SDG Factory
REPORT October 2017, Geneva
Scaling Impact Globally
Geneva
In Numbers 200 participants 600 conversations 4 workshops 2500 emails 1000 photos 2000
livestream views
400 000 100%
twitter reach
hub certiďŹ ed
Table of Contents Foreword.......................................................................... 2 Why SDG Factory........................................................... 3 Workshop 1...................................................................... 4 SDG 17: Partnerships between multinationals and social entrepreneurs
Workshop 2......................................................................6 SDG 12: Waste & Supply Chains
Workshop 3......................................................................8 SDG 8: Measuring Your Impact Towards the SDGs
Workshop 4......................................................................10 SDG 5: Gender Equality & Social Entrepreneurship
Accelerate2030.............................................................. 12 Venture Pitches Finalists Scaling Week
Our Reach........................................................................ 22 Thank you partners........................................................ 23 What’s next..................................................................... 24 About Impact Hub.......................................................... 25
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Foreword - Canton of Geneva The Canton of Geneva is thrilled to support and be part of the SDG Factory. This is Geneva at its best. Here you have private sector and public sector. Local companies and multinationals. You have innovators and investors. There are not many other places in the world where you can gather such a diverse group of people, and all of these people are vital for the achievement of the SDGs.
ecosystem of Geneva meets and goes to work. It is where the dreamers and realists of the world come together to create a better world for all. Olivier Coutau Delegate to International Geneva Canton of Geneva
The SDG Factory is well named. This is not a talk show, this is where the diverse
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Why SDG Factory
At Impact Hub, we want to to leverage the potential of the international community to enable and support business solutions that tackle the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, we launched the Accelerate2030 program in partnership with UNDP, identifying and supporting to the most promising entrepreneurs working towards achieving the SDGs. We have received almost 500 applications to the program, and to-date, welcomed 14 international finalists to join us in Geneva and take part of an extensive acceleration program.
19 countries, working together across Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe. With the SDG Factory, we want bring together our partners, networks and the Geneva ecosystem, and connect them with the Accelerate2030 ventures, to work together for solutions for a sustainable future. Because the SDGs can only be achieved through continuous innovation, entrepreneurial action and close collaboration and partnerships. We hope you enjoyed this special day, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you want to shape the future together with us!
We are proud to say that more than 20 With kind regards, Geneva-based organisations - ranging from international organisations and large companies, to business consultancies and Alexandra “Santu” Boethus the public sector - have joined us to support Co-founder Impact Hub Geneva the Accelerate2030 ventures, connecting them to their networks and expertise. We’re also proud of our local partners, local Impact Hubs and UNDP country offices and others in
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Workshop 1
Partnerships Between Multinationals and Social Entrepreneurs What are the opportunities and challenges in creating partnerships between multinationals and social entrepreneurs?
Panelists of workshop 1 (left to right): Israël Magaña, CEO of HM Energy Mexico, Chris Gray, Senior Director of Pfizer, Stewart Southey, medical advisor of MedicalChain, and Corrine Fitzgerald, Catalyst Community Lead of SwissRe
Context: “Innovation is changing; big corporates are waking up to the fact that startups, especially digital and tech businesses, are disrupting whole industries from the bottom up. Forward looking corporates see startups not as a threat, but as potential partners to create more value for their company, consumers and sectors.” (Winning Together: A guide to successful corporate - startup collaborations, NESTA) Big global challenges like climate change, poverty, hunger can only be tackled on the systemic level which requires us to engage in ever more collaborative approaches. Even though it has now been widely recognized that startups and corporations have great complementarities that can be valorized through
collaboration, it is oftentimes difficult for such different actors to engage with each other. The goal of this workshop was to better understand the enablers and barriers for such collaborations and discuss how successful partnerships among impact-driven entrepreneurs and corporates can accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.
The Workshop: The workshop was attended by 40 participants. It began with a short panel discussion among two startup founders, Israel Magaña of HM Energy Mexico and Dr Stewart Southey of Medicalchain (Switzerland) and two representatives from the corporate sector, Corinne Fitzgerald, Swiss Re and Chris Grey, Pfizer. They discussed the opportunities and challenges in working with each other and these are some of the highlights of the discussion:
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often difficult for startups to find the ·rightIt isperson to deal with within the corporation. Navigating through complex layers of bureaucracy might be frustrating for fastmoving entrepreneurs. There is often an expectation mismatch ·between startups and corporations. Whereas startups are mostly interested in financing, for corporations financing and investing is often not the primary interest to collaborate. Corporates see the value in fresh ideas ·coming from local innovators. These ideas need help in order to scale - and this is where they (corporates) can help. startups partner up with corporations ·andWhen it works well, things can be done much faster than without their help. We don’t have time to waste in achieving the SDGs! This conversation was followed by a World Café, where the 40 participants had the opportunity to discuss three questions around improving the collaboration among entrepreneurs and corporates.
