Social Entrepreneurship Awardees For Skoll Foundation 2017 Have Something In Common

The Skoll Foundation awardees 2017 have something in common- their commitment, dedication, and concern towards the underprivileged are unique.

This year’s criteria for selection for the entrepreneurs included looking for individuals who understand human dignity and who place the core needs of health, food, shelter, and safety upfront. The awards come with a $1.25 million core support to the social entrepreneurs.

Babban Gona: Kola Masha

The unemployment phobia looms around the youth in Nigeria, the remedy was found in the food security system in the agricultural sector. The investor Babban Gona has her social enterprise serving small networks of smallholder farmers. That business model was able to attract the youth. The members receive development credit, agricultural inputs, marketing support, and other essential services. With critical inputs like training, credit, farm inputs, marketing support, they could raise the yield and income much higher. She proved the viability of the smallholder segment to draw large new capital to the sector.

Dr. Elizabeth Hausler: Build Change

Dr. Elizabeth Hausler emphasises the retrofit disaster-proof houses and schools to circumvent the vulnerability to earthquakes and typhoons. The flexible construction with an eye on reverse engineering did help a fee developed countries prone to such disasters.

Dr. Rajesh Panjabi: Last Mile Health

This physician aims at the better reach of medical reach for the underprivileged in remote locations with an integrated into the public health system. Last Mile Health could reduce the new-born mortality drastically. These kids get better treatment for diarrhoea, malaria, and pneumonia has increased. He extends his effort in Liberian Ministry of Health now.

Bradley Miles: Polaris

Polaris helps victims of human trafficking, forced labor and commercial sex. He could break the chain of criminality.

 

These four are the cross section of entrepreneurs making life better for the underprivileged.

Reference URL: http://allafrica.com/stories/201704040261.html

Real Food Revolution by Kimbal Musk

What is cooking at PayPal, Tesla, and SpaceX? The 45-year-old Elon Musk who started PayPal and now into Tesla electric cars is looking up ET. His brother, Kimbal Musk, just a year younger, is down to earth. His venture Kitchen (including related concepts Next Door, The Kitchenette and Hedge Row American Bistro) is named as Social Entrepreneur of 2017 by Schwab Foundation. Musk is one among the 15 professionals from around the world selected.

The Kitchen has 15 locations established or in planning around the country. Kimball did not mince words when he said that ‘Industrial food has totally failed America’

He is out to control costs like sourcing whole cows from local farmers in Colorado to give a prime cut to his high-end Kitchen restaurant and the burger to ‘Next Door.’ The non-profit Next Door is also into Learning Gardens in schools across the country. That is to teach kids about nutrition and the importance of eating healthily.

According to him, who still keeps his grocery budget to know what average US family spends, fruits and vegetables are not in the menu for most of the junk food crazy Americans. He makes sure to spend time with family. He also started Square Roots, a Brooklyn urban farming start-up. He eats whole and nutritious foods.

He is sure that a whole roasted chicken and vegetable dished-s cannot be more than $10. Musks are from a native of Pretoria, South Africa. The Kitchen- world-class neighborhood restaurant- opened its door in 2004. The name still kindles thought of home.

Kitchen being a community establishment uses environmentally-friendly practices, including composting, wind power, eco-friendly packaging, and recycling.

His latest venture is vertical farming – the soil free crops indoors and under LED lights. The 320-square-foot steel shipping containers producing about 50,000 mini heads of lettuce a year is revolutionary.

Reference URL: http://www.dailycamera.com/news/ci_30887612/boulders-kimbal-musk-named-social-entrepreneur-year

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/21/elon-musk-brother-kimbal-is-waging-war-on-american-food-s

http://www.afr.com/technology/how-elon-musks-brother-kimbal-musk-is-disrupting-farming-with-food-revolution-20170105-gtms82#ixzz4cpMyssdn ystem.html

Collaborative and Impact Driven Entrepreneurship Initiatives

Exploring deeper impact-driven entrepreneurship exposes many lacunae, as well as opportunities as changes in grass root level, is happening. The Collaborative Entrepreneurship initiative in 2016 is the curtain raiser. The social entrepreneurship is minimizing the unemployment among the youth significantly in developing countries. The societal, environmental, educational and economic challenges that children are facing in MENA region is predominant. And no wonder that social entrepreneurship is becoming popular in those areas.

The mind-set is shifting from non-profit to profit making and sustainable business models. More focussed investment and support portfolios are emerging. The apparent shift from non-profit to the new attire did see a stable growth pattern in social entrepreneurship of late.

