2016 Rajini Lolay 2016 Rajini Lolay

Tieme Ndo

Tieme Ndo is a high impact social enterprise founded by Moses Yangnemenga and Sihle Magagula with the aim of shaping rural farmers’ aspirations by giving them regular and timely

IMPROVED FARM PRACTICES CHALLENGE; GHANA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Input credits, training and extension services, and access to markets.

Learn more about the Improved Farm Practices Challenge and why increasing the effective use of fertilizer has the potential to unlock significant crop yield for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Tiem Ndo is a high-impact social enterprise in Ghana increasing access to improved basic inputs for smallholder farmers.

Tieme Ndo literally means “push me up” in the language of Dagaare. Their mission is to transform how farmers in rural areas access quality farm inputs which are crucial for improving harvests and livelihoods. To add value for farmers, Tieme Ndo offers a credit extension package which includes three services: input credit (registered farmers have access to at least 3 bags of fertilizer, seeds, and herbicides on credit), training and extension services (farmers are trained on new and appropriate agronomic practices and extension services are provided to help farmers apply appropriate farm practices), and access to market (farmers are assisted in finding buyers to purchase their produce at or above market prices).

The social enterprise also focuses on small agribusiness development. The Tieme Ndo team supports farmers in developing an alternative market for their produce by offering trainings on how to transform produce into other products. Tieme Ndo assists farmers in building entrepreneurial skills to help them establish small, thriving enterprises along the agriculture value chain.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • 130 farmers served during the pilot phase

  • 200% increase in farmer average income

  • 3,000 farmers reached during the pilot phase

FOUNDING TEAM

Moses Yangnemenga - Founder

Sihle Magagula - Founder

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2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor 2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor

SMS Maama

Approximately 1 in 44 women in Uganda will die from pregnancy related complications throughout their lifetimes. SMS Maama is an automated text messaging service for pregnant

PATIENT IDENTIFICATION CHALLENGE; UGANDA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Automated text messaging service for pregnant women to screen for potential complications.

Learn more about the Patient Identification Challenge and why identifying individuals in need of medical treatment and finding ways to make that treatment accessible reduces poverty.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Approximately 1 in 44 women in Uganda will die from pregnancy related complications throughout their lifetimes. SMS Maama is an automated text messaging service for pregnant women in Uganda that harnesses mobile technology to send health information and screen for these potential pregnancy related complications before they become more serious. As an organization, we believe every woman has the right to information and the right to receive respectful maternity care. By providing access to this necessary health information, SMS Maama works to empower women and serve as a modern addition to pregnancy healthcare in Uganda.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

FOUNDING TEAM

Katelyn Pastick - Founder

Nicole Stephens - Founder

Meg Burman - Founder

Sonja Ausen-Anifrani - Founder

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

Trinity Health

Trinity Health is a non-profit organization that aims to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria by training traditional birth attendants on how to adequately respond to

MATERNAL HEALTH CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

Trinity Health.png

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Misoprostol tablets.

Learn more about the Maternal Health Challenge and how the distribution of Misoprostol, a $3 drug that can prevent maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage, could save thousands of lives.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Trinity Health is a non-profit organization that aims to reduce maternal mortality in Nigeria by training traditional birth attendants on how to adequately respond to postpartum hemorrhage through the use of simulation-based medical education.

Once trained, field officers link traditional birth attendants to needed supplies such as Misoprostol and Birth Delivery Kits to ensure safe and sterile deliveries. The team’s distribution strategy centers around a system involving local drivers plying rural routes. The community-based distribution model is aimed at ensuring safe deliveries for every mother and child.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • 100 Traditional Birth Attendants trained during the pilot phase

  • 3,000 Misoprostol tablets distributed during the pilot phase

FOUNDING TEAM

Priscilla Colon - Founder

Joel Akachukwu Igu - Founder

Obieze Nwunna-Nzwenna - Founder

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

Come On Girls

ComeOnGirls was founded by Menghan Li. This new social venture will improve women’s education in the rural areas of developing countries. In the first three months of its launch,

SCHOLARSHIP CHALLENGE; CHINA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Education scholarships for girls.

