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Of course you’re never too young to learn about the world, but since entering college, I’ve made it my personal goal to become more aware of the issues of the world and to break out from my relatively bubble-like existence. And now that I’m aging as rapidly as a volcanic ash travels across Europe, the urgency has only become greater. But in my process of trying to become a knowledgeable individual and in learning about the problems of our world, I find myself feeling defeated. Sometimes the world’s problems seem insurmountable. Sometimes it seems that we will never solve, or even begin to alleviate, some of the world’s problems. Sometimes it just seems much easier to give up and not worry about anything. Sometimes the world is bleak. Aren’t I, as a college student, supposed to be bright-eyed and idealistic? Sometimes it just doesn’t seem like we can ever change anything.

It’s at times like these I like to read or learn about organizations that are trying to solve the world’s problems in their own way. It’s at times like these when I feel particularly inspired by the ingenuity and selflessness of individuals working for organizations whose sole mission is to help others. I think that this blog has done a great job of highlighting some great organizations and groups with unique visions to helping people, and it has been a great source of inspiration (hopefully not just for me!).

We’ve talked about so many wonderful groups and organizations with missions that are purely selfless (One Laptop Per Child, Barefoot College, etc.)—to help others. And while I’ve been inspired by these people and organizations, I can’t help but worry about my own path. As a student in the business school, I do get some semi-good-natured flak about my high-rolling future as a Wall Street lackey who does nothing but seek profit. So I’d like to shift gears a bit and talk about an organization, a company, rather, whose mission is not to help others—it’s to make money.

I was surprised to learn that Africa is currently one of the world’s hottest markets for cell phone services. But it makes sense: Africa is a huge untapped market, governments are eager to get any kind of infrastructure in their countries, demand is largely met. So the question isn’t anymore whether or not a company should enter the African market—the question is: how does a company compete and differentiate itself in the African market?

Due to the obviously unique environment, cell phone companies in Africa have had to adapt their business policies and methods. Most people buy cell phones and then buy minutes; there are no yearly contracts or monthly payments. Text messaging is a popular service that people use to save money. Because of the lack of readily available electricity, cell phone users charge their phones using car batteries at the market once a week.

Safaricom, a company that primarily operates in Kenya and Uganda, developed an extremely specialized cell phone service dubbed M-PESA. They created this system to try to compete with the numerous other phone companies trying to stake out their share of the market. M-PESA is a mobile banking system which allows users to transfer money through text message. People can go to a M-PESA agent and give them cash to be translated into credits on their phone which they can then send via text message to someone else, who will then take those credits to another M-PESA agent to withdraw the money. As simple as the idea sounds, it is incredibly ground-breaking: almost no Africans have a bank account and thus have no safe way to store savings or to transfer money—violent and ever-present militias intensify the danger of carrying money from place to place. M-PESA offers a safe and easy way for storekeepers to pay bills, family members to send money to each other, women to buy groceries, etc.—the system offers a way to help Africans save, send, and receive money easily. Many Africans have attested to how M-PESA has helped them to improve their standard of living immeasurably. The success of M-PESA has been such that forms of the program are now offered by most operators in the different African countries.

While I am not too sure whether there was an altruistic drive behind the creation of this system, I am convinced that this is the epitome of social entrepreneurship. I remember listening to Robert Eggers speak in the beginning of this school year about how we need to redefine and re-conceptualize social entrepreneurship to be something completely different from non-profit. Social entrepreneurship is the fusion of the traditional revenue-seeking company and the non-profit looking to increase social good. Not only does the M-PESA system improve the life of thousands of Africans, it also improved Safaricom’s revenues by a considerable amount. Some sources state that M-PESA processes as much as 10% of Kenya’s GDP.

This also links back to Muhammad Yunus’s famous model of microfinance. What differentiates M-PESA is that it can be replicated, just as Muhammad Yunus’s model has been replicated hundreds of times over. Other cell phone companies are now providing their own systems of mobile banking and increasing the availability of the service to thousands.

