Firstly, let’s celebrate some key achievements

One of our key projects this year is an Ease of Living Index for the Indian government’s Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. Along with Ipsos, Ipsos Public Affairs and The Economist Intelligence Unit, we assessed 111 cities across 78 parameters, focusing on a ‘citizen-centric’ approach to urban governance and planning. The launch of the much-awaited index generated healthy debate on urban development in the country.

Athena also made headlines in February, when the Financial Times ranked us in the FT 1000: High-Growth Companies Asia Pacific. The ranking demonstrates the speed at which Athena is growing and is a testimony to the hard work of our team.

A growing team: welcoming the new

To mark the opening of our new Delhi office, we held an inaugural event, which was attended by key officials from government and donor partners including Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF); and academic research groups including the International Institute of Health Management and Research (IIHMR) and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

As Athena makes its presence known in a new city, its Chennai and Washington D.C. teams have also expanded. Why not head over to our website and familiarize yourself with our talented team?

Project updates: WASH in focus

Supporting the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Athena recently kick-started a 3 year WASH program that covers 8 pilot cities across 5 countries (Bangladesh, India, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia). It involves designing a Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) platform for Fecal Sludge Management (FSM).

Athena also undertook a feasibility study for RTI International on the implementation of a groundbreaking technology that converts sewage into potable water. The field visits to Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu, India) established the per capital volume of fecal sludge along with an assessment of onsite sanitation systems.

New territories: Nicaragua and Timor Leste

Adding two new geographies to our global footprint, we are excited to announce our partnership with Aldea Global. Aldea Global is transforming from a producer organization to a technology and analytics enabled end-to-end service provider for smallholder farmers and small businesses in northern Nicaragua. Having designed the data analytics roadmap, Athena serves as the program manager to facilitate this transformation through a full-suite mobile application.

The application will allow farmers and producers to apply for loans, maintain an e-wallet, procure inputs, coordinate logistics, price forecasting and get crop management tips. We are currently developing an aggregation platform for procurement and sourcing to help farmers secure reliable supply of inputs at better prices through collective action and increased bargaining power.

Further afield in South East Asia, we have secured 2 new projects on affordable housing in Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea. The project will complement our existing work on affordable housing in Tamil Nadu, India.

Rewarding hard work: Athena’s retreat to Sri Lanka

At the beginning of the year, team Athena went on a retreat to Sri Lanka. Situated on a beach resort in Bentota, the retreat comprised a mix of adventure, sightseeing, relaxing and shopping, giving the team a chance to bond outside of the office. This comprised of water sports (including deep-sea diving) and a visit to the city of Galle, 119km from Colombo. The team also explored local foods and delicacies and went on a shopping trip to a local market. The trip also included some team-building sessions along with late-night singing and a live cajón performance by our colleague Kowshik.

On the field with social impact bonds in India: supporting farmers in the South and school children in the North

In partnership with Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Athena is undertaking two projects in India under the Social Impact Bond (SIB) model. One project supports City Montessori School to provide low-cost high-quality education options in rural and peri-urban Uttar Pradesh. On the first field visit, SAIS students Grace and Rochana sought to establish the need for these options in the local areas. They also looked at the willingness to pay and investigated the perceptions of quality and accessibility of current options. Click here to read their field diary.

The second project seeks to increase the adoption of crop insurance among farmers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for ITUS Insurance Brokers. Karina and Irene from SAIS undertook a field visit to Telangana, meeting with stakeholders (from government officials and insurance company officials to farmers’ rights advocates) to understand the current state of agricultural insurance in the country. This visit will help shape the SIB and will serve as a pilot for later expansion. You can find their field diary here.