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Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship: the ridiculous and the sublime

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 05:16:04 -0400

Skoll World Forum on social entrepreneurship: the ridiculous and the sublime:

It was the eighth Skoll forum, and the eighth I have been lucky enough to attend. Like my visit to India a few years ago, it was a love/hate experience. It was a complete nightmare trying to get access to the event, even though the SocialEnterpriseLive team wanted to blog, video and generally spread the Skoll learning as widely as possible to our 20,000-strong network. But when we eventually managed to penetrate the ivory tower and secure a ticket (only for two of the three days, mind), I was lucky enough to spend my time there in awe of most things and people that I saw and heard – Jeff Skoll himself, photojournalist Nick Danziger, Vagina Monologues creator Eve Ensler, singer Annie Lennox, ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Rockefeller Foundation president Judith Rodin, to name just a few.

The experience was punctuated with periods of anger and frustration at the exclusivity, mutual backslapping, cheesiness and cliquey love-ins that accompany this event each year. It’s amazing how much social good you think are doing if you throw lots of cash at it. And it’s always amazing how much Skoll ignores the best examples of UK social entrepreneurship sitting on its doorstep. But remove my cynical side and mostly, I was – as always – comprehensively inspired by the richness of the content, the conversations, the commitment and, this year, also the campaigning that Skoll convenes and curates so brilliantly.

7 steps to make Philadelphia closer to being a hub for social entrepreneurship

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:15:46 -0400

7 steps to make Philadelphia closer to being a hub for social entrepreneurship:

Philadelphia is a big market, has the infrastructure of other leading regions for social enterprise and, oh, the city has a lot of problems.

That’s the value proposition coming out of an event organized last week by the Knight Foundation, the Delaware Valley Grantmakers and Technically Philly and held at the University City Science Center. Spurred in part by a post from this author, the event brought together more than 30 leaders in the region’s nonprofit, investment and socially-focused entrepreneur communities.

Kicked off by a presentation by Cheryl Dorsey, the president of the celebrated New York City-based social enterprise foundation Echoing Green, the event featured a large group discussion and then smaller breakout sessions on how the region might further its reputation for the effort.

There was no shortage of perspective from attendees.

Beverly Schwartz: Social Entrepreneurship Flourishing

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 06:14:19 -0400

Beverly Schwartz: Social Entrepreneurship Flourishing:

(Dowser)

Beverly Schwartz, the author of Rippling: How Social Entrepreneurs Spread Innovation throughout the World,serves as Vice President of Social Marketing at Ashoka. We caught up with her just before the launch of her new book.

Dowser: In a nutshell, what is the new book about?
Schwartz: How you create a movement and bring people along to make change. Creating a movement that is SUSTAINABLE by involving people who keep change going. The difference between this book and others in the market is that the vast majority of those books focus on the social entrepreneurs. In this one, I’ve tried to weave in the voices of whose lives have been changed by the social entrepreneur. It’s about the magnetic skills of the social entrepreneurs and the people, corporations, donors, and the businesses that they pull in to create change and create a community to do so.

"Entrepreneurs should leverage the trend of obscurity: Obscurity is good. Seriously. Everyone focuses..."

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:25:09 -0400

“Entrepreneurs should leverage the trend of obscurity: Obscurity is good. Seriously. Everyone focuses a lot on trying to blow up overnight and using social media to drive as much attention as possible to whatever you’re doing, but I think one of the best assets you have when starting out is that no one knows who you are and no one cares what you’re doing. This lack of attention gives you the space and time to experiment—and to make mistakes before too many eyes are on you. The smartest entrepreneurs I’m meeting with these days are just building, getting feedback from early users, and then seeing what works and iterating from there. They’re focusing on improving their product and getting it right, and then trying to attract more attention after they’ve figured things out.”

- - Peter Rojas, co-founder of gdgt.com and creator of Endgaget, Gizmodo, Joystqi and RCRD LBL (via hyuninc)

RAPPERS SHOULD THINK ABOUT THIS TOO. (via tumblinerb)

DITTO FOR #SocEnts

Pulling pints the co-operative way #SocEnt

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:19:00 -0400

Pulling pints the co-operative way #SocEnt:

(Guardian UK)

With thousands of pubs closing every year, the co-op model is slowly taking off. Could it save the industry, asks Andrew Bibbly

An unusual investment opportunity has just become available in the small Suffolk village of Charsfield. Faced with the closure last summer of the much-loved Three Horseshoes, a group of local people have come together to try to reopen the village pub, this time as a co-operative-run enterprise. Their share prospectus to raise the £250,000 or so needed to purchase and refurbish the building was launched in March at a party at the village hall.

