Supporting Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs
Morgan Berman, founder and CEO of Milkcrate, an app that connect users with sustainable businesses.
https://www.metro.us/news/local-news/philadelphia/wonderling-philly-leading-collaboration-and-innovation
Have you ever thought of an Uber-like platform for recruiting domestic workers? In Malaysia, where the population is aging, countless families rely heavily on the services of domestic workers — a majority of whom are female migrants from other Southeast Asian countries. This resonated with Zenna Law, from Kuala Lumpur, and she created Pink Collar.
http://blogs.worldbank.org/jobs/how-young-people-are-rethinking-future-work
African Renewable Energy Distributor (ARED) is a hard-tech company based in Rwanda and Uganda. It developed a business-in-a-box solar kiosk that offers customers phone charging and airtime top-up services, wifi, an intranet with free digital content and a Bluetooth printer. ARED leases the kiosks out through a franchise model.
https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/journey-far-henri-nyakarundi-founder-ceo-ared-rwanda/
Two 21-year-old fashion students, Inés Mille and Marc Collines, left the hallowed hallways of fashion in Barcelona and with just $9,000 in their pockets, traveled all the way to East Africa to set up shop in little-known Kigali in Rwanda, which at the time was building itself – a fully-fledged fashion industry was not yet on its radar.
https://www.forbesafrica.com/woman/2017/12/04/from-mille-to-a-million/
LabourNet works among the youth in urban and rural India, has been in the field for the past 10 years, focussing on RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning), and bridging skill gaps in education and entrepreneurship, especially in medium, small and micro enterprises.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/labournet-ceo-key-to-upskilling-informal-workers-is-building-on-existing-knowledge/article9980591.ece
Brent Summerville, practitioner-in-residence in Appalachian State University’s Department of Sustainable Technology and Built Environment, received $18,290 in funding from Sonsight Wind to prototype test their new three-kilowatt small wind turbine.
https://today.appstate.edu/2017/11/29/wind-turbine
In the United States, around 36 million adults are reading below a third grade level, and less than a quarter have the resources to boost their literacy skills. A team of educators and techies hope to tackle that issue through GogyUp, an adult literacy platform that helps users learn English while reading everyday documents.
https://www.americaninno.com/minne/twin-cities-startup/adult-literacy-startup-gogyup-aims-to-help-those-lost-in-translation/
Solstice announced last week a partnership with Delaware River Solar to provide capacity from three 2.8 MW (megawatt) community solar farms in Baldwin, NY to households across central New York. Customers of this project will receive 10 percent savings on electricity produced from their portion of the solar farm over a contract length of six-years – one third of the industry standard 20 years – with no cancellation fee for early termination.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2017/11/18/yes-even-millennial-households-can-afford-solar-energy/#165a1cba7cd2
Established in 2014, Misfit is a product range of cold-pressed juice made from scraps of vegetables and fruits that otherwise go to waste because they are not the right size, shape, or color that, as Misfit says, don’t fit the “high aesthetic standards for produce that is retailed in the US.”
https://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_identity_and_packaging_for_misfit_by_gander.php
The Mentor Capital Network is ready to pick our next class of entrepreneurs. And we’d love your input. Just reply to this email if you want to read some of the coolest …
BALANCE Edutainment, a leading Extended Reality EdTech firm, launched Pacha’s Pajamas, the first-of-its-kind augmented reality (AR) children’s book that gets kids to fall in love reading again. Children learn about living in harmony with nature through an engaging and interactive experience.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/balance-edutainment-launches-pachas-pajamas—the-first-childrens-book-that-springs-to-life-through-augmented-reality-300552663.html
Imagine it’s 10 years into the future. Food corporations are still concerned with making a profit, but it is no longer the only concern. Companies are blazing trails for better environmental standards, practicing ethical sourcing and engaging with the community in a positive way. Employees are valued and love showing up to work. Consumers enjoy trips to the supermarket because they know what they’re throwing into the cart isn’t causing harm. And best of all, food is more than just a product: It’s healthy, fun and meaningful.
https://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/dining-and-drink/yumbutter-is-nuts-for-change/646813603
Toilets for People (TfP) grew out of a need for a toilet solution where other solutions don’t work. The company works with NGOs in international development and disaster relief that are in need of a toilet solution for locations where the pit latrines, flush toilets and chemical port-a-potties fail.
https://www.aid-expo.com/blog/128-toilets-for-people-normalising-toilets-where-families-have-never-used-them
NAIROBI — Despite constitutional acknowledgment of safe water, sanitation and hygiene as a human right, the problem of basic sanitation in Kenya is still severe. In urban slums, which house 8 million Kenyans in densely packed and unstable conditions, the issue is especially concerning — an estimated 80 percent of people lack access to basic sanitation.
