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Supporting Young Social Entrepreneurs
Hosted by Sunit Shrestha & Sailendra Dev Appanah (June 2005 - Closed)
An Emergence Across the globe, social entrepreneurship is gaining momentum. More and more social entrepreneurs have gained recognition in countries as diverse as India and the United States and the concept itself has spread all the way from the rural communities that Ashoka Fellows serve to the United Nations. Yet the future impact of the movement lies with young people.
In Asia, young people make up almost half of the population, they have the passion and energy, a unique social positioning in resource-mobilization, and the natural tendency towards problem-solving, which is a key characteristic of the entrepreneurial ‘creative-destruction’ process. If social entrepreneurship is to bring increased efficiency and innovation to conventional development, the most dynamic and gifted young people must actively embrace it. Talented young people have to be attracted and catalysed by social entrepreneurship, in order to sustain the movement.
Development – An Image Problem
The development community is not able to attract as many talented young people as the business world. It is extremely rare to find young people opting for careers in development without exhausting other opportunities first. The common perception for people involved in development is that they have chosen to take a vow of poverty and sacrifice all throughout their lives. The labels ‘NGO’ and ‘CSO’ have negative connotations and the agencies that they are attached to are seen as being irrationally radical and uncompromising. Additionally, the bureaucracy, egoism and inertia makes the sector does not help improve the image of the sector.
Social Entrepreneurship - The Alternative Path
Social entrepreneurship can help attract more talented young people towards the development arena. A few months ago at the official launch of the ‘How to Change the World’ in Bangkok, David Bornstein mentioned that young people needed successful role models to take up social entrepreneurship. The stories of successful social entrepreneurs show what development professionalism can mean. These people are passionate, dynamic, efficient and innovative, and eager to make a difference in the world. Repeatedly, they have proved that small things do matter and can become socially significant while generating a fair amount of personal income. They provide models that show capable young people that social entrepreneurship can offer a career that provides both social and economic returns.
Catalyzing Young Social Entrepreneurs
Young social entrepreneurs are unrecognized as yet, both locally and globally, and there is next to no support for this group of potential changemakers. It is young people who are both willing and able to become social entrepreneurs who can trigger any movement, and it is the environment in which they operate in that will either kill or facilitate their development.
Young people need insight into the world’s problems to ignite their passion; they also need insight into development issues in order to develop their social enterprise ideas. For these ideas to be sustainable, a disciplined method of enterprise management is required. And, perhaps most important of all, they need inspirational cases of young social entrepreneurs who have made a significant impact in the world.
Communities drive the collective discovery process. They do not have to be ‘local’ in the geographic sense any more. With the internet, communities can be virtual, bringing together those with common interests and purposes, no matter what their location. Youth from all over the world who are interested in social entrepreneurship can share and crystallize ideas, gain support, mobilize teams, and even collaborate online. Because of the supportive environment of communities, social entrepreneurship for the young will become possible. It may also become desirable. If this happens, then the vision of social entrepreneurship as a global movement might become a reality. Who can say what the implications of this would be for the survival of the human race?
Towards a self-sustaining movement
There are many initiatives which aim to help catalyse a young social entrepreneur movement. One of them, the Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI), is a Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) programme driven by several of the younger members of the network that focus on ICT for development (ICT4D). It is a joint programme developed by members across the globe providing an integrated support mechanism for young social entrepreneurs which includes information, community networking, financing/resources and mentorship. It has gained support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and will be launched very soon.
The key issues to address for supporting young social entrepreneurs:
How can young individuals who are passionate about development, become transformed into committed social entrepreneurs?
- What can we do to catalyze or assist the dynamics of that transformative process?
- Who is interested to support them (the private sector, NGOs, government, etc.)?
- Who are already committed towards or potentially could do so in supporting them?
- How can we bring more supporters to help them with financing, knowledge, mentorship and other supports mechanisms?
- What kind of knowledge might be able help them out the most? How can we transfer the knowledge to them?
- What are the type of online or offline tools that exist or should be created to help them develope, manage and mobilise resources for their social ventures?