The campaign to bring back a pub to Charsfield is being led by Froth, the Friends of the Three Horseshoes, which has created a community benefit society, registered under the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (IPS, the traditional co-operative legislation). Villagers are now being asked to put money as well as time into the initiative by joining and buying the sharesL: £250 is the minimum requested, £10,000 the maximum. The share prospectus suggests this is not just philanthropy: the Three Horseshoes has a viable future as business, Froth claims, provided turnover can be increased slightly from £90,000 to £100,000 a year.

If Froth is successful, the Three Horseshoes could be added to the small but growing list of co-operatively-owned pubs in Britain. It’s something they’re also trying to do in the Yorkshire Pennine town of Hebden Bridge, where a popular real ale pub, the Fox and Goose, faces an uncertain future with the imminent retirement of the current landlady. The recently formed Friends of the Fox and Goose is, like Froth, seeking to set up a co-operative under the IPS Act, with the aim as soon as possible of launching a community share issue to purchase the building.

Social Impact Bonds

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:15:52 -0400

Social Impact Bonds :

(Social Edge)

From Potential to Action: Bringing Social Impact Bonds to the US

In 2011, almost 50 years after President Johnson declared a “War on Poverty,” the Census Bureau reported 46 million Americans living below the poverty line. That people are still struggling suggests solutions are not reaching everyone who needs them. Enter the Social Impact Bond (SIB), a new approach to help scale proven solutions to social problems.

Although currently piloted in only one site, the Social Impact Bond is generating a great deal of interest. For that reason, McKinsey & Company recently reviewed this new approach. Our upcoming report, From Potential to Action: Bringing Social Impact Bonds to the US will be released later this Spring.

What is a SIB?

Social Impact Bonds are not a debt investment despite their name. SIBs are a multi-stakeholder partnership that can help government transition from existing remedial programs to higher-impact, lower-cost preventive solutions. Structured as a pay for performance contract, SIBs shift the financial risk of implementing a proven, alternative program from government to investors. This allows government to bring alternative social programs online while keeping existing programs stay in place. The new program is selected to deliver taxpayer benefits and broader benefits to society such that government will eventually transition from existing remedial programs over time.

Working closely with government, an intermediary raises capital from socially-minded investors, selects the service provider and the program intervention, contracts with government, partners with an evaluation advisor to monitor and analyze interim results, and works with an independent evaluator to set and measure performance targets. If pre-set performance targets are achieved, the government pays the intermediary an agreed amount representing a return to investors plus a bonus for the intermediary and service provider.

Google Zeitgeist Young Minds Competition Calls on Changemakers in MENA #SocEnt

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:14:07 -0400

Google Zeitgeist Young Minds Competition Calls on Changemakers in MENA #SocEnt:

(Wamda)

Young entrepreneurs with an idea for changing the world may want to apply to Zeitgeist Young Minds, a competition to find 10 pioneers and innovators aged 18–24 from across Europe, the Middle East and Africa who are changing the world by working in science, arts, entrepreneurialism or social activism.

Winners will get the chance to attend Google’s Zeitgeist 2012, an exclusive three-day event, where over 400 influential business leaders and visionaries from around the world come together to share their perspectives on global issues. Speakers have included Professor Stephen Hawkings, Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt and CEO Larry Page.

All applicants have to do to is upload a one minute video explaining how they are already making a positive impact in the world, before March 26th, 2012.

Univetica and Social Entrepreneurship: New Solutions for You and Your Business

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 05:04:12 -0400

Univetica and Social Entrepreneurship: New Solutions for You and Your Business :

Univetica offers new solutions to help you transform your business into an engine for positive social change.

San Jose, CA (PRWEB) March 30, 2012

Univetica’s new social entrepreneurship solutions make it simpler and easier than ever to transform a traditional business into a social business. Social entrepreneurship is the innovation and creation of a venture that harnesses the power of business to generate positive social change. A social entrepreneur is an agent for such change-a new wave businessperson for the 21st century. While traditional entrepreneurs often migrate toward business to generate profit, serious socially-minded entrepreneurs place improving the world around them as their primary fiduciary, even sometimes at the expense of higher profits.