Raneen Media, which started as a non-profit and moving to more commercialised set up is a classic example. They produce audio drama stories for blind children. Glowork creating job plat forms as a part of women empowerment in Saudi is another example. BizWorld UAE is focussing on teaching entrepreneurship in schools.

The investments are keener on technological industries rather than social entrepreneurs. Fundraising is relatively easy for a new social enterprise rather than an established one as the investor would be looking at the theoretical aspect. The involvement of Government in a constructive way is welcome. Some Governments are creating unnecessary hurdles for social entrepreneurs.

Collaborating with social enterprises and helping them to should be the motive of the Governments. The initiative of UAE government is a welcome change, especially in healthcare and environment. The CSR movement if applied with dedication and not as a formality would help as proved by Aramex and Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Zain Jordan, GE, PayFort in MENA.

The entrepreneurial movement in MENA with many big names entering is showing the desired effect in societal uplifting. The corporations can add the start-ups as vendors and integrate them into their supply chain. Pepsi tried this model effectively.

Reference URL: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/diving-deeper-into-practice-of-impact-driven-entrepreneurship-666329.html

How Social Entrepreneurships Can Tackle Drug Menace In Philippines

President of Philippines boasts of his cruelty but could not bust the drug mafia effectively. Anyway, the Philippines is not a lone case as such. In countries like Columbia, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela too, the drug mafia is controlling the Governments. Incidentally, the USA has allowed narcotics and Marijuana in the pretext of medicinal benefits.

For a change, the social entrepreneurs have taken up the issue seriously and the results are showing positive signs in the Philippines. But unfortunately, the number of such start-ups and social entrepreneurs are a bit too small in number there. Drug cartels are deeply rooted within the society.

Authors like Tom Wainwright (Narconomics: How to run a drug cartel) and Ken Follet (Cobra) have narrated how the drug cartels are running like Corporates with the logistical support, supply chain management, marketing strategy and legal protection canopy. They employ franchises who are criminal gangs for distribution of drugs. Technically, they are global conglomerate with their own law enforcing wings. They are so formidable that they could instil threat to the police and civilians in many countries.

Unanimously, all Governments agree that strangulating the supply chain is the best remedy to eradicate the menace, but they have no clue, finance or manpower to implement this move efficiently. The cartels have infiltrated into the law enforcing agencies all over.

The social entrepreneurs tried a novel solution – to redirect the user profile and reduce the demand. By providing different and healthy entertainment avenue, the dependence on drugs can be reduced. If the need for socializing and recreation is met, the demand can be curtailed.

Secondly, the dependency for drugs to overcome depression and melancholy, a common platform like social media for counseling and advice, would definitely help. The third alternative is to find different income sources for the so-called drug dealers. The social entrepreneurship can be innovative in the search for solutions adept for the particular society and situation in curbing the drug menace in the Philippines.

Reference URL: http://www.manilatimes.net/social-entrepreneurship-solution-drug-problem/315886/

Giving back to the society where it is due is the vision of this Social Entrepreneur in Nepal. Nepal never got its due in infrastructure due to the political instability. But few NGOs took the matter seriously. Panchakanya Group, a third generation business decided to serve the society. They are into structural material manufacturing but the social commitment they have is something caught the attention of many.

One initiative is education by free education to the children of the employees. That makes a better bond with the management and employees. The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) lead makes such an impact. The Entrepreneurial Masters Programme (EMP) is an executive development programme.

Child Reach Nepal is to make sanitary pads more accessible in the rural areas. Arunachalam Muruganantham did this in different parts of rural India. This has helped to improve the health of rural women and was nicknamed “Menstrual Man” .He was ridiculed initially. Followed by this sanitary pad making a machine to be operated by the community, had health and economic advantage to poor.

Idea Studio Nepal (ISN) is another venture for empowering youngsters through training and mentoring. Seed funding and organisational or individual tie-ups are the logical outcomes. Nyano Maya, a locally made incubator improved rural health posts. Jyoti Sanghera, of the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights, said women’s day asked how can a normal biological, function be associated with shame, stigma, distaste, untouchability, taboo.

Childreach Nepal, in collaboration with Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM), Meeting Point, the private sector, the media, and development partners seeks to support a growing community of social innovators in Nepal by opening the first Idea Studio. Mostly Idea Studio is concentrating on empowering downtrodden through social enterprises in Nepal.

