A platform connects US tech startups with remote developers in Latin America
CategoriesSustainable News

A platform connects US tech startups with remote developers in Latin America

Spotted: Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working infrastructure has improved dramatically, while remote working practices have become culturally embedded within many organisations. Highly digitised industries saw the biggest adoption of remote working, with the OECD estimating that, on average, more than  50 per cent of high-tech workers worked from home during the pandemic. Indeed, Apple employees have become so used to remote working that a group of them have publicly pushed back against calls from top management to return to the office.

But what impact will increased acceptance of remote working have on the job market for tech? One possibility is that it will encourage more companies to outsource tasks to freelance developers in lower cost countries. But for Philadelphia-based startup Teilur, ‘outsourcing’ is a dirty word associated with short-term transactional relationships. Instead, the talent platform is focused on helping US tech startups build meaningful, long-term relationships with Latin American developers who share their mission and values.

What does this mean in practice? At the heart of Teilur’s platform is a network of over 400 pre-vetted growth marketers, data professionals, and software developers. US tech companies can dip into this pool of talent to find their next valued team member. Teilur then takes care of cumbersome administrative tasks such as international contract compliance and payroll. Crucially, for US firms, Latin America can provide workers who operate in the same timezone as their US-based counterparts, making collaboration easier. And to incentivise long-term relationships, candidates on the Teilur platform get paid salaries two to three times higher than what the big tech companies offer locally.

Teilur argues that its platform benefits both startups and developers. It claims that companies can save up to 60 per cent in salaries, while candidates receive better pay than is available elsewhere in their local market. Teilur is also committed to pricing transparency with a promise to never charge more than 25 per cent of what the hiring company pays for a candidate – a competitive rate in a market where agencies routinely charge up to 50 per cent. Teilur also pledges to only charge companies if they actually hire a candidate.

With a global talent gap looming on the horizon, Springwise is spotting a number of talent tech innovations such as a language-learning app that connects candidates from marginalised groups with employers in the digital economy, and an AI-powered training platform that predicts future skills gaps.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Website: teilur.com

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A CSR platform enables companies to choose and track verified impact projects
CategoriesSustainable News

A CSR platform enables companies to choose and track verified impact projects

Spotted:  Investors and corporates alike are increasingly interested in using software as a service (SaaS) models to integrate sustainability-focused infrastructure into corporate platforms. In line with this trend, Singaporean startup Handprint is providing businesses with an easy way to improve their planetary impact. 

The Handprint platform offers companies a choice of pre-verified impact projects grouped into themes such as social justice, clean water, and deforestation. Each company can then choose to support the ones that best align with its brand and values.  

Once a company has chosen the projects it wishes to support, software plugins integrate contributions to those projects into core business functions such as e-commerce. For example, food delivery company Saladstop integrated with Handprint’s technology to allow its customers to order ‘climate positive’ meals. Similarly, media platform Teads worked with Handprint to let its users dedicate part of their advertising spend to the regeneration project of their choice.  

The idea behind Handprint is that the company makes the contribution rather than the end consumer. But by using Handprint’s platform, companies gain benefits such as increased brand loyalty and greater cart conversion, while also linking their impact contributions to their core business. 

Handprint also makes it easy to track the company’s overall contribution – both in terms of monetary investment and impact outcomes. The progress of the company’s chosen projects can be traced with quasi-real-time data and on-the-ground photos – which the company can post on social media. 

A really important benefit of Handprint’s approach is that it significantly reduces intermediary costs on the back-end. By using blockchain technology and satellite imagery Handprint is able to avoid some of the costs normally associated with donation-based systems. As a result, more money flows to projects on the ground and less to third-party administration. In fact, the company claims to have one of the best dollar-to-impact rates in the world, being on average 68% cheaper than its competitors. 

In a crowded marketplace for corporate impact, Handprint’s credibility is boosted by its links with academia, and the financial backing it has recently received through a $2.2 million (around €2.08 million) funding round. 

Other recent software innovations aimed at corporate sustainability include a platform for measuring an organisation’s IT footprint, a SaaS platform that helps real estate investors lower their environmental impact, and a platform that simplifies ESG data. 

Written By: Katrina Lane

Website: handprint.tech

Contact: handprint.tech/contact

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A platform keeps teachers and parents in sync
CategoriesSustainable News

A platform keeps teachers and parents in sync

Spotted: A US-based tech startup is hoping to make it easier for parents, teachers, school administrators, and students themselves to work together to help students stay on track. The company, Schoolytics, has developed a platform that tracks individual metrics, including grades, due dates for upcoming assignments, and missed work, keeping everyone informed.

Schoolytics is currently being used in more than 500 schools. The platform includes separate dashboards for students, parents, teachers, and school administrators. While parent and student dashboards track assignments and grades, the teacher dashboard shows metrics such as class-wide assignment completion rates and automatically generates honour roll lists and progress reports. The administrator dashboard allows school leaders to view metrics by school and year, while also generating reports for individual classes.

