WRI Stories Feed: New Ventures

Empowering Environmental Entrepreneurs in Emerging Economies

Andrew Steer — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 10:36:45 -0500

This is the fifth installment of a five-part blog series on scaling environmental entrepreneurship in emerging markets. In this series, experts in…

Playing Together: Growing Environmental Entrepreneurship through Greater Collaboration

Giulia Christianson — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 11:56:30 -0500

This is the fourth installment of a five-part blog series on scaling environmental entrepreneurship in emerging markets. In this series, experts…

Accelerators: A Critical Component in Scaling Up Environmental Entrepreneurship

Aram Kang — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:02:46 -0500

This post was co-written with Saurabh Lall, Research Director of Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE).

Over the past few years, we have…

Q&A with Jed Emerson: How Can Impact Investing Help Environmental Entrepreneurship Grow?

Giulia Christianson — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 11:01:24 -0500

The Global Impact Investment Network defines impact investments as “investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable…

The Challenge of Strengthening Environmental Entrepreneurship

Aram Kang — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:09:45 -0500

This is the first installment of a five-part blog series on scaling environmental entrepreneurship in emerging markets. In forthcoming posts, experts in the field will provide insights…

RELEASE: Transition of New Ventures Global Network

James Anderson — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 11:46:24 -0400

After 13 years of building support for environmental entrepreneurship, the World Resources Institute will conclude its role as coordinator for the New Ventures global network at the end of 2012. WRI recognizes that the New Ventures Local Centers have built strong, distinct programs in their respective countries, and we are confident that greater local and regional independence will allow New Ventures to move into its next phase of development.

Following is a statement by Manish Bapna, Managing Director, WRI:

WRI is extraordinarily proud of New Ventures’ accomplishments and impact in enabling the growth of environmentally focused entrepreneurs in emerging markets. Founded by WRI in 1999, New Ventures has provided business development support to 362 innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) whose goods and services produce clear, measurable environmental benefits, such as clean energy, efficient water use, and sustainable agriculture. Oftentimes these goods and services address the challenges experienced by the world’s poor. New Ventures has also facilitated $290 million of investment into these SMEs, helping them scale their businesses and yield positive impacts.

WRI has been privileged to partner with expert local organizations in establishing New Ventures Local Centers in six of the world’s most dynamic emerging economies:

SMEs in emerging markets play a critical role in the economy by creating jobs and spurring growth. As the need for sustainable economic development intensifies, New Ventures enterprises continue to prove that innovative technologies and business models can deliver environmental, social, and financial returns.

Much has been accomplished in the world of entrepreneurship over the past decade, including the formation of new investment vehicles emphasizing environmental and social returns (alongside financial returns), the creation of associations and alliances that bring together key actors, and development banks’ and agencies’ capital and technical assistance commitments to pursue development solutions through private enterprise.

However, there is still much more to be done. As the world tackles environmental challenges such as water scarcity, climate change, deforestation, and pollution—against the backdrop of continuing population growth—entrepreneurs will continue to be sources of innovation and action. Organizations supporting these entrepreneurs on the ground, like the New Ventures Local Centers, will continue to play a vital role in nurturing their efforts, affording them the resources necessary to scale their impact.

New Ventures – and the entrepreneurs and investors it works with – have proven that profitable enterprises can be created and scaled while simultaneously protecting natural resources and improving livelihoods. It is a model that will endure and create pathways for many others with ambition and dedication to sustainable economic development. WRI looks forward to many more extraordinary accomplishments for New Ventures in the coming years.

Q & A with Tao Zhang: Scaling Up Impact Investing in China

Tracy Elsen — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:31:56 -0500

Opportunities in China for impact investing are growing, where investors look to create positive social and environmental benefits alongside returns. Impact investors actively choose to put their money into companies that address social and…

New Ventures Forum Addresses Challenges to Scaling Up Clean Energy Access in India

Tracy Elsen — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 12:34:59 -0400

New Ventures India, part of WRI’s center for environmental entrepreneurship, and CDF-IFMR convened a workshop in Mumbai earlier this summer to address the…

New Ventures China Investor Forum: Green Growth Generating New Opportunities

Tracy Elsen — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:13:06 -0400

This piece originally appeared on the New Ventures website. It was written with New Ventures intern Kevin Short.

