Catalyzing Innovations that Matter
Every week, we read dozens of articles on our favorite industry trends and relate to our investment thesis. We pick the most popular trend from the week and share the top articles along with our thoughts.
This week’s topic is solar power in emerging markets. Headlines included updates on India’s National Solar Mission and the practical use of solar power on-the-ground in Africa.… read more
Last week we looked at the support system for mobile tech innovation; this week, several headlines caught our attention regarding the developing ecosystem of support for clean tech entrepreneurs in emerging markets.… read more
Last week we introduced the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission and explained the reality of the energy situation in India. Will it be possible for India to reach the goal of 20GW of installed solar capacity by 2020? We built a model to test the feasibility, and today we’ll share our findings.… read more
In a first-of-its-kind plan, the Indian government announced the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission with the goal of achieving 20 GW of installed solar capacity by 2020. An incredible ambition, many are wondering if it is possible. There’s no denying that the country needs it, but is it possible to garner enough investment in solar to install 20 GW of capacity by 2020? We looked at several macroeconomic factors to determine the feasibility of the … read more
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| Photograph: Rafiq Maqbool/AP via The Guardian |
This week we read a lot of articles on the global efforts to eliminate energy poverty. At Invested Development, we’re interested in electrifying the poorest countries to promote development using clean and sustainable energy. In addition to development, energy access can also prevent humanitarian crisis like the one we’re currently seeing in the Horn of Africa. Businesses, agencies, and governments need to work together to research and develop clean technology to eliminate energy poverty in … read more
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In a recent post, we discussed an innovative pricing model for the Base of the Pyramid with the example of Simpa Networks. This post introduces another innovative pricing model that demonstrates affordability a little differently, along with an innovative distribution model. EGG-energy, Simpa Networks, and the other companies in our portfolio understand that the customers they serve need basic affordability and accessibility.
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| SELCO solar panels in India at Simpa Site Visit |
Social entrepreneurs face many challenges: finding the right impact investor, working with government regulations in emerging markets (or lack thereof), meeting the needs of citizens at the Base of the Pyramid, designing products and services that are profitable and scalable. Most importantly, social entrepreneurs must make their products and services affordable. The world’s poorest citizens have no savings and little access to formal credit, but that is not to say that they do not have … read more
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