Catalyzing Innovations that Matter
Editor’s Note: Special thanks to our financial analyst and Excel whiz Lee Carter for his work on this post.
Startup projections come in all shapes and sizes. At Invested Development, we have seen 5-year expected revenues ranging from less than $300,000 to over $10 billion. One company might expect to make money selling to less than 10 customers for its entire lifetime, and another will expect to sell to over 250 million users by the … read more
This week was an exciting one for agriculture technology startups. New deals, including two involving our portfolio companies, marked yet another step forward in the pursuit of increased yields, long-term profits and improved quality of life for farmers and consumers.
Invested Development backs India’s CropIn by Louisa Burwood-Taylor on Agri Investor
We were excited to announce our investment in CropIn Technology Solutions and chat with Agri Investor about the deal. CropIn provides real time information … read more
Solar energy is one of the biggest potential sources for decentralized energy. Check out news from the last few weeks on the latest news in the solar industry.
Nebo Suggests Adoption Of Solar Energy By Africa on Leadership Newspaper
Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, recently suggested that African countries should embrace solar energy as a major form of power generation for the continent. He cited the expansive solar resources that Africa holds and … read more
Our portfolio companies are regularly recognized for their work around the globe. Today, we’re highlighting the press recognition some of them have received in the last quarter.
January 23, 2014: “Fresno Ag Company Among Finalists for IBM Global Entrepreneur Award” on The Fresno Bee
February 2, 2014: “Alumnus’ Startup Gets Global Attention” on The
With our vested interest in agriculture technology, we are always excited to hear about new developments in the agriculture sector. Below are some of the best articles about the future of agriculture technology.
Tradition Meets Technology: The Changing Face of Agriculture by Elizabeth Arakelian on Turlock Journal
Agriculture is a $395 billion industry in the United States, but the average age of the American farmer is 58 years old. The inclusion of technology in the … read more
Invested Development Invests in Rowbot Systems to Increase Nitrogen Use Efficiency
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2014
Boston, MA & Minneapolis, MN – Invested Development (ID), an early stage impact investment fund manager, has invested in Rowbot Systems, an agriculture technology startup in Minnesota. Rowbot Systems is developing an autonomous robotic machine for precise Nitrogen fertilizer applications and cover crop seeding in cornfields and other row crops.
Rowbot’s autonomous machine navigates within narrow rows to … read more
With our interest in technology in emerging markets, we are always interested in new ideas to increase Internet access. Check out some of these innovative approaches to increasing the efficiency and scope of Internet access in the developing world.
The Small Brick-Shaped Device Can Help Get Millions of Africans Online by Adele Peters on Fast.Co Exist
Even in large cities in Africa, Internet access is difficult to find and often unreliable. However, the BRCK can … read more
One of the ways the technology startups can maximize their social impact and achieve success is by learning from the mistakes and successes of other organizations. Below are a few pieces of advice, opportunities, and lessons learned that startups should keep in mind.
“An Inside Look At Running a Cleantech Startup in India” by Rupesh Shah on GreenBiz
In order to ensure that a startup is moving in the correct direction, it is … read more
Since 1960 we have increased global food production by 2.5X (FAO) and more than doubled our population. One of the biggest contributing factors to our increased crop production is Nitrogen and the Nitrogen-enriched fertilizer that is produced from it. Nitrogen is one of the basic building blocks of amino acids: a fundamental part of any organic organism and hugely beneficial to crop growth. However, it can have detrimental effects on the global ecosystem when used … read more
With our vested interest in alternative energy and emerging markets, we are always excited to see startups in and out of the portfolio recognized for their efforts, whether that’s through finding an investor match of simply receiving credit on well-respected publications. Below are some of the exciting developments in the alternative energy startup space over the past few weeks.
Ghana-Based Renewable Energy Startup Acquired in an Estimated 7-Figure Deal by Shea Gunther on Mother Nature … read more
Remittances and mobile money have played a big role in promoting financial inclusion in emerging markets. Currently it’s a market dominated by big players like Western Union, but more and more often we’re seeing localized startups like Remit in Uganda looking to make financial services even easier and more inclusive.
“Safaricom Deal to Allow Diaspora to Send Money to M-Pesa Accounts” by Chris Udemans on HumanIPO
The growth of mobile technology has had … read more
The food and agriculture industry, from big to small, from the US to Africa, will undergo a new wave of technology adoption in the next 5-10 years. The core theme driving this adoption is the need for food security and food safety.
