Brandeis Social Innovators Make an Impact at Venture Cafe Impact Connect
Hundreds of people packed the Venture Cafe on December 12, looking to learn more about startups based in the Boston area that aim to create social impact. From workforce development to green energy, the startups and nonprofits showcasing at the event are all making progress towards a more sustainable, just, and economically strong world.
Among the organizations featured was Brandeis Innovation, which tabled with three recent Brandesian startups that aim to do well by doing good.
Two teams that originated at the Heller School for Social Policy anchored the Brandeis table:
- sySTEMicFlow is a non-profit organization that works with female minorities in grades 11 through the second year of college to stimulate their success in STEM careers. SySTEMic Flow exists to bridge the transitional gap that young women of color face when entering college by providing pre-college courses, mentorship, and access to practical experience. Led by Jessica Sanon, MBA ‘17, the organization has successfully piloted their programs in Boston and is aiming to expand operations in 2020 to support more young women in STEM.
- SomLite Renewables, a for-profit social enterprise that aims to finance and distribute, solar-powered water pumps in rural Somaliland. Founded by Abdishakur Ahmed, MA SID ‘20, Artdeansyah Dilaga, MA COEX ‘20, Javaid Iqbal, MA SID ‘20, and Qaisar Ahmed MA SID ‘20, the company aims to expand to offering other sustainable agricultural technologies to communities in Africa.
Both teams participated in the Spark program: sySTEMicFlow in 2018 and SomLite in 2019.
In addition, a team from Brandeis Innovation’s’ science programs impressed attendees with a startup that aims to reduce waste from the world’s laboratories. GreenLabs, which participated in Sprout and one of the 2019 Brandeis NSF I-Corps™ Fellowships, was founded by David Waterman, PhD ‘18 and Brenda Waterman, PhD ‘19, with the current participation of Zachary Knech, PhD ‘18, also an I-Corps alumnus. GreenLabs has already contracted with many of the major universities in Boston to recycle their plastic lab waste, which they are already transforming into new materials at a partner recycling plant in the area.
The event marks the 8th time that Brandeis University teams have been featured at the long-running startup event, which takes place at the CIC at One Broadway in Cambridge’s Kendall Square innovation district, one of the most active innovation centers in the US.
“It’s always wonderful when we can showcase the diverse array of startups that come out of Brandeis every year. Each of our schools and programs contributes so much of their unique expertise to either our Spark, I-Corps, and Sprout programs,” says Associate Provost for Innovation Rebecca Menapace. “Bringing these organizations to a wider audience, where they can build the connections to reach their next phase of growth, is essential. It helps our Brandeis-born organizations, whether startups or nonprofits build a larger base from which they can grow. Importantly, it also shows the Boston innovation community the breadth of impactful organizations that emerge from Brandeis every year.”
In 2019, innovation events in which Brandeis was a leading participant engaged over 3,300 participants, and gained over 7 Million media impressions. In the coming months, Brandeis will host its third annual Mass Innovation Nights, showcasing more Brandesian startups to the New England community, as well as hosting the January edition of StartupGrind from Google, one of the world’s largest startup community events. This month, global incubator program MassChallenge announced its acceptance of its sixth Brandeis startup, WorkingWell, founded by Heller professor Joanne Nicholson. The organization will participate in the 2020 healthcare technology cohort. Brandeis is truly emerging as a regional leader in interdisciplinary innovation.