Social Enterprise Follow-Up

I love the Google Docs version of PowerPoint

Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of participating in Urekaweekend (although, to be honest, I mostly lived vicariously through Dan and his project).

I spoke about a few social enterprises on the Friday night and I just wanted to put them in one place in case anyone is interested in doing more research on their own. My selection process involved thinking about programs that would be accessible and inspiring for people trying to go from idea to action in one weekend. I also wanted to make sure that there were some clear take-aways that participants could apply to their work. Here’s a run-down of who I mentioned plus related links:

Ashoka & Ashoka’s Changemakers: An obvious choice but incredibly relevant. While the Ashoka Fellows Program may be for established social entrepreneurs, I love that Changemakers competitions are accessible to entry-level entrepreneurs and anyone with an interest in innovative ways of addressing social issues.
Links: Ashoka & Changemakers

Dowser: I mentioned Dowser during the presentation since I had just read an interesting interview with Kyle Berner of Feelgoodz, a flip-flop company that takes its triple bottom line (concern about the social and environmental impact in addition to profits) very seriously.
Links: Dowser & Interview with Kyle Berner

Jezebel: Not a social enterprise by any stretch of the imagination but they recently posted about how most products that are labeled “green” aren’t really “green” but that’s what sells. Social enterprises go beyond green-washing or token CSR – the social mission is the core of their work.
Link: Jezebel post

Souktel: I love Souktel’s business model and the value their service provides to their customers. Job-seekers pay a modest SMS fee to search job ads or post their mini-CVs; employers pay higher fees to post jobs and search CVs. And the best part is that they pretty much cover their expenses through the fees. In thinking about Souktel’s model, I suggested Urekaweekend participants ask themselves, “What existing platforms can I use for my project? What low-cost resources are already at my disposal? Who is my target audience or consumer? Is there potential for the idea to be financially self-sustaining?”
Links: Souktel & their Changemakers entry

Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE): SHE uses design, local materials, and local buy-in to increase access to sanitary pads for girls and women. This is a noble enterprise in and of itself but SHE’s business model has multiple positive impacts at each stage of production and distribution. In one product, SHE recycles banana leaf fiber, creates jobs in sanitary pad production and distribution, introduces a product that will enable women to go to school or work even when they are menstruating, enhances sanitation, and reduces stigma, among other things. I asked Urekaweekenders to think about the ways their products can be more sustainable environmentally and financially and how they might take something that has negative value – for example, discarded banana leaves – and turn it into something with positive value. In other words, what are innovative ways to keep your expenses low while maximizing profit?
Link: Sustainable Health Enterprises

A to Z Textile Mills: A to Z Textile Mills is addressing the negative impact of malaria through the production and distribution of specially-treated bednets. There’s a lot of information available about them on Acumen Fund’s website but they’re a solid example of how innovation can come from enhancing existing products or systems. As I told Urekaweekenders, think about how you can build on other people’s ideas by creating something more effective, less expensive, or more targeted.
Links: A to Z Textile Mills on AcumenFund.org plus slideshow

MicroDrip: One of the most effective aspects of MicroDrip’s model is that you don’t have to buy their entire micro-drip irrigation system at once. You can buy what you can afford now, use it on a small section of your land, and see the results for yourself. For Urekaweekenders, is there a way that you can demonstrate impact and efficacy for your new product or service? And are you setting an affordable price-point for your intended consumer?
Link: MicroDrip

BEN Namibia: Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia (BEN Namibia) won a recent Changemakers competition with their program for training and equipping women to run community-based bicycle workshops. To give you a little background, they started out distributing bicycles but soon realized that people lacked training on basic repairs and maintenance. So they developed a new bike distribution model that involves delivering 350 second-hand bicycles, tools, spare parts, paint, roofing materials, and workbenches to grassroots organizations that then run a community-based bicycle shop. I asked Urekaweekenders to think about the distribution model for their ideas. How are you going to get your product to your consumer? Is there sufficient infrastructure on the ground to support it? If not, what can you do to help build the network and systems necessary for your product to thrive?
Links: BEN Bikes & Changemakers entry

Amul: I was only recently introduced to Amul so I’m not an expert in their work but they are a very successful Indian dairy company. Their three-tier cooperative structure encourages many positive social impacts, including job creation, rural development, and poverty alleviation, and their company has increased the accessibility of affordable and nutritious products. At the same, their place at the cornerstone of India’s “White Revolution” (India is now one of the top milk producers in the world) has demonstrated the importance of taking a commercial/business approach to development.
Links: Amul & Amul on Wikipedia (don’t judge!)