The 2011 New Ventures China Investor Forum showcased the potential of environmental entrepreneurship on a larger scale than any previous forum in the program’s eight years of operations in China.

Six rising environmentally-focused enterprises presented their business models to 300 forum attendees in June. The forum provided an opportunity for these entrepreneurs to connect with both regional and global investors, an often arduous task for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“It has been extremely difficult for those environmental SMEs to get investment for further development in the local market, which explains why New Ventures’ services are in great demand, ” said Tao Zhang, Chief Operating Officer of New Ventures.

A new era of partnerships

This year’s forum, held at the Wan Shou Hotel in Beijing, represented a more diverse cross-section of Chinese society than at any previous New Ventures China investor forum. In an exciting development, New Ventures partnered with China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the first time New Ventures China has collaborated with a local government agency to hold such forum. Government recognition of the energy savings, efficient resource utilization, and potential for economic growth facilitated this new partnership.

New Ventures China and the Information Center of MIIT have agreed to explore the possibilities of co-establishing a online database for Chinese green SMEs to be recognized by MIIT. They will also jointly launch a media initiative to highlight the achievements of Chinese green SMEs.

Alongside these officials sat many members of Chinese civil society, members of the business sector, media personnel, and of course, investors. The global network capabilities of New Ventures were also demonstrated through the presence of New Ventures Indonesia staff.

“We expect to make the New Ventures forum into a leading platform, through which more investors will get proper understandings about the fledgling green companies, help them grow up and finally find a way for profit and environment going hand in hand,” said Walter Ge, Director of New Ventures China.

Diverse services, common challenges

From e-waste management to bioenergy conversion, the companies represented at the China Investor Forum offered a wide range of environmental services. Beijing Huakong Automation System Co. Ltd., Shanghai Honghoo Group, Qingdao United Scrap Automobile Co. Ltd., Shanghai Electric Waste Collection Co., Ltd., Beijing Visualized Energy-Saving Co., Ltd., and Xuzhou Hootech Co., Ltd. were all allotted time to present to investors.

Since its fouding in 2006, Beijing Huakong Automation System Co., Ltd has saved its clients what amounts to the energy impact of 1.5 million tons of standard coal. The unit water consumption in Xuzhou Hootech’s production method is equal to 30% of the average amount across the industry, while the unit energy consumption represents just 1% of that in the ore mining industry.

Despite the range of environmental and energy objectives pursued by the businesses, these SMEs face remarkably similar hurdles. Namely, the SMEs face a lack of financing and sustained investment, barriers to scaling up, and underdeveloped business management expertise. Too large for microfinance and too small for mainstream investment, these companies represent the “missing middle”- an essential but frequently overlooked segment of emerging economies.

New Ventures has addressed this intersection of environment and development in China since 2003, offering services to over 400 SMEs to assist them in growing to scale. Through this program, over 20 Chinese environmental entrepreneurs have received over $150 million from various investors. At June’s China Investor Forum, potential investors included China International Capital Co Ltd, CLSA Capital Partners, Beijing ZhongTinYinTai Investment Management Co, HENG RUN International Group Limited, Energy Capital, LGT Venture Philanthropy, among others.

Prospects for the future

Leveraging the successes from June’s Investor Forum, New Ventures China now looks to expand these matchmaking services and facilitate even greater levels of investment for these green SMEs. New Ventures is now considering launching an impact investment fund that directly targets SMEs in the environmental sector.

“We plan to investigate the feasibility of running such a fund in China in the next two years,” said Tao Zhang.

New Ventures China plans to hold another Investor Forum late this year in Shenzhen, a key Chinese special economic zone bordering Hong Kong, as well as continuing to explore cross-regional collaboration opportunities, matchmaking models, and public outreach.

“Environmental impact investment will become more and more important in the country simply because China is facing an increasingly urgent need to balance environmental protection and further economic development,” said Tao.

