Fortune - USA (2021-10 & 2021-11)

You’ve probably

encountered this

company’s medical

imaging device,

the iQ+ ultrasound

wand, now used

in most major U.S.

health care sys-

tems. The device

and its A.I. cloud

platform help

doctors conduct

full-body imaging

right in the exam

room—which, by

nixing the need

for clunky, fragile

legacy imaging

machines, saves

significant money

and time for hospi-

tals and patients.

At a time when

rich countries had

bought up most of

the global supply

of COVID vaccines,

telecom giant MTN

paid $25 million

to secure 7 million

doses for countries

such as Malawi,

Ghana, Nigeria,

and South Sudan—

helping provide es-

sential protection

for health workers.

MTN has also

partnered with the

Africa CDC to send

SMS messages to

spread the word

about anti-COVID

measures to far-

flung communities.

Hello Tractor

connects farmers

without equipment

to those who own

some and want

to rent out their

services. It oper-

ates in 17 countries,

in regions plagued

by low rates of

farm machinery

ownership (and

often by low crop

yields). During

the pandemic, the

“Uber for tractors”

provided equip-

ment to 160,000

farmers in Africa,

and to date it has

facilitated rentals

for more than

500,000 in all.

NO. 34

MTN

Vaccines and

information on

COVID’s front line.

RANDBURG,

SOUTH AFRICA

The world’s biggest

utility company

by market cap has

invested some

$100 billion in

clean energy infra-

structure over the

past decade, in-

cluding more than

$14 billion in 2020.

In Florida, its home

state, NextEra

has closed its last

coal-fired plant; it

began work this

year on what will

be the world’s larg-

est solar-powered

battery facility,

capable of storing

enough energy to

run Disney World

for seven hours.

NO. 33

Butterly

Network

Portable insights

for doctors.

GUILFORD, CONN.

NO. 36

Hello Tractor

The “Uber for

tractors” makes

vital connections.

NAIROBI

NO. 35

NextEra Energy

Making a

crucial bet on

solar storage.

JUNO BEACH, FLA.

In 2019, the credit-

reporting company

launched Experian

Boost, a free tool

that helps consum-

ers with poor credit

improve their credit

scores. Users can

report on-time pay-

ments on recurring

bills like utilities

and streaming ser-

vices, thus building

stronger credit

histories—crucial

for qualifying for

mortgages and

larger loans. Over

7 million people

have used Boost,

Experian says, and

70% have upped

their credit scores.

NO. 37

Experian

Helping con-

sumers become

better borrowers.

DUBLIN

There is ground-

water in Austra-

lia’s desiccated

outback, but its

high salinity and

mineral content

often make it un-

drinkable. And for

the region’s many

tiny communities,

water treatment

facilities are pro-

hibitively expensive

to build. Aurecon

and Ampcontrol,

an engineering

and design firm

and an electronics

manufacturer, re-

spectively, teamed

up to devise a solu-

tion called Gilghi

(“place of water”

in Australia’s Bar-

kindji indigenous

language). Gilghi

is a solar-powered

treatment system

that filtrates water

through reverse

osmosis; it’s

lightweight and

simple enough

to fit in a single

shipping container,

can be installed in

just two days, and

can process up to

250,000 liters of

water a day. The

first Gilghi system,

in the Northern

Territory hamlet

of Gillen Bore, has

now been running

successfully for two

years with virtually

no downtime. Its

creators aim to re-

create the system

in other drought-

stricken areas, in

regions with con-

taminated ground-

water, and in island

communities (since

Gilghi can convert

seawater into fresh

water).

NO. 38

Aurecon/

Ampcontrol

Cleaning water in

parched lands.

MELBOURNE/

TOMAGO, AUSTRALIA

WATERWORKS

The Gilghi portable

water-treatment

system in Australia’s

Northern Territory.

COURTESY OF AURECON