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/sanitation-in-kenya/
Interview with Nicola Bradbear and Katie Klett discussing how beekeeping can improve standard of living for beekeepers and also help protect habitat and biodiversity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=YDxThGQcjtg
Born to refugee parents from Rwanda, he grew up in Burundi until civil war again forced the family to move on. Relocating to the US, Nyakarundi studied computer science at Georgia State University and by 19 had founded his first start up.
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/09/africa/ared-solar-charging-kiosk-henri-nyakarundi/index.html
In the hot plains of Chinandega, Nicaragua, Julio MonteAlegre and his workers are planting moringa. A superfood that is well known in Nicaragua but still growing in popularity in the United States. The crop is driving Julio’s company, Esentium, to create more impact for his local community of El Viejo.
https://real-leaders.com/entrepreneurship-mean-cultures-found/
Kuli Kuli’s founder, Lisa Curtis, got her first taste of moringa as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small village in Niger. As a vegetarian, she was eating mostly rice and millet — a diet that left her feeling sluggish. When she mentioned her fatigue to women at the community health center, they suggested she try moringa. After buying the leaves from a neighbor’s tree, she mixed them with a popular peanut snack, called kuli-kuli, and noticed her health improve.
https://real-leaders.com/meet-moringa-the-most-nutrient-dense-plant-on-the-planet/
Luminaid makes blow-up solar-powered lanterns that could help residents until Puerto Rico’s power grid is rebuilt.
http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/jackson_hole_daily/local/chef-lands-in-puerto-rico-ready-to-help/article_6da1c754-e67a-59b5-b754-1f35330e94bb.html
Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, an entrepreneur passionate about building sustainable models for waste collection in the developing world, took advantage of her education to make wealth from what many run away from, waste.
https://thecitizenng.com/how-i-became-a-successful-entrepreneur-bilikiss-adebiyi-abiola/
Motivated to find a scalable way to make a social and environmental impact on the world through business, Patricia Chin-Sweeney, COO at I-DEV International, left a lucrative career in investment banking to get an MBA at NYU. While still in graduate school, she co-founded I-DEV to drive innovation in the international-development and impact-investing industry while building an alternative pipeline for investors.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/302355#
When Lisa Curtis was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, she discovered moringa, a green with high nutritional content that’s popular in Africa and elsewhere. When she returned to the United States, she decided to start a company that would introduce it to U.S. consumers – and provide better incomes to farmers in Africa.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/10/05/a-startup-backed-by-kelloggs-vc-arm-kuli-kuli-introduces-americans-to-a-new-superfood-moringa/#37110f64e06d
“It’s like a Fitbit for doing good,” she said. They work with some Fortune 500 companies within their wide range of clients.
http://jewishexponent.com/2017/10/04/philly-faces-morgan-berman/
The Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) program is a collaborative platform for the development of smart cities and communities, led by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). BEM Controls is partnered with Arlington County Government and the City of Alexandria to demonstrate its groundbreaking Open-Architecture Platform for Internet of Things (IoT) Devices Monitoring and Control within the city and community environment.
https://www.bemcontrols.com/single-post/2016/08/01/Designers-Embrace
Last weekend our team visited Genesee Community College, celebrated Homecoming and enjoyed participating in their 50th Anniversary Fall Fest celebrations. We talked about carbon fiber technology, renewable energy, and of course the newly installed Firefly wind turbine on the roof of the Conable Technology Building!
http://www.fireflypower.com/fall-fest-celebration-genesee-community-college
Please help us find some mission-driven entrepreneurs to support.We’re looking for amazing individuals who are starting or growing companies to solve some of the world’s hardest challenges. Challenges like providing clean …
Mr. Adebiyi will succeed Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, who has been appointed as the General Manager of the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency.
