Funding proof-of-concept for innovative technologies addressing climate change is a challenging task. Here’s how AVPN’s APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 1.0, supported by Google.org and ADB, helped support two nonprofit organisations, demonstrating that investing in even the smallest tech innovations can lead to widespread impact.
Case 1: Villgro’s Carbon Credit Initiative in Punjab
Villgro is an incubator that supports innovative startups to solve critical social problems. Their vision is to encourage and nurture businesses that have impactful, scalable solutions.
Villgro’s initiative began from understanding the roots of rice production. Punjab’s rice production covers about 21% of its rice market. When they observed significant soil damage in the area, as a result of harmful gases and environmental detriment produced during the irrigation process, Villgro knew that something needed to change.
Thanks to support they received from the APAC SSF 1.0 Fund and their partnership with agritech startup Cultyvate, Villgro was able to set up Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) sensors in Punjab and Kerala and offset substantial upfront costs with integrating the technology. Their platform allowed farmers to be notified when certain data indicators such as soil moisture, harmful emitted gases, or energy consumption exceeded optimal range so that they could adjust their processes. In short, they integrated technology in a way that enhanced the irrigation worker’s performance and confidence.
The impact was just as astonishing. Over the course of a transformative 30-day project, 688 farmers in Punjab and Kerala harnessed the power of innovative technology to drive remarkable change. By tracking key metrics, they saved an astounding 13,126,531 litres of water, reduced CO2 emissions by 3,794 tons, and saw a 3.44% increase in their income. This success story highlights the immense potential of the digital platform and technology, which, with the right funding and policies, can be scaled across states and even nationwide, creating a ripple effect of sustainable, impactful growth for farmers everywhere.
Case 2: Azure Alliance’s Ocean Cleaning AZURE FIGHTER Robot
Azure Alliance is a nonprofit organisation focused on improving the health of ocean ecosystems through carbon emission reduction and innovative cleaning robots.
AZURE FIGHTER was an initiative created to serve as an unmanned cleaning robot that could noninvasively clean bodies of water without emitting major carbon emissions. This was critical for their mission to intersect the detrimental impact between marine debris, climate change, and carbon cycles.
The process thus began to create a powerful innovation. Azure Alliance created a robot that would have low carbon emission, clean debris in the ocean, and read essential data about the waste that could inform future policy. The AZURE FIGHTER was groundbreaking in a sense that it was a single unattended machine with advanced technology to analyse debris and other specimens in a way that could inform ocean restorers, climate policymakers, and researchers aiming to grow these initiatives.
At the end of the 12-month duration of the fund, with just this one machine alone, a small-scale initiative could spark a proven track record of highly effective solutions to marine debris and be implemented wide-scale across multiple major bodies of water in Asia and beyond.
With the continued support of Google.org and ADB, AVPN is thrilled to be able to work with a second round of grantees for the APAC SSF 2.0. Additionally, the Solutions Lab (SSL) initiative will highlight both cohorts in their many achievements towards a sustainable, innovative future. Read more about this initiative here.