Just as maximization of monetary value motivates traditional entrepreneurs, optimization of social value serves to motivate this new class of businessmen and women. Social entrepreneurs have been known to bring first-world health care tools to people neglected by all but the most dedicated non-profit enterprises. They find ways to rebuild economies in war- or disaster-plagued areas, establishing commerce which not only serves a community’s goals of economic growth, but its social goals as well. Some notables in this area have even gone on to establish institutions which encourage and assist in the growth of social business ventures such as select community-owned banks, media companies, and membership associations.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/30/prweb9354893.DTL#ixzz1qs9jKbCR

The Gravitational Force of Social Entrepreneurship

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:37:46 -0400

The Gravitational Force of Social Entrepreneurship:

(Triple Pundit)

A cleansing wave of corporate reform is washing over America. One by one, states are adopting new legislation that gives corporate directors legal protections for making decisions to maximizestakeholder value in addition to shareholder value. These new corporate structures are spawning an ecosystem of entrepreneurs and investors eager to build firms that simultaneously scale profits and social or environmental impact.

I am a social entrepreneur. My current venture, Spud Flower, is a Flexible Purpose Corporation (FPC) with a mission to enable economic mobility for our nation’s youth. Spud Flower’s social platform engages family and friends to help children save for college. Our FPC structure allows us to make a profit and make decisions that will maximize social impact. This dual-honed mandate has a gravitation pull that attracts top talent as co-founders, employees, and advisors; and provides access to a growing army of social impact investors while also persuading potential partners to accept meetings they may not ordinarily consider – often, these same people become advocates.

As billions of dollars migrate annually from traditional investments to some form of socially responsible investing, venture capital is no exception. Impact-focused VC firms are becoming more common and impact-focused investment advisors are matching clients with mission-aligned social enterprises.

Chief Innovation Officer of USAID on Development and Social Entrepreneurship

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:33:33 -0400

Chief Innovation Officer of USAID on Development and Social Entrepreneurship:

(Forbes)

In a brief interview with Maura O’Neill, Chief Innovation Officer and Senior Counselor to the Administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), we discussed the creation of her position, pioneering examples of social innovation, and the role of social entrepreneurship in international development.

Rahim Kanani: How did your position of Chief Innovation Officer for USAID come about, and why is this role so important for the future of the agency?

Maura O’Neill: When Administrator Rajiv Shah became the head of USAID, he appointed the first Chief Innovation Officer because of his focus on identifying ways to drive faster, cost-effective development results that would last. This is important because former Defense Secretary Gates said it is a lot cheaper to achieve our US Foreign policy objectives to development than having to send our military troops overseas. Innovation can help ensure that our tax payer dollars achieve the best results.

Rahim Kanani: What are some model examples of innovation in development that you can point to and say, “wow, the world needs to know about this”?

Maura O’Neill: USAID pioneered innovations in development including the green revolution and oral rehydration therapy, saving millions of lives globally. Most recently, in partnership with mobile operators, foundations, and companies we have pioneered mobile money in Afghanistan and Haiti, and now working to bringing other countries on board. Most of the 1.8 billion people globally, without access to formal financial services, now have a mobile phone. Enabling them to use their phones to send and receive money, purchase goods, pay bills, or run businesses will be a major driver in transforming developing countries’ economies.

Social Entrepreneurship: Why It Matters

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:32:14 -0400

Social Entrepreneurship: Why It Matters :

(Huff Post)

What a lunch. Jeff Skoll, first president of eBay and founder of The Skoll Foundation, and I sat down this week with the six newest Skoll Awardees for Social Entrepreneurship, here in Oxford, England. We’re in town hosting the Skoll World Forum — some call it the Davos of doing good — our yearly gathering of social entrepreneurs, funders and partners from around the world. Greeting the group, and eying his plate, Jeff said: “You social entrepreneurs are used to overcoming obstacles — how about this lasagna?” We all dug in.

Pasta is not the highpoint of the Forum. Every year for the past nine we have taken this moment to give the Skoll Award to a total 91 extraordinary individuals in 74 organizations, including Root Capital, CAMFED, and Kiva. We are not just handing over a trophy. We are celebrating the impossible. The men and women who run these organizations have proved social entrepreneurship is truly viable: the facts, scale and impact of their ventures tell the story. Our job now is prove social entrepreneurship undeniable, irrepressible, irrefutable. This is not a rogue branch of entrepreneurship, it’s the new tree.

