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Boston College Launches BC Seed, Awarding $1000 to One Socially Responsible Team

April 19, 2012 By

Before attending Boston College, junior Sofia Papastamelos had never heard of anyone having to apply to do community service. “We have so many people who want to help out,” she said. Tie that social consciousness in with the College’s already strong Carroll School of Management, and a social entrepreneurship competition only made sense.

This semester, Papastamelos helped found BC Seed, which held its first competition last night, awarding $1,000 to one socially responsible startup looking to get off the ground. Working in conjunction with the Boston College Venture Competition (BCVC), BC Seed gave three student-run teams the chance to pitch for 15 minutes to a panel of judges who had a different criteria in mind.

Although Namib Beetle Design — a biomimicry-inspired product based on the Namib Desert Beetle that uses nanotechnology to trap water from condensation to produce a sustainable method of collecting clean drinking water — won this year’s BCVC, they did not win BC Seed.

Instead, third place BCVC winner, Maji, took home the $1,000 grand prize at BC Seed. “The Maji team was able to clearly pitch their social impact,” Papastamelos said. Although the judges still looked at each team’s business plan, she admitted it didn’t play as large of a role.

Standing for “water” in Swahili, Maji is a reusable water bottle company working to solve the world’s water crisis. For every bottle sold, Maji makes a $5 donation to charity: water. With that money, charity: water then provides wells for people who do not have access to clean drinking water.

The team was winner of the “Audience Choice Award” at BCVC’s Elevator Pitch Contest, and has since begun spreading their message to other campuses, including the University of Richmond and New York University.

How BC Seed will integrate with BCVC in the future, Papastamelos said they’re still trying to iron out the details. All we know, however, is that Boston College is quickly becoming an entrepreneurial force to be reckoned with.

Photo Courtesy of John Gallaugher

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Article source: http://bostinno.com/2012/04/19/boston-college-launches-bc-seed-awarding-1000-to-one-socially-responsible-team/

Filed Under: Education

Are Social Entrepreneurs Too Idealistic?

April 19, 2012 By

Social entrepreneurs often strive toward achieving a ‘triple bottom line.’ But are they side-stepping questions of politics?

Are social entrepreneurs too idealistic? David Brooks thinks so. In his recent Times column, he wrote that “young idealists” are, while “refreshingly uncynical,” also too naïve, and unaware about national and regional politics. #


Social entrepreneurs, he writes, “have little faith in the political process”—instead, they are trying to do things their own way, using grassroots strategies. #


At Dowser, we’ve certainly seen that social entrepreneurs often embody a grassroots ethos, preferring to use crowdfunding instead of applying for competitive grants, and working outside the boundaries of institutions. #


But is Brooks correct to say that social entrepreneurs are avoiding, or ignorant of, matters of governance and politics? #


Brooks’ argument has been made before, in the pages of the same newspaper. In July 2011, In an article called “Real Change Requires Politics,” former McKinsey consultant-turned-author Anand Giridharadas critiques social entrepreneurs for not recognizing that structures and systems need to be changed in order for their work to be more effective. #


“Many social entrepreneurs treat power as something to work around. They can be clearer in articulating what they are for than in stating what they oppose, and why,” he writes. Giridharas portrays social entrepreneurs, much like Brooks does in his recent column, as side-stepping government—“picking fights is rarely the social entrepreneur’s way,” writes Giridharas. #


After interviewing probably hundreds of social entrepreneurs for Dowser, I can think of several cases where individuals and organizations are specifically dealing with questions of policy and government. For example, Seeing Green’s year-long research project, funded by Kickstarter donations, aims to provide a scientific case for urban agriculture’s usefulness in dealing with water management problems in New York City, with the ultimate goal of prompting the city government to change the tax structure so that urban agriculture is more feasible. #


And social entrepreneurs certainly understand that the problems they address are systemic. Many designers refer to social issues as “wicked problems”—when interlocking dependencies within a system make it impossible to enact substantial reform. Examples of wicked problems include the healthcare system and the education system. If you think about government as one of the factors that makes these issues into wicked problems, then it is easier to understand why social entrepreneurs are more concerned with tackling a problem directly and efficiently, than trying to change government or fix an entire system. #


One of the letters-to-the-editor written in response to Brooks was penned by Ben Powell, who founded Agora Partnerships, a social enterprise investment fund and incubator, in 2005, as he was graduating from business school at Columbia University. #


Powell told Dowser that he sees Brooks’ arguments as symptomatic of a generational divide. “An older generation grew up in a world with many more trade-offs, in the sense that if you were ambitious, it meant you wanted to go into politics or make money,” said Powell. #


Today, however, being ambitious bears a much wider scope, beyond making money. Powell thinks that it has to do with “the extraordinary amount of investment that has gone into the Millennials’ education,” he said. #