Learn more about our current distribution challenges and why we focus on interventions that are proven to impact lives.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

This new social venture will improve women’s education in the rural areas of developing countries. In the first three months of its launch, Come On Girls will make scholarships to 100 outstanding female students in rural China and remove the financial barrier in their path towards high school by attracting individual donors from Eastern China using the Wechat platform. Their goal is to enhance the enrollment rate of female students in the underdeveloped regions of China and to reduce gender discrimination in secondary education.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • 100 female students supported in attending high school during the pilot

  • 100 one-to-one donors attracted during the pilot

FOUNDING TEAM

Menghan Li - Founder

Yun Ling - Founder

Zijia Guo - Founder

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

Imole Energy Solutions

Imole Energy Solutions was funded by Segun Adaju to create energy access for the underserved in Nigeria. The venture will create energy access

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar lamps.

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Imole Energy Solutions was founded by to create energy access for the under-served in Nigeria. The venture will create energy access at Makoko Waterfront Communities, an urban slum in Lagos, Nigeria by distributing thousands of solar lamps.

The organization will create jobs for 200 women as clean energy entrepreneurs and train 40 youths as solar technicians in one year thereby increasing sources of income for community members. With a projected energy access created for 5,000 women in one year, this will help eliminate the burning of 1.33 million liters of kerosene in the lifetime of the products (estimated at 5 years) thereby reducing about 3.07 million kg of carbon emission (at a rate or 2.3 kg of CO2 per liter of kerosene). They ultimately plan to scale the venture to achieve the goal of reaching 1 million beneficiaries by 2030 to support Goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals, ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • 5,000 solar lamps distributed by year 1

FOUNDING TEAM

Segun Adaju - Founder

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

Harness Energy

Shehryar is the Founder and Managing Director of Harness Energy, a social enterprise dedicated to providing clean and affordable solutions to

COOK STOVE CHALLENGE; PAKISTAN

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Cook Stoves.

Learn more about the Cook Stove Challenge and how clean cook stoves reduce health and safety risks, lower fuel expenses, and help reduce poverty.  

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Harness Energy is a social enterprise dedicated to providing clean and affordable solutions to Pakistan’s energy-starved population. Harness are an Associate of IFC’s Lighting Pakistan program, and their role in eradicating poverty lies in innovative distribution models that take clean energy products to the last mile. They are conducting a pilot to distribute 500 clean cook stoves in rural Punjab, and aim to scale up to 25000 in 2 years. These stoves significantly reduce indoor air pollution and pay back their investment within 6 months, leading to major improvements in their living standards.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • 500 cook stoves distributed during the pilot phase

  • 25,000 distributed by the end of year 2

FOUNDING TEAM

Shehryar - Founder and Managing Director

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

Tessellate Strategies Ltd.

Tessellate was founded by Lauren Byrne and Camillo Lamanna. Operating in rural Zambia, Tessellate will use SMS messages to increase efficiency

IMMUNIZATION CHALLENGE; ZAMBIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Immunization reminders.

Learn more about the Immunization Challenge and how Increasing routine childhood immunization rates in low-coverage areas could prevent millions of childhood deaths.

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

The vision of Tessellate Strategies Ltd. Is to track vaccine supply chains in Zambia using SMS messages. The principle is simple- when vaccines arrive in country, a sticker is applied to each box with a unique identifying code that drivers, stock movers, and healthcare workers text to the organization’s free number. Everyone along the way will be incentivized to text their toll-free number so Tessellate Strategies can collect data along the distribution chain. The team will develop an online platform that will integrate the data collected into an online, real-time tracking and inventory system. Their system will improve distribution efficiency and reduce vaccine wastage in the regions where they work.

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Identify key inefficiencies and weak points in the supply chain by 6 months

FOUNDING TEAM

Lauren Byrne - Founder

Camillo Lamanna - Founder

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

Safe Love International

Safe Love International, founded by Sandra Omo Idugboe, is a young and dynamic NGO committed to securing a brighter future for

SUGAR DADDY AWARENESS CHALLENGE; NIGERIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Sugar Daddy Awareness class.

Learn more about the Sugar Daddy Awareness Challenge and how a simple, one-hour “sugar daddy awareness” training could help countless girls avoid pregnancy while still in school, which can lead to entrenched poverty, and build a better life.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Safe Love International is a young and dynamic non-governmental foundation committed to providing informed education and scaling proven poverty interventions to address society's most pressing social and economic problems in Africa. In its D-Prize pilot, Safe Love International scaled Sugar Daddy Awareness to over 21,000 students in Nigeria to tackle the high rates of HIV infections and unwanted pregnancies among teenagers.