The Forum is where we fertilize it, gathering 900 former and current Awardees, and others, for three days of conversation and collaboration — and, truthfully, plotting. We plot how to better change the world: how to make absolutely maximum impact with the tools we’ve got. This year’s awards — the actual ceremony is tomorrow night — give a peek into how we’ll do it.

Nuru: Photojournalism and Social Entrepreneurship Intersect

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:18:33 -0400

Nuru: Photojournalism and Social Entrepreneurship Intersect:

(Dowser)

JB Reed, a photographer turned social entrepreneur is using a new revenue model to raise funds for sustainable social ventures. After having his own work showcased in publications such as the NYTimes, New Yorker, Washington Post, and Bloomberg, he created Nuru, which celebrates photography and social change

The Social Entrepreneur Who Makes Sure Buses Run on Time in Africa

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 06:09:01 -0400

The Social Entrepreneur Who Makes Sure Buses Run on Time in Africa:

(Justmeans)

Budding social entrepreneur Olivier Nizeyimana has started a bus company called Volcanoes Transport Company, where one of its core values is making sure the buses are always on time. Nizeyimana managed to start his company because he found someone who believed in his business dream and understood his vision of buses being punctual; he met the boss of the company Akagera Motors, the exclusive representative of Toyota Corporation in Rwanda, who helped him get things off the ground.

Born in neighbouring Burundi, Nizeyimana moved to Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. In 1999, a year before he graduated, he launched his transportation company. This social entrepreneur started with only two buses; today, he has more than 60 vehicles running. He says, “People learn from problems. Sometimes in business, a problem can be an opportunity. I had only one route. Then I’ve been expanding all the way. Now we have a really big company which is networking all the towns of the southern region of Rwanda, linking them with the capital, Kigali.”

Social Entrepreneurship: Why Mentors Matter

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:46:03 -0400

Social Entrepreneurship: Why Mentors Matter:

(Business Week)

Entrepreneurship is the one of the most popular clubs at U.S. business schools these days, and the field is gaining momentum. As more educational institutions dive into social entrepreneurship, we’d like to share with them and their students one of the primary ingredients for turning promising ideas into success stories.

With more than a decade working with field-based social entrepreneurs from the developing world through our Global Social Benefit Incubator, we feel our mentorship program is the secret sauce.

Mentors help social entrepreneurs build their businesses, often by learning with them how to overcome obstacles that range from government antipathy and a dearth of distribution channels to a lack of talented human capital. These are radically different than the challenges they have faced in their Silicon Valley careers.

@Ashoka Chairman Bill Drayton on the Power of Social Entrepreneurship

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:45:02 -0400

@Ashoka Chairman Bill Drayton on the Power of Social Entrepreneurship:

(Forbes)

Founded in 1980, Ashoka has steadily built a reputation for fostering citizen-led innovation focused on social change. The organization helped originate the concept of social entrepreneurship, working outside of the government and business sectors to find sustainable solutions for societal needs. Ashoka’s efforts at launching leaders in social entrepreneurship began in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Central Europe, and have recently expanded to Western Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East. A precursor to Web-enabled crowdsourcing tools like Kickstarter and Quirky, Ashoka is actively engaged in finding and nurturing young innovators—its Youth Social Entrepreneurship Competition culminated at last year’s Techonomy conference, with 19-year-old Eden Full winning the top prize for her SunSaluter solar panel technology. Techonomy’s Adam Ludwig spoke with Ashoka CEO Bill Drayton about the inspirations and aims that guide his work, and the role he sees for technology to accelerate global problem solving.

"Design Thinking to Disrupt Lebanese NGOs" #SocEnt #Lebanon

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:43:01 -0400

"Design Thinking to Disrupt Lebanese NGOs" #SocEnt #Lebanon:

(Wamda)

Desmeem’s “D-Factor” Day witnessed scores of Lebanese designers of all stripes trying out at the Babel Theater stage this past weekend for a chance to partake in a cross-cultural competition examining the “design thinking process” in the Middle East.

