Empowering Women Through “Emancipatory” Social Entrepreneurship

Emancipatory social entrepreneurship focuses on empowering women through social missions. This empowerment ensures that they are able to earn an income, provide for themselves and for their households. Any constraints and limiting social beliefs that inhibit these women from exploiting their highest potential are changed. In developing countries, women often have limited access to resources. When they work hard, the earnings are mostly channeled to a male member of the household. Apart from resources, control over their earnings and decision-making is crucial. When women have control over their own finances, they become independent and are able to ensure that girls and other women in the community are also empowered and put through school.
Existing entrepreneurship programs aim at harnessing the skills that women learn while growing up. On average, most women in developing countries can sew, cook and bake. With these, they can start their own business, accrue some income and put themselves through extra training. Examples of social enterprises working to ensure that this happens include Campaign for Female Education (Camfed), Oxfam and the Cherie Blair Foundation. As they work to ensure that the female future is bright, new challenges emerge. In conjunction with the efforts made, ideas should also be built around solving migration problems and how to empower women in transitioning economies. This will ensure that none of them is left out in market-based systems.
Research source link:
https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/emancipatory-social-entrepreneurship/

Scotland Supports Social Enterprises in India

The Scottish Government has supported the launching of The Social Enterprise Academy in India. The academy, which was founded in Scotland has now been expanded to India and will be based in Mumbai. Deputy first minister John Swinney formally declared the Social Enterprise Academy in India in a ceremony held during the begging of the month. Swinney explained that it was his responsibility as a great and global citizen to share their lessons from developing social enterprises in Scotland that he has been a part of for over a decade. Scotland enjoys in receiving recognition as a world leader in the support and development of social enterprise.
The last few years have involved significant development in social entrepreneurship in India. Launching the program in India will be a source of mutual benefit for the two countries. It is an investment in India`s future because social entrepreneurship is spearheading the empowerment and the transformation of communities. Furthermore, the Scottish Government has given £40,000 that will be utilized in the funding of Scotland: India Impact Link. The link is an initiative providing Indian social entrepreneurs with mentoring and support financially. It is also teaming up social entrepreneurs in India with their counterparts in Scotland to exchange ideas and knowledge.
https://www.pioneerspost.com/news-views/20171208/scotland-and-india-team-support-social-enterprises

A Coffee Academy Awarded the Top Enterprise Award

President’s Challenge Social Enterprise Award was founded in 2012 to recognize home-grown social enterprises. This year 41 leading companies from different industries inclusive of healthcare education and food participated in an event where 19 of the businesses were shortlisted. The event was held in the in the Istana. Bettr Barista, founded in 2011 was recognized as the social enterprise of the year and was conferred the award and a prize of $50,000 by President Halimah Yacob. Bettr Barista is a coffee academy which not only trains but provides employment to disadvantaged women and thus gives back to the city and makes it better.
The event featured the Social Enterprise Start-Up of the Year. Though their services in helping patients match with caregiving services, Homage and Jaga-Me, were each awarded $20,000 in cash as joint winners. Under the Youth Social Enterprise of the Year Award, F&B firm Popejai took home $25,000 for their provision f employment to individuals with disabilities, the youth, and needy families.
Bettr Barista was founded by Pamela Chng, 41 thanked the President for the award who promised to use the money to expand the business and empower more women and the youth. The business has faced many challenges but remains motivated by seeing the transformation they have imparted n people.
http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/coffee-academy-wins-top-social-enterprise-award

Incubator for Corporates – Beyond CSR

Sustainability is not just about CSR and protecting the environment, says Minima Chatterji, the founder of Sustain Labs Paris. According to her, the following are part of the same:
• Energy efficiency,
• Risk management,
• Social development,
• Reputation management,
• Financial sustainability,
• Adequate due diligence on new investments,
• Business diversification,
• Employee protection,
• Sustainability reporting, and much more.
She should know better as she spent a couple of years as Chief Sustainability Officer of the $3.4 billion Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. Miniya Chatterji, 34, is launching Sustain Labs Paris, a ‘sustainability incubator’ – which will be the world’s first of its kind.
Out of the 58 Indian companies in the 2017 Forbes ‘Global 2000’ list has, less than 10 were Indian who have established an organized sustainability function. Sustainability means quick growth but also authentic and holistic. Prioritization and time-bound make all the difference.
The organizations are not bothered about the needs of the start-ups. A sustainability incubator will establish sustainability within organizations in a holistic way. The organizations are also unfamiliar with rules, laws, norms, best
practices to adhere to. The online platform of Sustain Labs is being supported by and hosted on the website of the Institute Francais India, the French government’s wing for scientific and academic exchange between India and France.
Miniya Chatterji understands the need for social development goals and sustainable growth without which the biggest businesses and humankind itself would be redundant.
The issues handled by Sustain Labs Paris are many:
• Education for all, especially for girls
• Marriage issues
• Harassment at workplace towards women
• Mitigating hunger
• Empowering women
• Uplifting of downcast