To look at it more theoretically, I think that this just further goes to underscore the new trend that the field of social entrepreneurship is taking: one of helping people to realize that social entrepreneurship doesn’t equal non-profit. They are closely connected in that they both have the end result of promoting social good, but they are definitely different.

So as a student in the business school, I’m glad to learn that business and profit isn’t just about the so-called bloodsucking leeches of Wall Street.

But what do you all think? Do you think Safaricom’s M-PESA is considered a social innovation? Or is the intent to do social good necessary for it to be considered an act of social entrepreneurship? What do you think about the apparent trend of moving away from the non-profit association?

Hopefully this long blog post made sense—I am currently under the haze of lack of sleep plus antibiotics to combat a sore throat and dry nose. Yay for DC’s crazy weather patterns. Thanks to all who made it this far, and hopefully you’ll continue to read our future ramblings!

Eliza Pan, MSB 2013

This year’s theme was “catalyzing collaboration for large scale change”. As the network of social entrepreneurs grows larger and larger, it has become increasingly apparent that organization and collaboration among those in the field is necessary. There are so many innovative people, ideas, and projects out there that if brought together with others with similar goals and visions could create huge social change. And that is what social entrepreneurship is all about -taking that jumble of awesomely creative ideas and turning them into a reality through sustainable businesses. The forum itself attempts to bring social entrepreneurs together as well as find new platforms to encourage global collaboration. The environment was also prominent on the agenda which included sessions about water scarcity, food security, and climate change.

Another aspect of the forum are the awards given out each year to outstanding social entrepreneurs. One of this year’s winners was Andrew Youn who started the One Acre Fund which attempts to end chronic hunger and poverty in East Africa by increasing the farmers’ incomes. The organization has empowered the farmers to lift themselves out of poverty by providing them with farming techniques, training and capacity building, and access to markets. In less than 4 years, One Acre Fund has helped triple the harvests and double the income per acre for subsistence farm families. Definitely check their website out! It seems like a really inspiring organization that will continue to grow in the next few years with the ambitious goal of using their model to eradicate world hunger.

The overall take away from the forum seems to be to think BIG-get creative, collaborate globally, and have ambitious goals.

-Kate Walsh, COL 2012

The two trends that really caught my eye were Whittemore’s top 2 picks. His #2 trend was “Regional Innovation Ecosystems” which he defines as, “the set of institutions and individuals that help enable organizations to conceive, create, and grow enterprises for the common good.” This entails local and state governments working with entrepreneurs to bring exciting new projects to their areas and also involves collaboration among social businesses at conferences and through a variety of mediums like Net Impact. Net Impact is, “an international nonprofit organization with a mission to inspire, educate, and equip individuals to use the power of business to create a more socially and environmentally sustainable world.” Organizations like Net Impact allow members to be on the cutting edge of social enterprise and encourage dialogue between like-minded social entrepreneurs. Compass Partners is in the process of joining Net Impact and it is exciting to see that Compass is in touch with the top trends in social entrepreneurship.

The other trend that I found interesting, which was Whittemore’s #1 pick, is “Creativity in Seed Funding”. Whittemore laments the scarcity of funding options that entrepreneurs face when starting a for-profit social business. He points out that the inaccessibility of seed funding leads to many start ups going down the non-profit path. Whittemore asserts, and I agree, that this limits the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of social enterprise. I think that in the long run, the companies that will have the most profound impact on the social good will be those that are driven by profit. This means that start up funds must become more available. One interesting idea that Whittemore highlighted was a proposal for entrepreneur’s to solicit funding by pledging a portion of their lifetime earnings to investors. The idea has created a significant amount of excitement.

Whatever the method, I believe that getting capital flowing to the best and brightest for-profit social entrepreneurs is the key to the success of social enterprise.