The Desmeem initiative, launched by the MENA Design Research Center and named for a combination of “design” and “tasmeem” (“design” in Arabic), will create 10 teams of designers. Each team, composed of 3 Lebanese designers and 1 European designer, that will partner with local NGOs for three months to think up creative solutions to issues that the organizations face.

Need for social entrepreneurship and impact investment!

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 05:41:57 -0400

Need for social entrepreneurship and impact investment!:

(Tribune, Pakistan)

KARACHI:

As we are all aware, Pakistan is lagging behind other countries on economic growth. GDP of countries like China and India is growing two to three times our current growth rates respectively. For the standard of living of any nation to improve, GDP must grow significantly higher than population growth which currently is not the case in Pakistan.

In all emerging economies, it is the private sector which has driven economic growth and entrepreneurship is a fundamental building block coupled with favourable government regulations and support.

Entrepreneurship is an act of individuals who utilise their innovation, finance and business acumen to transform a new idea into a value added venture. New ideas coupled with management and leadership skills, gives birth to new businesses which drive employment, capital formation and creation of wealth in the country. This in turn helps reduce unemployment, eradicates poverty and is a hope for a better life for millions of young and aspiring professionals.

One type of entrepreneurship, which has taken root over the last few decade especially in under-developed and developing countries is ‘Social Entrepreneurship” and is playing a very critical role in Pakistan today.

Join Kevin McGovern and Chris Clarke as They Discuss Social Entrepreneurship Live from the Chopra Foundation Symposium Via Real-Time Streaming on Monday, March 4

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:27:36 -0500

Join Kevin McGovern and Chris Clarke as They Discuss Social Entrepreneurship Live from the Chopra Foundation Symposium Via Real-Time Streaming on Monday, March 4 :

(San Fran Chronicle)

It is okay to improve the planet while making a profit. That is the crux of the issue entrepreneurs Kevin McGovern and Chris Clarke will address starting at 8 am today, Monday, March 5, 2012. This is the final day of the three-day Chopra Foundation Sages and Scientists Symposium.

At around 8 am, Kevin McGovern will take the stage. This serial entrepreneur launched wrinkle-eliminating Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA)-which is now licensed to 50 companies, including cosmetic giants L’Oréal, Estée Lauder, Chanel and Avon; SoBe Beverages-which established the new age nutraceutical beverage category and was later sold to PepsiCo; and KX Industries-which developed and supplied the first home-based end-of-tap “Pur” filter for P&G, Brita, and the first refrigerator water filter for Electrolux.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/05/prweb9251896.DTL#ixzz1oFVD4svk

Social Entrepreneurship receives Legislative Support in U.K.

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:26:19 -0500

Social Entrepreneurship receives Legislative Support in U.K. :

(Justmeans)

British MP Chris White’s mission to provide legislative strength to social entrepreneurship in the U.K. has finally yielded results with the House of Lords passing his Private Member’s Bill on this issue. The bill paves the way for social value to be a part of the way public services are commissioned in the U.K.

The bill, which will now become law, urges public organizations to pay attention to how public service contracts may be leveraged to improve socio-economic and environmental well-being of the communities.

Chris White issued a statement after the successful passing of the bill, which said that the process to reach up to this stage had been long but totally worth the effort. The bill is expected to help social enterprises, charities and community organizations win and deliver public service contracts.

Social Entrepreneur Dr. Raye Mitchell Returns Home to Los Angeles to Help Girls and Young Women Develop Leadership Skills

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:25:23 -0500

Social Entrepreneur Dr. Raye Mitchell Returns Home to Los Angeles to Help Girls and Young Women Develop Leadership Skills:

(San Fran Chronicle)

G.U.R.L.S. ROCK founder & CEO Dr. Raye Mitchell brings the acclaimed G.U.R.L.S. Rock Leadership Summit to Los Angeles to share its unique leadership training program for girls and women of color starting at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the Hilton Checkers Hotel, 535 S. Grand Ave. Chenese Lewis, Immediate Past President of the Hollywood Chapter of the National Organization for Women, will co-host the Summit that is about confidence to take charge of changing the images of girls and women in media and entertainment.

During the Summit titled “Change it Up! Leadership in the Entertainment Industry,” the next generation of global leaders of girls and women (ages 12-25) will participate in workshops that focus on self-confidence, networking, mentoring, leadership skills, and careers in the entertainment industry, social change, law and business.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/01/prweb9237306.DTL#ixzz1oFUOpQnU