The Sugar Daddy Awareness class has been proven in a randomized controlled trial to reduce unplanned teenage pregnancy and HIV infection rates by 28%.

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Reach 15,000 students with Sugar Daddy Awareness Class

  • Recruit and train 100+ teacher to lead Sugar Daddy Awareness Class

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Sandra Omo Idugboe - Founder

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

Endurance Electric

Endurance Electric mission is to improve access to affordable, high quality portable energy solutions that transfom the lives of people living Off Grid who

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; CHILE

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar lamps.

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Endurance Electric’s mission is to improve access to affordable, high-quality, portable energy solutions that transform the lives of people in Chile who don’t have access to energy. With a special focus on solar lamps, a last-mile market based distribution model, customer service and a focus on integrating readily-available technology, their team will start a revolution from Chile to the rest of Latin America.

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • 500 lamps distributed during the pilot phase

  • 2,000 people reached during the pilot phase

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Cristián O’Ryan - Founder

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2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor 2016 Spring, 2016 Mac Taylor

GreenVille Solutions

GreenVille Solutions creates awareness on the dangers of using awareness candles/kerosene for light and distributes Sun King solar

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; NAMIBIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar Lamps. 

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

GreenVille Solutions creates awareness on the dangers of using awareness candles/kerosene for light and distributes Sun King solar products with the mission to improve lives one solar light at a time. Focusing on cross-sector collaboration, social media advertising and having a physical presence where our target customers are, we aim to sell 1000 solar products within 3 months with a goal of growing to serving 20,000 households by the end of 2020.

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Distribute 1,000 solar products during the pilot 

  • Serve 20,000 households by the end of 2020

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Sylver Kibelolaud - Co-Founder

Kleopas Johannes - Co-Founder

 

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2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor 2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor

Access to Education

Access to Education (A2e) is an online educational platform that ensures remote areas students access to quality instructive videos and live classes,

FLIPPED CLASSROOM CHALLENGE

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Flipped classroom. 

Learn more about the Flipped Classroom Challenge and why new education models, like flipping the classroom or deskilling a class curriculum, offer a solution to the vast teacher shortages in the developing world.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Access to Education (A2e) is an online educational platform that ensures remote areas students access to quality instructive videos and live classes, complementary to their academic curriculum that is facilitated by trained instructors through a multimedia classroom set up in each partner school. It is working to create a bridge between privileged and deprived students where former one will be able to share their learning experience with later one and synergize the power of education to break all barriers.

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Ayesha Meem - Co-Founder

Mostofa Sadab - Co-Founder

Samiha Nusrat - Co-Founder

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2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor 2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor

Pardafas!

Pardafas was founded in 2015 to fight corruption in Nepal. Pardafas is an evidence-based accountability tool that aims to fuel the national fight against corruption enabling active

TRANSPARENCY CHALLENGE; NEPAL

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Online accountability tool that aims to fuel the national fight against corruption. 

Learn more about the Transparency Challenge and how citizen reporting platforms can be used to hold government officials accountable and reduce corruption.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Pardafas will be the counry's biggest effort to-date to map out corruption in order to create and distribute easy-to-use and people friendly, data-driven narrative to wage anti-corruption campaigns.  By going back through the archives of Nepal's top national daily newspapers, we will collect and code the data on federal-level corruption.

In three months, the team will produce a preliminary data on corruption levels in federal institutions and hope to use the data to reach out to at least 70,000 Nepalis. Within a year, they hope to mobilize at least 500,000 Nepalis to further enhance the data. Together with activists and anti-corruption organizations, Pardafas will use the data to unite people in fighting against rampant corruption at the federal level. The team will measure their success by the number of corruption cases filed in court from the campaign and the number of cases won in court. 

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Reach 70,000 people during the pilot
  • Reach 500,000 people by the end of year 1

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Subhash Ghimire - Founder, Director

Kritikal Lamsal - Head of Research and Public Mobilizer Team

Prem Lamichhane - Head of Technical Team

Angel Sharma - Head of Administrative Team

Alina Ghimire - Memnber of Research Team

 

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2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor 2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor

Peach Health Technologies

Peach Technologies is on a mission to accelerate the use software to predict, detect and treat diseases. Our first product is an electronic health records system designed to provide

MATERNAL HEALTH CHALLENGE; GHANA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Misoprostol tablets. 

