Amid crisis, ShelterTech supports ventures that bring innovation home
“The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react,” once said dramatist and Nobel Prize winner, George Bernard Shaw. Corporations of all shapes and sizes have been reacting best they can to the challenges associated with COVID-19. The pandemic is a tragedy, of course, having killed more than 1 million people and upended economies around the world.
But in the face of crisis, more and more entrepreneurs and businesses are deciding to act, not out of necessity but opportunity. In many places, the pandemic has significantly changed the business landscape, and the possibilities are indeed numerous. Habitat for Humanity, the global housing organization, wants to reward the best of those ideas through ShelterTech, the leading global platform for innovation in affordable housing.
ShelterTech bridges the gap between small-but-vital businesses and the 1.8 billion people worldwide without access to decent and affordable housing, as part of Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter and its ongoing efforts to disrupt the sector. Previously an accelerator program run in Mexico, Kenya and India in 2017 and 2018, the initiative now seeks to puts entrepreneurs at the center of a global, highly connected ecosystem of collaborators who share a passion for revolutionary solutions in affordable housing.
From working a wall-building 3D printer India to delivering affordable solar energy in rural Mexico, today’s entrepreneurs in low- and middle-income countries are developing ideas that address challenges faced by their own communities, such as poverty, disease and disasters.
ShelterTech is now calling for housing innovators in Southeast Asia and in the Andean region of South America to step forward for a boutique accelerating experience, which will see them working alongside global peers, mentors, advisors and technical experts to improve their businesses, open new markets and bring sustainable products and services to low-income households. Top priority are ideas that improve housing in the COVID-19 context. The accelerators are being powered by incubation veterans: Villgro Philippines in Southeast Asia and Village Capital in the Andean region
“The more we talked to companies, impact investors and other ecosystem players, we realized that the concept of ‘affordable housing’ has been barely explored in the innovation sector. We want to identify these groundbreaking ideas and empower a global network of players to develop products and services that meet the demands of low-income markets, while also making their homes safer and healthier,” said Patrick Kelley, vice-president of Habitat’s Terwilliger Center, which works with housing market actors. To Kelley, pivoting startups to tackle affordable housing solutions can be an extraordinary opportunity, especially given the current state of the global economy.
Previous accelerators proved to be steps in the right direction. With more than 40 startups under its belt, ShelterTech’s alumni have gone on to join various impact investment programs and raise funds from major development funds, such as Catalyst Fund, ViKtoria Business Angels Network and Alquity Investments. Habitat also manages its own Shelter Venture Fund, which invests in businesses focused on improving housing conditions.
One success story is Graviti, a platform to connect the unbanked with lines of credit for sustainable home services in Mexico, providing families with access to basic services and household appliances powered by IoT and pay-as-you-go technology. Founded in 2014 by Yusef Jacobs, a young Physics Engineering graduate, the company’s affordable electricity services aspire to allow Mexican families to use the money they save to invest in their children’s education. In addition to US$ 200,000 invested from Habitat’s Shelter Venture Fund, Graviti recently raised US$98,000 in grant capital from Catalyst Fund.
“I believe the program and without a doubt its funding, add a lot of value (to the growth of our company). But the biggest benefit comes from the collaboration and interactions with the participating companies,” said Jacobs.
Andrés Muñoz, fellow ShelterTech Mexico alumnus and CEO of Energryn, which developed ‘Solesyto’, a spherical insulated tank that harnesses the sun to heat water stored inside the tank, is also an enthusiast of the collaboration opportunities that emerged from the accelerator. “A piece of advice for other startups would be to take advantage of possible synergies and opportunities that could allow them to interact with other cohort participants. Beyond winning the money granted, that was the greatest prize the accelerator programs provided.”
In India, ShelterTech startups took advantage of the program’s emphasis on innovations connected to construction technology. Modulus Housing, a Chennai-based startup that develops foldable, portable houses, attributes to ShelterTech its recent partnership with the government of the state of Kerala for the development of mediCAB, an instant infrastructure solution which is being used for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. “Handled by experts in the field, along with Habitat’s rich experience on shelter technology, makes it a complete package for any startup in the sector or aspiring to be in this sector,” said Shreeram Ravichandran, Modulus’ CEO.
The housing sector needs more pandemic-related creativity. And for those entrepreneurs ready to act, Habitat’s ShelterTech is ready to support them.
Upcoming 2020 cohorts in the Andean region and Southeast Asia will be announced by end November 2020. Stay tuned for updates and other news on affordable housing innovation.
Visit habitat.org/sheltertech for more opportunities.