Social innovators have sprung up forward with creative ideas that can address social issues faced by local communities. UNICEF Representative to Nepal has said, “This venture may well be considered a benchmark is helping to shape a truly new Nepal.“

Reference URL: http://bwdisrupt.businessworld.in/article/Social-Entrepreneurship-Giving-Back-To-The-Society/28-02-2017-113592/

The Lies in Social Entrepreneurship

Is profit making a taboo for social entrepreneurship? However, the four social entrepreneurs at Melbourne meeting were unison answer that the restriction tag does not apply. One had health issue due to heavy work in the new ventures. That was the complaint Roslyn Campbell had. “I’m vitamin D deficient since I spend too much time inside working,” she says. She is trying to get fit but is not that easy due to the work pressure.

Eyal Halamish has no doubt that profit is a must in social entrepreneurship. He is the chief and co-founder of digital democracy platform OurSay which is touching $1 million in turnover. In case someone says that he is not after profit, it could be a lie. That is the opinion of Jillian Kenny the co-founder of Machinam, a social enterprise for teaching mathematics for high school. She is for profit in entrepreneurship. According to Kenny says that at the end of the day, profit makes all the difference in social entrepreneurship.

A social enterprise without profit will be a flop. A social enterprise says social enterprises need to be upfront about their aims. An investor should understand the implication of social entrepreneurship. There is no taboo whether it is crowdfunding or bootstrapping. Setting high goals or thinking big is possible only with financial backing.

Sandra Capponi, the co-founder of Good on You, is concerned about ethical shopping and sceptical of greenwashing. The app she developed got good patronage. The growths of social entrepreneurship are exponential in Australia, and most would agree that profit making is a must for sustainability. There is innovation, commitment, and euphoria in the field of social entrepreneurship in Australia. But they should be prepared for the ups and downs as well as the social alienation at some time.

‘The preparedness for the tough time ahead is crucial for a social entrepreneur’, was the unanimous opinion.

Reference URL: http://www.smh.com.au/small-business/entrepreneur/the-lifes-and-lies-of-social-entrepreneurs-20170210-guaghc.html

Christopher Gray, the Social Entrepreneur, CO FOUNDER – SCHOLLY

Here is a little advice from Scholly’s Christopher Gray to Budding Social Entrepreneurs. Christopher Gray had to undergo much financial hardship during his stint at college. His endeavor to get any scholarship did not materialize. He wrote articles, essays and desertions on leadership and community service, he could manage to raise $1.3 million. Later while doing his course at Drexel University in Philadelphia, he started a social enterprise. That app is known as called Scholly that ‘matches students with a personalized list of scholarships’ that touched the top on iPhone. With this app, students could raise more than $50 million.

He also won the prestigious Forbes’s “30 under 30” award. He is just 25 now but is the right candidate to advise the new enterprises

He wanted to be a technical entrepreneur. His siblings were toddlers when he went to college, and they were children of a single mother. He wanted to help his siblings and many others through Scholly. He got a picture of students struggling financially.

A mentor is a basic necessity to start a social enterprise. But a lot of persuasions is needed to get them involved. Your friends could help in locating one. Students needed the need direction and guidance in completing their studies.

Christopher Gray’s first seed capital came from Cupid’s Cup of $75,000 followed by $32,000 in an incubator competition. He urged students and entrepreneurs to look forward in improving their skills in fulfilling their dreams. He urged “Leverage your University” which included a shout out to his Alma mater, Drexel. He stressed that there is inexpensive way to complete education.

Scholly initiative, which seeks educational institution and corporates by offering students and employees access to the scholarship-tracking platform, is unique in many ways. The very reason why seven institutions of higher learning and many corporates signing up so far is a classic example of the movement.

Gray will also be receiving the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Youth Achievement soon.

Reference URL: http://technical.ly/philly/2016/11/09/scholly-christopher-gray-nyt-advice/

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/education/edlife/christopher-gray-on-how-to-be-a-social-entrepreneur.html

A Students Pathway to an I &E Certificate Through Social Entrepreneurship

A student in senior public policy major with innovative mind, Shelby Wailes, attended a programme jointly offered by DukeEngage and Duke I&E made a sea change in the energy scenario

And the social entrepreneurship in her was kindled with the DukeEngage Detroit programme. That programme allows students to have dedicated service experiences in organizations using social innovation to tackle some of the city’s greatest challenges.

Then she returned to Duke and pursued the certificate course. That was instrumental in exploring her how to merge what innovation and entrepreneurship in a better way. She joined McKinsey after graduation as a consultant. But her dream of becoming a social enterprise went more compelling day by day.

