January 2024

2024 New Year's Revolutions

New year, new UBS Global Visionaries Revolutions for accelerating positive change in the year ahead.

UBS are passionate about helping our clients make an impact on some of the world’s most pressing social and environmental challenges. We have gathered some of the best thought leaders to help guide you through the how with our Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) guides.

(SDG) guides

The new year is upon us with a sense of freshness and energy that comes with once again thinking anything is possible. Many would say that social entrepreneurs feel this more than most. So like last year, we asked a few of our UBS Global Visionaries what their New Year’s revolutions will be for the year ahead!

2023 introduced eight new UBS Global Visionaries to the program, bringing new missions and visions to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges. So, it’s not surprising that the diverse answers reflect the diversity of the cohort and the issues themselves, including goals to “deliver new nature-inspired medicines to patients in need;” “drastically cut methane emissions in the deep-sea maritime industry;” “ensure the world's most disadvantaged students feel the benefits of the AI revolution;” and beyond.

Do these goals inspire you to do more? Check out our UBS Global Visionaries revolutions to boost your own ideas!

Photo of Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher

"Financing the Earth's natural assets remains one of the biggest challenges for the financial community.

2023 was a pivotal year in which Earth Security has been turning data-driven investment intelligence into action. We've been developing an investment pipeline of 100+ 'mangrove-positive' businesses, connecting projects with a blend of philanthropic and commercial funding, and proving it is possible to transition to more regenerative coastal economies across the planet's tropical belt.


As the world looks beyond carbon to finance the intrinsic value of nature, we've also been developing investment opportunities in Latin America, linking forests and water to agricultural commodities and infrastructure, which will come online in the new year.

Our focus for 2024 is to continue to expand the investment playbook for nature's assets, seeking to mobilise millions of dollars of funding towards companies and impact economies, which show the way forward for aligning capital with climate resilience and the sustainable use of resources."

Alejandro Litovsky, Founder and CEO of Earth Security

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"Throughout 2023, methane emerged as a crucial focus in climate action. From the initial momentum sparked by the US IRA's efforts to curb methane emissions to the pivotal acknowledgement at COP28, the consensus solidified: without reducing methane emissions, achieving climate goals remains unattainable.


Looking ahead to 2024, our resolution sights at Daphne Technology are set on a grand goal: amplifying SlipPureTM deployments. Our ambition is clear — to drastically cut methane emissions in the deep-sea maritime industry and vital land-based energy hubs like the US and MENA.

This next phase demands heightened dedication to deploying our pioneering solutions and navigating the complexities of traditionally challenging industries. We persist in our commitment to crafting and scaling technologies that effectively measure and mitigate GHG emissions, and especially methane, targeting inefficiencies across the global power generation."

Dr. Juan Mario Michan, CEO and Founder of Daphne Technology

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“At Enveda, we have three New Year’s Resolutions that will mark significant progress towards our goal of delivering new nature-inspired medicines to patients in need. The first is to launch clinical trials for our novel treatments targeting multiple inflammatory and neurosensory diseases.


This is a landmark moment for our company and we’re incredibly excited to start making a difference in patients’ lives. The second resolution is to forge a partnership with a large pharmaceutical company on one or more of our high-potential assets to extend the impact of our unique drug discovery platform and to help as many people as possible. The third is to increase the speed and accuracy of our advanced chemistry platform, allowing us to measure the therapeutic activity and predict the structure of all molecules within a complex sample, such as a plant extract, nearly simultaneously.”

Dr. Viswa Colluru, CEO and Founder of Enveda Biosciences

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"Our ambition at Climeworks for 2024: Net zero for a sustainable future.


We will accelerate the growth of Climeworks, recognizing the pivotal role carbon removal plays in mitigating climate change. Next year, we will see the operational start of our second direct air capturing plant in Iceland, a testament to our commitment to innovation and technology leadership. Our team continues to spearhead the development of our 3rd generation technology, slated for rollout in the USA within a future Megaton hub. To reach global impact, we will work tirelessly to expand our presence internationally and secure optimal sites for upcoming DAC hubs. So, while our New Year resolution may be zero, our efforts to reach this will be anything but zero."

Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, Co-founders of Climeworks

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"Perkins knows that every child can learn. Anywhere. Together with our partners we make quality education accessible to children with disabilities. In 2023 alone, we reached over 1.2 million children.


With support from the UBS Optimus Foundation, for example, Perkins coached teachers in East Java, Indonesia to create more accessible teaching materials. The students then became actively involved in the lessons, learning new vocabulary and skills and communicating to solve problems.

