First Access Selected for Unreasonable Goals Program for SDG #1: Poverty
First Access Selected for Unreasonable Goals Program for Dedication to Addressing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030
November 8, 2018 – After a rigorous selection process involving hundreds of world-class companies from across the world, First Access has been chosen to join fifteen other ventures in the second annual Unreasonable Goals program.
On September 25, 2015, leaders from 193 countries came together at the United Nations and adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that include ending hunger, conserving the oceans, ensuring gender equality, and providing access to clean energy for all. Unreasonable Goals is a partnership between governments, multinationals, and Unreasonable Group with the singular focus of accelerating our ability to achieve these noteworthy goals by leveraging market forces.
The two-week program is designed to bring together 16 highly scalable entrepreneurial solutions, each uniquely positioned to solve at least one of the SDGs. The 17th goal represents the importance of public-private partnerships to achieve the UN’s agenda, with the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships at the U.S. Department of State as the founding partner of this initiative in 2017. The cornerstone partners this year include Johnson & Johnson and Lottery.com.
First Access enables smarter growth for traditional lending institutions by allowing them to digitize their operations, analyze their customer and operational data, and gradually automate processes. Financial institutions have already saved customers over 300 years of wait-time by fast-tracking low risk loans on First Access.
During the intensive program, First Access will receive mentorship and advice from business experts and serial entrepreneurs, including Tom Chi, former head of experience at Google X; Betty Hudson, President at Hudson & Associates and former Chief Communications Officer at National Geographic; and Hunter Lovins, TIME Magazine Hero of the Planet and founder of Natural Capitalism Solutions.
The program will take place in Connecticut and include a curated funder’s gathering, where First Access will showcase our innovation. "We've been hearing about the Unreasonable community for many years and look forward to becoming part of it. Unreasonable takes a unique approach to helping companies tackle huge global problems, so it seems like a great fit for us," said Co-Founder & CEO Nicole Van Der Tuin in anticipation of the program.
Hosted by a different country every year, the partnership will run annually until 2030. “After running the initiative for 13 years, we will have worked with over 200 of the fastest growing and most promising global entrepreneurs of our time,” says Daniel Epstein, the founder and CEO of Unreasonable Group. “We will have partnered with several national governments and dozens of multinational corporations and organizations. It’s this collective global network that will direct billions of dollars to the world’s most pressing problems and impact billions of lives.”
Cumulatively, the 16 companies that participated in last year’s inaugural Unreasonable Goals program have raised over $174M USD, generated revenue of over $143M, and are already positively impacting the lives of nearly 95 million people in over 75 countries.
To learn more about this initiative and the ventures, visit https://unreasonable-goals.com/.
About the Companies
First Access (Goal #1: No Poverty) is creating the smart data platform with configurable mobile apps for lenders to digitize, automate, and reach any customer, anywhere.
ALGAMA (Goal #2: Zero Hunger) is harnessing the unique potential of micro-algae to make food that is sustainable and nutritious for a rapidly growing global population.
Copper3D (Goal #3: Good Health and Well-Being) is setting a new standard in the 3D printing industry by developing antibacterial nanocomposites that fight bacteria for printed prosthetics.
BRCK (Goal #4: Quality Education) is building the tools for connectivity to bring Africans online for free, securing over 250,000 users of its public WiFi platform in just a few months.
Bloomlife (Goal #5: Gender Equality) is designing the future of prenatal care with the most advanced combination of technology, science, and medical expertise, serving over 4,000 moms to date.
Cambridge Industries (Goal #6: Clean Water and Sanitation & Goal #7: Affordable and Clean Energy) is designing, constructing, and operating extremely cost-competitive and scalable waste-to-energy facilities customized for Sub-Saharan Africa.
LabourNet (Goal #8: Decent Work and Economic Growth) is improving worker skills and productivity in the informal sector through its vocational training programs, skilling over 700,000 people in India.
Ambercycle (Goal #9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) is transforming millions of tons of waste apparel into raw material for textile production, contributing to a fully circular supply chain for clothing by 2030.
Lidya (Goal #10: Reduced Inequalities) is building the financial services platform of the future for Africans worldwide, with over 100,000 businesses signed up for their service.
Roots Studio (Goal #11: Sustainable Cities and Communities) is digitizing the endangered work and stories of traditional artists from remote regions around the world into an online library for licensing, with over 2,000 artists to date.
Greenhope (Goal #12: Responsible Production and Consumption) is making plastics green by using agritechnology to make bio-based and degradable plastic alternatives, with its products in over ten countries and counting.
Veerhouse Voda (Goal #13: Climate Action) is providing environmentally sustainable and disaster resistant buildings to the Caribbean 5x faster than traditional methods.
Catalina Sea Ranch (Goal #14: Life Below Water) is creating the first aquaculture facility in U.S. federal waters to deliver fresh, sustainable, regenerative protein to feed the world.
Lingrove (Goal #15: Life on Land) is making wood without trees and creating high-performance and eco-friendly natural fiber materials to bring lighter, stronger, and better products to market.
IN-Code Technologies (Goal #16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) is countering illicit trade and creating a safer world by eliminating counterfeit markets with proven, invisible, anti-counterfeit marker technology.
Hala Systems (Goal #16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions) is developing innovative technology solutions to reduce harm, increase security, and stabilize communities in some of the toughest places on Earth.
About Unreasonable Group
Unreasonable’s mission is to drive resources to and breakdown barriers for entrepreneurs solving key global challenges (i.e. ensuring renewable energy reaches the 1.3 billion people currently without electricity, reimagining the future of healthcare, or addressing the global unemployment crisis). Through running worldwide accelerator programs, a globally oriented private equity fund, an extensive network of serial business leaders as mentors, and advanced storytelling and media activities, Unreasonable is designed to exclusively support entrepreneurs positioned to solve society's toughest problems. For further information about Unreasonable, please visit our website, http://www.unreasonablegroup.com.
Media Inquiries
Corey Pargee, Director of Operations, First Access
Brittany Lane, Senior Director of Media, Unreasonable Group
+1 (832) 867-2424, brittany@unreasonablegroup.com