NextEnergy was an energy accelerator the first internship under DukeEngage Detroit that Shelby Wailes took up. She was fascinated by the new avenues in energy scenario like different energy efficient utilities and making them work for the society. Her second internship was at a children’s hospital in Washington, D.C., in making affordable paediatric medical devices. She could see a link between health and energy, though they are unrelated.

The idea of making innovation work for social benefits was instilled in her, and she could see the prospect of commercialisation in these industries.

Wailes learned in her public policy classes how the government mechanism helps to provide resources and help society. Also how social entrepreneurship can have a complimentary role in a private sector and public association venture. That certificate was given her broader aspects in decision-making and problem-solving. The innovation and entrepreneurship can be useful in any ventures one can plunge into is what she learned from these courses

She said that it would be giving you the incentive to think about things in different perspective. It will give an insight of how to get things done.

“What’s been most exciting for me, as someone with a lot of various passions in different things, is being able to get these tools to use innovation and entrepreneurship in a bunch of different fields.” she said.

Reference URL: https://today.duke.edu/2017/02/students-pathway-ie-certificate-through-social-entrepreneurship

 

Qaiser Highlights Potential of Social Entrepreneurship

Pakistan needed it very badly – social enterprise to boost the national economy. It was as endorsed by Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue. During a seminar organised by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), he said that Government is taking all possible steps to make this a reality. Changes in fiscal policy are called for making the entry and operation of social entrepreneurship hassle free. These are required to bring down the cost of doing social business for the welfare of the downtrodden.

It is likely that the laws governing social entrepreneurship would come forth before the budget itself. The Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was working on various ideas to simplify SECP laws and facilitate this sector. The missing link of the definitions and needs shall have brought out to assist the legal remedy and entity to entrepreneurship.

Dr. Vaqar Ahmad, deputy executive director of SDPI also stressed on this factor, seeking government support and legal stature. Some provincial planning departments shall be beneficial than a large centralized set up in supporting the social enterprises (SEs) very much.

The social entrepreneurship is lagging behind in self-sustainability due to the missing identity. This is the opinion expressed by Omar J Ghani; South Asia regional director at ENCLUDE the supportive legal framework is a must to attain this goal.

The forthcoming budget could provide additional support to start-ups and social entrepreneurship towards capacity creating a business model suitable for building the necessary infrastructure for sustainability.

The banks can come forward in disbursing the required seed capital. They can also correct wherever the lacuna exists. The federal and provincial governments could also come forward in distributing necessary steps in public procurement of goods and services.

The British Council is also taking an interest in the development of the SE. The Social Entrepreneurship & Equity Development (SEED) is hopeful that social enterprise was going to contribute significantly to the economy of the country.

Reference URL: http://nation.com.pk/business/03-Feb-2017/qaiser-highlights-potential-of-social-entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East: Old Practice, New Concept

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region—including Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria— have something in common. The social entrepreneurship spirit is high. These countries are branded as underdeveloped countries.

The Social Enterprise Outcome is essentially on the road to progress within the constraints of Governmental apathy, economic outlook, and cultural background on the societal needs of each country. The profit motive is taking a back seat when the social concern towards the underprivileged is becoming the priority. An innovative solution a social entrepreneur can offer is a viable business model, production, and distribution aspects.

Social Enterprise Governance is the optimal legal frameworks facilitation growth for the social enterprises. Naturally, the financial sustainability and its governance are complementary. But this factor can vary from country to country pretty widely.

Social Entrepreneur Agency, the critical aspect of transparency, dependability, and accountability may not be instantaneous within the existing social framework of mindset. Or for that matter, it may take years to get the necessary mutual trust.

A social enterprise shall have to take into account of ethical values as well as in environmental standards to formulate the ideal business model to practice. The growth potential of a social entrepreneurship shall have a bearing on the history of the regions. That includes corruption, nepotism, racism and tolerance.

The motive force that protects social entrepreneurs and allows them to become the new agents of change in their countries has to be implemented with caution.

The social and civic responsibility in these regions is not that well streamlined and hence, any radical change will meet initial resistance. In translating the social commitment to a sensible move with solidarity takes time and effort. To save the MENA region from falling into greater poverty, corruption, and sectarian violence should be the ulterior motive.

The famous Lebanese proverb ‘Aljar label altar’ (Your neighbour before your family) though find bit hypothetical may be the answer for MENA’s problem- education, healthcare, and clean water. A new conceptual thinking of legal frameworks, the contextual definition of social innovation, social entrepreneurs as agents of change, and solving discrimination is indeed evolving.

Reference URL: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/social_entrepreneurship_in_the_middle_east_old_practice_new_concept