Alumni News

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When a robot duck stole hearts

When Aaron Horowitz was a child, he had human-growth-hormone deficiency and was administered daily injections for five years in order to grow. It left a big enough impact for him to start a company called Sproutel, a company that collaborates with brands for better health. When Aflac, a supplemental insurance company in the US that has funded the Aflac Cancer Center in Atlanta, asked for a product to be a companion to children with cancer, they developed My Special Aflac Duck, a robot that interacted and responded intuitively. At the Consumer Electronics Show 2018, they won the Best Innovation in the Tech for a Better World category.
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/when-a-robot-duck-stole-hearts/article22656114.ece

Alumni in the News

MyTelemedicine Forms Strategic Partnership with PACEMD to Leverage the Power of Telemedicine across Latin America

Digital health care technology leader MyTelemedicine has partnered with PACEMD, an international organization focused on supporting health initiatives in Latin America, to provide telehealth services to Spanish-speaking patients in the United States and Mexico.
https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/mytelemedicine-forms-strategic-partnership-with-pacemd-to-leverage-the-power-of-telemedicine-across-latin-america-1016021028

Alumni in the News

Make Money by Wearing it Out

Americans throw out 80 pounds of clothing every year on average, even though 95% of that content is recyclable. I started Texiles not only to prevent usable material from ending up in the trash but to educate consumers about the harmful impact of the fashion industry on the environment and factory workers and the role they play when they make purchasing decisions.
http://thefrugalcatholic.com/the-frugal-catholic-make-money-by-wearing-it-out-by-kaveri-marathe-february-2018/

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Acumen Makes First Investment in Sierra Leone in Easy Solar

New York, NY (February 13, 2018) — Acumen, the nonprofit global venture fund, and Gaia Impact Fund, a venture fund specializing in clean energy, announced today their investment in Azimuth (trading as Easy Solar), a pay-as-you-go solar distribution company operating in Sierra Leone. Easy Solar is the second investment under Acumen’s Pioneer Energy Investment Initiative, an effort to bridge the funding gap in off-grid energy and accelerate access across the developing world. Launched in April 2017, the initiative aims to impact 8 million lives by 2026.
https://acumen.org/blog/press-releases/acumen-makes-first-investment-in-sierra-leone/

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This Millennial Is Leading Africa’s Tech Revolution

Nigerian-American Maya Horgan Famodu is solving a big problem for Silicon Valley: Investors want to invest in Africa, but lack the know-how or local partners to help them get on the inside. Enter Famodu. She is the 26-year-old gatekeeper between tech investors and the Africa entrepreneur ecosystem.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryannreid/2018/02/11/this-millennial-is-leading-africas-tech-revolution/#4c08fc0c5c28

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Saving Mothers Announces Innovative Partnership With Maternova, Inc. to Advance Maternal Health

“The partnership with Maternova will enable Saving Mothers to reach a far broader number of pregnant women in need within underserved communities around the world,” stated Dr. Shirazian, “Providing this access will ensure that Saving Mothers can continue its efforts to reduce maternal morbidity rates, bringing us closer to our goal of eradicating preventable death during childbirth within the next decade.”
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3653073

Clean Decisions
Alumni in the News

John Legend Gives Grants to Ex-Convicts Turned Entrepreneurs

Will Avila employs 15 people full-time, all ex-convicts. Avila pays above minimum wage—an important move in the Washington, DC, area where he operates, as the cost of living is high and a person on a minimum wage might still need additional income—a dangerous temptation for an ex-con.
http://www.fox5dc.com/entertainment/john-legend-helping-support-former-inmates-turned-entrepreneurs-with-their-startup-businesses

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No bull: PharmaSecure, NDDB arm in pact to crackdown on fake bovine semen

To stem this rot, PharmaSecure, a provider of brand protection, consumer loyalty and engagement solutions, has joined hands with NDDB Dairy Services (NDDB-DS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), to provide a tool to help safeguard this population of high-quality breeds of cow, both indigenous and mixed.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/no-bull-pharmasecure-nddb-arm-in-pact-to-crackdown-on-fake-no20180208allan-f-a-lasradochennai0inno-bovine-semen/article22694069.ece

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Teysha Announces Collaboration with Shoe Designer Selena McCartney and The Whole Planet Foundation

Teysha, www.teysha.is is pleased to announce their first installment of a collaboration with shoe designer, Selena McCartney bringing her 15 years of shoe designing experience to their Guatemalan craftsmen. Selena and Sophie Eckrich, the 29-year-old co-founder of Teysha, are both born and raised in Central Texas with Latina mothers, so the collaboration has been full of cultural exchange and has brought new techniques to the artisan groups in Guatemala.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/3825962

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The World’s First Living Backyard Umbrella

“The world’s first living backyard umbrella” — that’s what they’re calling Living Canopies’ patio-sized umbrella. It’s a steel pole and frame that can accommodate a variety of different plants and flowers — including a built-in irrigation system to keep the plants healthy — all soaking up the sun that would otherwise beat down on the heads of those enjoying the backyard.
https://aquamagazine.com/features/the-world-s-first-living-backyard-umbrella.html

