Yes, poverty eradication. That last point might seem off the table, but for social enterprises like Agro-Preneur Initiative, Farming Hope, Folia Water, and Vega Coffee, poverty, agriculture and water are more closely connected than one might first think.
How So?
· Agro-Preneur Initiative trains farmers in business skills and connects them to markets so that their farming can become a profitable business.
· Farming Hope employs homeless individuals with work in dignified gardening and cooking to help them transition sustainably out of homelessness.
· Folia Water’s paper water filter technology offers extremely affordable drinking water to those that make less than $10 a day.
· Vega Coffee empowers Latin American farmers by providing tools, training and market access to let farmers roast and package their own coffee, and therefore earn four times more than they would through other export channels.
Folio Water’s paper water filters offer affordable clean drinking water in Bangladesh.
A Common Thread
These four social enterprises are alike in their determination to fight poverty, but they are also alike in their connection to Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. The four enterprises are among thirteen others that make up this summer’s GSBI Online Cohort 11. Each enterprise is driven towards a social and/or environmental mission to improve our world for the better, in regions spanning from the Bay Area to countries across Africa. Pure Products Limited, Serve Africa Inc., and Vayu Grid Marketplace Services PLC work in agriculture and water, like those previously listed, while others work in a handful of other sectors. The remaining enterprises drive impact in health care technology, sustainable street vending, clean energy, 3D printing, youth rehabilitation via art workshops, and using the power of community for positive social change.
Susan’s House rehabilitates at-risk youth in Israel through art workshops.
Intrigued? So Were We.
Cohort 11 is comprised of enterprises that innovate and inspire. Miller Center is excited to work closely with the entrepreneurs that lead them, to help them scale the companies sustainably. This summer the entrepreneurs will participate in Miller Center’s GSBI Online program and be mentored closely by Silicon Valley’s business experts to scale the positive change initiatives they work in. Explore (and be inspired by) the full cohort below!
Cohort 11 at a Glance:
Advanced Inclusive Technology uses a lightweight, portable artificial intelligence-based healthcare system to check vitals and diagnose major health concerns.
Agro-Preneur Initiative seeks to grow the agricultural sector and improve market access for black commercial farmers and agribusiness entrepreneurs.
Design Outreach creates life-sustaining solutions to alleviate global poverty.
Farming Hope builds bridges out of homelessness through dignified work in gardening and cooking.
Folia Water offers revolutionary technology in water filtration to make safe drinking water affordable for the billions of people around the world without means to access clean water.
Healyx works with healthcare technology that enables patients with severe wounds to heal faster and leave hospitals sooner, and designed to be affordable for the extremely poor.
Imhanya uses recycled transportation pods to create legal, organized, and effective street vending solutions.
Kabadiwalla Connect uses information technology to leverage the circuits of the informal waste ecosystem to reduce recyclable waste sent to landfills in urban India.
Oorja Development Solutions India Private Limited empowers off-grid communities through providing access to clean, reliable and affordable energy.
Orkidstudio drives social change through building, enterprise and community.
Ovitz brings vision care that is convenient and affordable.
Pure Products Limited makes water affordable and accessible to the base of the pyramid.
Reflow making 3D printing sustainable, inclusive and community-driven.
Serve Africa Inc. is a conduit for aspiring young farmers to build sustainable agriculture enterprises in the Casamance region of Senegal.
Susan’s House rehabilitates at-risk youth in Israel through art workshops.
VayuGrid Marketplace Services PLC supplies bioenergy from nonproductive agricultural land to deliver sustainable economic, social and environmental impact.
Vega Coffee uses the coffee industry to support the education and financial wealth of women and coffee farmers in Latin America, producing high quality coffee.
