Novatio
Location
Colombia
Programme
South America Accelerator Programme
in partnership with NESsT
Website
www.novatio.com.co
Novatio brings clean energy and healthier living to rural Colombian families
In Colombia, close to 1.6 families cook with firewood and non-renewable energy sources such as coal and gas due to a lack of affordable clean energy alternatives. Woodfire has harmful environmental effects and also poses serious health risks. Women and children, who are typically responsible for cooking and household tasks, are more exposed to smoke and small health-damaging particles, putting them at greater risk of developing respiratory conditions.
Novatio, founded in 2017, brings clean energy solutions to the agriculture industry in Colombia, including remote farming communities where poverty rates are high, and access to infrastructure and basic services is limited.
Through its social and environmental programs, Novatio provides families in rural Colombia with technical and financial assistance to transition their farms and homes to clean energy sources. The enterprise supports families to install and use biodigesters, which naturally break down organic material, such as food and animal waste, to produce biogas and nutrient-rich fertilizer to grow crops. Biogas is a sustainable, green fuel for cooking, reducing household pollution and protecting health.
Novatio emphasizes raising awareness of the health and economic benefits of using biodigesters and ensuring families have the skills to treat and repurpose their waste as a valuable resource. The 90 farming families supported by Novatio have saved up to $350 annually on fuel and approximately four hours of labour a week typically spent collecting and cutting wood.
Over the past six years, Novatio’s work to bring clean energy solutions to rural communities in Colombia has produced 40,000 m3 of biogas, preventing 166,000 tons of CO2 emissions and saving 150 tons of wood being cut down from protected forests.
Novatio’s social impact programs seek to provide access to reliable technology and improve the living conditions of all the families we benefit from and support. With NESsT’s strategic support, we will focus on building solid impact indicators and creating valuable connections with organizations, funders, and partners to amplify our impact in Colombia’s rural farming communities.
Programme support
With the long-term strategic support of NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, Novatio will expand its social impact. By 2026, it aims to support more than 1,000 families in rural Colombia in transitioning away from fuels that are harmful to their health and the environment. We’ll also support the enterprise in its research to implement a carbon credit scheme.
Through its social and environmental programmes across Colombia, Novatio has significantly impacted rural communities. We look forward to supporting their work as they create a more sustainable and inclusive world.
With the long-term strategic support of NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, Novatio will expand its social impact. By 2026, it aims to support more than 1,000 families in rural Colombia in transitioning away from fuels that are harmful to their health and the environment. We’ll also support the enterprise in its research to implement a carbon credit scheme.
Through its social and environmental programmes across Colombia, Novatio has significantly impacted rural communities. We look forward to supporting their work as they create a more sustainable and inclusive world.