- What are the key lessons that young people have to take into consideration when structuring an idea, transforming the idea into a proposal and actually implementing the project?
- How can we make social entrepreneurship ‘cool’, to help attract highly capable youngsters?
- What is the best way to institutionalize social entrepreneurship as part of the culture in developing countries, especially amongst youth?
- What are the necessary conditions required to promote the growth of young social entrepreneurs?
Thai RuralNet (TRN) is a professional network of young social entrepreneurs using ICTs and building partnerships to empower sustainable social innovations. TRN is an institute under the Thailand Rural Reconstruction Movement Foundation, Thailand oldest rural development NGO. TRN’s poverty alleviation programs include development tourism program as well as a grass-root innovation program for sustainable agriculture development. TRN also co-founded Youth Innovation Years (YIY), a project that identifies, finances and supports young Thai social entrepreneurs. This year TRN is leading a multistakeholder program to support young social entrepreneurs in Asia working on ICT for development (ICT4D) in partnership with 5 other partners across the continents. The program is called ‘Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI)’, and is supported by the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
About The Global Knowledge Partnership
Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP), the world’s first multi-stakeholder partnership in the area of ICT-facilitated development. GKP is a worldwide network committed to harnessing the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for sustainable and equitable development. GKP’s vision is a world of equal opportunities where all people can access and use knowledge and information to improve their lives. The Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) is part of the GKP Youth Program. (Visit GKP at www.globalknowledge.org)
Sailendra Dev Appanah - Jun 6, 2005 7:49 pm (# Total: 21) YSEI
Let's face it, the world can be in a much better shape than it is today.
With the right kind of support, I believe, young people can translate their innovative ideas combined with their ample source of energy to make a positive difference in the world.
I welcome all of you to contribute and share your ideas as to how we can support young social entrepreneurs.
social jedi - Jun 8, 2005 7:41 am (# Total: 21) David Bornstein's "How to Change the World" seminar providing examples of how social entrepreneurship can offer a career that provides both 'social and economic' returns is a step in the right direction. However, to capture the hearts and imagination of tomorrow's youth, social entrepreneurship needs to offer outlets for self-expression.
Tomorrow's youth will be more creative in generating ideas than previous generations. If social entrepreneurship, as an industry, is able to fulfill this innate desire for expression, it will attract the best talent. To achieve this, current social entrepreneur practitioners need examine their organizational practices.
During silicon valley's heyday, it was known as a fun and creative industry attract many bright young talents. Social entrepreneurs will have to provide an outlet for ideas and passion, which will then create an energy of excitement reminiscent of those early silicon valley days.
Are 'current' social entrepreneurs providing expression space for their constituents?
Are social enterprises encouraging participation from their employees?
Is a sense of community and dialogue present in these social enterprises?
These are some of the questions social entrepreneurs actively working in the field should think about. If current social enterprises are able to address these issues, word will get around that 'social entrepreneurship' is the hottest and most rewarding industry there is and bright young talents will come, in droves.
Apivat Hanvongse http://socialjedi.emergingworld.org/
Seeking Leverage - Jun 8, 2005 4:11 pm (# Total: 21) My opinion:
Social entrepreneurship will never be cool. Nor would we want it to be. 'Cool' is Paris Hilton. 'Cool' is having a beamer and spending all your money on beer. The 'cool' kids (at least at the school I went to) are the ones that go out partying, do insanely reckless things like smashing mailboxes with a bat out of a moving car, or getting into fights, or abusing drugs. Being cool is about image, not about substance.
Instead, I think we'll all gain more if we help our children mature and grow into adults. Positive role models, like you mention, are one good way to go about this.
"...small things do matter..." True, but they only matter a small amount.
The problem that I had for a long time was paralysis in the face of the sheer magnitude of the problems facing the world. Having only done a couple tiny things to help out, I felt like a couch potato faced with climing Mt. Everest. I knew where I was, I knew where the summit was, but I could see no way of even getting half way up, let alone to the peak.
