One Degree Solar Invited to Ban Ki-moon’s UN Private Sector Forum on Sustainable Energy for All
13 Sep 2011 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
One Degree Solar has been invited to participate in the upcoming UN Private Sector Forum on Sustainable Energy For All. The high-level roundtable discussion brings together leaders from business, government, civil society and the UN. The invitation-only Forum takes place during Climate Week NYC and will be hosted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The event brings together global leaders committed to sustainable energy innovation, a topic that will be highlighted throughout 2012, the Year of Sustainable Energy for All.
Gaurav Manchanda to be Panelist at SOCAP11; receives Social Entrepreneur Scholarship
4 Sep 2011 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
One Degree Solar founder Gaurav Manchanda was among 50 social entrepreneurs to receive a SOCAP Scholarship for 2011. He will be a guest on the Technology Solutions: Ready to Scale panel being held on September 7th. SOCAP is a multi-platform organization dedicated to the flow of capital towards social good. The industry-leading SOCAP series of events connects leading global innovators – investors, foundations, institutions and social entrepreneurs – to build a market at the intersection of money and meaning. Speakers at this year’s event in San Francisco include Ken Wilson, Executive Director of the Christensen Fund, Jocelyn Watt, Executive Director of Ideo.org, Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigslist, and Brian Trelstad, Chief Investment Officer of the Acumen Fund. SOCAP sponsors include Microplace, Halloran Philanthropies, Omidyar Network, RSF Social Finance, and other great institutions.
One Degree Solar Completes Unreasonable Institute Fellows Program
22 Jul 2011 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
Gaurav Manchanda, One Degree Solar – Unreasonable Climax 2011 Presentation from Unreasonable Institute on Vimeo.
One Degree Solar founder Gaurav Manchanda was one of 25 high-impact entrepreneurs selected to take part in the Unreasonable Institute, a special program designed to help accelerate the world’s most promising social ventures. In addition to an intensive six-week skills training program and expert consulting, each of the fellows were given the opportunity to pitch to top impact investors and funders in San Francisco, CA and Boulder, CO. Mentors to this year’s Fellows included Philip McKinney, VP and CTO at Hewlett-Packard, Paul Polack, founder and CEO of Windhorse International, Kevin Starr, Founder and Managing Director of the Mulago Foundation, Jigar Shah, CEO of the Carbon War Room, and Neal Baer, Executive Producer at NBC Universal whose past work includes being the Executive Producer to the shows ER and Law & Order.
One Degree Solar extends special thanks goes to the Unreasonable Institute for conducting an incredible program that will help improve lives of millions around the globe.
ODS Presents Work at Google
4 Jul 2011 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
One Degree Solar was one of five Unreasonable Institute Fellows selected to present at Google offices in Boulder, CO. Our use of mobile technology and provision of solutions that power mobile devices, including Android phones and tablets, made One Degree Solar a natural fit to showcase our work at the world’s largest search engine. Other companies included InVenture Fund, BioSense Technologies, EGG Energy, and Afroes Transformational Games.
Philadelphia Inquirer Highlights ODS as Innovative Startup Meeting Unmet Needs
4 May 2011 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
Garrett Melby and Chris Bentley, of GoodCompany Ventures spoke to the Philadelphia Inquirer recently discussing their business-incubator program. Among the companies they look for include those involved in educational technology, health-care access, job creation for hard-to-employ and clean-tech. They give mention to 2010 boot camp graduate company One Degree Solar for coming up with innovative products such as solar lanterns and phone chargers for use by families and businesses in developing countries.
Presentation to Wharton Social Impact Students
3 Mar 2011 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
One Degree Solar founder Gaurav Manchanda along with Rahilla Zafar were invited to speak to business school students enrolled in Wharton’s Crisis Management course. Students in the course worked on real world initiatives such as developing a six-acre plot of land in Port Au Prince to serve as an amputee care center for crush victims and creating a sustainable donation platform utilizing multimedia to highlight the lives of victims. Manchanda and Zafar shared their experiences of working in post-conflict countries Afghanistan and Liberia along with challenges and solutions building supply chains and working with local partners in developing countries.
