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Work on building using 3D printing technology begins at Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra

A 500-square-foot one-room home is being constructed by ShelterTech alumni and Chennai-based start-up Tvasta Manufacturing Solutions.

Group of attendees at Sheltertech Summit India

A summit to advance housing and construction innovations

The Construction Innovation Hub was also launched at the Sheltertech Summit, organized by the Habitat for Humanity and Kerala Start-up Mission.

Construction sector stakeholders at Terwilliger Center event.

Construction players push for “greenclusive” industry

Construction sector stakeholders joined hands at an event organized by Habitat’s Terwilliger Center and partners in Cebu, to push for a green and inclusive construction industry.

Pag-IBIG, Singaporean firm eye building ‘net-zero communities’

Pag-IBIG Fund’s CEO and co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based Billion Bricks, a ShelterTech alumni, are in discussions to cooperate for the construction net-zero communities.

AWS Announces The 25 Startups Selected For Its First ‘Fintech In Africa’ Accelerator

ShelterTech alumni and housing finance startup H28 is among 25 African startups joining the inaugural Amazon Web Services FinTech Africa Accelerator cohort.

Africa: 'Our Target Is Replacing Cement' - the Ethiopian Startup Thinking Big

Kubik promises to turn plastic waste into high-quality affordable homes. Its CEO, Kidus Asfaw, talks about dignity, safety and thinking globally.

Woman installing a smoke detector as a man watches

Kanana shack residents praise new smoke detector

In an effort to minimize shack fire incidents, Lumkani Company installed fire alarms to alert the community in Cape Town’s Kanana informal settlement.

Bram van den Bosch, CEO and co-founder, Emata and Kidus Asfaw, CEO and co-founder, Kubik

African startups make history at the Global Startup Awards

Ethiopian sheltertech startup Kubik is one of the big winners at the Global Startups Awards, winning ‘Startup of the Year.’

Sheltertech startups building sustainability in Southeast Asia

Habitat for Humanity’s conference showcased solutions for sustainable, low-cost housing.

SGBClimateChampions graphic with speakers

#SGBClimateChampions: Habitat for Humanity

The blog introduces Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter and its support of small and growing businesses to expand innovative affordable housing services, products and financing.

How Urbanization in Africa is Driving Shelter Innovation

Can ShelterTech become the ‘it’ trend in combining purpose and profit?

Habitat for Humanity invests in Cambodian water-access startup TapEffect

The investment marks the fifth anniversary of Habitat’s Shelter Venture Fund.

Expanding affordable shelter technologies in sub-Saharan Africa

Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter was one of the first players to recognize and invest in opportunities for affordable housing innovation through ShelterTech.

Mentorship that builds better markets

How accelerators’ growing focus on mentorship can benefit the whole housing sector.

Standing on the shoulders of giants

Read how corporations are partnering with startups to help them grow and overcome technical challenges.

ShelterTech announces call for accelerator applications

Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter invited startups in Southeast Asia and South America’s Andean region to meet global housing challenges.

Habitat for Humanity expands ShelterTech platform to accelerate global housing innovations

August 12, 2020

ShelterTech expands into new geographies thanks to support from Autodesk Foundation benefitting Habitat’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter.

Meet the startup designing co-living spaces for young Nairobi professionals

The Vlage is redefining modern living in Africa.

3D printing houses in India with Tvasta

Produced by MINDIA Films, the video explores Tvasta’s 3D printing technology as an answer to meet the affordable housing demand in India over the next 10 years.

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Habitat for Humanity and the Hilti Foundation: A decade of collaboration for affordable housing

Watch to see how Habitat, Hilti and partners like Green Antz have helped more than 5 million people build or improve the places they call home.

Masterclass: Building the case for Investing in Affordable Housing

In this presentation, part of the affordable housing track of Brigade REAP’s accelerator program in India, Habitat’s Terwilliger Center Jyoti Patel talks about impact investing and sustainability in the housing sector.

Watch: This company can build you a tiny home and it costs 8,000 pesos a month

Cosmopolitan Philippines features CUBO Modular, participant of ShelterTech’s Southeast Asia accelerator.

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India's 3D-printed house

The ensemble has been designed, developed and realized by Tvasta’s indigenous Concrete 3D-Printing Technology, which was developed by the faculty members and alumni of the IIT-Madras back in 2018. With a built-in area of 600 sq. ft., the single-story home offers a functional space comprising a single bedroom, hall and kitchen.

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Young Kenyan woman is transforming waste into sustainable and affordable building materials

Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, generates 2,400 tons of solid waste daily, 20% of which is plastics. Nzambi Matee, 29, is one of the change agents who are driving Nairobi’s — and Kenya’s — ability to realize the waste recovery target. She is the founder of Gjenge Makers Ltd., a social enterprise which uses plastics to develop alternative and more affordable building materials.

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A woman in a yellow cardigan during an interview about the ShelterTech Africa launch.

Launch of ShelterTech Africa Community

The ShelterTech Africa community is a co-creation and stakeholder driven community by Habitat for Humanity’s Terwilliger Center for Innovation in Shelter with support from Pangea Accelerator. On Dec. 11, 2020, the virtual launch of ShelterTech’s Africa Alumni network took place, gathering over 370 participants, to increase impact within the housing sector in Africa.

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Tips for women entrepreneurs in the shelter space

Simar Kohli, co-founder and director of Indian startup EcoSTP, urges women entrepreneurs to be fearless as they promote their work in the shelter space. Kohli’s company, which developed a technology to treat sewage water using the principles of biomimicry, participated in a ShelterTech accelerator.