We need to inspire people to make as HUGE of a difference as they possibly can. How do we do this? Teach our children information technologies and teach them about leverage. Put the two together and a creative mind will believe that reaching the summit is at least possible, even if they can't see the particular path to take just now.
From my (albeit somewhat biased) point of view, the most powerful force of change today is information technology. The impact that Google, for example, has had on the world is enormous and Google is simply a bunch of people writing code for a bunch of servers. (Albeit very good code on the world's most powerful server farm.) Think about how much more informed we are today and how much more effective we can be simply because of one information technology company. How many people have discovered social entrepreneurship websites or blogs using Google?
Anyway, my point is that information technologies are powerful. Not only that, but they are becoming even more powerful at a staggering pace. For example, right now I am teaching myself Ruby on Rails, a framework for developing web applications that literally did not exist a year ago. More than one person has suggested that RoR is already an order of magnitude more powerful than the more commonly used web development technologies. What does that mean? It means where in the past you would have needed 10 coders for a particular project, now you only need (a smart) one. That's leverage.
Your example of starting an online community for social entrepreneurs illustrates how one small, simple action (setting up community software on a server) will result in a large positive result--especially down the line. Again, information technologies = leverage.
So going back to the question of how we will inspire the next generation, I say give them the ability to make a HUGE difference. That and that alone is enough to inspire the next generation.
If we focus on giving people the *ability* to make a difference, they will.
Interestingly, if you think about it, a politically incorrect implication of this is that, as fewer and fewer people are needed to make a big impact if they're really smart, the world as a whole will benefit significantly more if we focus our energies on helping the small number of naturally brilliant children become motivated and compassionate geniuses than if we dilute our effort and try to make everyone mildly smarter. I'm not saying we *should* do this, but it's something to think about as we move into the future of our changing world.
Just my 2 cents.
Phil Devor - Seeking Leverage
(There are twenty years to go.)
Bobcat - Jun 9, 2005 1:31 pm (# Total: 21) Bob Graham
I have been involved in encouraging young people to enter social entrepreneurship, service, and giving for more than 15 years, especially through the Namaste Foundation. We have launched a new project, NamasteDirect, which is providing loan capital to first time rural women microcredit borrowers in Guatemala (mostly Mayan women). Besides focusing on "the poorer of the poor" and providing donors with a unique linkage to the borrowers through our 100 Group programs, our third aim is to encourage the Next Generation.
To that end our board has a policy requirement that at least one-half of the members be under 35. We also award NamasteDirect Fellowships to college students to go to Guatemala to learn about microcredit on the ground. The students receive briefings from our local NGO partners, go to group meetings and visit the women in their businesses and homes. They take pictures and write up stories to share with the donors to the 100 Group of which they are Team Captain. They also share their experiences with classmates and friends back home. In some cases the students earn credits in Independent Studies.
We just finished the pilot program with a student from Foothill College and have two advanced degree students from University of San Diego and the California Institute of Integral Studies going to Central America this summer. The program will be rolled out to 10 schools (mostly in Northern California) this fall and winter.
Bob Graham www.namaste-direct.org
Genelle King - Jun 9, 2005 3:20 pm (# Total: 21) Founder, Unity Partners Inc.
Social entrepreneurs need to be guided through the process of making their idea a reality. Statistically it takes 3 years to get a new business up and running. It is important to provide a network of both mentors and others in a similar situation to social entrepreneurs during this initial 3 year period. Without guidance and encouragement projects are often abandonded before they have really had a chance to start. It is also important to wean these individuals off of their support network and push them out of the nest when the time is right.
Another important aspect that is often discussed but even more often neglected is that of understanding the needs/perspectives/wants of the target market. Social entrepreneurs oftentimes expend too much energy trying to figure out all of the answers on their own. They need to be encouraged to ask their prospective clients for input as that input can often provide answers that the social entrepreneur might not have come up with on his/her own.
Sailendra Dev Appanah - Jun 9, 2005 8:16 pm (# Total: 21) YSEI
It is great to see many of us interested in supporting young social entrepreneurs.
As Genelle mentioned above, businesses take roughly 3 years to become more stable; it might certainly take more time and effort to get new social enterprises 'up and running'.