Learn more about the Maternal Health Challenge and how the distribution of Misoprostol, a $3 drug that can prevent maternal deaths from postpartum hemorrhage, could save thousands of lives.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

In Ghana, the maternal mortality rate stands at 322 deaths for every 100,000 live births. Excessive bleeding after childbirth, known as postpartum hemorrhage, accounts for 25 percent of deaths. Excessive bleeding can be controlled if birth attendants are given the right training and access to medications like misoprostol. 

Peach Health Technologies has developed a step-by-step solution to address the problem. First, they will create an electronic version of a misoprostol administering training guide on a mobile application called Peach. Peach is a mobile electronic medical records system with meaningful use designed specifically for developing countries. Community Health Officers (CHOs) in Ghana use Peach to collect patient information and follow-up with expectant mothers. CHOs who work with Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) will watch the training video to learn how to properly administer misoprostol. After CHOs have gone through their virtual training, they will each train a minimum of 5 TBAs in their district using the virtual program on their phones. CHOs will supply the TBAs with misoprostil and monitor its use. By using mobile phones, they will significantly reduce the cost of training and easily scale to reach every CHO with a phone. 

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Train 70 CHOs during the pilot 
  • Train 350 TBAs during the pilot 
  • Make 1,500 misoprostol tablets available during the pilot 
  • Serve 300 expectant mothers during the pilot 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Cobby Amoah - Co-Founder and CEO

Kwame Akpalu - Software Developer 

Humphrey Kanyoke - Business Development Manager 

Caleb Oppong Wiafe - Pharmacist 

Charles Kunene - Co-Founder and Product Designer 

 

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2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor 2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor

Empower Generation

Empower Generation is a social enterprise that creates clean energy distribution networks consisting of women-led businesses that reach last-mile

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE: NEPAL, MYANMAR

Anya Headshot.jpg

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Solar Lamps. 

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Empower Generation is a social enterprise that creates clean energy distribution networks consisting of women-led businesses that reach last-mile populations. Empower Generation provides women with the training, start-up inventory, mentoring, and long-term support they need to run a successful clean energy business.

Using an innovative, market-based and capacity-building approach, they build a network that sustainably distributes clean energy and brings economic opportunities to isolated and underserved communities. The key innovation is mentoring rural women to become solar CEOs and own their own businesses. Empower Generation’s CEO network improves health and increases education for their children, creates local jobs for rural and peri-urban communities, and contributes to a shifting role of women in society.

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Distribute 300 solar systems during the pilot
  • Install 15 solar home systems during the pilot 
  • Reach 2,560 individuals by the end of 6 months 
  • Recruit 20 sales agents by the end of the pilot 
  • Recruit 50 sales agents by the end of year 1 
  • Distribute 1,500 solar lamps by the end of year 1 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Anya Cherneff - Co-Founder and Executive Director

Chloe Chapman - Director of Operations

Sita Adhikari - Country Director

 

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2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor 2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor

Please Disturb the Driver!

Please Disturb the Driver! was founded by Miguel Torhton, Mexican citizen and Master in Public Policy graduate from The George Washington University.

TRANSPARENCY CHALLENGE; MEXICO

Please Disturb the Driver! was founded by Miguel Torhton, Mexican citizen and Master in Public Policy graduate from The George Washington University. This new social venture will distribute a low cost intervention in the public transport in Mexico C…

Please Disturb the Driver! was founded by Miguel Torhton, Mexican citizen and Master in Public Policy graduate from The George Washington University. This new social venture will distribute a low cost intervention in the public transport in Mexico City to reduce the number of road accidents. Following the experiences in other countries, this intervention will encourage passengers to speak up to induce social pressure on the driver. The project aims to reach more than half million passengers per day within three months and hopes to transform public transport culture in Mexico by expanding this initiative to the largest cities in the country.

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Stickers displayed in public buses encouraging the public to stand up to reckless driving. This will reduce the number of traffic accidents caused by buses. 