“Agricultural Technologies Could Increase Global Crop Yields as Much as 67 Percent and Cut Food Prices Nearly in Half by 2050” by International Food Policy Research Institute
The world’s population is … read more
Due to our focus on a emerging markets, and our range of portfolio companies that are located in Africa, we have a vested interest in the progress and success of African markets. Here are some of the stories that caught our attention regarding investment in African development.
Africa: Why Addis Still Matters More Than Davos by Liesl Louw-Vaudran in AllAfrica.com
Over the last few weeks delegations have meet in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic … read more
With mobile technology as one of our key investment themes, mobile money has been exemplary in defining the impact that mobile can have on access to finance for both individuals and organizations. Here’s what we read this week on the latest news in mobile money.
Mobile Money Transforms Kenyan Banking Market from Mobile Payments Today
As one of the best examples of successful mobile money adoption, 64% of Kenyans now actively use their mobile phone … read more
We are always researching the latest innovations in the agriculture technology sector for potential investments for the BSP Fund. Here are some of the stories that caught our attention this week.
Robot Farmers are the Future of Agriculture, says Government by Fiona Harvey
Development of an increasing number of “farmbots” is beginning to take place in many countries. These robots and drones are specially made to perform time-consuming agricultural tasks, such as weeding, pruning, … read more
This week we focused on the growing push of technology in the agricultural sector. An estimated 50% of the world’s land is used for agriculture. With the world’s growing population, we need an increase in food production and sustainable agricultural practices to support upcoming generations. By 2050, the global population is expected to exceed 9 billion people. We are always looking for innovators and start-ups that can bring innovation and technology to the agricultural sector.… read more
After nearly a decade of increases, GDP growth in Latin America slowed from 4.4 percent in 2011 to 3.2 percent in 2012 and 4.0 percent in 2013. Despite slowing growth, Latin American countries are still innovating and embracing new ICT. We are always looking for start ups and innovators to bring technology to Latin America.
‘Colombia will be 1st country in Latin America completely connected to internet:’ Santos by Daniel Freeman on Colombia Reports
Recently, … read more
Agriculture employs 65% of Africa’s labor force and accounts for 32% of gross domestic product overall. Of the 65% employed, smallholder farmers produce 80% of Africa’s food. With modern technology, African countries are taking initiatives to change the agricultural sector.
Science Agriculture Estate Programme to Begins Next Year on Ghana News Agency
On November 19, Seth Terkper, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, announced that the Ghanaian government will begin working on an … read more
Developing countries received over $400 billion in remittances in 2012 according to a World Bank (see our infographic on remittances here). This is a great example of how mobile money has changed the way people send money by making it easier and safer. This week, we read many stories detailing both progress and challenges in the sector. We are always looking for innovative entrepreneurs that piggyback on the success of mobile money to provide … read more
Wind energy has been used for centuries to move ships, pump water, and grind grain. It’s now one of the most cost-effective sources of new generation, competing with new installations of coal, gas and nuclear power. We are always looking for innovative technologies that can resolve the energy access gap.
Wind power seen generating up to 18% of global power by 2050 on International Energy Agency
By 2050, wind power could generate up to 18% … read more
One of the major reasons we’re investing in agriculture is because of the population shift we will see over the next 40 years. There’ll be more mouths to feed, smaller farming populations, and no new arable land to work with. We’ve visualized the driving force – urbanization – in the infographic below. Please share!
At ID, we invest in for-profit social enterprises because we believe in their potential to create impact at scale. However, there are some misconceptions and barriers have prevented social ventures from receiving capital. In this week’s reading we hope to provide a better understanding of impact investing and the work that investors, NGOs, and policy makers are doing to remove the barriers.
Impact Investing Goes Mainstream in Ontario, Canada on Triple Pundit
Today the worlds … read more
With the upcoming GSMA Mobile for Development Summit, we focused our weekly reading on mobile money and technology. Mobile money has become a mainstream service for MNOs in emerging markets posing both benefits and risks. We are always looking for innovators and startups that can piggyback on these innovations to promote financial inclusion at the bottom of the pyramid.
Mobile money transforming Africa by Arthur Goldstruck on Mark Lives
Since the first mobile payments … read more
This week we focused our reading on the benefits and use of clean energy. By 2030, the United Nations aims to double energy efficiency and renewable energy worldwide and declared this decade one of Sustainable Energy For All. Over 1.4 billion people lack access to basic electricity, 95% of which live in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. We are always looking for innovative technologies that can resolve the energy access gap.
