Social Nest Foundation has revealed the names of the 20 startups that will participate in the third edition of ‘Raise for Impact’, a program whose objective is to prepare entrepreneurs to receive their first external funding and aims to offer a unique opportunity for participating startups.
Margarita Albors, the Founder and President of Social Nest Foundation said “startups need funding to grow and scale their impact. Grants are a funding mechanism to overcome the early stages, but they are not enough for the moment of growth and consolidation. That’s where organizations like ours come in”.
These 20 startups were chosen from more than 70 projects based on their business model, their current and potential social and environmental impact, and the team behind the project. All candidates had to have market traction, international growth plans, and to be operating in areas of social impact, such as climate change, land and water protection, energy and infrastructure, regenerative agriculture, inclusive and sustainable tourism, etc.
Of all those selected, 7 are of Spanish origin and 13 come from Latin America, especially Peru and Colombia, with 3 projects each. The startups that will be part of this third edition of ‘Raise for Impact’ are:
Of Spanish Origin:
- Closty Brand: A conscious and sustainable clothing brand. They have created garments that last longer, that respect the environment with their fabrics, and that guarantee ethical work to each person in the process.
- Ecodicta: Their business model is based on extending the life of clothing through exchange and rental, thus reducing production and pollution levels.
- Gaia Green Tech: This startup provides a bi-directional battery to charge electric vehicles. The energy can be reused by passing it from the source to the vehicle and vice versa.
- Lullaai: The app that takes care of the mental health of people who have recently become parents by monitoring their quality of sleep.
- Proteus Innovation: The startup has launched Nautic, a marine drone designed to carry out rescues in the water, which is also made of PE plastic, from which all defective or deteriorated parts will be recycled.
- Singularity Experts: The platform offers academic orientation programs for all those students or workers who are undecided about what to do.
- U4Impact: They connect companies and students from 30 universities to develop sustainable, innovative, and social impact projects through their final projects (TFG/M).
The 13 other companies are from Latin America:
Of Colombian Origin:
- EducALL: Their goal is to facilitate internet to communities with a lack of accessibility whilst converting low-end devices into others capable of accessing information.
- Ogly Foods: The platform offers a second life to the tons of food that are thrown away every day, with the aim of reusing them and reducing mass production.
- Strategies4climate: It is a technological tool that addresses social and environmental challenges. They facilitate recognition of impact investments that contribute directly to the Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate poverty and inequality, protect the planet and ensure sustainable development.
Of Peruvian Origin:
- Code En Mi Cole: This startup has designed a school-based training program for children and teachers to learn computer science, develop computational thinking and create their own technological projects.
- Hidroponika: This startup offers a sustainable cultivation model that does not use soil in order to save as much water as possible.
- Pachamama: This startup empowers rural communities to promote the care and sustainable development of their forests.
Of Ecuadorian Origin:
- Poliestudios: The platform that enhances professional skills virtually. It allows Latin American women to have access to higher-quality education.
- Warmi: The startup seeks to redefine female well-being and promote empowerment to help reduce violence and gender inequality, granting different types of aid to women.
Of Argentinan Origin:
- Anny -boost your capabilities (Caecus Lab): With inclusion as a flag, Anny is oriented to provide services to visually impaired people and their relatives. By offering tools at a much lower cost, they seek to make them accessible to everyone.
Of Bolivian Origin:
- Munay: The platform is aimed at women that seek to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem with a gender perspective, responding to the needs of women entrepreneurs who lack the resources to have sustainable businesses.
Of Brazilian Origin
- ParaOil: This startup adds value to the forest by using seeds harvested by small farmers in the Amazon, transforming this raw material into natural oils for application in the cosmetics and food industry.
Of Chilean Origin:
- Sense Grass: This startup seeks to return to traditional fertilizer production methods, with the aim of achieving a product that is just as profitable, but much more sustainable and that provides higher quality.
Of Guatemalan Origin:
- Serigrafía de la gringa: This startup offers a second chance to ex-prisoners, offering them a decent job and the possibility of proper reintegration.
The ‘Raise for Impact’ program involves a five-month training that combines workshops, personalized advice, and mentoring from impact investors with a long track record and belonging to the Social Nest Foundation network.
Through this program, the selected entrepreneurs will have access to training, professional support, and connections with top-level investors in Europe and Latin America. They will present their projects at a global event in Spain, where they will have access to international impact investors of different profiles (VCs, funds, foundations, individual investors, and family offices), with high knowledge of the impact sector and its startups.
