The 10 Most Innovative Companies That Responded to Crisis in 2023
By Christopher Zara for Fast Company
True innovation is hard enough to achieve on its own terms, but imagine trying to do it at 50 times the speed. The following 10 companies and nonprofits were recognized for creative and groundbreaking responses to emergency situations, often amid extremely high stakes and with human lives on the line. They range from a manufacturer that makes lifesaving power generators for extreme weather events (Sesame Solar) to a nonprofit that took advantage of its scale and existing infrastructure to provide safe housing to refugees (Airbnb.org); from a baby-formula startup that fed infants during a national shortage (Bobbie) to a data provider that improved the quality of 9-1-1 calls for first responders (RapidSOS).
These companies vary enormously in terms of size, from PowerOutage.us, a tiny operation that began as a side project, to Amazon, one of the largest employers in the world. But while the size and scope of their missions vary enormously, too, all 10 of these honorees have perfected the critical art of making every second count. In an emergency, there is no greater attribute.
1. SESAME SOLAR
For launching the world’s first 100% renewable-powered mobile nanogrid
Powered by solar, green hydrogen, and an optional wind turbine, Sesame Solar‘s newly launched emergency mobile units, or nanogrids, can run autonomously for weeks without the need for fossil fuels. Designed for rapid deployment, they can be on the scene of an emergency and set up by a single person in less than 15 minutes, particularly useful for natural disasters such as wildfires or hurricanes. Most conventional emergency units are powered by diesel fuel and leave a significant carbon footprint, but Sesame’s systems are a technical leap leap forward—versatile, sturdy, customizable, and clean. They can be used as command centers, temporary housing, internet hot spots, kitchens, and more.
Read more about Sesame Solar, honored as No. 44 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023.
2. AIRBNB.ORG
For helping Ukraine and Afghan refugees find temporary housing around the world
Over the last year and a half, Airbnb.org—the nonprofit launched by the home-sharing company in 2020—used its ability to scale and adapt in response to two global refugee crises. After America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the nonprofit announced it would provide free temporary housing to some 20,000 Afghan refugees worldwide. Airbnb and its CEO, Brian Chesky, paid for the effort, along with donors to the Airbnb.org Refugee Fund. To make it happen, Airbnb.org partnered with the U.S. government and resettlement agencies. The following February—four days after Russia invaded Ukraine—Airbnb.org announced a similar program for Ukraine refugees who were fleeing the country: temporary housing, fully paid for. (To date, it has provided housing to more than 130,000 people fleeing the war.) These efforts have since continued. Last year, more than 48,000 Airbnb hosts provided temporary housing to refugees in 160 countries.
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