D-Lab Scale-Ups

Launched by D-Lab in 2011, Scale-Ups is an acceleration platform for MIT innovators and entrepreneurs seeking to turn poverty-alleviating technologies into commercially viable and scalable products. In addition to the fellowships program, Scale-Ups supports entrepreneurs in developing countries through a technology transfer program and offers technology development services to large scale organizations seeking to create social and economic value in their value chains.

D-Lab Scale-Ups works with corporations and other organizations to design customized technology research projects that respond to strategic needs in Base of the Pyramid markets creating social and economic value. Products in the Scale-Ups pipeline are marked by technological innovation, simplicity, sustainability, affordability, and scalability in the developing world. Areas of expertise include agricultural processing, health and medical devices, alternative energy, mobility aids, biodiversity, and ICT.

Scale-Ups is leveraging D-Lab’s acknowledged leadership in particular technological areas in order to spur local innovation and entrepreneurship through Technology Transfer.

D-Lab Scale-Ups fellowships provide seed funding as well as mentoring, skills building resources and partnership cultivation opportunities to recent MIT graduates. Current projects include:

Moringa Seed Sheller and Oil Press: Low-cost devices to be operated at the cooperative level for effective seed shelling and oil extraction.
Pilot market: Ghana
Scale-Ups Fellow: Kwami Williams
Partners: New Longoro Farmers Cooperative, Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization, Lush (cosmetics).

Multicrop Thresher: An affordable, efficient, pedal-powered thresher for wheat, maize, barley, rice sorghum, and teff.
Pilot Markets: Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Scale-Ups Contact: Kofi Taha
Partners: Agricultural Transformation Agency in Ethiopia and the Food and Agriculture Organization (United Nations).

Solarclave: A solar powered autoclave to efficiently sterilize medical instruments in off-grid rural clinics.
Pilot Market: Nicaragua
Scale-Ups Fellow: Anna Young
Enterprise: Little Devices
Key Partner: Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa

SODIS Monitor: A device measuring the absorption of the sun's rays that indicates when water disinfection, using the SODIS method, is complete.
Pilot Market: Ghana
Scale-Ups Fellow: Dr. Jacqueline Linnes
Enterprise: PotaVida
Key Partner: World Vision

Leveraged Freedom Chair: An innovative lever-powered mobility aid for developing countries.
Pilot Markets: India
Scale-Ups Fellow: Tish Scolnik
Enterprise: Global Research Innovation & Technology (GRIT)
Key Partners: Jaipur Foot and Pinnacle Industries