Conclusions & Key Takeaways: Question #1: Why is collaboration between startups and corporates important to achieve the SDGs? What opportunities do you see? The SDGs are a business opportunity that can be captured through efficient collaborations. The SDGs are very ambitious and can only be reached if cross-sectoral collaboration occurs. Corporates can play a role because they have networks with high impact whereas the startups bring new ideas and have more freedom and agility to try things out.
Collaborations save time as each actor does not have to reinvent the wheel. This is precious time saved to move closer to the SDGs. Question #2: What could corporates do to improve their collaboration with startups? Invest more time and resources to understand the realities of startups. Creation of special units within the corporations to deal with startups would help with this problem. Furthermore, corporations could be more communicative about their non-monetary offers to startups such as volunteer hours and mentoring. Question #3: What could startups do to improve their collaboration with corporates? Startups would need to put extra effort into measuring and communicating their impact effectively as well as being precise on their financial reports. These metrics are important for corporations to be able to engage well with them. A nice pitch is not enough. More clarity of what they would need and what their objectives are regarding the collaboration with corporations. Corporations can not only give financial support. Sometimes it is easier and more reasonable to ask for mentoring, volunteer hours, etc. It creates purpose for the corporates and creates ambassadors for the startup. Start small - with one clear objective and work the way forward to a larger collaboration.
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Workshop 2 Waste & Supply Chains
What are the ‘low-hanging fruits’ on the supply chain that entrepreneurs, multinationals and governments can easily tackle to reduce waste?
Workshop 2 panelists: Olcay SilahlÄą, Founder, WholeSurplus; Sergio Morales, R&D Lead, HM Energy; Gautier Delcloy, Founder, CO-Objectifs21
Context:
Four specific topics emerged: food & organic waste, packaging & plastic, energy, chemicals & detergents. The diversity of sectors represented Waste is a systemic problem, being simultaneously the cause and the result of many in each team was a strength. Yet, everyone came global challenges. Waste provokes environmental not only as a representative or stakeholder, but also as their own person. degradation yet is the long-lasting heritage of the prevailing linear economic model. However, We had the the opportunity to hear from awareness and urgency in the face of plastic Accelerate2030 finalists Olcay Silahli, CEO of oceans, dumping islands, and of waste entering Whole Surplus and Sergio Morales, R&D lead at our food chain is increasing. This ignites HM Energy Mexico, about how they had created entrepreneurial action and collaboration to startups from closing the waste loop in the food produce innovative solutions. This is what the and automobile industry value chains in Turkey Sustainable Living Lab - an Impact Hub Geneva and Mexico, respectively. We also heard from & Lausanne initiative - wishes to tackle. Gautier Delcloy, founder of CO-Objectifs21, and his efforts to make Geneva the first zero-waste The Workshop: city. These examples inspired us to jump into teamwork. The workshop began with an icebreaker and group brainstorm to identify the types of The second and hands-on part of the workshop waste to be tackled. This allowed participants consisted of a divergent-convergent process. to shuffle around and form teams around the For 20 minutes participants brainstormed on type of waste that revolted them the most.
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implementation challenges and entry points on the product’s life cycle. After this period, they had to select one idea to further develop. In the following 20-min period, the idea was refined to include considerations for limiting factors and stakeholders’ roles and actions. A solution canvas was offered as a tool to formulate and frame all aspects of the solution. A solution canvas was offered as a tool to formulate and frame all aspects of the solution.
3. A zero-waste line at mainstream supermarkets to increase accessibility and desirability of bulk products and zero-waste lifestyle in general. 4. A zero-waste urban community built on circularity, including compost toilet infrastructure and local food production.
Conclusions & Key Takeaways: Four innovative ideas resulted from the multistakeholder teamwork: 1. A campaign for a change in customer behaviour in favour of homemade eco-friendly detergent, including youtube videos, workshops and published books. 2. Improved education to create more awareness and motivate people to create alternatives.
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Workshop 3
Measuring Your Impact Towards the SDGs Measuring your organisation’s contribution towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Best Practices, challenges, and opportunities.