“Young people today with all these communication tools are able to project their ideas faster than any generation in history. They want to lead lives of significance in a world that has so many problems and challenges that they’re aware of, because they’re highly-educated,” said Powell. #


On the matter of social entrepreneurs not focusing on politics, Powell suggested that Brooks is wrong in identifying it as a question of avoidance. “The best leaders in the country are not going and running for Congress. And that’s a problem—but it’s not a problem that can be solved by a bunch of 22-year-olds with liberal arts degrees.” Instead, those 22-year-olds locate areas where they can make a difference. “They’re not waiting around. They’re working outside of the system. And they’re being very successful,” said Powell. #


Entrepreneurship is also a skill set that prepares young people for leadership, and it provides lessons that universities might not, said Powell. “Maybe social entrepreneurs will go into politics when they have more power, later—and they will actually have the tools to make effective decisions, whereas so many of our politicians are profoundly ignorant about the way the world works.” #


Categories:  News and Ideas

Article source: http://dowser.org/are-social-entrepreneurs-too-idealistic/

Filed Under: Education

Santa Clara University Announces 10th Annual Class of Social Entrepreneurs for …

April 19, 2012 By

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Apr 18, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
Until recently, small-scale farmers in Kenya who spent their household
savings on seeds could lose everything in the case of severe drought or
excess rain. Rahab Karanja helped start a unique type of insurance
company for such farmers–Kilimo Salama–that pays farmers if extreme
weather wipes them out. For simplicity, payments are made through the
popular M-Pesa mobile-phone payment system, and the price of the
insurance is embedded in the seed or fertilizer prices.

“Until now the only thing Kenyan farmers could do about the risk of
extreme weather was to pray,” said Karanja. “We are offering some
protection for their livelihoods.”

Karanja is one of 20 socially minded entrepreneurs, and one of 10 women,
from around the globe who have been chosen to participate in Santa Clara
University’s intensive, eight-month Global Social Benefit Incubator
(GSBI(TM)) program this year, the 10th anniversary of GSBI. The final phase
of the Silicon Valley-based program is a two-week in-residence “boot
camp” on SCU’s campus, Aug. 12 to Aug. 24, culminating in public
business-plan summary presentations Aug. 23.

For a decade, GSBI has helped mission-driven enterprises build, sustain,
and increase the reach and impact of their businesses. Collectively,
alumni of the program have provided essential products and services to
an estimated 74 million underserved people worldwide, and more than 90
percent of the organizations are still operating.

The program features mentoring by Silicon Valley executives and experts,
collaboration for the social entrepreneurs, and MBA-caliber classes
during the summer in-residence program. More on GSBI can be found at

http://www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/entrepreneurship/gsbi

The other enterprises that have been chosen from among 180 applicants to
receive full scholarships to GSBI 2012 include:

*Backpack Farm Agriculture Program, training and unique backpacks
containing advanced products for small-crop vegetable farmers, from drip
irrigation to soil protectants and crop journals, East Africa.
www.backpackfarm.com

*BaNaPads Social Enterprise, affordable sanitary pads from banana stems
to help Ugandan girls attend school, Uganda.
www.scu.edu/profiles/?p=4999

*Carbon Keeper, mobile customer and supply-chain management for
household energy project developers, East Africa.
www.carbonkeeper.org

*EarthSpark International, clean-energy supply chain and product
purveyor, Haiti.
www.earthsparkinternational.org

*EcoEnergyFinance, clean energy products and business opportunities,
Pakistan.
www.ecoenergyfinance.org

*Edom Nutritional Solutions, micronutrient-rich porridge and maize, East
Africa.
www.scu.edu/profiles/?p=5003

*InVenture, methods for investors to make business loans and otherwise
help successful sole proprietors in developing countries, Global.
www.inventure.org .

*Lifeline Technologies Trading Ltd., solar and crank-powered MP3 player
for education, Sub-Saharan Africa.
www.lifelinetrading.net

*M-Farm, SMS alerts for crop pricing and collective-selling
opportunities, Kenya. mfarm.co.ke

*MaliBiocarburant, biodiesel processing of Jatropha curcas, a non-edible
oil crop, West Africa.
www.malibiocarburant.com

*Nazava Water Filters, affordable and safe household water filters,
Indonesia.
www.nazava.com

*Nokero, solar light and phone chargers for 125 countries, United States
and Hong Kong.
www.nokero.com

*OneChildOneLight, solar powered LED lights, India.
www.onechildonelight.org

*Potential Energy (formerly Darfur Stoves Project), fuel-efficient cook
stoves, Sudan.
www.darfurstoves.org

