⚡Unicorns
Good morning! If you missed yesterday’s newsletter, you can find it here.
Let’s dive into it!
Picking Sides in HK (Part 3)
Continuation of yesterday’s conversation about Hong Kong.
We’re going to keep talking about Hong Kong. There is far too much at stake here, and if democracy is to eventually prevail, it’ll require hitting China where it hurts. Whenever we can, we’ll continue to highlight important moves made, both good and bad, by institutions and individuals across the public and private sector.
US House. The US House of Representatives passed three bills in support of Hong Kong. One condemns China’s intrusions into Hong Kong’s affairs and supports the right to protest, another requires annual reviews by the US of Hong Kong’s special economic and trade status, and the third ensures that US weapons aren’t used against protestors.
Turtle power. This doesn’t seem to be one-sided. Even Mitch McConnell, DC’s resident turtle, has condemned the NBA’s backtracking on China.
Our take. It’s nice to see US policymakers taking a stance, but it’s unclear if these bills will actually go anywhere. China has already promised “strong countermeasures” if these bills pass.
Gaming Industry. Blizzard’s been walking in lockstep with Apple and Google. Last week, they banned gamer Ng “Blitzchung” Wai Chung for supporting Hong Kong in a livestream interview. The stream quickly cut to commercial break. Blizzard then proceeded to ban Chung for a year and withhold the tournament’s prize money (that he already won!).
Twisting the knife. Of course, why stop there—yesterday, Blizzard suspended three college players for six months after they held up a sign that read “Free Hong Kong, Boycott Blizz” in a official competition.
Our take. Sigh.
Unicorns for Zero Hunger
“I believe we can get there.” Bernhard Kowatsch, head of the Innovation Accelerator of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), believes we can achieve zero hunger by 2030. An optimistic perspective tied with specific and scalable solutions could be the answer.
The search. The WFP is looking for a unicorn to help end global hunger by 2030 through its Innovation Accelerator. They’re thinking about unicorns a bit differently—in addition to billion-dollar “unicorn” valuations, they want to bring the nearly billion number of people around the world who don’t have enough to eat daily down to zero.
Why? The UN is looking for new startups to help because of their ability to be agile, offer unique solutions to unique problems, and build business models that can scale. For the past four years, the WFP has been searching for and growing entrepreneurs around the world who can address hunger-related issues in some of the world’s poorest countries.
What they provide. It’s not just funding. They also provide operational support in the field and give startups exposure to types of people and resources that may be scarce or nonexistent in their countries.
Their current scale. The program has had 4,400 applications over four years and disbursed more than $60 million of non-dilutive funds to 66 teams. Investors and institutions have followed, giving eight of the WFP teams more than $69 million in additional funding. This is quite a bit of change, but to accomplish the goals, they’ll need a lot more funding and an explosion of more ideas. We’ll share some ideas that came out of the accelerator tomorrow.
To founders / future founders.
If you have an idea to tackle a global goal in a specific and tangible way and are looking for funding, please connect with us!
Short Takes
UPS is hoping to tackle climate change by spending $450 million over the next three years to buy 6,000 natural gas-powered trucks. Sounds pretty awesome, right?
But wait! Natural gas isn’t all that clean - it is a “potent contributor” to global warming. Plus, oil companies keep burning natural gas, despite all their promises. Check out our earlier coverage of why Profit is Still King in oil.
18 were arrested in a protest against Trump’s refugee cap of 18,000 at the US Capitol Building yesterday.
New cancer vaccine trial helps kill cancer cells in Mayo patient. This is huge!
“Buckle up.” The new Chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, vowed to fight for greater gender equality.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17
War Stories from the Trenches - Fundraising for Startups Solving the World’s Greatest Challenges: Early-stage fundraising can be very challenging, and this is even further the case for social enterprises. Check out this event for a discussion on best practices for opening and closing a round to solve the world’s greatest challenges.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 18
Border South: Through a blend of visual anthropology and cinema verité, discover the story of the migrants along the 2,300-mile-long “train north” through Central America. Anthropologist Jason De León follows the trail to understand what happens to the migrants who attempt the journey. He collects decaying artifacts lost along the way, allowing him to piece together the difficult lives of his subjects, and offering glimpses of the violence of the culture of immigration along the southwestern U.S. border.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28
Conversations on Plant-based Entrepreneurship: Vegpreneur is a global entrepreneurs community that is made up of innovators who are building a plant-based future and they’re hosting an evening panel on the state of plant-based entrepreneurship at General Assembly. Light snacks and refreshments will be served.
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