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A Missed Opportunity for Climate Tech Startups: The Need for Effective Early-Stage Marketing
The climate tech ecosystem is witnessing a wave of innovation and startup activity. Yet Emre Eren Korkmaz at the University of Oxford argues that these startups often overlook a key factor that's critical to their long-term success: the need for early-stage marketing strategies. He explains why marketing is a foundational necessity from day one, enabling climate tech startups to offer their solutions to potential clients in the corporate, public and impact sectors, across industries ranging from agriculture to aviation.
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- Energy, Environment, Technology
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The Gender Aspect of the E-Mobility Transition: An Innovative Collaboration in Kenya Highlights New Ways to Bring Women into the Sector
The transition to electric mobility (e-mobility) represents a massive shift for consumers, businesses and other stakeholders. But as Dana Gorodetsky at the William Davidson Institute argues, it also creates an opportunity to engage women as electric vehicle (EV) entrepreneurs, designers, producers and drivers — and to design mobility solutions with women's needs in mind. She explores how Kenya is leading the way in ensuring a just and inclusive e-mobility transition, highlighting two companies that are working to boost women’s involvement in the EV value chain.
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- Energy, Environment, Transportation
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NextBillion’s Most Influential Articles of 2024: Congratulations to the Three Winners
NextBillion's “Most Influential Articles of the Year” contest has been a yearly tradition since 2012. The contest highlights 12 of our most-read articles from the past year and gives readers the opportunity to vote for their favorites. Here are our three Most Influential Articles of 2024, as selected by our readers.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Health Care, Investing, Technology
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Announcing NextBillion’s Most Influential Articles of 2024: Vote for Your Favorites by Jan. 5
As we bid farewell to an eventful year, it's time for NextBillion’s annual tradition: our “Most Influential Articles of the Year” contest. Each December since 2012, we've selected 12 of our most-read articles from the past year, inviting readers to vote for the ones that influenced their thinking the most. Check out the articles in this year's contest (if you haven't already), and vote for your favorites: You can vote up to once per hour between Dec. 18 and 11:59 pm EST on Jan. 5.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, Health Care, Impact Assessment, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Impact Investing in Turbulent Times: Opportunity Amid Uncertainty
Impact investing, much like the world around us, is facing a period of prolonged turbulence, as the interconnected shocks of 2024 — from the escalating climate crisis to rising geopolitical tension — raise doubts about whether the sector can grow fast enough to make a difference. But as Florian Kemmerich at KOIS argues, the need to solve these crises may ultimately become the impetus for true scale in the industry. He explores how innovative investments can address some key global crises, and shares reasons for optimism amid the uncertainty.
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- Education, Environment, Health Care, Investing
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You Can’t Have Global Standards Without the Global South: Why Emerging Markets Must Lead the Way in Driving Impact Reporting Transparency
In recent years, global standard-setting bodies have released widely adopted impact reporting standards, designed to ensure that companies disclose sustainability- and climate-related information alongside their financial statements. Though these standards are a huge step forward for global impact transparency, Ibukun Awosika argues that they reveal a troubling power dynamic between developed and emerging markets. She explores how key voices in the Global South were left out of the process of developing these standards, and proposes two changes that can ensure a greater role for them going forward.
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- Environment, Investing
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An Emerging Priority in Climate Resilience: How Zambia’s Green Growth Strategy — And its Business Sector — Are Addressing the Risk of Climate-Induced Social Instability
Zambia — like other countries across Southern Africa — is confronting its worst drought in four decades, one of multiple climate-related crises it faces. According to Gracsious Maviza and Giulia Caroli at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and Ibukun Taiwo at CGIAR, these issues are putting a growing strain on the nation’s social fabric. They explore how Zambia's National Green Growth Strategy is addressing these challenges, highlighting four "Climate Security Pathways" in the strategy that can improve social stability — and generate immense opportunities for the private sector.
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- Agriculture, Energy, Environment, WASH
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The Problem with ‘Forced Entrepreneurship’: How Universities — and Venture Capitalists — are Failing Climate Tech Innovators
Universities are increasingly positioning themselves as hubs of business innovation, and as Emre Eren Korkmaz at the University of Oxford explains, their support has become an important driver of climate tech innovation. But he argues that universities’ "one size fits all" approach to supporting these innovators is fundamentally flawed, prioritizing the pathway to entrepreneurship — and the demands of venture capitalists — rather than empowering true innovation. He explores the problem and highlights some alternative approaches.
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- Education, Environment, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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