*SalaUno, free or low-cost cataract surgery for impoverished Mexicans,
Mexico.
www.salauno.com.mx

*Sarvajal, clean water franchising using “water ATMs” and social-impact
tracking, India.
www.sarvajal.com

*Solanterns, for-rent or purchasable durable solar lanterns, Kenya.
www.solanterns.com

*Sustainable Health Enterprises, nontraditional business opportunities
solving social problems, such as girls missing school due to lack of
sanitary products, Global.
www.sheinnovates.com

* UbiLuz, solar LED lighting and other products, Central America.
www.scu.edu/profiles/?p=5017

GSBI alumni include: the micro-lending website Kiva.org; Indian
safe-drinking water distributor Naandi; “cloud phone” service provider
Movirtu; Indian rural electrification pioneer Husk Power Systems;
physical mobility device producer and advocate MAARDEC; optical health
leader VisionSpring; and the earthquake-resistant construction nonprofit
Build Change. A complete list of alumni can be found at:
www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/entrepreneurship/gsbi/alumni .

GSBI is the signature program of the Center for Science, Technology, and
Society at Santa Clara University. It is currently funded in part by a
grant from the Skoll Foundation and individual donors. The Center
partners with Social Edge, the Skoll Foundation’s online community for
social entrepreneurs (
www.socialedge.org )
to administer the online GSBI application process.

For more details about the program and this year’s GSBI class, visit the
Center for Science, Technology, and Society’s website at
www.scu.edu/socialbenefit .

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university
located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley,
offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in
arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s
and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one
of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities,
California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates
faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more
information, see
www.scu.edu .

SOURCE: Santa Clara University



        
        SCU Media Relations 
        Deborah Lohse, 408-554-5121 
        lohse@scu.edu

Copyright Business Wire 2012

Article source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/santa-clara-university-announces-10th-annual-class-of-social-entrepreneurs-for-the-global-social-benefit-incubator-training-and-mentoring-program-2012-04-18

Filed Under: Education

Social entrepreneurs share their innovative community building projects

April 19, 2012 By

The first panel brought together “social entrepreneurs” from the Community Investment Collaborative, the Piedmont Housing Alliance and the Charlottesville Institute.

The Community Investment Collaborative, started in 2011, helps entrepreneurs who often find it hard to get support from traditional sources.

20120418-TomTom-IS1C
Kim Suyes (PHA) Toan Nguyen (CIC)

“We recognize that it is so hard for folks to start their own business,” said CIC co-founder Toan Nguyen, who also owns C’ville Coffee. “Having the idea is not enough. We provide training, funding and mentoring. The three together makes it a very powerful combination.”

“There is an extraordinary wealth of talent in our community,” said CIC co-founder Wendy Brown. “The big thing nonprofits need is not money, it’s expertise.”

Ernestine Matthews is a student in the current CIC class of more than 20 entrepreneurs.

“My vision is to do emergency child care,” said Matthews, standing in the audience. “I will open my doors 24 hours a day…to accommodate the needs of our citizens. I am on the right path and I am going to see this business prosper.”

The Charlottesville Institute was founded in January by Charlottesville City Councilor Dave Norris.

“It’s all about innovation; the whole point is to tap into the resources at the University of Virginia to solve and address local problems in innovative ways,” Norris said. “It’s a great place to live, but we have our issues here.”

Kimberly Suyes is director of community development lending at the Piedmont Housing Alliance. She described new financing programs the group has under development.

“We can match federal money by bringing in money and lending it out,” Suyes said. “Lots of developers are looking at projects that would be beneficial to our community, but it’s difficult getting money right now.”

Suyes said PHA can provide gap financing and that they are seeking a pool of donors interested in making local investments to leverage federal grants.

Alaina Rhee is a second-year student at UVa who describes herself as being very interested in the community and social investment. She said projects that provide microfinancing support are important in both less-developed countries and Charlottesville.

“Our economic situation in the United States is not the best right now,” said Rhee. “Microfinancing is a bottom-up way to rebuild the economy and invest in innovation.”

A number of the speakers noted that Charlottesville has a variety of resources that can be better leveraged for social benefits.

“Charlottesville is such a great place to live, a paradise,” Nguyen said. “But the problem with a paradise is you can get complacent when you don’t have the pain to get you to do things.”

“Charlottesville has all the energy and talent to make this a great community for everyone, we just need to harness it,” Brown concluded.

The series will continue for the next three Wednesdays. The next panel will be at The Gleason at 126 Garrett St. and will focus on the topic of sustainable design. Follow the Tom Tom innovation series at www.cvilletomorrow.org/TomTom.

Article source: http://cvilletomorrow.typepad.com/charlottesville_tomorrow_/2012/04/tom_tom_innovation-1.html

Filed Under: Education

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