I believe then, that the lessons we impart through the program can act as key reference points for young social entrepreneurs in order to make sure they can upscale their project from the initial startup phase. This means, that they have to be guided on achieving sustainability either through the available knowledge tools and the mentorship program.
What are the key lessons that budding young social entrepreneurs should take into consideration on issues such as: 1) proposal development 2) project implementation and management 3) resource mobilisation and financial sustainability 4) evalution of the project
Keep on posting!!!
Cheers, Dev
Seeking Leverage - Jun 11, 2005 1:53 pm (# Total: 21) I think the most important lesson is to realise that statistically speaking, you're probably going to fail. The key is to learn what you can from it and then keep picking yourself up again and starting over with a new project until you get it.
Phil -- http://seekingleverage.emergingworld.org
Sailendra Dev Appanah - Jun 11, 2005 10:47 pm (# Total: 21) YSEI
Thanks for the posts!
If there is a high likelihood for failing, do you think that there a something out there that entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs are not taking into consideration when planning to implement a project?
Doesn't proper planning make the project more or less full proof except for unavoidable external shocks?
Cheers, Dev
tonywang - Jun 27, 2005 7:17 pm (# Total: 21) Stanford University
I'm not sure if this thread is still active, but I archived the social edge newsletter I got so that when I had the time, I'd be able to respond to this thread, because it's something I've thought about for a very long time. I worked on a project for some time trying to develop a magazine on social entrepreneurship for students. You have millions of students, young people, people who still maintain a sense of stubborn idealism that are looking for ways to find true meaning, passion, and direction in their life who just need to be pointed into the right direction.
To that end, I have specific answers to the questions Dev posted earlier.
1) Proposal Development
It's already being done. With all the business plan competitions out there, plenty of young entrepreneurs are learning how to develop strong proposals. While some universities offer classes, many learn through the Internet by simply googling for the information they need. I don't think this is the area that needs the most work though.
2) Project Implentation and Management
This is where I've seen a lot of student/youth ventures fail. Then again, this is where a lot of ventures in general fail. Personally, I don't think it's the experience factor, while it certainly puts student/youth ventures at a disadvantage. Rather, I think it's the lack of strong long-term support behind projects. If a high-risk project that doesn't pay takes three years of full time work among a founding team, you'll be hard to find people who would be willing to commit to the project. Many teams try to rush the process (that's what our group did) but burn out in the process and end up disbanding. If there was a foundation or some group committed to seeing our project succeed and helping us (and encouraging us) along the way, I don't think implementation would be as big of a problem. Having the time to focus on making calls and building a business instead of worrying about funding all the time really makes a difference.
3) Resource Mobilisation and Financial Sustainability
Quite honestly, I think this should be made clear in the design implementation of the plan, but I also think there should be some guide for new ventures (both youth and non) that points people as to what steps should be taken (i.e. visit this site, fill out this application, contact these organizations). I know Youth Venture (founded by Bill Drayton) tries to accomplish this, which it could, if question #2 were first addressed.
4) Project Evaluation
I think project evaluation can be effectively done by two groups: a board of directors and project partners. While SROI analysis can always be helpful and one should always measure results against target objectives, it should always come down to the opinion of the previously mentioned stakeholders.
--Personally: My Big Idea--
An incubator/fellowship program for young social entrepreneurs. I've seen several successful models, both short-term and long-term, in the for-profit world, and I think the model would work extremely successfully in the non. Get a bunch of young people living in a house together, working on their project(s). Invite a few guest lecturers, have a few fun outings, and have an in-house mentor. The rest should be self-explanatory.
If you have time, I'd like any of you reading this post to visit the newswire blog i've setup on the topic of social entrepreneurship: http://www.stanford.edu/group/fusion/archives/fusion_media/newswire/index.html.
Sailendra Dev Appanah - Jun 28, 2005 2:26 am (# Total: 21) YSEI
Thanks Tony. You have some very insightful ideas.
I am actually coordinating a youth social enterprise initiative which will be cover Asia for its first phase.