Reference URL: http://businessworld.in/article/Sustainability-Is-Not-Just-About-CSR-And-Protecting-The-Environment-Miniya-Chatterji-Sustain-Labs-Paris/29-09-2017-127245/#7s8d6f87

Bringing the Stock Market to Your Community – Free

The stock market seems like one of the most direct avenues to managing your money. But at the end of the day, it’s extreme barriers to entry mean few ever get to learn a thing about it. But those days are long over.
That’s thanks to a pretty new app – Robinhood – which has formed to circumvent these barriers. It brings access to the stock market to anyone for free, and even better, it gives anyone a free stock (up to $180 in value) to learn with, just for signing up (using a referral code, like this.)
In a world where financial literacy is a rarity, the ability to learn about the stock market, all in one place, and all the while free is an incredible tool that can be used for plenty of good.
The app features real-time data, access to plenty of information, and even brings together news from around the web on any stock that’s available on the market.
You can start today with Robinhood, and bring it to your friends, family, and community to circumvent heinous barriers to entry like account minimums and fees.

(Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-risk-is-much-greater-than-we-thought-2017-06-15)

Lucas Turner Stresses Education to the Underprivileged Through BuildOn

For Lucas Turner, it was a dream come true as he could impart education to the underprivileged. For the last four years after graduating from Creighton University, he has moved to Lima, Peru, northern Uganda, Los Angeles and New York City.
It was clear, even as an undergraduate, the Heider College’s Business graduate was not going to follow a conventional career route. His out of the box thinking took him to a global development tour. His first encounter was in Peru doing voluntary work with Krochet Kids International. Krochet is involved in empowering women and their children out of poverty. They were taught knitting and crocheting as a trade to earn money.
Then he went to northern Uganda, where he worked for a charity organization called charity. The charity provides clean potable water doing well construction in rural villages. His world wind tour made him understand the importance of clean water plays about economic well-being. He saw how dirty water makes people sick or can even to their death.
Turner is the CEO of BuildOn which aims to mitigate poverty, illiteracy and low expectations. They help to build primary schools internationally and run high school service-learning programs in the U.S. He spread his wings to Nepal, Nicaragua, Malawi, Senegal, and Haiti.
Soon he will be establishing his own company to help the socially underprivileged. He could transform the ‘ghost city of Detroit’ where gangsters and drug traffickers dominate. As education is the key to making that change, he has established BuildOn. BuildOn encourages people to stand up for justice.
BuildOn proves the point that education is the key to changing the community, city, country and the world.

Reference URL: https://www.buildon.org/

Rothschild Medal Goes To Social Entrepreneur Annemiek Hoogenboom

Annemiek Hoogenboom is an outstanding fundraiser for humanitarian and environmental causes. More specifically, she is concerned with nature conservation and giving children the opportunity to experience wildlife. During her work of 28 years, a whopping £6.8 billion fund was raised.
Annemiek believes firmly in the vital importance of nature to society and no wonder she was awarded the prestigious Charles Rothschild and Miriam Rothschild medal.
Charles Rothschild and his daughter Miriam worked tirelessly to conserve wildlife. On accepting the award from The Wildlife Trusts, she said the fact that we are losing precious wildlife and habitats is saddening. From 2009 the Rothschild medal is awarded in one or more areas.
Miriam Rothschild also helped teenagers orphaned by the Holocaust, taking them into her home. So it is the right fitting award medal to Annemiek, someone who has like-minded energy, vision for the future and an unparalleled dedication both to our environment and to today’s refugees.
Annemiek work brings comfort not just to wildlife, but to people too. She is involved with educating schoolchildren about wildlife in Forest Schools across. She helped to bring beavers back to Scotland after a 400-year absence. She was on the front of the agitation against a motorway threatening wildlife.
She said that we are losing a precious wildlife due to human negligence and greed.
We should try to bring back the past glory of the wildlife. They help to bring it back more. ‘The Wildlife Trusts’ Forest Schools’ are doing just this, in some of the largest cities in the UK. But a lot more to be done in this regard so that the ecology is protected. She says that we have only one earth and it is our pertinent duty to preserve it with utmost care and dedication.

Reference URL: http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/news/2017/10/25/entrepreneur-annemiek-hoogenboom-receives-rothschild-medal

What Makes Someone A Social Entrepreneur?