Panelists of workshop 3: Jonathon Normand of B Corp; Antonio Hautle of UN Global Compact; Hicham Bennani of Air France - KLM
Context:
The Workshop:
Organizations across all sectors and industries increasingly aim to have a positive impact in today’s world and contribute in a way or another to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In order for this positive impact to be recognized as well as learnt from, organizations need to effectively measure their social and environmental impact. However, while current practices in impact measurement differ widely among organizations and are burdensome for many organisations, successful impact measurement may actually act as a positive driver for new business models and opportunities for increased impact.
The goal of the workshop was to understand how organizations can evaluate their impact aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals. The workshop was opened by an introduction to the UN Global Compact presented by Antonio Hautle, head of the UN Global Compact Switzerland, and the B Impact Assessment presented by Jonathan Normand, founder and executive director B-Lab Switzerland. A short presentation about how the drive to become the most sustainable airline worldwide is fuelling innovation. Currently, investment in new planes such as the Dreamliner have
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decreased fuel consumption by up to 20%. Moreover, Air France-KLM is a first mover in using biofuels – KLM now has 2 segments which only use biofuel. For them benchmarking their results internally, between Air France and KLM, led to a positive challenge which increased their degree of innovation and improved their overall impact. The workshop continued with a hands-on session working with the Accelerate2030 entrepreneurs to explore new key performance indicators (KPI) to evaluate the impact they aimed to achieve in one or more of the SDGs. After an initial brainstorm, each group had to select one measurement to be further developed. A solution canvas related to the SDG tackled was offered as a tool to formulate and frame all aspects of the solution. The KPI developed was then presented to the whole group, and along with it some new business practices emerged, for example: A KPI to measure the number of malaria ·cases HM Energy Mexico prevents by recycling tires: It is known that 50% of unrecycled tires host mosquitos which may
spread malaria. Relating the number of tires recycled to a bigger global issue such as malaria would make the KPI more tangible and “not just numbers”. However, most importantly, through the exercise, the team found a new solution to storing their unrecycled tires, which would have a further positive impact on the spread of malaria. A KPI to determine how many liters ·of water were saved because of Piipee’s solution to decrease toilet water usage. The conversation brought forward various business opportunities for Piipee to also impact people that do not have access to water or to toilets.
Conclusion Measuring impact is not redundant because if done well, it can lead to innovation in an organization and positive driver for change. Impact measurement is a learning journey, a possibility to engage staff, partners and community to reflect on the tangible opportunities to improve, and to find new solutions for increased impact.
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Workshop 4
Gender Equality & Social Entrepreneurship What are the biggest challenges social entrepreneurs face with regards to gender and how can they be empowered to overcome them?
Workshop 4 panelists: Caroline Kant of EspeRare; Alexandra Marcon-Karacsonyi of Hire & Keep; and Enrique Hablutzel of Impact Hub
Context: Women are less likely to run businesses or be in positions of leadership, and on average they earn 75 % less than men. In Switzerland, 85% of executive roles and 74% of management jobs are held by men. While women and men indeed face many of the same barriers when starting and running social enterprises, women social entrepreneurs do encounter some additional barriers. Social entrepreneurship has played a small but significant role in women’s empowerment on a global scale. However, research shows it has the potential to play a much greater one.
According to a recent report by the British Council (1), up to 12million more women could be social entrepreneurs across Brazil, India, Pakistan, the UK and the USA alone, if they were given the right recognition and support.
The Workshop: The objectives of the workshop were to understand the challenges at the intersection of gender and social entrepreneurship and to explore how to overcome them through hands-on examples derived from participants’ relevant personal experiences.
(1) Activist to entrepreneur: the role of social enterprise in supporting women’s empowerment, British Council, 2017
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Co-designed by: Hire & Keep
The workshop began with a short panel conversation about the topic and personal experiences by Caroline Kant, Executive Director of EspeRare and Ashoka fellow, Enrique Alvarado Hablutzel, Accelerate2030 manager, and Alexandra MarcoinKaracsonyi, Hire & Keep. Some of the challenges shared were as follows: Balancing family with work responsibilities Making contacts where the majority are men; it can be difficult to find peers Being dismissed by men in the business ecosystem Being perceived as a young woman rather than an experienced business person Being ignored or quickly dismissed if there is also a man in the room Needing to outperform men to be noticed Fighting against stereotypes Experiencing a gender-bias in certain industries e.g. biotech, and in VC
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As a next step, break-out groups reframed 6 key issues or untapped opportunities currently faced by the the panelists of the day: 1. How can we increase our fundraising through donations 2. How can we succeed with impact investors 3. How can we increase our self confidence 4. How can we use technology to promote our enterprise 5. How can we optimise risk appetite 6. How do we shape best our organization for success
Biliana Vassileva
Lastly, participants broke out in groups to address the key challenges and propose solutions and opportunities reflecting their shared experiences and backgrounds.