In 2024, we will reach even more children across the 16 countries where we work and beyond. With a scalable and sustainable model in place, our new year’s resolution is to unlock the power of more educators and support meaningful learning for children with disabilities.

We will continue building a world where every child belongs!"

Katherine Holland, Executive Director, International at Perkins School for the Blind

Photo of Katherine Holland and Dave Power

"In 2024, we want to ensure the world's most disadvantaged students feel the benefits of the AI revolution. In our work with more than 900 schools and a quarter of a million students in Africa, we're constantly thinking about the best ways to improve teaching and learning. AI can help.


Take Rori, our multi-award-winning WhatsApp AI math tutor. By combining a high-tech back end, a low-tech front-end and a more representative dataset, it is creating powerful learning experiences for students, in and out of school. In the process, it's given us a template for how these technologies can be a force multiplier across our work with teachers, school leaders, learners and parents in Africa."

Paul Skidmore, CEO of Rising Academy Network, UBS GV Alumnus

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"2.7 billion frontline workers are experiencing unprecedented change. Frontline jobs are growing, but they are becoming more complex and non-routine. Instead of just chasing the next new thing like AI or tech skills, BagoSphere is teaching 'Human Capabilities' - a combination of mindsets and socio-emotional skills—to help them be more confident and have the growth mindset to navigate through life's challenges.


In 2024, we are going deeper into helping youth develop career paths from entry-level to first-time leadership roles. We are rolling out new programmes to existing Philippines clients, potentially impacting over 2,000 workers. We will also continue to build our community of 39,000 job seekers, build new strategic partnerships with mid-sized enterprises, and explore new markets in Southeast Asia. 2024 will be a big step towards being Southeast Asia's most valuable community for developing frontline workers."

Zhihan Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of BagoSphere, UBS GV Alumnus

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"In 2024, our resolution is to continue unlocking the potential of distributed renewables to deliver reliable and affordable power to African businesses and communities. Between CrossBoundary Energy and CrossBoundary Access, we intend to have committed over USD 500M into these transformative projects by the end of the year.”

Matt Tilleard, Managing Parner and Co-Founder at CrossBoundary Group, UBS GV Alumnus

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"Reflecting on Frontier Markets' journey in the past year fills me with immense pride and excitement for what lies ahead. Our commitment to rural India spans two decades, fostering innovation and bridging gaps through technology and a network of empowered women entrepreneurs.


The launch of "She-Leads Bharat" (SLB) this year stands as a beacon of progress, uniting local women organizations, government bodies, and solution providers to empower rural women through technology and catalytic capital. With plans to collaborate with 100 companies, 5 state governments, and community networks, our initiative aims to elevate 2 million digital women entrepreneurs, positively impacting 100 million families and unlocking USD 1BN in market potential.

Our successful demonstration last year, securing USD 3 million in blended finance and empowering 50,000 digital women entrepreneurs, showcases the tangible impact of our model. Heading into 2024, we will continue to bring renewable energy, agtech, fintech, and ecommerce to rural markets, advancing key SDG goals.

As we explore expansion into East Africa and further grow within India, I'm invigorated by the possibilities and eager to continue our journey of transformative change in frontier markets worldwide."

Ajaita Shah, Founder of Frontier Markets, GV Alumnus

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"In 2024, my resolution as a leader is to up my bravery to say things as they are, perhaps borrowing some childlike honesty and straightness so as to be more 'to the point', when often it is the challenging point that people cower and courtesy around. Too often we try to either please - or to not offend. Doing social impact work means that sometimes we need to bite the jugular quickly, rather than inadvertently giving a slow love bite as we tiptoe around complex issues. Time is short, I want to use it to the max."

Dr. Christina Dean, Founder and CEO of The R Collective, UBS GV Alumna

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"After a successful 2023 which brought Sweep new clients and the expansion of our teams, we are looking forward to a busy New Year.


2024 promises a significant step-up of non-financial reporting requirements, and Sweep is poised to help businesses and financial institutions to map and navigate those journeys.

A particularly major change is the arrival in the European Union of the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), putting sustainable practices high on the list of strategic business priorities.

Meanwhile, at COP28, we witnessed the unveiling of the Net Zero Data Public Utility (NZDPU): an open and centralized repository of climate transition-related data, which empowers businesses and governments alike to make informed, impactful decisions.

I believe that wherever we look in 2024 and beyond, the power of data will be the magic ingredient which permits us to move on towards net zero."

Rachel Delacour, CEO and Co-Founder of Sweep