Faith in humanity restored: 11 feel-good startups we wrote about in 2015

Not all startups exist to raise exorbitant sums of venture capital funding, scale to every country on earth, and eventually make it rain Benjamins (or at least a lot of confetti) at their NYSE debut. Still, larger-than-life startups like Uber and Xiaomi dominated many of the tech headlines in 2015. This list was created to celebrate lesser-known startups Tech in Asia wrote about over the past year that are focusing their time and energy on helping others and the environment. Noble causes range from providing affordable solar power to planting entire forests.

Here are 11 socially-conscious ventures from across Asia that deserve a second look as we transition into the new year.

Close Comfort

An Australian engineer with an affinity for Pakistani mangoes built a small, portable air conditioner that uses a fraction of the electricity of a conventional unit. Close Comfort will retail for roughly US$270 and provide affordable cooling to people where summer temperatures can reach a dangerous 40 degrees Celsius.

More importantly, by eating up just 300 watts an hour (a typical aircon unit can eat up as much as 2,400 watts per hour), Close Comfort will help prevent rolling blackouts that often hit Pakistan and other developing countries with less-than-optimal electrical infrastructure. It can even be hooked up to battery-powered generators, allowing it to be used by people in villages that are off the grid.

Triple W

Bowel movements aren’t exactly the most comfortable thing in the world to talk about, and the topic is sure to draw giggles from kids. But for people living with fecal incontinence – the loss of bowel control – the topic is no laughing matter. Japanese startup Triple W created a wearable device called D Free that tells users when they should head for a restroom to avoid having an accident. The startup’s goal is to restore dignity by allowing users to forego adult diapers and have confidence to leave the house.

D Free is made even more relevant in the context of Japan’s unprecedentedly aging, shrinking population. Fecal incontinence can be caused by a range of ailments and physical disabilities, but it can also be triggered by old age. The startup hopes to provide the device to senior care facilities across the globe.

Eco Energy Finance

Eco Energy Finance is a social venture that provides solar power to rural Pakistanis who are faced with frequent power outages. In far-flung villages with shoddy electrical infrastructure, a blackout after dark brings life to a screeching halt.

The startup provides two products to combat this all-too-frequent situation: a solar-powered lantern that sells for just US$10 and an affordable solar panel that can power a home’s basic electrical appliances. Both can be purchased in installments to make them more accessible.

Empower Generation

Similar to the above startup, Empower Generation is a social venture that helps women in Nepal earn money by selling solar lanterns. The benefits are two-fold: in addition to helping them set up a small business, the lamps themselves promote a cleaner environment by doing away with the need to burn kerosene.

Impoverished women in Nepal are often forced to drop out of school and sometimes end up victims of human trafficking. Instead of simply handing them the product and hoping they figure out how to sell it, the startup provides funding and mentorship to ensure female entrepreneurs have the tools necessary to succeed. Empower Generation even provides low-interest microloans to poor villages so they can purchase the women’s wares.

Fove

You might be wondering how a startup that makes a virtual reality (VR) headset landed on this list. It’s because Fove isn’t an ordinary headset. The Tokyo-based startup has integrated eye-tracking technology right out of the box which, for gamers, means deeper interactions with in-game characters and all new aiming capabilities. Outside of the gaming world, however, Fove’s eye tracking is being used as a kind of futuristic medical device.

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