For people who are passionate about creating positive change but struggle to turn their ideas into practical solutions, we provide the tools, connections and support they need to turn their ideas into action.
Now it’s your turn:
Can you describe your own idea using the same classic Techstars elevator pitch format — For [xx] people who have [yy] problem, we do [zz] solution.
Keep it to one sentence and make sure the problem and solution match.
Comments (42)
For immigrants in Brazil who face barriers to integration — including adaptation to a new climate — we provide guidance, connections, and follow-up to support their participation in the community.
For pollutants such as PFAs that affect water, a promising solution would be bioremediation using wood-decaying fungi, as it uses their enzymatic profile to break down tough bonds inside the pollutants.
This is a fascinating nature-based approach! I'm currently working on an AI-powered water conservation project in Türkiye, focusing on sustainable household water consumption and behavioral change. Your perspective on water pollution adds an important dimension to water sustainability. I'm curious: How could we evaluate the effectiveness and scalability of fungi-based solutions for PFAS removal in real-world conditions?
Onur Alp Öztan Thank you for your response! Currently, the scientists are working to make bioremediation more scalable (the transition from in vitro to in Vivo is not easy). But this is still a very promising technique. I also have a question. Did you ever encountered some water analysis that provides details about contamination with PFAs and azo dyes?
Your idea is interesting because it uses nature to help address water pollution. It would be great to explore how effective these fungi are at breaking down pollutants under real-world conditions.
Onur Alp Öztan You can look at Biopod, which is also started by recent students and is focused specifically on water remediation using fungi. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/harvard-students-explore-b… Let me know if you'd like to be in touch with the founders.
Rebekah i-lab Thank you so much, Rebekah, for this valuable recommendation and your kind offer!
I would be delighted to connect with the founders of Biopod. Their work on fungi-based water remediation is particularly interesting to me, especially from the perspective of integrating nature-based solutions with emerging technologies.
My current work focuses on AI-driven water conservation, sustainable consumption, and behavioral change. I believe exploring the intersection of water quality, environmental innovation, and intelligent technologies could open up meaningful opportunities for knowledge exchange and future collaboration.
I would greatly appreciate an introduction to the founders and the opportunity to learn more about their research and approach.
Thank you again for facilitating such valuable connections!
Mădălina-Denisa Bolovan Thank you, Mădălina! That's a very interesting question.
My current research and project work primarily focus on AI-driven water conservation, sustainable consumption, and behavioral change rather than laboratory-based water quality analysis.
Although I haven't directly worked with specific PFAS or azo dye contamination datasets, I'm interested in exploring how water quality monitoring and emerging technologies could complement our approaches to water sustainability.
Are you looking for existing scientific datasets on these contaminants, or specific analytical methods used to detect them?
I'd be happy to exchange research resources and explore potential interdisciplinary connections between our work!
For families who struggle to identify water waste and adopt sustainable consumption habits, we propose an AI-powered water conservation system that provides personalized water-use reports, guides households in detecting potential leaks, and engages children in practical water-saving activities.
That is a great initiative and such initiatives should be encouraged and promoted by government officials and NGOs
For crisis-affected and displaced communities in the Sudano-Sahel who face frequent climate-induced disease outbreaks and paralyzed healthcare access, we deploy community-led emergency response networks powered by rapid open-source communication and local triage hubs.
Glad to be here with you all in the Entrepreneurial Mindsets Bootcamp! Let's connect: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mazin-mohammed-4881a9202
This is great! It is so needed and can really save lives. I used to be on the board of Muso which works in Mali and Cote d'Ivoire and is part of a larger network of community-health-worker organizations that also can have very rapid response times, and are deployed all across sub-Saharan Africa. Maybe some good models and technology that could be useful as you build this!
Hi Mazin, your pitch really resonates with me. At Associação Fikra in southern Brazil, we also work with crisis-affected and displaced communities — including those displaced by the 2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods. The intersection of climate-induced disease outbreaks and paralyzed healthcare access is a critical challenge we see in the Global South too. I'm curious: how do your community-led emergency response networks handle the long-term integration of displaced people after the immediate crisis is over? Let's connect!
For people with poor diets who can't afford healthy food, we could have local farms using regenerative practices to provide nutrient-dense food.
I love this! Take a look at FarmTeach to see what they do-- maybe some cool areas of inspiration for the areas you are focused on? https://innovationlabs.harvard.edu/venture/farmteach
For people and organisations in Uganda who rely on solar power but still struggle with unreliable electricity because their batteries fail prematurely and are expensive to replace, we rejuvenate used lead-acid batteries to extend their useful life, making reliable electricity more affordable while reducing waste😇
This is so cool! Congratulations!
For coastal communities and small businesses in Indonesia who struggle with plastic waste polluting local rivers and oceans, we provide affordable biodegradable packaging alternatives and community-based waste-collection tools that make sustainable choices practical and accessible.
I really like your approach because it connects plastic waste reduction with practical alternatives for local communities. I’m exploring a similar idea using cocoa pod husks in Ghana, so it’s encouraging to see others working on sustainable packaging solutions.
For local neighborhoods switching over to clean energy but who worry about power cuts when the sun drops or the weather changes, we use computer models and real-world testing to help upgrade their local power grids so they get a completely steady, reliable supply of electricity every day.
This is a core need. EarthBond in Nigeria and Carbon RE in the US are models you might look at to see what their implementation have been like. You might also like looking at EQORE.
Rebekah i-lab Thanks for these references, Rebekah. Bridging the gap between macro-level modeling and localized commercial viability is exactly the challenge we are tackling. EarthBond's marketplace approach is fantastic for reducing upfront cost friction for distributed solar, while EQORE’s autonomous software controls mirror the kind of real-time facility load optimization and demand response we analyze in our smart grid testbeds. Looking forward to diving deeper into these deployment models to see how our engineering frameworks can further de-risk local grid transitions.
