Strong supportive innovation ecosystems are essential for realizing invention-based businesses that have scalable impact.
Diverse, inclusive, resilient regional innovation ecosystems are essential for invention-based businesses to effectively develop solutions for underserved market needs and successfully commercialize and scale these inventions, resulting in increased economic opportunity for disadvantaged communities and a future where we all live within our planetary boundaries.
To cultivate the next generation of inventors, it is necessary to provide clear pathways with opportunities for invention education and an accessible, well-capacitated and coordinated system of entrepreneurial resources that support a variety of emerging businesses at every stage.
Our Approach
We support programs in the U.S., India, and Kenya that build diverse, inclusive, resilient regional ecosystems for entrepreneurs.
We strengthen innovation ecosystems by:
- Funding local business enablers such as incubators and accelerators to help build pathways for businesses to grow and scale.
- Facilitating capacity-building, connection, and coordination of regional ecosystem stakeholders.
- Developing financing solutions that provide access to capital invention-based businesses.
Strategic Focus
In our home state of Oregon, we are piloting an approach to building a diverse, inclusive, resilient regional innovation ecosystem. Our Invention Education initiative works in concert with our Invention & Entrepreneurship initiative, funding invention education from elementary through secondary and on to higher education, as well as a strong network of invention-focused entrepreneurship resources.
We believe this ecosystem will increase life-changing inventions, enhance health outcomes, and foster wealth generation for all people. We aim to develop a model for invention-driven economic development that can be adapted by regions across the U.S., India, and Kenya.
U.S. Higher Education and Entrepreneurship
We support programs that are promoting and building a culture of environmentally responsible invention and entrepreneurship within institutions of higher education. The goal is to create an ecosystem of resources that help student-led, invention-based projects become the high-growth businesses of the future focused on problems worth solving.
International Entrepreneurship
We support the development of local invention ecosystems in India and Kenya for inventors building new products to meet the needs of the underserved/disadvantaged populations by addressing social, economic and environmental challenges embodied by the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Clean Energy
This 2021 report from Endeavor Insight analyzes the challenges and opportunities for invention-based enterprises and service companies in clean energy in sub-Saharan Africa and India.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Agriculture
This 2021 report from Endeavor Insight examines innovative companies in agriculture in Africa to understand how they can maximize their impact in support of the SDGs.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Impact Financing for Hardware Startups
This 2018 resource guide is for investors interested in working with Indian product-based entrepreneurs to deliver impact at scale, and provides a case study of The Lemelson Foundation’s use of Masala bonds for Program-Related Investments.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Hardware Pioneers
In this 2016 report, FSG investigates obstacles to bringing innovative technologies, such as solar lanterns or low-cost medical devices, to under-resourced communities in developing countries.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
What’s Working in Startup Acceleration: Insights from Fifteen Village Capital Programs
This 2016 report studies the effectiveness of accelerator programs for entrepreneurs in emerging markets working in sectors such as agriculture, energy, education, financial inclusion and health.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Global Accelerator Learning Initiative
The Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI) uncovers best practices around global business accelerator programs.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Catalyzing Capital for Invention: Spotlight on India
This 2015 field study examines India’s ecosystem to enable social enterprise, and provides action steps for building support systems in other countries.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Impact Inventing: Strengthening the Ecosystem for Invention-based Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets
This 2014 report from the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) details what resources are available for invention-based businesses, what ecosystem level gaps remain and what tangible actions can be taken to fill those gaps.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
50 Breakthroughs The 50 most critical scientific & technological breakthroughs required for sustainable global development
This 2014 study from the Institute for Globally Transformative Technologies at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab highlights the critical scientific and technological advances needed for sustainable development.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
AVPA priming private sector investment in climate adaptation innovations in East Africa
This report aims to identify the needs for physical climate adaptation technologies in East Africa, the investment opportunities, and the practical routes to investment.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
SELCO reports: Sustainable Energy Led Climate Action Program
SELCAP offers a comprehensive, compelling, practical way forward to advance development, adapt to climate change, and alleviate poverty in a holistic manner.
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Invention & Entrepreneurship
Villgro A Practitioner’s guide to blended finance solutions for social enterprises
Villgro’s comprehensive analysis of the challenges each key stakeholder group faces when trying to put the idea of blended finance into action makes a pragmatic set of recommendations based on Villgro’s own first-hand experiences, specific to enabling impact through social enterprises within India.