http://blog.wecyclers.com/2017/09/21/wecyclers-announces-appointment-of-new-chief-executive-officer/
Back to the Roots is teaming up with triple-platinum rock band Fall Out Boy to bring its indoor gardening kits and curriculum to 20,000 Chicago elementary school students. The kits are expected to land in Chicago schools in October.
http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/collaboration/sustainable_brands/back_roots_teams_fall_out_boy_accelerate_undo_food_m
Concerns over chemical fertilization, the poor nutritional choices available in Harlem – where she taught an SAT-prep class – and the massive waste of the nation’s “leftover” food put Pina on a scientifically entrepreneurial path. Her research led quickly to anaerobic digesters, biological processes that break down biodegradable materials with a number of beneficial side-effects.
http://www.innovateli.com/re-nuble-targets-usda-organic-certifications/
I’ve just returned from two weeks in the desert, watching amazing artists create acres of sculptures and interactive experiences. (Do an image search for “Black Rock City Art” if you’re …
After disasters like hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the lights often go out.
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/11/cuban-backed-shark-tank-company-is-helping-hurricane-irma-victims.html
Grown on trees in regions of Africa, South America, and India, the super green is typically ground up and used in powder form, and it’s becoming an increasingly popular ingredient in bottled juices and bars. “Interest has been growing around greens in general, such as with smoothies or kale, and I think moringa is becoming a trending ingredient because people are looking for ways to get the most nutrient-dense [green] they can,” says Lisa Curtis, founder of Kuli Kuli, America’s leading moringa supplier.
https://www.wellandgood.com/good-food/health-benefits-of-moringa/
D.C.-based Misfit Juicery, an anti-food waste company that uses misshapen or bruised produce to make bottled juices, has rebranded as the business grows its profile in the food space and lands deals with high-profile retailers. The move also positions the startup to expand beyond juice.
https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/09/12/this-d-c-juicing-startup-is-now-eyeing-food.html
Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG) enrolled 25 managed hotels in SOL VISTA’s Skywalk® energy management platform in August. Skywalk will provide HVMG with actionable intelligence through ongoing building monitoring and reporting; benchmarking compliance in any jurisdictions where it is required; assistance with energy efficiency projects; and the identification of more advantageous energy procurement methods.
https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/17/09/p10037162/hospitality-ventures-management-group-enrolls-25-hotels-in-skywalk
Kuli Kuli sources its moringa from Ghana, Haiti, and Nicaragua. In many nations, those included, the green-leafed plant is considered a weed, only eaten by those occupying the poorest societal rung.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/green-life/three-organic-fair-trade-alternatives-coffee
Saathi- The startup sells biodegradable sanitary pad made from banana fibre for the Indian market. They are made from discarded banana trees and does not cause any skin irritation.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/here-are-five-startups-working-in-the-area-of-women-hygiene-in-india-2380521.html
One World Play Project believes everyone should have access to play—no matter who they are, where they come from or where they live. They know that play helps us recover from trauma, cope with challenging situations and encourages physical, psychological and social health.
https://www.sportanddev.org/en/article/news/refugees-share-stories-about-finding-home-through-play
Discussing the launch of the currency, Mark Meytin, who is a co-founder and partner in the new venture, said: “1000EcoFarms.com is a marketing and customer management platform while FoodCoin is focused on payment and contract-processing services based on the Ethereum blockchain.” Blockchain is a suitable process for farming; it allows farmers to transfer value, or assets, between each other without the need for a trusted intermediary.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/business/new-blockchain-for-agriculture-and-food-businesses/article/501623
“Bachelor” & “Bachelorette” star Sean Lowe has partnered with fellow ‘Bachelorette’ contestant Alejandro Velez to donate 125,000 breakfast cereal meals in support of Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The organic cereal is from Back to the Roots, a company Velez co-founded in Oakland, CA.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/09/prweb14657882.htm
The FoodCoin Ecosystem is a solution based on the Blockchain technology that provides foodstuff and agricultural products. These products are sold online on the 1000 EcoFarms platform, bridging the gap between farmer and consumer.
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/blockchain-weekly-groceries-common/