.com/2018/09/27/meet-the-tech-whiz-building-robotic-teddy-bears-to-comfort-sick-kids/

Alumni in the News

Tippy Tippens and All Things Good

I hadn’t heard the term social entrepreneurship before coming to New Orleans. When I did, it really clicked with me – I realized that this is exactly what I want to do. To use my design skills to do good for the world, to help change things for the better. It inspired me to start my company, where all of our products give back and are made of eco-friendly materials.
https://dno.la/blogs/journal/do-your-thing-tippy-tippens-and-all-things-good

Alumni in the News

Women And Power: The eco warrior Lorna Rutto

The ban on logging and the need to preserve the environment from the harmful effects of plastic waste have presented eco warrior Lorna Rutto, with the perfect incentive to turn waste into cash. Through her company, Eco- Post, Lorna is doing her bit to salvage the country’s forest cover, while keeping the land free from plastic waste. I spent time with this eco-preneur and found out, that apart from creating jobs in an endevour to create a clean environment, Lorna is living her dream. Her story is the subject of this week’s Women and Power with Gladys Gachanja.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=sEsp9Ms2d4c

Alumni in the News

Ayzh founder Zubaida Bai on the ‘birth kits’ helping women in rural India have hygienic deliveries

Ayzh (pronounced ‘eyes’) is a for-profit venture that is perhaps best known for its JANMA birthing kit. The kit, which is aimed at rural women in areas where healthcare and sanitation are often a low priority, includes the tools necessary to have a hygienic birth in the presence of a doctor or midwife. The expectant mother is given the jute purse after delivery for her own use, which Bai sees as an advocacy tool that furthers the movement for cleaner births.
https://www.firstpost.com/life/ayzh-founder-zubaida-bai-on-the-birth-kits-helping-women-in-rural-india-have-hygienic-deliveries-5236291.html

Alumni in the News

From bean to bar: The Bay Area’s chocolate revolution

On the commodity market, there’s no such thing as a high quality cacao bean. All beans are treated as equal, and their price is usually set very low. So the only way most cacao farmers can make more money is by selling more beans, and with the push for increased quantity comes inevitable exploitation.
http://www.kalw.org/post/bean-bar-bay-area-s-chocolate-revolution

Alumni in the News

Venture Out: Shivani Siroya, CEO of Tala

Shivani Siroya founded Tala after spending time in emerging markets and found that mobile tech is the best way to solve this problem she was passionate about. Tala provides microloans to people in emerging markets who are unable to secure credit through traditional banks. They use nontraditional data pulled from mobile phones and have extended credit to over 1.3 million customers.
https://www.nasdaq.com/article/venture-out-shivani-siroya-ceo-of-tala-cm1024377

Alumni in the News

This fashion company is doing something about textile waste — using it

Just like our food systems, clothing production can be extraordinarily wasteful. It’s a disturbing and upsetting fact that at least as much energy, labor and raw materials that go into a meal we eat or a pair of jeans we buy is wasted on one that’s trashed. Yes, we throw almost 50 percent of our food away, and it turns out that statistic is probably true for fashion, too.
https://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natural-beauty-fashion/blogs/fashion-company-doing-something-about-textile-waste

Alumni in the News

Give People Some (Micro) Credit—and Transform Their Lives

These individuals didn’t have credit scores. So I looked at other things. I lent to one woman, for instance, who I knew saved 30 percent of her income every month for her son’s computer class. I’d observed that she bought her inventory every third Thursday of the month, and that people in her community spent more time in her store than a
https://www.wired.com/story/wired25-melinda-gates-shivani-siroya-credit-loans/

Alumni in the News

Why Is Funding a Challenge for Women-Led Agtech Companies?

Based on her experiences and observations she believes “female investors are less likely to invest with a ‘herd mentality’ that I find most investors gravitate towards.” She continued, “I, personally, find women to be more open minded to unique business models that have the potential to resolve larger problems than the same acute problem often chased by multiple investors.”
https://www.precisionag.com/service-providers/business-management/why-is-funding-a-challenge-for-women-led-agtech-companies/

Alumni in the News

Delhi’s office commute time highest

Deepesh Agarwal, co-founder and CEO, MoveInSync Technology Solutions, said: “The infrastructural development in our country has hampered our commute. Traffic in metro cities is not going to get better, it will only deteriorate with time. The study shows how people spend a huge chunk of their daily life just in going and coming back from work. From the figures, it is estimated that a person spends almost 7 per cent of his or her life only in office commute.”
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/miscellany/delhis-office-commute-time-highest

Alumni in the News

Donnel Baird Wants to Build an Actually Ethical Billion Dollar Company

Donnel Baird has a more complex business than most start-up founders. His company BlocPower aims to scale green energy across American inner cities by updating millions of older buildings while hiring from vulnerable populations. It’s a public benefit corporation, so it’s for-profit and focused on the bottom line but also committed to energy efficiency, renewable energy, greenhouse gas reductions, and economic development and job creation in low income communities.
https://www.eater.com/2018/11/9/18072638/start-to-sale-donnel-baird-blocpower

Alumni in the News

Meet the Woman Behind a $2 Million Superfood Business Helping Women Farmers in Africa

With the energy boost came the realization that raising moringa as a crop could not only improve local nutrition but also provide sustainable livelihoods. To fulfill that vision, Curtis and three colleagues started Kuli Kuli to sell moringa-based energy bars and shots, herbal tea, and powder supplements. “I knew that introducing moringa to the U.S. market was a venture that would be successful,” she says. “I just wanted to make sure it was done in a way that helps support women moringa farmers around the world.”
https://www.inc.com/magazine/201809/bill-saporito/2018-inc5000-kuli-kuli-foods.html