Each of our investments seeks to improve the lives of underserved people around the world through sustainable business models. Select a category below to learn more about our portfolio holdings.






First Light Portfolio

First Light focuses on investing in strong, competitive and sustainable businesses. Below is an overview on some of our investee companies.

Bioceptive
Bioceptive is developing a patent-pending intrauterine device (IUD) inserter that vastly simplifies the insertion procedure, while significantly reducing the complications inherent with current insertion techniques. The novel IUD inserter takes a highly skill-dependent procedure, currently requiring four tools, to an intuitive and easy insertion procedure using only one self-contained device.
www.bioceptive.com

BookBox
BookBox is pioneering the use of same language subtitling in India - a technique in which words on-screen in an animated story light up in unison with audio to teach reading. Founded in 2004, BookBox is creating animated series that will be distributed to television in multiple languages throughout India to enhance basic literacy. Low income families in India typically have 10x more access to TV than books.
www.bookbox.com

CareGo International
CareGo International is a network of clinics providing primary care, prescriptions, lab tests vaccines, and medical supplies to low income clients in Nairobi. It integrates strong technological solutions optimized for emerging markets with a proprietary clinical support application, electronic medical records, and early diagnosis tools.
http://www.caregointl.com/

CloudCurrencies
CloudCurrencies is a web-based Cause Marketing & Open-Loop Loyalty Marketing Platform that increases spending at local merchants. Consumers can register any credit or debit card and immediately earn donations for their favorite nonprofit and local currency credits for themselves every time they make a purchase at a participating local merchant. CloudCurrencies is a ‘Pay-Per-Sale’ advertising model, meaning merchants don’t pay unless the program delivers completed sales.


CO2 Impact
CO2 Impact is a carbon project developer focused on carbon offset programs that have an impact on local communities in Latin America. CO2 Impact is converting brick kilns from coal to gas across Latin America to reduce emissions. The carbon credits that are generated from the projects will be sold and the revenue used to support the local communities. CO2 Impact is a Gold Standard Majority Pledger.
www.co2impact.com

Cooler, Inc.
Cooler, Inc. provides software that tracks the carbon footprint of individuals and small businesses, and provides energy-efficient recommendations for companies and individuals. Cooler’s mission is to connect every purchase to a solution for energy efficiency. Cooler aims to make it easy for all consumers to know the impact of their actions and take direct action to reduce it.
www.climatecooler.com

Drop the Chalk
Drop the Chalk is a web-based software application that equips teachers with the right tool sets to collect student data in real-time and use the data to make instructional decisions. By targeting schools that are operating in the highest-need areas in th
http://www.kickboardforteachers.com/

Jack and Jake's Local and Organic Market
Jack and Jake's Local and Organic Market is a wholesale and retail market operation whose local food products are measured in "food miles" - distance from production to the store itself. Jack and Jake's supports local farmers and fishers, supplies schools and hospitals, and reaches out to underserved neighborhoods in New Orleans that were left without access to healthy food after Hurricane Katrina.
www.jackandjakes.com

Kopo Kopo
Kopo Kopo provides integration for all mobile money systems to the "last mile." Mobile phones are more accessible at the base of the pyramid than clean water or electricity, and it's now possible for the poor to access robust financial services via simple text messages. Institutions that serve the poor need an affordable way to integrate with mobile money systems, and Kopo Kopo's mission is to make that integration as simple and accessible as possible by offering a software platform that connects mobile money systems with the microfinance institutions who are serving the base of the pyramid.
www.kopokopo.com

Life City
Life City is a membership-based organization that supports the development of green businesses in Louisiana, while educating citizens about green products and services.
http://www.mylifecity.com/

Liga Masiva
Liga Masiva is a fair-trade supply chain linking Dominican Republic products with U.S. consumers. Café Liga Masiva is direct-trade organic coffee brought to consumers through the direct collaboration of the farmer, the roaster, and Liga Masiva. These farmers make up to 200% what they could otherwise earn. Liga Masive hopes to scale to 5 countries in 5 years.
www.ligamisava.com

