ShelterTech Knowledge Hub

Announcements

Habitat for Humanity’s ShelterTech proudly announced the 10 startups and scaleups that will join the platform’s latest accelerator program in sub-Saharan Africa to advance innovations that address the region’s housing challenges.

The Knowledge Hub serves as the launching pad to engage with information on innovative shelter solutions and discussions in the housing ecosystem. If you would want to be featured here, please contact us.

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The lowdown on ShelterTech around the world

3D-printed white concrete house

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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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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Simar Kohli, co-founder and director of Indian startup EcoSTP.

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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Shankar Laxman, founder and managing director of Kaushal Bhaav Skill Solutions.

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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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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An aerial view of a city.

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.

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“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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