Global Investor Forum Showcases Rising Sustainable Businesses

Tracy Elsen — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 09:56:45 -0400

Ready to scale up, six environmental entrepreneurs from around the world make their case to investors in New York City.

The inaugural New Ventures Global Investor Forum, held last week in New York City, showed how environmental entrepreneurship can provide clean economic growth and investment opportunities in emerging markets. Six environmentally-focused entrepreneurs presented their business models to an audience of over 160 leading investors and businesspeople. The forum, themed “Green Opportunities in Tomorrow’s Markets,” showcased a wide range of companies, from Ouro Verde, a sustainable Brazil nut harvester working with Amazonian communities, to Sinen En-Tech, a Chinese industrial steam recycling company helping its industrial customers reduce energy and water use.

As the world’s population continues to rise, innovative small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will play an important role in conserving resources such as water, energy and biodiversity. Steven “Mac” Heller, Chairman of electric car company CODA Automotive and former Goldman Sachs banker, provided the keynote address. He spoke about the power of entrepreneurs to address critical environmental problems while simultaneously creating profitable businesses. “We have the ability to build companies that are sustainable for the environment and are themselves sustainable,” he said.

“We have the ability to build companies that are sustainable for the environment and are themselves sustainable.”

—Steven “Mac” Heller, Chairman of CODA Automotive

The role of environmental entrepreneurs will be especially critical in emerging economies because of the rapid economic growth expected in those markets over the next few decades. New Ventures entrepreneurs from Brazil, China, India and Mexico delivered presentations explaining their companies’ business models and their positive environmental and social impacts. They also highlighted significant competitive advantage. For example, Ecostar, a Chinese company that recycles and remanufacturers used photocopiers at a fraction of the price of new copiers, is the only company in China licensed to import used copiers.

All of the companies that attended the forum are ready to scale up, and are looking for international investment to implement their growth plans. Mexican biotechnology company AliBio plans to expand into ten international markets, while Indian renewable energy company Husk Power Systems aims to increase its number of rural power plants from 80 to 2,000 over the next five years.

Entrepreneur Manoj Sinha presents on Husk Power Systems, a company that brings affordable electricity to India’s rural villages. Photo credit: Saurabh Lall.

Following the presentations, a panel of experts questioned each company about its potential to provide environmental solutions and solid financial returns. The panel was composed of WRI President Jonathan Lash, Investors’ Circle CEO Suzanne Biegel, Namir Capital Management Partner Erik Mielke, and New Ventures Mexico Director, Rodrigo Villar. The Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), Randall Kempner, served as moderator.

Panelists discussed the need for innovative financing options for SMEs in emerging markets as well as the value of strong support networks and business training opportunities. “When looking at companies in emerging markets, I always consider what the ecosystem of mentoring and coaching is on the ground,” said long-time impact investor Suzanne Biegel.

The New Ventures Global Investor Forum provided an opportunity for a diverse mix of traditional financial investors, impact investors and emerging market environmental entrepreneurs to come together in New York for the first time. To date, New Ventures’ investor forums have been held in each of its six countries of operation – but as the New Ventures Global Network continues to strengthen, so does its potential to inspire the debate about environmental entrepreneurship on an international stage.

The Global Investor Forum brought together a mix of traditional financial investors, impact investors, and emerging market entrepreneurs. Photo credit: Saurabh Lall

At the post-event reception, audience members were able to meet and speak to entrepreneurs about their businesses and potential investment opportunities. “My fellow entrepreneurs and I were surrounded by a unique atmosphere of supporting camaraderie,” said Francesco Piazzesi, director of Mexican sustainable housing company, Échale a Tu Casa. There were “people from all around the world, investment from many funds, goodwill, and an audience that believed in community, environment and entrepreneurship.”

New Ventures is the World Resources Institute’s center for environmental entrepreneurship – providing business development services to environmentally-focused small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets. Visit the New Ventures website for more information.

Special thanks to our event sponsors, Citi Foundation and NYU Stern, and our Gold Sponsors, Alcoa Foundation and Fundación AVINA.