I appreciate your big idea about the incubator/fellowship program. Over here, we agree with you. After talking to several social entrepreneurs, they claim that providing a sort of a mentorship support program for young social entrepreneurs can prove to be more valuable that awarding the grants itself.
I think where young social entrepreneurs can really succeed is if they focus on integrating new and existing technologies to develop their social innovation. That might just help them make their work more impactful and help create a sort of a competitive advantage for them. What do you think?
I am a firm believer in network science. Within this program, we are also trying to establish a community of practice for young social entrepreneurs and groups that are interested in supporting them(a sort of a LinkedIn or Friendster for young social entrepreneurs).
I think a community (at least a virtual one) can help young people share ideas and collectively bridge solutions.
Tell us more about the work you are pursuing and the challenges that you face.
Cheers, Dev
tonywang - Jul 5, 2005 10:43 pm (# Total: 21) Stanford University
Hey Dev, you've got some interesting ideas there yourself. I'm not sure exactly what you mean by 'new and existing technologies' and why young social entrepreneurs are particularly suited for this type of social innovation, but if you could provide an example, that'd be great.
A LinkedIn service for social entrepreneurs would be great. I know TakingItGlobal.org tries to do some of that, but something with much clearer functionality, like LinkedIn, would be great. (Actually, that's what I hoped SocialEdge would be). However, in order for any e-community to be truly successful, its success should be limited to supporting role, not primary role. The primary community should be the communities we form in person - so that while conversations and resources can be shared online, events for offline things should be emphasized. I've seen too many groups fail too often because they thought they could do everything online.
The work I was involved with was called Solutions Magazine. It was supposed to be a magazine about all the latest social innovations, with the intention of popularizing the idea of social innovation and keeping people informed of the latest social innovations. The target market was college students (since that's what our team was most familiar with), with the possibility of branching out to other markets later. It would incorporate advertising for fair trade products and job opportunities from social enterprise organizations. Basically, it was a cool idea. We even got $2000 from placing 2nd in a Social-E B-Plan competition and $1000 from Youth Venture. We got David Bornstein to write an article for us, we interviewed cool people like Martin Fisher, and even got Working Assets to agree to advertise if we ever got an issue off the ground. That was our sticking point.
We lacked capital in general to make our venture work, but it wasn't so much that we lacked capital, but that we lacked access to certain kinds of capital. Financial capital wasn't too big of a problem, had we gained access to human and social capital. I will say this though, our team constantly revised our strategy to be suboptimal in order to make do with less money (sometimes you just need a certain amount). We also needed students that could commit to this project full time. But without the right set of incentives and the feeling that others (like foundations, advertisers, and other team members) would commit to this project until it was done, no one could commit full time. We also needed social capital, people that were within our networks that were willing to connect us to foundations and other organizations. But with a team of all students with no time, we had no one that could setup the proper meeting.
I sometimes wonder if the project still has potential. Actually, I still believe it does. And I for one would love to work on something like this, but wouldn't have time until I graduate. But even then, I and other members of a team would need to know whether or not there's financial support.
I'd love to continue this conversation here or one-to-one. Please feel free to Skype me at drstumpster. I would've attached our b-plan, but apparently the attachment is too large.