A social entrepreneur is after social innovation and changes in the society. His initiative might be in the direction of education, health, environment, animal care, pollution and enterprise development. A social entrepreneur is both a businessman as well as a social worker who is working in improving some parts of the society. They tend to improve the living conditions and standard of living in the society they dwell in. A social entrepreneur might even build organizations or non-profit companies, but their collective intention has some kind of improvement associated with it.
A social entrepreneur has following attributes:
A social entrepreneur has a systematic approach towards solving a social problem. They bring social change through a sustainable social model of a company.
He/she keeps updated with technical and social trends and tries to bring innovation to the society.
Social entrepreneur creates social value for a particular thing or approach.
Awareness is part of his end goals.
He has combined attributes of Richard Branson and Mother Teresa.
He believes in continuous refining and improvement.
A social entrepreneur might find a new product, services or approach that was not presented and the gap requires to be filled.
The efforts of a social entrepreneur are impact oriented. His work is aimed at economic and social development. His basic driving force is his passion. However, he is practical in his practices and methodologies. He monitors the impact and improvises his efforts based on his results. A social entrepreneur engages with the community and tries to understand the need of the people. His efforts are subject to change as per responses. He is a team leader and imposes his ideologies in practice with his team. He takes the inputs from his team and works in close collaboration with everyone.

Reference URL: http://www.schwabfound.org/content/what-social-entrepreneur

Delivery By Drones- A Novel Concept By Zipline

 

Keller Rinaudo, the social entrepreneur, founded Zipline making drone delivery of essentials to the remote corners of Rwanda.
Drones are known as zips in Rwanda. Those zips deliver vaccines, medicine and blood transfusions to the needy. At 100 Kilometre per hour speed, these drones drop the essentials by using a tiny parachute. They have joined up with Rwanda Government to serve 20 clinics that are in desperate need of basic drugs. Normal delivery of medicines to these treacherous routes is tough otherwise.
It may sound strange that even in the USA drone delivery is at least a few years away. Besides medicines and essentials, Zipline is delivering blood as per demand. Blood is a rare commodity in Rwanda, and also preservation is very tough. Before the drones, the road delivery took many hours or even days to these remote areas. Now 30 minutes is all that takes delivery by drones.
Thirty-year-old Keller Rinaudo believes in for-profit social entrepreneurship simply because of the sustainability factor. His company of 75 have saved tens of thousands of people, especially for blood transfusion. His background in robotics, artificial intelligence and learning helped to formulate the business. Phone powered robots were his first project.
Right from the day he made the napkin design three and half years back, Zip line grew many times. The logistics was tried first and found success. He found that rain or shine, the delivery is assured. He could gather support from like-minded philanthropists in and out of the industry.
His world-changing company model can pave the way for more ideas. Rinaudo is the CEO of Zipline and managed to raise $25 million in Nov. 2016. More investments are in the pipeline as people started realizing the novelty of the scheme. He is in the final list of Forbes under thirty entrepreneurship list.

Reference URL: http://www.travelweekly.com/Arnie-Weissmann/Remember-name-Keller-Rinaudo

Financial Planning Starts From Home

A head for figures is what young entrepreneur Bryan Toh is good at, and he says that staying fiscally fit involves finding your ‘spend-versus-save formula.’ Bryan, 26, was born in Singapore and settled down in London. He helps businessmen to solve their problems.
Bryan can comparatively recruit faster and at the same time manage a team. He believed that Human Resource (HR) is not a mechanical process without human touch. This department is a bridge between prospective employees and recruitment managers. Having the right people at the right time at the right place is not an easy job but calls for deliberate planning, deliberations, and execution. Furthermore, the hidden talents could be brought out with proper analysis of history.
This app is well accepted by leading companies all over the globe like Big 4 consultancies, KPMG UK. But in spite of his job and travel, he is still homesick. He mitigates the homesickness by whipping up family recipes for curry chicken and sweet and sour pork.
His parents taught him to make smart money from the start and to appreciate the value of money. He understood how money has to be handled with care. The additional allowance his mom gave him, to do small errands, was an incentive. His thrifty grandfather taught him on stock investments.
Even with the high cost of living, he could make a dent in London with investment-linked insurance policies and ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds). But he still cooks his food and loves MoneySaving Expert and the Motley Fool’s MarketFoolery.
He knows how to invest and save better. That idea is taught to corporate through the app. This social entrepreneur is all out to change the concept of business, profit, and HR. His motto is to have better ROI to him and the companies- small, medium or large- alike.

Reference URL: http://www.straitstimes.com/business/invest/a-head-for-figures?xtor=CS12-104-[ST_InContent_Native