Beeline Reader
2021 Solver Teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows are 69 Percent Women-Led Social Impact Startups
September 17, 2021 (Cambridge, MA)—MIT Solve, an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, announced 42 new Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows from 17 countries and seven Native Tribes at Virtual Solve Challenge Finals, Solve’s annual social impact pitch event. The new 2021 Solver and Indigenous Communities Fellow Class was selected by Solve’s expert judges from a pool of over 1,800 applicants from 128 countries and 14 Native Tribes. 54 percent of the teams are based in Asian, African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American countries.
Meet the Solver and Fellow teams for Solve’s 2021 Global Challenges:
“We are excited to announce our new 2021 Solver and Indigenous Communities Fellow class!” said Solve’s Executive Director, Alex Amouyel. “It is with great pride that we continue to identify and support women-led solutions, diverse applications of technology, and above all the ingenuity and audacity to tackle world challenges head-on. Over the next nine months, our team will catalyze partnerships that help these entrepreneurs scale their work and impact.”
Prize Funding: Over $2.3 million in prize funding was announced for the new Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows:
The GM Prizes, supported by General Motors - $150,000
Recipients: MEASURE, JusticeText, Tyto Online, Ubongo Edutainment, Mapeo, HEAL Fisheries
The Innovation for Women Prize, supported by the Vodafone Americas Foundation - $75,000
Recipients: ProGame - Coding WITHOUT Computers!, hiveonline, Waking Women Healing Institute
The HP Prize for Advancing Digital Equity - $100,000
Recipients: Brastorne, Hello World, Thrive Industries Incorporated (Thrive!), JusticeText
The ServiceNow Prize - $100,000
Recipients: Mapeo, Buy-In Community Planning
The Elevate Prize for Antiracist Technology - $300,000
Recipient: Weird Enough Productions
The ASA Prize for Equitable Education, supported by American Student Assistance - $250,000
Recipients: Tyto Online, Every Kid Gets a Robot
The AI for Humanity Prize, supported by the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation - $100,000
Recipients: Mapeo, ProGame - Coding WITHOUT Computers!, hiveonline, Irth- Birth Without Bias
The GSR Prize - $150,000
Recipients: ProGame - Coding WITHOUT Computers!, hiveonline, SafetyNet Technologies, Tyto Online
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Prize - $150,000
Recipients: Weird Enough Productions, Irth- Birth Without Bias, Every Kid Gets a Robot
The Global Fund Prize - $125,000
Recipient: STRIATA built by Macro-Eyes
The Andan Prize for Innovation in Refugee Inclusion - $100,000
Recipient: Hello World
The Minderoo Prize to End Global Overfishing - $50,000
Recipients: SafetyNet Technologies, NovFeed
In addition, over $290,000 in pooled funding was awarded to teams thanks to donations from Good Energies Foundation, Climate & Land Use Alliance, the Women’s WorldWide Web (W4), the Kroger Foundation, and more.
All Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows also receive a $10,000 grant from Solve.
Thanks to our partners, another $200,000 is available to Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows which will be disbursed and announced throughout the Solver program or at Solve’s flagship event, Solve at MIT, May 5-7, 2022.
For-profit and hybrid-model Solver teams and Indigenous Communities Fellows will also be eligible to apply for investment to Solve Innovation Future, a first-of-its-kind innovative philanthropic venture fund that invests in Solver teams and Fellows.
About MIT Solve:
Solve is an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a mission to solve world challenges. Solve is a marketplace for social impact innovation. Through open innovation Challenges, Solve finds incredible tech-based social entrepreneurs all around the world. Solve then brings together MIT’s innovation ecosystem and a community of Members to fund and support these entrepreneurs to help them drive lasting, transformational impact. Join Solve on this journey at solve.mit.edu.