MaeMeadows - Aug 17, 2005 8:21 am (# Total: 21) I know that this may be closed, however I hope that it is not! I would like to bring in another viewpoint about the needs of young social entrepreneurs. I am 26, a single mom, college student, volunteer and worker in the NPO field. As a mother first, I need to work to support my family. I also need to finish school to ensure that I have "safety net". I volunteer for the sheer enjoyment and making a difference and it also helps me to meet other like minded people. I work in the non profit sector, which is good, or great, however a good portion of getting the services to the people is relied on me and the Executive Director. We both had other jobs to make ends meet. I noticed with her working full time as a teacher, stooped us from taking the program as far as we want to go. Since in the teens I have wanted to start my own business. First a magazine that promoted quality music journalism and I still want to do that, just through a non profit, which I am looking to get into in another year. Now a problem that I am having is as an undergrad in my third year, going to school part time, knocks me out for alot of fellowships that are available to Grads. I have my ideas on paper for my social enterprise and people tell me they are wonderful all the time. However, with working, going to school, being a single parent, volunteering, when do I have the time to research history, write my business plans, study, work, having time to myself etc. Its exhausting!!! I would like to participate more with Social Edge, however time constraints will not allow. So you ask what does this have to do with young social entrepreneurs? Alot. Young social entrepreneurs come from different linages and backgrounds. When I go for programs or apply, some assume that social entrepreneurs have no responsibility. Part of my social enterprise is dealing with mothers, especially single mothers. I find that alot of us want to make a difference and have great ideas and even the business sense, but we become unmotivated because the pressures and no opportunities and resources are available. Alot of these foundations assume only grads can be able to do this. I disagree. I have spent the last 6 years in the NPO and I know more than my Executive Director, who has been in the industry longer. We need more than online communities, we need real tangible resources that are hands on. I am in the process of putting together a proposal detailing why I need support. Investments in the "person" needs to raise. When you invest in the person, you are taking one that is gifted and all those wonderful things, and giving them the opportunity to express themselves in such ways where they are getting the skills in which needs to be developed, opportunities for research to further explain why their "idea" will work not just for right now, but for long term as well, education, mentoring and a slew of resources. I have a ideas, but they are just ideas on paper. I am researching as much as possible on the idea for the change, because I need to explain what happened, and why my new innovative idea will have long term national and international impact. So this is my input. More foundations and/or organizations should invest in young social entrepreneurs, not just projects or reseach, but the person who comes up with the projects and does the research, and create a variety of terms because not every social entrepreneur comes from the same background and circumstance. I hear all the time, that youngsters want to get involved however life circumstances make things harder, and true social entrepreneurs are supposed to find ways around that, however if that was the case then alot more young entrepreneurs would be out. Feel free to email me or send me a message.
Mae
Sailendra Dev Appanah - Sep 26, 2005 8:21 am (# Total: 21) YSEI
Hi,
Thank you very much sending us your thoughts on those key issues. This platform is not dead yet. I hope to keep this going and constantly provide all of you updates of our attempts to provide support for young social entrepreneurs (age<30)
It was Joseph Schumpeter (the father of entrepreneurial economics) who said: "Social Entrepreneurship Is about Innovation and Impact, Not Income.We have seen that the function of entrepreneurs is to reform or revolutionize the pattern of production . . ."
There still a confusion among many that social entrepreneurship takes on more of the business form. I would like to stress that innovation is key to social entrepreneurship and the enterprise's ability to stay afloat due to market forces is only part of the enteprise's element of sustainability.
Moving on, I came across this very interesting article in Ode Magazine (www.odemagazine.com) about the most unusual business school - KaosPilots which is based in Denmark. It's learning environment is not only very conducive for the traditional business students but also can be a preparatory place for budding social entrepreneurs.
I think more schools should orient themselves like Kaospilots. Instead of writing papers for their business class, KaosPilots are action-oriented, creative, self-aware and disciplined. The school offers credentials comparable to a bachelor’s degree and addresses needs that more-established business schools ignore.
With more and more businesses, governments and the nonprofit sector coming under fire from skeptical consumers, impatient investors, suspicious donors and taxpayers who want to be sure their money isn’t being thrown around, a fourth sector is emerging - social enterprise.
Kaospilots has been Denmark's best kept secret for the past 14 years It is totally different from other schools. You can pursue whatever you want. Nothing’s impossible, you get out what you put in: that’s the atmosphere. It’s also the most difficult aspect of this school. Because if you aren’t making any progress, it means you’re the one who’s holding yourself back; you’re responsible for your own life.
More and more schools should adopt this form of learning for students. Coming from Asia, 99% of schools don't make you think and understand issues. Instead you are taught to memorise and regurgitate huge amounts of facts prior to exams. It is important to stimulate young people by providing them with a balance of learning from books and practice/experience. Otherwise, we would only end giving birth to generations of conforming doers who lack the creativity and entrepreneurial ablities necessary for the development of mankind.