Learn more about the Transparency Challenge and how citizen reporting platforms can be used to hold government officials accountable and reduce corruption.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

The intervention distributed by Please Disturb the Driver! (PDD) is based on posting evocative messages throughout the public transport (bus) system in Mexico City to encourage passengers to speak up against different forms of reckless driving. Their mission is to empower as many passengers as possible to speak up to reduce traffic accidents. This social experiment has proved successful in Kenya, where it significantly reduced the number of road accidents in the public transport system. 

During the planning phase of the pilot, PDD will partner with insurance companies, public transport offices, public transport unions, and innovation agencies within the Mexico City Government to distribute the messages. They will craft messages in focus groups to define the most evocative messages for Mexican culture and language. Four visible stickers with the best messaging will be installed within the treatment group of buses (a control group of buses will be used to measure effectiveness of the campaign). Communication with the bus drivers will be face-to-face. Interns working with the project will check on the quality of the stickers at the end of each day with one bus and bus driver winning a prize. After 8 to 12 months, it will be possible for the PDD team to measure the reduction in traffic accidents between the treatment and control bus groups. 

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Have stickers in 1,360 buses by the end of year 1 
  • Have stickers in 2,600 buses by the end of year 2 
  • Reach 590,000 passengers per day during the pilot phase 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Miguel Angel Torhton - Founder and Program Coordinator

 

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2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor 2015 Winter, 2015 Mac Taylor

Pay2Educate

Pay2Educate aims to provide better means for the education of young girls in India. It has created a simple platform that links donors to schools, creating scholarships for underprivileged

SCHOLARSHIP CHALLENGE; INDIA

pay2educate test1.jpg

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Education scholarships. 

Learn more about our current distribution challenges and why we focus on interventions that are proven to impact lives.  

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Pay2Educate aims to provide better means for the education of young girls in India. It has created a simple platform that links donors to schools, creating scholarships for underprivileged females. Pay2Educate will begin operations in Bombay and will expand to more cities in the future. In three months, the organization will raise $5,500 for female education. Using this money, schools will create their own scholarships to provide tuition, supplies, and boarding when applicable for students. 

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Support the education of 100 girls during the pilot
  • Create 1,000 new scholarships for female students by the end of year 1 
  • Support the education of 1,250 girls by the end of year 2 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Naureen Singh - Co-Founder, Finance Lead

Milinda Bhopatkar - Co-Founder, Partnerships Lead

 

 

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2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor 2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor

Arvind Nagarajan

Arvind piloted a new approach for improving education in resource-limited settings. He will rely on digital student assessments to increase

Arvind piloted a new approach for improving education in resource-limited settings. He will rely on digital student assessments to increase transparency of education quality and drive improvements in school systems. He will pilot a tablet-based assessment in a low-cost center in Mumbai, and hopes to launch full time in 2014. Eric Pohlman, co-founder of One Acre Fund, is serving as a mentor.

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2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor 2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor

Livelyhoods / iSmart

Maria co-founded Livelyhoods in 2011, and will launch the iSmart network to distribute clean-burning cook stoves as replacements for dangerous

COOK STOVE CHALLENGE; KENYA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Efficient cook stoves. 

Learn more about the Cook Stove Challenge and how clean cook stoves reduce health and safety risks, lower fuel expenses, and help reduce poverty.  

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

LivelyHoods operates a distribution network for clean-burning cook stoves. Their branded retail network consists of customer service centers and uniformed sales representatives, reaching the most hard-to-reach households in urban slum and peri-urban communities. 

The mission is to create livelihoods opportunities for youth in urban slums so they can work their way out of poverty and actualize their potential. LivelyHoods employs youth from slums to sell life-changing products in their communities. The model includes a strong retail brand, increasing professional sales talent of youth form slums, and financing inventory through a third party partner, Kiva. 

The curated product line is sold through a retail network which consists of customer service centers and uniformed sales representatives. While the best selling products are clean-burning cook stoves, they also offer a wide range of other high-impact products, ranging from water filters to solar lamps to reusable sanitary pads. 