For young people in Honduras who lack access to climate information, we provide a platform and a safe space to learn, engage, share their perspectives, and be heard.
Hi Bayardo! Great to see another voice from Latin America here! Your focus on providing climate information to young people in Honduras is very important. I'm based in southern Brazil, and we work with climate-displaced communities. One thing we've learned is that access to information is only the first step — young people also need safe spaces to organize and lead. How do you ensure that displaced youth and marginalized communities are included in your platform? I'd love to exchange experiences on youth-led climate action in Latin America! 🇧🇷🤝🇭🇳
At Greenics Consultancy, We develop digital tools and methodological frameworks aligned with UNEP’s Guidelines for Providing Product Sustainability Information to combat greenwashing and greenhushing.
In a market saturated with misleading environmental claims, conscious consumers, sustainable brands, governments, and policymakers often lack the verified, expert-led data needed to make informed choices. To bridge this gap, our solutions provide businesses with clear implementation frameworks and behavioural intervention strategies to drive market growth, while offering governments and stakeholders the reliable data necessary to advance the green, circular, and blue economies.
So cool! You might want to chat with Bev Ho who specializes in climate marketing. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bevho/
Rebekah i-lab Thank you and looking forward for the connect😊
For local restaurant owners who have high costs and zero tracking for their organic food waste, we do operate a subscription micro-composting pickup service that turns waste into local fertilizer.
For rural communities in the Bénoué region (Lagdo) facing severe land degradation, desertification, and climate-induced poverty, we deploy a 10-hectare ecosystem restoration initiative using HIMO-powered community agroforestry and low-tech clay jar irrigation—positioning this initiative as a scalable pilot project within the Great Green Wall framework to actively push back desert advancement in northern Cameroon while achieve climate mitigation through carbon sequestration and implementing adaptation strategies that secure sustainable income from Moringa and Acacia crops for smallholder farmers.
I love this! We are using clay jar irrigation in my own garden and it works wonders!
Rebekah i-lab thank you 😊
For agricultural communities in Ghana facing the problem of cocoa pod waste and plastic pollution, we explore how cocoa pod husks can be turned into biodegradable packaging as a more sustainable alternative to single-use plastics.
This is an interesting idea which I've explored before as well. What were your findings, and what phase are you currently in?
Thank you, Moshood. I’m currently at the idea development stage, refining the concept and exploring its feasibility. I haven’t conducted experiments yet, but I look forward to learning more as the project develops. 😊
For people displaced to new areas where environmental conditions and climate-related health risks may differ from those in their previous homes, we provide accessible, culturally appropriate health education and community advocacy to help them understand these risks and protect their health.
Hi Riham! I love your pitch — it highlights a crucial aspect of climate mobility that is often overlooked: the health dimension. At Associação Fikra in Brazil, we work with immigrants and refugees, and we've seen firsthand how vital culturally appropriate health education is for people adapting to a new climate. The 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul showed us that physical and mental health support must go hand in hand with housing and jobs. What specific health risks are you focusing on for displaced populations? Looking forward to learning from you!
Amr Elmallah
Thank you so much 😊
From what I have observed in communities affected by war and displacement, mental health is one of the concerns that stand out to me. However, displacement can expose people to both physical and mental health risks, especially when they have to adapt to a new environment, unfamiliar living conditions, and new challenges. My focus is on prevention through accessible, culturally appropriate health education. I'm particularly interested in exploring how climate-related health risks affect displaced populations and how community education can help them adapt and stay healthy. I'm still learning, and I look forward to learning from you too😊
RIHAM ABDALLA Thank you for sharing this, Riham! You're absolutely right — mental health is often the invisible wound of displacement, and it's frequently overlooked in climate mobility discussions. At Associação Fikra, we also see how migrants and refugees carry the weight of loss, uncertainty, and the pressure to adapt quickly to a new environment. That's why we try to integrate mental health support into our community programs, alongside practical help like housing and language classes.
I'm really interested in your focus on prevention through culturally appropriate health education. That's such a powerful approach. How do you think we can make mental health education more accessible and less stigmatized for displaced communities? Are there any specific methods or community-based practices you've seen work well?
I'd love to keep exchanging ideas with you. Let's stay connected!
Amr Elmallah , you are very welcome 😊
From my humble experience during medical missions at university, I learned how important it is to understand the community's background, culture, and beliefs before educating or advocating for them. I believe building trust and communicating in a way that people can relate to can make health education more accessible and help reduce stigma.
I'm still learning, and I'd love to hear more about the approaches you use at Associação Fikra , too!
Happy to connect 💫
RIHAM ABDALLA Thank you, Riham! At Fikra, we work with cultural mediators and offer workshops in migrants' native languages. We also integrate mental health discussions into community activities like cooking and art, so it feels less clinical. Happy to connect!
For governments, industries, and organizations that struggle to access reliable air quality data due to expensive monitoring equipment and maintenance, we provide affordable, high-resolution air pollution data by combining ground sensors, satellite observations, and AI, enabling better environmental decisions with fewer physical sensors.
Hi Shakriya! Great to meet you — your approach to making air quality data more affordable and accessible is really important. Reliable data is often a privilege, and many communities most affected by pollution are the ones with the least information about it.
I'm Amr, founder of Associação Fikra in southern Brazil. We work on migrant integration and social inclusion. One thing we've noticed is that migrants and refugees often end up living in areas with higher environmental risks — including poor air quality — because of limited housing options. But they rarely have access to data or information about these risks in their own language.
I'm curious: how do you see your solution being adapted for migrant and displaced communities? Could the data be shared in multiple languages or through community networks to help them protect their health?
Looking forward to learning from your work! Let's connect.