- Patrick O’Hara, COL ’12

My schedule turned out to be better than just decent. I’m taking an incredible class this semester called Shaping National Science Policy (BIOL 362), taught by Dr. Karen Wayland, a biology advisor to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Dr. Francis Slakey, a physics professor at Georgetown and the 28th American to climb Mount Everest. It’s a class of a caliber that only Georgetown can offer.

The class is split into three groups, and each is hitting the halls of Congress to promote their own signature issue. My group, named Students for Responsible Bag Policy (check out switchbags.org!), is currently endeavoring to introduce a joint resolution in the House and Senate to encourage businesses to reduce the number of single-use retail bags they provide. Single-use bags are not only bad for the environment in their production and their disposal, but they also threaten our nation’s energy independence and security.

Though government intervention including taxes and user fees on single-use retail bags, like the one recently enacted in DC, are enormously effective in correcting consumer behavior for the better, our group wanted to harness the power of the private sector to achieve our goal.

In this way, we modeled our sample resolution on the Massachusetts Memorandum of Understanding, a voluntary agreement between a private sector organization, the Massachusetts Food Association (a group of grocers in the state), and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, to reduce disposable bag use by 33% over 5 years. The measure has been a success, thanks to private sector initiative for social responsibility.

We’re hoping to use our Congressional resolution as a platform for greater awareness of the possibility for a public-private partnership for everyone’s benefit, which is what social entrepreneurship is all about!

For more information, please feel free to visit our website. Have a great rest of your week!

Over the winter break I finally had more than 20 minutes of freedom in a given time span, much of which I spent by kicking back and relaxing with some books that have collected dust on my shelves for far too many months. Among them was the sequel to one of my all-time favorite books, Three Cups of Tea. The second installment, Stones into Schools, further illustrates Nobel Peace nominee Greg Mortenson’s incredible efforts to bring literacy to war-torn regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where decades of  violence and Islamic extremism have thwarted education efforts, and further paved the way for the rise of imbalanced madrassa schools. As the subtitle to the book explains, Mortenson’s charitable foundation aims to eradicate the threat of terrorism not through bombs but through books.

Though Greg Mortenson’s invaluable perspective and leadership continue to awe me, perhaps the most engaging aspect of Stones for Schools centered primarily upon the perspective, leadership, and personal stories of his staff. Referred to as the “Dirty Dozen”, Mortenson’s staff is composed entirely of Pakistanis and Afghanis that have lived through the Soviet invasion, mujahideen rivalries, and Taliban horrors. The history of horrors is their daily reality, and as such they have deep personal motives that transcend any simple humanitarian desire for the expansion of education. They understand the languages, their countries’ strengths and flaws, their governments, and their people. And most importantly, they carry the weight national problems on their backs like a Himalayan Sherpa. Because of this, they know what is at stake in their sustainable education pursuits: the futures of their beloved, though troubled, home countries. And that weight is bigger than any other mountaineering backpack.

This is where the English-minor in me is going to surface on a blog about social entrepreneurship. I like metaphors and similes so let me know what you think about this one: Sometimes the best and most effective social entrepreneurs are like a corrupt mole who works for both sides.

Okay, so we may not be talking about spies or corrupt governments here but one thing every good social business needs, at least something I’ve concluded they should need, is a mole that can play both sides.  A mole like all the moles in Greg Mortenson’s “Dirty Dozen” team of literacy advocates.

Though Mortenson’s middle eastern crew members have absolutely no previous experience in international development and social entrepreneurship that other more qualified and educated people might have, they have the inside knowledge and priceless perspective of “someone on the inside”. As I have noticed in the past, charity solely controlled by the hands of external foreign agencies who don’t truly understand and embody the plaguing problems rarely provides lasting solutions. There are other reasons for this as well: 1) doling out cash is not a sustainable medium for implementing change and 2) when people don’t feel personally invested in the project and are mere recipients of charity the chances for failure skyrocket.