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How housing startups use innovation to address social issues

Shankar Laxman, founder and managing director of Kaushal Bhaav Skill Solutions, describes how startups can work to address social needs and support low-income communities and families. Kaushal Bhaav, an alumnus of Habitat’s ShelterTech, works to improve rural shelter in India by upskilling labor in energy-efficient and resource conservation building.

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Woman on a construction site in Kenya examines natural wood materials.

Emerging Opportunity: The Hidden Role of Sheltertech in Climate Tech Investing

View full report (PDF)

Net-zero homes: How circular economy solutions to the housing crisis in low-income countries are key to achieving global climate change targets

The report looks at how housing is key to achieving both a net-zero future and climate change mitigation and adaptation goals, and how a vision of the circular economy is already emerging for housing construction and suggests what might be needed to amplify these trends.

Masterclass: Measuring impact

This masterclass showcases practical ways in which startups can effectively measure both the business and the social impact of their product or service.

Masterclass: Understanding the low-income housing sector in the Philippines

This masterclass features the struggles faced by low-income households in building and repairing homes in the Philippines, and how the startup community can play a key role in piloting new market approaches.

Masterclass: Housing finance in Asia-Pacific

This masterclass introduces typical housing finance sources for low-income households in the region, sharing key trends, challenges and opportunities in the housing finance ecosystem.

Masterclass: Financial solutions for low-income households in Latin America

By understanding current regional market dynamics, startups can incorporate the preferences, necessities and financial capabilities of this segment in their business models.

Masterclass: Human-centered design

Human-centered design is a creative problem-solving approach that puts the customer or beneficiary at the center and leads to innovative solutions that meet their needs.

Circular Economies and Affordable Housing in Mexico

Habitat for Humanity partnered with Engineering for Change to research strategies and technologies that can improve circularity in Mexico’s housing sector. Drawing from desktop research and semi-structured interviews with more than 15 experts in the local housing ecosystem, the investigation determined four main strategies: (1) improving the reuse and recycling of building materials within its value chain; (2) developing building materials by using recycling plastics; (3) shifting towards innovative construction systems that use industrialized production processes; and (4) increasing the use of natural and bio-based materials that have less of an ecological footprint.

Circular Economies and Affordable Housing in Kenya

Habitat for Humanity partnered with Engineering for Change to research strategies and technologies that can improve circularity in Kenya’s housing sector. Guided by the ReSOLVE Framework and drawing on secondary research as well as 12 expert interviews, the report makes recommendations in three categories: (1) Circularity within the construction value chain, (2) Natural Construction Materials, and (3) Enablers and Barriers to Circularity.

Rockstars of Innovation in Housing (Spanish)

Rockstars of Innovation in Housing, released by ESMEX and Habitat’s Terwilliger Center, highlights the innovative solutions to Latin America’s housing challenges. The e-book brings together six success stories that both inspire and offer step-by-step models for the creative process each project took to solve a specific housing challenge.

Impact Entrepreneurial Ecosystem in Southeast Asia – A ShelterTech Accelerator Scoping Study

Years of consistent economic development has sparked a growth in entrepreneurship across Southeast Asia. With this backdrop, ShelterTech can play a key role in bringing the right expertise and support to early-stage shelter enterprises so they can scale their models to meet the unmet needs of low-income households.

ShelterTech Andean Market Landscape – Country Analyses

This study aims to identify the actors supporting the social impact ecosystem in the Andean Region, the opportunities and gaps that exist in addressing the shelter sector needs regarding entrepreneurship and innovation and the effects of the COVID-19 health crises on the shelter sector.

ShelterTech Andean Market Landscape – Regional Analysis and Recommendations

This report provides a closer on the entrepreneurial landscape and housing sector in Andean countries. It identifies key local stakeholders, gaps and opportunities in the ecosystem and the key trends in the impact investment space.

VisionFund México, Centro Terwilliger de Innovación en Vivienda y Holcim México, se unen para mejorar la calidad de las viviendas en Veracruz

Esta alianza tiene como principal objetivo poner al alcance de las familias en el estado de Veracruz la oportunidad de realizar ampliaciones o mejoras en su vivienda.

Una alianza por la vivienda asequible: ShelterTech + La Mezcladora

Cooperación para soluciones basadas en el mercado con el potencial de abordar los crecientes desafíos de la demanda de viviendas.

Mujeres Que Transforman: Jennifer Colpas, Emprendedora Social De Tierra Grata

Emprendedora social y cofundadora de Tierra Grata, innovación social que busca proveer con saneamiento, agua y energía a comunidades vulnerables con estos servicios insatisfechos.

La casa prefabricada que ahorra en luz y gas: genera hasta 10 kW de energía solar

La empresa Billion Bricks ha creado un modelo de casa prefabricada que resulta completamente eficiente.

“Rockstars de innovación en vivienda”

“Rockstars de innovación en vivienda” reúne historias de éxito que además de inspirar y sensibilizar en temas de innovación social y acceso a la vivienda, relatan el paso a paso del proceso creativo de cada proyecto para solucionar una problemática de vivienda en distintas localidades. El objetivo es motivar a emprendedores y empresas a involucrarse en la causa de la vivienda digna con sus proyectos, en los cuales puedan innovar y proponer soluciones que disminuyan el déficit que existe en la región.

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