Exygy is proud to have worked with some great companies that are doing important work for underserved communities. Among them is E+Co, an NGO that works in developing nations in Africa, Asia, and Central America to bring sustainable energy solutions to people considered to be at the “bottom of the pyramid.”

E+Co creates entrepreneurs through what’s known as impact investing, giving assistance to potential business owners who could not get loans or training through traditional channels.

The return, of course, is twofold, and that’s the great thing about these kinds of enterprises. The focus is not solely on financial return, but blended value – a combination of social, environmental, and financial improvement in the areas where the company provides assistance.

Exygy is proud to have worked with companies working for underserved communities. Here are a few that are doing great deeds for the developing world

E+Co is far from the only organization participating in these kinds of initiatives, though – here are a few other companies that are making great things and doing great deeds for the developing world.

Solar Cookers International

Nearly half the world’s population eats food cooked over open fires. Aside from being both time-consuming and dangerous, cooking fires contribute to air pollution, deforestation, and soil erosion that leads to drops in crop production. What Solar Cookers International is aiming to do is bring solar thermal cooking technology to 20% of all families in the world by 2030, especially in areas where sunlight is in abundance but fuels are not.

SCI’s cookers are now in 114 countries, with more than 155,000 cookers currently in distribution.

Bringing solar thermal cooking technology to 20% of all families in the world by 2030

LifeStraw

Access to clean drinking water is a worldwide problem, leading to illnesses that kill millions of people each year. LifeStraw is a reusable straw with a built-in water filter, allowing the user to drink more than 1,000 liters of water while removing nearly 100% of bacteria and parasites. LifeStraw is lightweight and can be carried with a strap around the neck, allowing users access to clean water at any time.

This is a product that is simple to use, inexpensive to distribute, and life-saving for those who would otherwise be drinking contaminated water.

SunSaluter

Although there’s a lot of buzz around solar power being the answer to energy issues in developing countries, there’s still an issue of access, as most solar systems are prohibitively expensive to install and maintain. SunSaluter is in the process of solving a lot of the problems that solar energy presents, with gravity-driven panels that rotate during the day to face the sun, thus providing 40% more electricity per day. The best part? The system only costs $10, making electricity a real possibility in areas that have never had it.

The system only costs $10, making electricity a real possibility in areas that have never had it

Menstrual Man

Arunachalam Muruganantham was horrified to discover in 1998 that his wife and the other women in his family were using old, dirty rags during their periods, because sanitary pads were too expensive to consider. Knowing that the cotton inside the pads cost a fraction of what the retail price was, Muruganantham set about to develop a machine that women in a village could use to make cheap sanitary pads themselves.

The process of creating this machine was long and arduous, and ironically Muruganantham’s wife and mother both abandoned him because of his one-track commitment to the cause of improving women’s health. Once shunned by his community and believed to be possessed by evil spirits, Muruganantham is now hailed as an innovator both in India and around the world, and is the subject of documentaries and even a TED talk.

Vision for a Nation

Hundreds of millions of people in the developing world have eyesight that needs correcting, but don’t have financial access to the medical facilities or the end products to make it happen. James Chen, founder of Adlens, has created a pair of glasses that cost less than $2 to manufacture, thus being a more accessible option for people in developing nations.

James Chen has created a pair of glasses that cost less than $2 to manufacture, thus being a more accessible option for people in developing nations

 

The best part is, the glasses have user-adjustable lenses, so no visit to the doctor is needed – the wearer can simply turn the dial on the side of the glasses until her vision comes into perfect focus.

Chen’s miracle glasses are to be distributed in Rwanda through Vision for a Nation, with the hope that everyone in Rwanda who needs glasses will have them by 2018. The project doesn’t end there, though – Chen is already looking into distributing his glasses in Botswana, Namibia, and Bhutan.