In a previous post from several months ago, I discussed the importance of aid-recipient proactive involvement, which in many areas boils down to a simple interactive participation on the part of the community itself. For example, in Africa where tribes and tightly-bound social structures form the daily makeup of village life, certain banking and lending models can effectively utilize these kinship models to be successful. Or in the similar education initiatives set out by Room to Read CEO John Wood, impoverished communities granted the funding to build new libraries most provide 100% of the labor so that the community is more motivated to protect their new gift.

After reading about the “Dirty Dozen”, this whole concept of direct community involvement seemed to transcend to a whole new level. In order for development projects to truly work, there not only needs to be community engagement among the recipients of aid and development projects, but leadership among the same community members who benefit from social businesses. There have to be moles who are respected leaders in both their original communities and countries as well as integral parts of the foreign-based social business or non-profit itself.

~ Sarah Henningsen, Georgetown College 2012

In the past several weeks, this blog has aimed to educate and inform our fellow members about the emerging world of social entrepreneurship. Hopefully, you readers have learned a bit about the ins and outs of what this new field of business and social justice tries to do exactly.

Now try putting everything into practice. Dell is currently sponsoring a huge Social Innovation Competition that welcomes ideas from students, with a whopping $50,000 in the overall jackpot to fund your revolutionary idea and social business model.

Though information was released only several weeks ago and the deadline still lies several months in the future, the competition has already received a pretty big nationwide response among aspiring social entrepreneurs. The website is loaded with posts and inspiring ideas from regular students like you. Christmas break project, anyone??

~ Sarah Henningsen, Georgetown College 2012

As you have perhaps already seen in some of my previous blog posts, issues of education and literacy and poverty are perhaps what most intrigue me within the world of social entrepreneurship……and though I am completely inept when it comes to technology, I can easily recognize that in today’s cyber and globalizing world, technology is inextricably connected to a solid education and equal foundation that individuals need to compete with the rest of the world and overcome economic struggles.

Unfortunately however, technology is not an equally-accessible commodity that can guarantee these fundamental opportunities to be a connected and participatory member of the online world. To us privileged Georgetown students, the internet is a basic thing of quotidian everyday life, but to others the promise of internet carries a much greater weight and potential.

Thanks to technology and the spread of free trade and cross capitalism, every day the world is becoming more and more connected. From my dorkily anthropological perspective, this sometimes saddens me because I fear a total homogenization of the many vibrant cultures and languages and peoples I find so engaging.

From my social entrepreneurial perspective however, the relationships between technology, globalization, and education are perhaps some of the most important issues we should be considering and worrying about these day, and more importantly, addressing. By utilizing technology and the internet, the “haves” are able to attain more knowledge and essentially continue their social and economic ascent. Meanwhile, the impoverished “have-nots”, lacking that technological window, access, and connection to the rest of the world, just watch themselves get further steeped into the dark abysses of poverty. They wait in the shadows while other prosper with the gift of internet access. Again, they become excluded by the internet phenomenon that has become a simple reality of most peoples’ lives.

An old CNN article I discovered from several years ago discussed the future implications of the internet phenomenon within the realm of economic inequality: “Lack of access leads to a lack of wealth and income, which was the reason for the lack of access.”  Clearly, and still today, this lack of adequate access to technology, particularly within the global community of the internet, prompts a perpetuating cycle and circularity that further entrenches the poor in a world from which they are trying to escape.

Which is where social entrepreneurship comes into play. This digital divide is not a new problem but just recently have social entrepreneurs started doing something about it. Because, they have the power to either further cripple the poor of the world…..or empower them. Take the social business One Laptop Per Child for example, which has designed a cheap and cost-effective laptop model that ensure the upcoming generation of rural children will be adequately connected to the opportunities the internet provides and the gateway to the world they want to be part of. 

So, through the tenets of social entrepreneurship, we can start creating an equal playing field through equal access to education and technology that will prevent further exacerbation of this basic gap among humanity. How our generation decides to approach the internet can either create further economic and education barriers or break them down once and for all.