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Sell 5,156 clean burning cook stoves in 2014
  • Train 500 youth and create 100 jobs in 2014 
  • Sell 89,959 cook stoves in 2015 and 2016
  • Train 6,250 youth and create 1250 jobs, impacting the lives of 449,795 people in 2015 and 2016 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Tania Laden - Co-Founder, Executive Director 

 

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2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor 2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor

Juabar

Olivia launched Juabar in Tanzania. Juabar kiosks use solar power to charge mobile phones and are also a point-of-sale for household solar lamps. Kiosks are run by local “jua-preneurs”.

CUSTOM CHALLENGE; TANZANIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTED

Juabar, a design-build start-up, creates transportable mobile-phone charging kiosks powered by a 40-60W solar system for use in rural and urban areas that lack access to electricity. 

Learn more about the Custom Challenge and why we only fund ideas that focus on distributing proven poverty interventions.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

Turning Juabar kiosks into solar light enterprises run by "Juapreneurs" can act as an extremely effective means for overcoming the traditional distribution barriers faced in Tanzania for numerous reasons: 

The market for Juabar kiosks directly correlates with that of solar lights - in areas of Tanzania that are not electrified. Juabar provides needed phone charging services and solar lights are a complementary product offering for this market. 

The kiosks provide a working example to potential consumers of the effectiveness of solar power thorugh the charging of their phones. This overcomes the hesitation that a consumer often has when met with a new product such as solar technology. In addition to handing out marketing materials, promotion will come when routine charging customers repeatedly interact with lighting products and the kiosk operators who can promote their benefits. 

A portable kiosk allows operators to bring their service and products to the consumer. With its large, unique structure, Juabar sticks out in every setting and word-of-mouth about its presence travels quickly in isolated rural areas. Phone costs can represent up to 25% of the annual income of someone with poor energy access, with up to 50% of these costs going to travel expenses in getting to a charging location. Kiosks reduce these travel costs and can directly show consumers an option for further reducing ongoing household energy costs. 

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Create 15 solar lighting Juapreneurs by the end of the 3 month pilot
  • Serve 4,000 households with charging services during the 3 month pilot 
  • Roll out 150 Juabar lighting dealers by the end of year 2 
  • Reach 26,650 households by the end of year 2

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Olivia Nava - Co-Founder

 

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2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor 2013-2014, Year: 2013, Year: 2013 Spring Mac Taylor

Essmart

Jackie and Diana launched Essmart to connect local India retailers with manufacturers of solar lamps, home lighting systems, water filters and other essential products. They plan to

SOLAR LAMP CHALLENGE; INDIA

PROVEN INTERVENTION TO BE DISTRIBUTION

Solar lamps and clean energy products. 

Learn more about the Solar Lamp Challenge and how these lamps create enormous benefits for developing world families.

 

DISTRIBUTION MODEL INNOVATION

India's peri-urban and rural populations are not benefiting from existing life-improving technologies - such as solar lanterns, water filters, and smokeless cook stoves - because the local retail outlets they depend on are disconnected from these essential goods. Essmart is a distribution company operating in Tamil Nadu that connects local shops with a catalog of quality, affordable, essential products, providing marketing, distribution, and after-sales service. 

Ninety percent of Indian households primarily shop in an estimated 15 million small, low-margin retail shops. However, these retail shops do not sell esesntial technologies because they do not know about them, where to get them, or how to service them if they break. Essmart connects a catalog of high-quality goods with proven demand to local shops, where trusted buying relationships exist. 

Essmart's model has three parts. 1) Aggregate a catalog of high-quality existing products and build relationships with suppliers. Sales Executives then demonstrate our catalog to local shops and end users through marketing campaigns. 2) Essmart's local Sales Executives build distribution networks to villages by creating an Essmart-branded section in local shops, leaving our catalog in shops, and fulfilling orders. 3) Should any product break, Essmart provides training and maintenance services and facilitates manufacturers' warranties. This ensures that users continue to benefit from the products and shops need not take on the burden of returns.  

 

PILOT AND SCALING GOALS

  • Work from 10 aggregate distribution centers by the end of year 1 
  • Sell 16,200 products by the end of year 1 
  • Support 5,000 local Sales Executives by the end of year 2 
  • Work from 24 aggregate distribution centers by the end of year 3 
  • Sell 387,420 products by the end of year 3 

 

FOUNDING TEAM

Jackie Stenson, Chief Executive Officer 

Diana Jue, Chief Operations Officer 

Prashanth V'Ramana - Director 

Poonacha Kalengada - Director 

 

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