Schoolytics actually takes most of its data from Google Classroom, a learning management system that became very popular during the pandemic, when schools and classrooms were forced to go move online almost overnight. However, while Google Classroom makes it easier for teachers to collect data, it does not offer analytics features, which is where Schoolytics comes in. The startup provides a front end that makes it easy for teachers to track specific types of data.

The pandemic and the move to increased online learning has given a new impetus to platforms and other innovations aimed at making education healthier and more focused on learning. Springwise has recently covered a green school building built entirely of bamboo and 3D-printed schools that can expand access to education. 

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Website: schoolytics.com

Contact: schoolytics.com/contact

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A platform makes it easy to turn smartphones into multimedia museum guides
CategoriesSustainable News

A platform makes it easy to turn smartphones into multimedia museum guides

Spotted: Almost anyone who has been to a museum will be familiar with audio or multimedia guides – devices that provide still images, video clips, sound effects, music, and spoken commentary to accompany an exhibition. The first of these devices was developed in 1952 at the Stedlijik Museum in Amsterdam, and, over time, they have developed into the familiar iPod-like device still in use today. These bespoke devices can be cumbersome for users and expensive for smaller exhibitions. Now, startup Shoutr Labs has developed a system that is both easy to use and easy to develop.

Shoutr’s platform not only turns visitor’s smartphones into multimedia guides – it also makes it easy for museums and other attractions to develop those guides without programming expertise. It includes a content management system (CMS) with a drag and drop app builder, multilingual content, and the ability to easily manage content. Visitors can access the system on their smartphones without downloading an app.

The system is used together with the shoutr.Boxx, which saves all content in a local storage location. By allowing users to retrieve the data on the attractions’ local wireless network, the shoutr.Boxx removes the need for visitors to use mobile data (a potential issue for holidaymakers with high roaming charges or a poor connection). Shoutr also makes it possible for attractions to incorporate advanced features into their presentation, such as Augmented Reality.

Springwise has spotted several innovations that aim to make the arts more broadly accessible. These include a foundation using digital technology and a floating museum to bring contemporary art to the masses, and an AR art exhibition in the London skyline.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

Website: shoutrlabs.com

Contact: shoutrlabs.com/en/contact

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Platform grades commercial buildings for sustainability and provides green alternatives
CategoriesSustainable News

Platform grades commercial buildings for sustainability and provides green alternatives

Spotted: As building managers and owners seek paths to achieve carbon neutrality, sorting through the vast quantity of available information is often overwhelming. Station A, a marketplace for connecting clean energy seekers and sellers, hopes to help simplify the situation. Owners enter the addresses of their buildings to receive a Clean Energy Grade.

The AI powered platform evaluates the myriad ways, based on its location and climate, in which a building can reduce its carbon emissions. Each Clean Energy Grade includes projected financial savings for the different renewable energy options.

The Station A platform then provides owners and managers with a single place to gather all quotes for clean power and electricity. Users can directly compare installation costs, retrofitting fees and the length of time required to pay off the project. Station A also acts as an advisory board, providing consultancy on all stages of a structure’s transition to clean energy.

For providers, Station A improves the efficiency of the process by gathering all the data required for a detailed quote. The platform also helps providers connect with a range of projects, from size to type of energy required.

The greening of the construction industry is picking up speed, as materials and processes undergo radical change. Hempcrete is becoming an increasingly popular choice, and architects and builders now have the digital means to measure and predict the carbon footprint of a building.  

Written by: Keely Khoury

Email: info@stationa.com

Website: stationa.com

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A platform to formalise the domestic work sector in Southeast Asia
CategoriesSustainable News

A platform to formalise the domestic work sector in Southeast Asia

Spotted: Modern day slavery still takes place in many forms, including among domestic workers. In Malaysia, many domestic workers come from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Cambodia, and are vulnerable to slave-like work and living conditions. Moreover, they often lack the agency to report any abuses against them. 

Pinkcollar is a platform on a mission to  formalise the domestic work sector in Southeast Asia. To do so, the company has devised a transparent and ethical job-search and recruitment process that connects domestic workers and household employers. 

In addition to hosting employer and maid profiles, Pinkcollar also offers bespoke features to assist and support users throughout the employment term. For example, it has created a productivity and assistance toolkit to aid the working experience, and a ratings-system and a community forum for employers and maids. It has also developed educational materials for domestic workers to take advantage of during their rest-days.

The company foresees a number of key challenges that the platform will need overcome. These include building social awareness among employers in host-countries, and ensuring access to the platform for the demographic groups that most need it – groups that often lack digital skills. Ultimately, the goal is to build a ‘trust’ community with users on the platform.

Another innovation spotted by Springwise that tackles modern slavery is softeware that helps businesses eliminate their slavery footprint.

Written By: Katrina Lane

Email: hello@hirepinkcollar.com

Website: hirepinkcollar.com

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