We are in the midst of developing a program to identify and support young social entrepreneurs. We hope to shift the paradigm in this region by encouraging more and more young people in developing countries to take on social entrepreneurship as a viable career path. Otherwise what would become of us?
Visit www.futureshifters.net. Tell me what you think. Will come back to write.
Dev
The Mighty Quinn - Dec 2, 2005 10:47 pm (# Total: 21) I have an idea that I believe can make a difference in our society, but that's all it is at this point... An idea. Is this a place to put forth my idea for help, in hopes of making it a reality? Are there any measures I need to take to protect the idea? Basically where do I start???
tonywang - Dec 2, 2005 10:51 pm (# Total: 21) Stanford University
The Mighty Quinn - Dec 3, 2005 12:49 am (# Total: 21) But this is something that I've been thinking about for some time and I would like to pursue it myself. I want to play an active role in seeing this play out the way I envision it.
tonywang - Dec 3, 2005 2:03 am (# Total: 21) Stanford University
If it's a social enterprise idea that won't make a lot of money - trust me, no one will take your idea. I know how important it is to pursue it yourself, and look, if it's your idea and you tell it to people, only you can turn it into the big idea that you have. No one else will have as much time or dedication as you will.
If it's a money making idea though, you might want to keep it to yourself and people you trust. That's how startups work - they only tell their initial investors and try to keep under the radar until they're ready.
Trilok Kumar Jain - Dec 13, 2005 4:55 am (# Total: 21) Professor and Researcher (Social Entrepreneurship)
In my opinion social work is all about passion for a social cause. The cause may be different for different persons. This cause triggers the zeal to serve in some sector. The zeal to serve the humanity comes from inner voice - a deep commitment to help people - in certain area. When I visited BPA recently, I was thrilled to see the people working with commitment towards helping the physically challenged. The spirit comes from both inner urge and an organisation culture which puts the beneficiary at the top. I share my perspective in the enclosed article - which you may like to read. Thanks - trilok
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Sailendra Dev Appanah - Mar 28, 2006 12:52 am (# Total: 21) YSEI
The Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) just completed it capacity building workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The workshop brought together young social entrepreneurs equipped with innovative ideas to solve social problems within their own communities. Seasoned social entrepreneurs - Rahul Nainwal (Mitra), Simon Healy (OrphanIT), Angela Kuga Thas(KRYSS) and Sunit Shrestha(TRN) consulted with each young social entrepreneur on developing strategic plans and theories of change for each individual project.
Walter Fust, Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation also participated in the sessions and advised young leaders on persevering with their bold and innovative projects through YSEI. He also mentioned that he would be interested in tracking the progress and impact of each project.
He urged the ten social entrepreneurs to be innovative and sustainable in the implementation of their projects and added "I am looking for the one project that can cause a global catalytic systemic change".
YSEI's mission is to empower passionate young leaders with the means to bring about social change, particularly in the areas of poverty reduction, environmental protection, gender equality and human rights.
The launch, held at the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) Secretariat in Kuala Lumpur, saw the attendance of Walter Fust (SDC Director General), GKP Executive Committee members, including Richard Fuchs, Subbiah Arunachalam, Stuart Mathison and Executive Director Rinalia Abdul Rahim.
The ten young leaders were selected after a rigorous evaluation process that took over three months. More than 90 proposals were vetted before the final selection was made. They were chosen based on their project's innovativeness and potential for lasting social change.
The YSEI finalists are from Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh. Their projects range from delivering education on life-skills to underprivileged youth, establishing a virtual marketplace for rural artisans, and providing micro credit to rural youth and women entrepreneurs to set up their micro business enterprises.
YSEI is designed to help young social entrepreneurs achieve their goals from initial idea through to realisation and impact creation. The programme provides essential knowledge, mentorship, networking and financing of up to US$15,000 per project.
dschweig - Apr 26, 2006 7:52 pm (# Total: 21) Debra Schweiger Berg
Hello. I am new to Social Edge but have spent the greater portion of the last decade uncovering and researching well over 100 solutions launched by social/civic entrepreneurs across America. (I am an independent researcher/writer on this topic.) Most social entrepreneurs have been so busy doing what they do, they haven't realized what they now know and have to offer others like them. Few people have spent the time to tap that knowledge.