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How ex-UN staff got data for credit app Tala

Today, the micro lender has serviced more than 4.5 million loans and has lent out Sh25 billion ($250 million) to its customers in Kenya, Tanzania, Philippines and Mexico. “Repayment rates are at 92 per cent with eight per cent accounting for the slow payers. Interestingly, 95 per cent of our clients are repeat customers,” said Ms Siroya, a graduate of Columbia University.
https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/tech/4258474-4286464-o0sgn9z/

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Pharmacy lifeline in Kenya

Newsday’s Alan Kasujja visited an organisation which is trying to change that. ‘Access Afya’, runs three micro clinics and two pharmacies which service thirty thousand people in Nairobi’s informal settlements.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05wmd67

Alumni in the News

How Innovative Business Models Can Bring Cheap Energy to Poor Communities

For Nikhil Jaisinghani, co-founder of Mera Gao Power, a provider of low-cost, off-grid solar power to villages in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, a prime challenge is attracting investors who are used to large, publicly funded grid-based power projects with government subsidies, and are unfamiliar with projects like those of Mera Gao Power. “We’re trying to put this into a model where we’re serving ultra-poor customers without public funding, and we’re trying to create a profitable model with a three- to four-year payback period on infrastructure,” he said.
http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/how-innovative-business-models-can-bring-cheap-energy-to-far-flung-poor-villages/

Alumni in the News

These 14 businesses are growing money on trees

Companies around the world are branching out into forest conservation, finding that restoring deforested and degraded land yields high returns for investors, entrepreneurs and the environment.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/these-14-businesses-are-growing-money-trees

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WeSpire Adds New Extensions to its Solutions Portfolio, Enhancing Employee Health and Well-Being

WeSpire, the employee engagement measuring/monitoring solutions provider is looking at extensions to its core product offerings.The company’s industry-recognized SaaS platform will now include two new modules – Positive Culture and Wellbeing – helping progressive firms enhance worker well-being, and envision a sustainable organizational value/culture/behavior ecosystem.

https://www.hrtechnologist.com/news/employee-engagement/wespire-adds-new-extensions-to-its-solutions-portfolio-enhancing-employee-health-amp-wellbeing/

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Husk Power Systems raises $20m from Shell, Swedfund, ENGIE to scale renewable mini-grid business

“Together with our strategic partners, we are now confident of achieving our vision of becoming the world’s largest rural utility company providing 24/7, 100 percent renewable and affordable power to drive inclusive and sustainable development in growth markets.“, said Manoj Sinha, CEO and co-founder of Husk Power Systems. “We believe that mini-grids are the most capital efficient way to help reach 100 percent national electrification goals“.
https://techmoran.com/2018/01/20/husk-power-systems-raises-20m-shell-swedfund-engie-scale-renewable-mini-grid-business-africa-asia/

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LabourNet to promote Tata, Google-backed ‘Internet Sathi’ program in rural India

LabourNet, a Bengaluru-based social enterprise, has been roped in to expand Tata Trust and Google India-backed internet awareness program, ‘Internet Sathi’ in the states of Maharashtra and Haryana, said a top official of the company in Hyderabad on Friday.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/labournet-to-promote-tata-google-backed-internet-sathi-program-in-rural-india/articleshow/62573096.cms

Alumni in the News

Runa Steers Towards Natural Energy, Away from Tea

Nothing drives impact like dollars. It’s a simple idea, but, for Runa, it represents the seed of an entirely new business-focused outlook.The Brooklyn-based company, founded in 2009 by college roommates Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie, produces ready-to-drink iced teas and energy drinks made with guayusa, a plant traditionally used as a natural source of caffeine by indigenous groups in South America. Through its vertically aligned supply chain— in which it sources organic crops from Fair Trade Certified partner farms in Ecuador— Runa has made ethical business practices and sustainable farming a key part of its identity.

https://www.bevnet.com/news/2018/runa-steers-towards-natural-energy-away-tea

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The Aflac Duck and Chemotherapy: How One Company Is Creating a Companion to Help Children with Cancer

Sproutel is a company that has been creating ‘companion robots’ for a few years. Their first robot is called ‘Jerry the Bear’ and was created to help children with type 1 diabetes better understand their disease and management. The children take care of Jerry, feeding him, checking his blood sugar, and giving him insulin. In many ways, it helps children understand why they need to do certain things. By taking care of Jerry, they can better take care of themselves.

http://www.pharmacytimes.com/contributor/timothy-aungst-pharmd/2018/01/the-aflac-duck-and-chemotherapy-how-one-company-is-creating-a-companion-to-help-children-with-cancer

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Huge tract of prime land near Walla Walla sold to San Francisco group

Farmland LP was formed in 2009 “to add value to farmland by converting it to organic, sustainable agriculture,” according the release. It manages more than 12,000 acres in Northern California and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. In 2015, the group purchased 6,000 acres in the Willamette Valley from Olsen Agricultural Enterprises, an entity controlled by a pioneer farming family.
http://www.goodfruit.com/huge-tract-of-prime-land-near-walla-walla-sold-to-san-francisco-group/