MobileWorks
MobileWorks is a socially minded crowdsourcing platform and employment solution for low-income mobile-phone owners in India. The mobile web application allows users to earn a supplemental income by completing simple data entry work sent to their mobile phones via mobile web. MobileWorks market the aggregate services of their worker pool as an on-demand crowdsourcing workforce to corporations, organizations, and individuals in the West. To these customers, MobileWorks provides an easier, more accurate, and more cost efficient alternative to traditional business process outsourcing.
http://www.mobileworks.com/

New Avenue Homes
New Avenue Homes finances, entitles, and builds eco-friendly, low-costs homes in backyards and other empty spaces to reduce urban sprawl and to provide affordable housing. New Avenue is an alternative development model that enables communities to grow internally, as opposed to externally, by building homes on underutilized properties within existing neighborhoods at low costs.
www.newavenuehomes.com

Promethean Power Systems
Promethean Power Systems makes solar-powered refrigerators to cool milk at remote collection centers throughout India. The unit reduces transportation costs, preserves the quality of milk, and increases small farmers' income by up to 100%. There is an estimated market of 120,000 cooling unites in India, totaling $600m.
www.coolectrica.com

RainSaucers
RainSaucers manufactures a standalone rainwater harvesting system. A single 200-liter RainSaucers system, emptied periodically during the rainy season, can provide a family with seven months of clean drinking water.
www.rainsaucers.com

SABRAS
SABRAS was established to procure, process, and market salt produced by marginalized salt plan producers in Gujarat, India. Through SABRAS, the salt producers earn a higher margin by using cleaner operating solar pumps, which in turn improves standard of living. The IRR through diesel savings alone is about 30%.
www.divadandi.com/save/sabras.html

SMV Wheels
SMV Wheels provides asset-based loans for better designed, low cost rickshaws in India where there are an estimated ten million rickshaw drivers. Repayments for the rickshaws are collected on a daily bases. The company also provides several benefits to their lessees, including accident insurance, life insurance, licenses, and uniforms.


TerViva BioEnergy
TerViva BioEnergy has developed an ultra-low cost, environmentally-responsible feedstock for the production of biodiesel. TerViva owns a proprietary strain of the Pongamia tree, which grows in marginal soil and requires little water or fertilizer. The energy output of a gallon of Pongamia diesel is 4X more than the energy used to produce that gallon.
www.terviva.com

The Hoop Fund
The Hoop Fund is a crowd-funding platform that connects consumers to the hardworking farmers and artisans behind their favorite products: everything from chocolate, coffee, and rice, to clothing, handicrafts and soccer balls. The Hoop provides a living p
www.hoopfund.com

Under the Mango Tree
Under the Mango Tree is an ethical, organic certified company that trains and provides market access for rural producers of pure honey and beeswax in India. The farmers increase mango, lychee nut, orange, and apple orchard yields by 2X to 14X due to increased pollinization. The honey has a rich distinctive flavor as the smaller native bees only pollinate one variety, and the honey commands a premium price.
www.utmt.in

v-shesh
v-shesh is a "livelihood exchange" that trains and connects low-income rural job seekers (including people with disabilities and juveniles) in India to careers in sectors such as microfinance, manufacturing, and retail. v-shesh also identifies and trains individuals to operate as microentrepreneurs by distributing products suitable to their local social environment.
www.v-shesh.com

Who Gives a Crap
Who Gives a Crap makes environmentally sustainable toilet paper and donates 50% of its profits to water sanitation projects in the developing world. Their profits will help provide 2.6 million people with ongoing access to toilets.
www.whogivesacrap.org

Windhorse
Windhorse sells affordable, safe drinking water in small rural villages in India. Windhorse seeks to reach the 30 million households in need of clean drinking water in eastern India. Piloting in the eastern point of Orissa, Windhorse uses an existing network of kiosk owners to purify water at the point of sale through a simple electro-chlorination technique.

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