Conclusions & Key Takeaways: Some solutions for entrepreneurs to overcome their challenges were: Seek VC firms with women ·representation, and try to get direct access to the women investors – find them more collaborative and open Be confident and know who you are, this also means what are your products and what you try to sell Build your self-confidence Mentorship is very important – seek to use male mentors. They can give a male perspective on how women are perceived, how to overcome gender bias, and open up their networks Use your network to increase opportunities Use technology to facilitate the processes inside the company Have a clear due diligence, in order to understand the real value of your product or service and target the correct opportunities for fundraising Shape your organization to understand what skills and expertise you have internally, what skills you need in the future and what do you need from others
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Accelerate2030 Pitches
After the SDG Factory workshops, newcomers were welcomed to the Impact Hub to watch the nine Accelerate2030 finalists pitch to the audience, followed by a short Q&A. The event was livestreamed on facebook and was followed by networking and drinks, which was also the public’s chance to meet the ventures and peers.
About Accelerate2030 Accelerate2030 is a global accelerator co-initiated by Impact Hub Geneva and the UNDP, with a mission to scale the impact of ventures that contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals internationally. In 2017, we worked in 17 countries, across 4 continents, receiving more than 320 applications. Nine international finalists were selected to participate in the 12-month support program from October 2017September 2018.
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The Finalists
Ezequiel Vedana Da Rosa Brazil
Piipee is a solution that eliminates all toilet water usage during urination having already saved millions of litres of water. Piipee uses a biodegradable solution made with natural extracts in a dispenser that when pressed, reacts with the urine, removing its smell, changing the colour, cleaning the toilet, thus creating an all-in-one solution for eliminating urine without the use of water.
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Daniela Galindo Bermudez Colombia
Hablando Con Julis is proof that people with speech, writing, and learning disabilities can have the same opportunities as any other. This all-in-one technological solution enables people with communication impediments at all ages to read, write, speak, and learn by the use of images that are interpreted through written and voiced words.
Nic Klopper
South Africa hearScreen, is the world’s first clinically valid hearing screening solution on a smartphone providing accurate hearing testing to nonspecialists while adhering to international best practice protocols and standards, with the addition to inform and refer patients to their closest healthcare provider using SMS or email addon. hearX’s innovative solutions have been used to screen over 70 000 people in 25 countries across the world and are as accurate, but faster, more than 80% cheaper, and easier to use than traditional methods.
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Israel MagaĂąa Mexico
HM Energy Mexico have innovated a thermalconversion process to converting pollutant waste tires into valuable commodities, cleaner diesel fuel and carbon black char. Worldwide, 13.5 million tons/year (1.35 Billion tires) of scrap tires are generated and only 9% are recycled. The diesel substitute compatible with open diesel burners is 35% cleaner, and 40% cheaper than conventional diesel.
Olcay Silahli Turkey
WholeSurplus is a unique SaaS Marketplace that significantly reduces waste, while saving money and time for retailers and food businesses by providing the most accurate data analytics. The ultimate purpose of this system is to provide real time insights on food availability for food banks to cut food wastage down to zero. Through the platform, retailers can cut costs by donating left over food to those in need.
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Nikolai Schwarz Cambodia
TREE Alliance is a global alliance of training restaurants building futures for marginalized young people and adults. The highly successful model combines on-thejob training with life skills education and all the social support necessary to ensure that students become skilled, productive and happy young meaningful persons with a more secure future.
Zakheni Ngubo South Africa
Syafunda integrates the best local teaching practices and classroom dynamics through interactive video tutorials and workbooks in a local context and languages within the local curriculum with the best teachers in the country. By taking abstract concepts and bringing it back to daily experiences, Syafunda provides a mix of traditional and familiar elements of learning into a digital environment.
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Raphael Mijeno Philippines
SALt has developed an innovative energy solution using salt water to power ecologically designed lamps. By adding salt water to the lamp, the metal-air fuel cell generates electricity to light up the lamp and charge mobile devices. SALt is the first to develop a cost-effective and more efficient aqueous battery solution with a life span that is 8 times longer than current metal-air battery systems.
Barrett Nash Rwanda
SafeMotos is a Rwandan-based Uber-style ride hailing platform specifically designed for motorcycle taxis in emerging markets with the mission of making motorcycle transportation more efficient and safer for passengers. Using smartphones, the technology captures telemetry on the style of driving and customers reviews based on their safety (driving style, available helmet, etc.). SafeMotos also has a training programme for female drivers challenging the monopoly males have in this market.
