Just before April we arrived in Thailand for the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC), featuring “The Best Social Ventures on the Planet“. The talent, hard work, and heart of the folks at this competition was truly remarkable. We enjoyed listening to the many moving stories from business and thought leaders around the world. It was an incredible and memorable event for us at 10Power, and we were truly honored to present on the main stage as a top 6 finalist, winning a cash prize for our efforts to empower the world through clean growth! Thank you to GSVC for facilitating partnerships and friendships around the globe. Congratulations to all of the competitors:
The Story of 10Power is currently featured on OpenIDEO’s Climate Innovation Platform.
OpenIDEO is a global open innovation platform.
The Climate Innovation Challenge was born from OpenIDEO’s quest: “to understand how we can best support creative approaches to tackling climate change. We reached out broadly and listened to government officials, foundations, entrepreneurs, investors, NGOs, students, teachers, and designers.
And what we heard, time and again, was the need for storytelling.
All over the world, people are dedicating their lives to tackling climate change in creative ways. They are building new technology, exploring new business models and creating new ways to reduce our footprint. It’s time to celebrate their pioneering leadership and support their efforts. It’s time to share their stories on a global stage and build connections that can accelerate impact.
These stories can offer inspiration. They can teach us how to take action in our own communities. They can raise awareness and connect us to climate innovators who are already making a difference. Climate change is a global problem and everyone, everywhere, can be a part of the solution. Together, we can accomplish much more than we can as individuals.”
On the issue of climate we must be united. This concerns the whole of humanity. –French President François Hollande
COP21—the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris—provides an opportunity for us all to take unified action toward a more sustainable future. To build on this global effort, OpenIDEO has asked community members, friends and creative individuals around the world to host events during COP21 (November 30 – December 11). These convenings will focus on learning from local climate innovators and brainstorming how we might support more innovation to address climate change.
San Jose, CA – VERGE, the world’s leading conference at the intersection of technology and sustainability, holds an Accelerate competition each year to showcase qualified, early stage startups with world-changing ideas. This year’s winners: 10Power, a B-Corp bringing renewable energy to international markets that lack electricity and EiP Technologies– a low-hassle roof wind turbine installer.
On October 29, 2015, 10Power pitched from the main stage alongside competitors and won via mobile votes from live and online audiences, and received accolades from venture capitalist judges Nancy Pfund of DBL and Danny Kennedy of Sungevity and Powerhouse.
This was a great milestone on 10Power’s trajectory. We are thankful to VERGE for this opportunity,” said CEO and Founder Sandra Kwak.
Winning the VERGE Accelerate program can gain startups valuable exposure, partnerships, and funding opportunities. Previous winners include: XL Hybrid (2013), an electric hybrid conversion company that recently raised $10.2 million in funding, and Mosaic (2012), a peer-to-peer lending platform that connects clean energy investors to solar projects to promote more clean energy investing. Mosaic had only been established a year prior to winning the VERGE Accelerator and today they have raised over $24 Million in funding, are 55 employees strong, and are experiencing strong month-on-month revenue growth.
About 10Power On a mission to redefine international development as sustainable innovation, 10Power provides solar finance and project management for enterprises in emerging economies that lack equal access to electricity. Through a network of community partners, 10Power is building long-term capacity for renewable energy, clean water, gender empowerment, and ecosystem restoration. Currently, 10Power has projects underway in Haiti – one of the most energy poor nations on the planet.
Affordable energy is the foundation upon which all the advantages of modern civilization are built. Yet, 1.3 billion people (19% of the global population) do not have access to adequate electricity. Today, renewable technologies can be provided at affordable prices, giving communities around the globe access to local energy generation that is clean, affordable, and reliable. 10Power is bringing access to renewable energy to the places that need it the most.
