March 31, 2011 | Robert Puro

The New Ventures Global Investor Forum will be held in New York next week.  The focus of the forum will be on Green Opportunities in Tomorrow’s Markets.  Participating startup companies whose products promote sustainable agriculture, biomass-based renewable energy systems, and forestry include:

AliBio, a Mexico-based biotechnology company that develops products for aquaculture, agriculture, and water treatment.  The company’s product are primarily developed from microorganisms.  The company develops a non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, all natural microbial product that effectively restores the microbial balance of soils in turn reducing the need for conventional fertilizers by 10 – 25%.

Husk Power Systems, an India-based company that develops 100% biomass-based power plants to provide electricity to rural India.  The biomass power plants transform rice husks into power.  Currently, the for-profit company has 60 small power plants up and running that generate electricity for approximately 25,000 households in more than 250 villages.  Husk Power Systems, in deploying its power plants, has directly created nearly 300 new jobs related to managing and running the power plants.

Ouro Verde Amazonia, a Brazil-based company that partners with communities in the Brazilian Amazon to sustainably collect, process, and distribute high quality Brazil nuts.  Collection of nuts is done from the forest floor rather than from cutting down trees.  Ouro Verde’s business model serves to protect the forest and provide economic benefit in the form of fair prices to the community.