ODS speaks on post-conflict entrepreneurship as panelist in Disaster Relief Conference
4 Dec 2010 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
One Degree Solar Founder Gaurav Manchanda was invited to speak as a panelist in From Haiti to Pakistan: A Year of Disaster organized and hosted by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Other speakers and panelists included senior USAID director Mark. S Ward, Pakistan’s Deputy Ambassador to the U.S. Ms. Iffat Gardezi, and Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin of the Middle East Institute. Manchanda spoke on a panel alongside executives from General Electric and LifeStraw® producer Vestergaard Frandsen discussing technology’s role and strategic market solutions for disaster and post-conflict times. The conference successfully brought together practitioners from both the public and private sector to discuss how innovative business solutions and technology can aid disaster situations.
First Place Recipient, Wharton Africa Business Forum
20 Nov 2010 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania recently held its 18th annual Wharton Africa Business Forum (WABF), attended by over 600 speakers, professionals, and MBAs from Africa, Europe, and the Americas. A panel of judges from the venture capital, private equity, and emerging market arenas awarded One Degree Solar with first prize in the Wharton Africa Business Plan Competition after reviewing our business plan and pitch. The Wharton Africa Business Plan Competition is designed to promote entrepreneurship in Africa by linking entrepreneurs with ideas for businesses in Africa to prospective investors such as banks, venture capitalists and private equity firms. The competition is also intended to equip entrepreneurs with tools to develop their ideas further. During the 2010 WABPC, finalists competed for valuable prizes as well as the unique opportunity to be considered for support and coaching in order to further develop and refine their business ideas.
The announcement of the winners was made at the conference banquet ceremony on November 20th, 2010.
ODS Receives Purpose + Profit Award from GoodCompany Ventures
3 Sep 2010 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
One Degree Solar was among 10 startup companies worldwide to be selected into the 2010 GoodCompany Ventures social business incubator. The incubator selects dynamic entrepreneurs and startups with commitments to fulfilling valuable social missions in a wide range of spaces, including clean tech, job creation, and international development.
During the GoodCompany Ventures Pitch Event, select companies presented to an audience of 50+ investors from the venture capital, private equity, and development arenas. Investors in attendance voted ODS as the sole recipient of the Purpose + Profit award.
Nurses in Rural Zambia Use One Degree Solar Headlamps For Health Kits
3 Feb 2010 | No Comments | posted by admin | in News
In February, Venture Strategies Innovations (VSI), a California-based NGO, purchased One Degree Solar “Headlamps for Health” kits for its health programs in rural Zambia. In total, 46 nurses are now using headlamps to perform basic health services and deliveries after dark. VSI was supported by the fundraising efforts of Karen Weidert, a recent graduate from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, who worked closely with Zambian nurses in 2009.
As Karen described on her blog prior to our initial communication:
I found a nurse holding a candle in her mouth as she hurriedly flipped through the pages of a medical book. She was trying to figure out what to do for the woman lying on a cot at her side. The wax was dripping on the pages and the flame nearly extinguished every time she breathed. I grabbed the candle and placed my [head]lamp on her head. She turned to me in amazement… and I blinked back at her with constricted pupils – she was unaware that this crazy contraption on her head was blinding me as she stared at me with a huge grin from ear to ear.
Countless women deliver in the dark or by the dim light of a candle in almost all of the health facilities I visited. If you read my blog… you might remember some of the challenges of childbirth in rural Zambia that I highlighted – and without light, these complications can go unnoticed. Most of the health centers are greatly understaffed, which makes the headlamp even more ideal, as it keeps both of the providers’ hands free to deliver babies and save babies’ mamas.
Recognizing the value of a simple headlamp, I committed myself to getting one for each of the health care providers I had the privilege to work alongside while in Zambia.
One Degree Solar is proud to support the work of Venture Strategies Innovations, and fully supports the mission of Karen Weidert and like-minded individuals who seek to improve maternal health. Please check in soon for photos and updates from the field.