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A2030 Scaling Week The SDG Factory was organized within the Accelerate2030 Scaling Week that took place from 8th -13th of October. The aim of the week was to kick-off of the 12-month support programme for the international finalists, introduce them to programme partners and make connections to strategic networks in Geneva, including international development organizations, impact investors, corporate partners and other stakeholders. Have a look at some of the highlights of the week:
Leadership and Resilience Retreat The ventures started the Scaling Week in Chamonix, France. Surrounded by the Alps, the finalists participated in a leadership and resilience retreat with coach Louise Le Gat and the Accelerate2030 team.
Impact Measurement Session B Lab Switzerland designed a session on Impact Measurement for the ventures, discussing the importance of measuring impact and the possibility of becoming B Corp certified organization.
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Scaling Workshop Scaling4good designed a scaling workshop for the ventures, aimed at exploring different strategies and models to scale their impact, based on their specific businesses and needs.
Pitching Clinic The ventures received pitching support from public speaking and pitching coaches: Samuel Lagier, Angela Go and Krister Ahlberg as preparation for the different meetings with investors and partners throughout the week.
Investment Readiness Day Investors Heiner Weber of Katalysen, Risto Väyrynen, and Erkki Izarra supported the ventures on investment readiness for a whole day, helping them understand investors expectations and the investment process. They went over the pitches, crunched numbers, and gave valuable advice to the finalists. In the second part of the session, entrepreneurs were joined by additional Swiss investors that took a deep dive with them during 1:1 sessions.
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Fireside Chat with PULSE Finalists The A2030 ventures joined local entrepreneurs and winners of Impact Hub’s PULSE programme for a fireside chat, where experienced entrepreneurs shared their stories with local startups.
PULSE
Bring your impact to life
Connection session with Scaling Partners The ventures also met A2030 partners that will be helping them in their scaling efforts in the next 9 months, including: Dalberg, Sidley, Boston Consulting Group, WIPO, and a pool of professional coaches.
Visit to the International Trade Centre The International Trade Centre hosted the finalists to meet and learn about how the ITC can support each venture for the upcoming year.
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Investors Breakfast In the morning of the SDG Factory, the ventures had an opportunity to present to a wider group of investors and have one on one sessions with a selected group.
Social Good Summit On the last day of the scaling week the ventures participated in the Social Good Summit, a high level event organised by UNDP, and 5 ventures had the chance to present on stage.
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Our Reach SDG Factory Reach 200 participants in the SDG Factory 2000 livestream views during the pitching event
400 000 twitter reach The SDG Factory was a success in bringing together hundreds of people from impact investors to entrepreneurs, from public to private sector, and from multinationals to the general public. The workshops led to concrete outcomes which will be integrated into Impact Hub programmes such as the Sustainable Living Lab.
Accelerate2030 Reach 50+ partners 300+ applications 1M+ Social Media reach
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Thank you Partners We would of course like to thank all of the partners that made this journey and this day possible. Without the support of these organisations our dream would not become reality. None of the global entrepreneurs would have been in Geneva if it wasn’t for you. This special week and programme exists thanks to you!
alphamundi
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What’s next? At the Impact Hub, we believe that as a community we can help society meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. And that’s where you come in. There are many ways to engage and take action through the Impact Hub: - Support the Accelerate2030 Finalists - Join us for follow-up discussions from the SDG Factory - Join the newly launched Sustainable Living Lab - Learn about other things happening at Impact Hub Geneva Do you want to join us? Let us know here and we’ll follow-up with everyone of you and guide you on next steps.
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About Impact Hub
Impact Hub is a community, collaborative space and incubator dedicated to the promotion of ideas, projects, start-ups and initiatives that have a positive impact in the world. We bring together the private sector, the public sector, civil society and experts and innovators from all fields to prototype the future of business and society. Our global network:
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“It’s through collaboration that we can really make a difference. It’s through partnerships and working together that we can find the real solutions and empower people who are making a real difference. That’s what Accelerate2030 can bring.” Zakheni Ngubo CEO of Syafunda Accelerate2030 finalist
“Thanks to this programme we are now thinking big. I ran out of business cards because so many people want to help us create impact in this world. Thanks to all the amazing and inspiring people we met during this week.” Israel Magaña CEO of HM Energy Mexico Accelerate2030 finalist
Scaling Impact Globally www.accelerate2030.net