Catalyzing Innovations that Matter
As you saw in our latest newsletter, 2014 was a busy year for us and for our portfolio. Instead of a weekly review this week, we are highlighting some of the press recognition our portfolio companies have received this year. Browse the articles below or bookmark this page to read about the great work they are doing around the world.
EGG-energy (Tanzania)
“Life in better light” by Rob Matheson – MIT News … read more
The City of Benicia in California launched the first solar powered, grid-tied, battery-backed electric vehicle (EV) Fast Charging Station this summer. Our portfolio company Growing Energy Labs, Inc. (Geli) helped catalyze the project and supplied a critical piece of the puzzle: energy storage optimization software. Geli’s EOS (Energy Operating System) intelligently manages the charging station as a whole to determine when to draw from the solar panels on the roof, when to … read more
Last week, we wrote about the importance of connectivity in education in Africa. In this post, we’ll focus on a solution that our portfolio company SolarNow provides. When it comes to education, electricity is critical for reading lights, internet connectivity, as well as for a wide variety of education technologies that schools can use to improve their outcomes. SolarNow is working to provide these key ingredients for improved education by designing PV solar systems … read more
As a follow up to our post on Education, Energy, and the Digital Divide in Africa, visit BRCK’s blog to learn how our portfolio company is making education technology work with its last-mile Internet connectivity solution in rural Kenya.
“What does it take to launch an e-learning initiative in remote schools in Kenya? Last week I packed my bags and drove four hours northwest of Nairobi to Isiolo to find out. BRCK was invited … read more
Kenya’s BRCK raises $1.2M to connect the last mile to the internet
July 9, 2014
Nairobi, Kenya
Ushahidi spinout BRCK Inc. announced today that it has closed a $1.2 million seed round. BRCK is solving last-mile connectivity problems with a device that can bring seamless internet connection to the most remote areas of the world.
Invested Development, an early stage impact investor, led the round for the Nairobi-based technology startup. Invested Development, Omvestments, Urban.us, Cheryl … read more
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 16, 2014
Boston, MA & Nairobi, Kenya – Invested Development, an early stage impact investment fund manager, has invested in iProcure, a technology startup serving the needs of the agricultural ecosystem in Kenya. iProcure provides software to enhance sales and inventory management in rural and peri-urban agriculture markets. As a result, farmers can access high-quality farming inputs and equipment conveniently and affordably.
According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the … read more
We are excited to welcome CropIn Technologies to the BSP Fund portfolio. CropIn is a Bangalore-based software startup that makes farm operations efficient, transparent, and traceable. The software collects data from the field and makes it available to assist agri-businesses and farmers to improve productivity and sustainability. The cloud-based solution simplifies complex farming operations, especially those common to contract farming, an area ripe for technology innovation.
Contract farming is … 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
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
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
Since we first announced the Impact Factoring Fund, we’ve been working hard to help our portfolio companies take advantage of the opportunity to access working capital. One of our portfolio companies, Frogtek, is particularly excited to apply the IFF to its efforts of financing tablets for their customers in Mexico and Colombia.
Frogtek’s innovative technology is an application, Tiendatek, which allows micro shopkeepers to manage sales and inventory on their smartphone or tablet. … read more