~ Sarah Henningsen, Georgetown College 2012

Kiva is a micro-financing organization based online that connects donors with local entrepreneurs working within their own communities. With their mission to “connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty,” Kiva exists as a very successful example of bridging the disconnect between those who have the ideas but who are short on funds with people who have funding but no appropriate outlet world wide. The network is uniquely designed to provide the entrepreneur with a short-term loan, which will be paid back over time and can then can be re-issued in the future. I became personally connected to this site when relatives of mine gave a donation in my name for Christmas three years ago. Literally, it is entrepreneurial investing.

Check out their website at http://www.kiva.org/about

“Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson is a personal account of the achievement of “peace through education.” The book details Greg Mortenson’s determined quest to build schools in some of the most dangerous areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Raising money on his own, as of 2009 he has established/supports 131 schools which have provided education to 58,000 children, 44,000 of them being girls, throughout volatile regions in the Pakistani and Afghani countryside. Among many testimonials from political and military figures alike, “Mortenson is a living hero to rural communities of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where he has gained the trust of Islamic leaders, military commanders, government officials and tribal chiefs from his tireless effort to champion education, especially for girls.”

Check out his website at http://www.threecupsoftea.com/ and his new book “Stones into Schools” coming out this December.

Just some inspiration as we head into the last few days before break. One idea can go quite far…..

~ Kathryn Angstadt, Georgetown College 2010

One of the books assigned for the semester was titled “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” by C.K. Prahalad and the themes within it were drawn upon through the entire course. Many of the themes echo Vail’s thoughts from the last blog post. Much of the western world believes that throwing money at developing nations is the way to solve the myriad of issues plaguing these countries. While this charity is honorable (though a great percentage of funds are commonly funneled away from the deserving toward corrupt groups and leaders) it is not the economical nor efficient way to bring these nations up to a more comparable political, economical or social standing with the rest of the developed world—which should be the real goal. This is a mountain of a task, however, as “The Fortune” points out.

If you have a passion for any developing country in particular, have a future plan to start any charity or entrepreneurial endeavor in a developing world, OR are just looking to learn… I highly recommend picking up this book. It’s skimmable with comprehensive lists that summarize the lengthy paragraphs. If the book had one thesis it would be this: A technology that has been assimilated into a modern culture cannot simply be picked up an dropped into a developing world. To succeed, this technology and all mechanisms, marketing images, and functionalities related to it must be significantly altered to function in the potential market and appeal to the new population. Entirely new business models are necessary to assimilate a technology into the poorest areas of the world. As Bill Gates puts it, this book “offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability.” NOT a bad phrase, eh Compass?

To make this tangible, this book brings up questions beyond the typical “what does this area need,” and “where can the funding come from?” But expands to ask questions like “what kind of instruction manual would be most easily understood so the learning curve isn’t the downfall of this technology?” “Are replacement parts easily accessible?” “Are experts needed to get this company/tech off the ground? What about when these experts go back to their home country?” “Is this tech sustainable with local resources?” “Does this company fit into the cultural norms of this area?” And on and on… ACTUALLY aiding the developing world involves so much more than money.

I am currently studying abroad in Ifrane, Morocco for the semester and have spent the entire three months so far with wide eyes, this being my first living experience in a developing country. While my campus is quite modern, and serves many of the richest in this country, I have traveled extensively with fellow exchange students and have seen how the many modest of Morocco live. Tying Morocco to the aforementioned idea of reforming business models to be applicable in emerging markets is easy. Click on the pictures I’ve attached (I don’t know how to make them bigger!)… it is blaringly obvious that companies or technologies that are dependent on internet, electricity or RUNNING WATER need to get creative to succeed in certain areas here. And by some standards, Morocco is pretty advanced.

Food for thought.. sorry this is so long! See everyone in January! (:

~ Maria Hayden, Georgetown SFS 2011