Alumni in the News

My Special Aflac Duck™ Takes Home Best of CES 2018 Award

Aflac, the leader in voluntary insurance sales at the worksite in the United States, capped off a busy week at the Consumer Electronics Show® (CES) by accepting the Best of CES 2018 Award for Best Unexpected Product for My Special Aflac Duck, the company’s new social robot designed to help children coping with cancer. The smart companion was created by Sproutel, a research and development workshop focused on making health care playful.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/my-special-aflac-duck-takes-home-best-of-ces-2018-award-300581870.html

Alumni in the News

Businesses in boxes: how solar is creating African entrepreneurs

Access to power is a major issue in Africa, and in solar, many people feel they have the solution.
Yet solar is doing more than switching on off-grid populations, and providing a potentially lucrative and investor friendly business opportunities to companies like M-KOPA Solar and BBOXX.

It is also helping to create a middleman later of “solarpreneurs”, offering people the chance to make revenues by offering people in disconnected areas solar services.

http://disrupt-africa.com/2018/01/businesses-in-boxes-how-solar-is-creating-african-entrepreneurs/

Alumni in the News

This Boston startup wants to help your employees meditate

WeSpire is a 20-employee Boston firm that helps large companies run employee engagement programs. Customers pay an annual, per-employee subscription fee to access WeSpire’s library of app-like campaigns, including programs that encourage workers to reduce their carbon footprint or volunteer in the community.
https://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2018/01/11/this-boston-startup-wants-to-help-your-employees.html

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Kuli Kuli: A superstar of superfoods

Nestled in downtown Oakland, California, sustainable food and agriculture startup Kuli Kuli has roots more than 7,000 miles away. Founder Lisa Curtis was introduced to the moringa tree while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small town in Niger. A vegetarian whose local diet consisted mainly of millet and rice, Curtis was able to curb her malnourishment, a lack of protein and key vitamins by adding moringa to her daily regime. Her health turnaround sparked an interest in introducing the benefit of the moringa plant to North American eaters.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/kuli-kuli-superstar-superfoods

Alumni in the News

How buyers can guard themselves from greenwashing

Kari Klaus, chief executive and founder of Viva Green Homes in Arlington, Va., a national listing portal exclusively for “eco-friendly” homes, says “greenwashing is a growing problem — clearly there’s a desire to jump on the train and use buzzwords” like “green,” “sustainable” and “high efficiency,” too often with little to back up the claims.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/how-buyers-can-guard-themselves-from-greenwashing/2018/01/09/2f1dd9f8-f54d-11e7-a9e3-ab18ce41436a_story.html?utm_term=.a74eb417df54

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Next Gen Beekeeper: Katrina Klett

Currently Katrina and her husband of 3 years, currently work with 26 families to produce honey. These beekeepers work with Apis cerana, a docile honey bee, native to Asia, that has a “stable host-parasite relationship” with the Varroa mite parasite (a scenario that American beekeepers’ dreams are made of).
https://www.beegirl.org/blog/next-gen-beekeeper-katrina-klett

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How the rise of gourmet chocolate can lift the fortunes of small farmers

Uncommon Cacao (UC) began in 2010, with a goal of growing high-quality, sustainably produced cocoa bound to export to quality-focused brands overseas. After successfully launching in Belize, UC has expanded to Guatemala. In both countries, UC is revolutionizing local economies by linking small indigenous producers with the specialized cocoa industry.
http://www.eco-business.com/news/how-the-rise-of-gourmet-chocolate-can-lift-the-fortunes-of-small-farmers/

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Koya Leadership Partners Acquires ReWork

Koya and ReWork are aligned in their vision to match mission-driven talent to the world’s most socially innovative organizations. Both companies are driven by the belief that the right person in the right place can change the world. The firms’ leadership team feels strongly that no one should have to choose between making money and making a difference. They also recognize that mission-driven organizations deserve the most talented, committed, and passionate professionals to support their efforts.
https://medium.com/on-meaningful-work/koya-leadership-partners-acquires-rework-293842078eb6

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Tippy Tippens

Located in Mid-City, the Goods That Matter shop invites customers in with the gentle aroma of its soaps, candles and fragrances. But passersby might not suspect this cozy shop on the streetcar line is also a groundbreaking business venture.
http://www.myneworleans.com/St-Charles-Avenue/January-2018/Tippy-Tippens/

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Banana fiber sanitary pads can solve big problems in India

With its sanitary pads for the Indian market, startup company Saathi solves two problems at once. Just 16 percent of women in India use them due to poverty and other reasons, which causes health and social issues. At the same time, manufacturing them wastes millions of gallons of water, and two million tons of pads end up in landfills every year. To help with all that, Saathi’s pads are affordable, made from discarded banana tree fibers, manufactured in a sustainable way and 100 percent biodegradable.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/29/saathi-banana-sanitary-pads-hello-tomorrow/

Alumni in the News

Urban Health In Slums Between Addis Ababa And Nairobi

In light of the gap left by formal healthcare systems and in an effort to cater to the largely underserved population of Nairobi’s informal areas, Access Afya is a chain of three clinics located in the capital’s largest slums.
https://progrss.com/sustainability/20171221/urban-health-addis-nairobi/