So I decided to research and document what they’ve learned while making their idea work - their stories of start-up to success - and their inspirational insights for others like yourselves. These solutions tackle the issues of poverty, housing, crime, at-risk youth, and neighborhood decay. Please feel free to visit the web site, which covers civic-franchising (replication), funding, and related topics (and my personal bio). This site is located at: www.powerone.org.
In the process, I have also made a book available titled - The Power of One: The Unsung Everyday Heroes Rescuing America's Cities (388 pages) - which documents 36 founders and their 26 initiatives. Essentially, the book acts as an inspirational guidebook (an easy read) for seasoned or aspiring social/civic entrepreneurs. It took 2 years for me to write and document this book, but it was worth it. I have a real heart for this topic and I am open to helping those in this field in any way I can (email, speaking, writing).
Please feel free to get in touch if you have questions by emailing me at solutions@powerone.org. I am very interested in learning what those who are in the process of launching their idea need to know to make their dream of a social solution become successful. I also have a free e-newsletter coming out, "Heroes", which will address a host of related issues. The planned launch date is June, 2006.
Ayinwi - Jul 24, 2006 11:23 pm (# Total: 21) I stumbled into Social Edge just a few minutes ago, and after reading the discussion I had to sign up. I'm so excited about its existence because there's a huge void in the way of consistent support for young social entrepreneurs. Thus the very thought of a global network in which to exchange ideas is invaluable. So let me go ahead and begin taking advantage of it, before I wake up and realize I dreamt the whole thing up.
I am working in New York to get a young entrepreneurs program off the ground. Basically, it takes people ages 16 - 22, and after a bit of education/mentorship, has them to consult to social enterprises and non-profits currently in existence. The preliminary and ongoing educational part isn't about teaching them what to do in situations, it's about building confidence and teaching them to trust the instincts they have for problem-solving and idea creation. The object is for these youth to develop real viable recommendations and plans for the organizations to run more effectively and/or to increase capacity to serve society. Additionally, these young people (who are working in teams) are responsible for identifying a need within their own community and developing a plan, social venture, partnership, etc that addresses that issue. The work that these youth are doing within the established organizations will help them immensely in understanding what their own ventures will need to succeed. There's more to it, but that's the basic premise: taking the young people of a community and finally soliciting their ideas for actual implementation. This is just one of the ideas that I want to come out of a larger young entrepreneurs network.
I honestly believe that there are too many young entrepeneurs (social and otherwise) who simply have no clue as to what others like them are doing. And that means, there's a limit on how great an impact on society we can have. So i'm trying to build up a network for young entrpreneurs. This network works to connect young entrepreneurs with each other, and the world that they're trying to change. There are corporations looking for products and services and there's entrepreneurs trying to get hooked up with corporate and governmental contracts. So i figure bring them together, because more than likely the young folks are in hustle mode anyway, i.e. they’re doing what they do better than the competition, and for less cost, simply because that's what they have to do to get their foot in the door. So basically bringing the two worlds together - helps everybody out. Young enterprises get a great shot at proving their worth. Corporations get to support the work of young people but most importantly, it begins to change society's mindset/belief that young folks are not just apathetic social burdens but instead, we’re assets of more than just sentimental value. And that in turn creates a very positive cycle of role models for next generations.
I know this is a lot to write, but I just had to put it out there in what I believe to be a community that can help me flesh it out – replicate it wherever they are – point each other in the direction of making it happen. Because I know this can happen.
So any ideas, thoughts - please let me know. I'm in serious research mode (and have been for the past year). That school in Denmark - Kaospilots - intrigues me because that's one of the main things I'm hoping to build towards - a culture of youth who may not necessarily choose to create some new startup enterprise, but who are on a regular basis active and engaged in the development of their society. Because they know that their actions do matter. Alright, it's about 2 am and I'm starting to ramble, but those are some of the basic ideas.