EcoMovement: EcoMovement is a New Hampshire-based company that picks up food waste at a lower cost than trash pick-up, turns the waste into compost, and then sells it to local landscapers. This is another excellent example of taking something with negative value and turning it into multiple things with positive value: compost you can sell, less waste at restaurants, and lower costs for businesses that use the service. Some additional things I asked the Urekaweekenders to think about: if the idea you’re working on has an element of behavior change, for example, encouraging people to recycle, what are ways that you can make recycling easier, cheaper, more convenient, and even more fun than just using the trash can? What are the typical barriers to addressing recycling behavior and how might you need to shift cultural norms in favor of the use of your product or service?
Links: NPR story & SeacoastOnline story

Twitter: While not a social enterprise, twitter is a valuable aggregator and a great way to learn more about the fields that interest you from a variety of perspectives. Do your research, read up on the competition, and stay up-to-date on the latest trends and developments. Once you have a lay of the land, think about what you do best. Where is your competitive advantage? And how is what you’re developing making the most of your unique experiences and abilities? As I say ad nauseam, “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel!” If someone does it better than you, outsource or use their platform.
Links: Twitter (with social enterprise hashtag)

Good luck and happy social enterprising!

My Social Enterprise

Lightbulbs

Without really trying, I came up with an idea for a social enterprise while preparing a presentation for Urekaweekend.

Before I get to my idea, I want to give a quick plug for Urekaweekend, an idea incubation event in KL that pushes you from idea to action on an accelerated schedule. Since this month’s theme was “social enterprises”, I focused on a few interesting organizations that I learned about through Changemakers, Acumen Fund, and general research (I’ll include a list and links in my next post). Thinking about one of the companies I profiled led me to consider the sorry state of recycling in Malaysia and how a social enterprise might go about addressing it.

My idea starts with creating an app/website/mobile website. Yes, this doesn’t sound particularly innovative and it’s pretty much everyone’s answer for everything these days BUT I have a few reasons for choosing this format.

First off, there seems to be a high rate of smart phone ownership here and a very poor to non-existent recycling culture. On a personal note, the number one barrier I have to recycling in KL is a lack of information about where I can take my recycling or if there are any services I can call. As I potential recycler, I know that I would appreciate a simple site that lists/geotags locations/restaurants/businesses where I could go. To hearken back to my days doing harm reduction health outreach, one of the first steps to behavior change is exposure to accurate information. Making recycling information accessible and actionable would be one goal of the site/app, something made that much easier by the prevalence of smart phones and the likelihood that this information would be very relevant while people are out and about.

Next up, recyclers can easily broadcast when they recycle or identify/geotag a new recycling site to their friends via facebook/twitter/etc. The goal of this, in addition to sharing information, is to start creating a culture of recycling by shifting peer norms and expectations. (Another idea I owe to health outreach.) People might start thinking to themselves, “Maybe it’s more ‘normal’ to drop my recycling off on Saturday on the way to the gym instead of just dumping it in the trash.” “My friends are doing it – I want to get on this bandwagon.” Or, maybe, someone just wants to brag about how environmentally friendly they are just like people brag about all the cool places they visit using foursquare or how many miles they’ve run with Nike Running. That’s fine, too!

After some research and a weekend of geotagging with a group of friends to start populating information, the site can beta-launch. Some next steps could include:
- Personal email/social media campaigns
- Reaching out to local press
- Working with businesses that recycle to make sure they are geotagged and that they start to think about recycling as a new marketing angle
- Encouraging new businesses to start recycling as good PR/CSR
- Getting a chain store to participate for a trial period (for example, Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf are all over the place and it could provide great publicity for them while bringing their target consumers right to their front door)
- Selling advertising space to companies that are promoting niche products like organic juice/eco-tourism trips/etc who are interested in targeting people who probably have smart phones, definitely have Internet, care about recycling, and have the time and resources to make special recycling trips or arrangements (i.e. socially conscious folks with disposable income)
- Once the demand for recycling services is established, perhaps the government or more likely private business will step in and provide more organized, more convenient services at a compelling price

The initial site infrastructure could probably be developed in a weekend since it builds on existing platforms (including Google maps and foursquare), connects to other platforms (such as facebook and twitter), and will be simple, simple, simple. Expenses are low, beta-implementation is pretty straight-forward, and it’s really a behavior change marketing campaign after the site launches. I’m hoping to get this rolling ASAP and that one of my AWESOME developer friends will be game (once he wakes up in New York and reads his email). If not, I can always tap into the talented pool of Urekaweekenders. Wish me luck!

Singapore!

Come to my presentation!

It feels like all I’ve been doing is working but fortunately next week work and travel are coming together at the National University of Singapore’s Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy (CESP) where I’ll be giving a talk about social enterprise models, social medial, email marketing, and funding opportunities with Changemakers. If you’re in Singapore next week and would like to attend, go to the CESP calendar and click on October 19 for details.

While in town, we’ll also be attending a microfinance event hosted by CESP and a presentation by an Ashoka Fellow from Indonesia. And let’s not forget exploring the city and hopefully taking any friends of friends we can scrounge up out for drinks.

Our Peace Corps Story

This blog post will be longer than most (and with fewer pictures) but I promise there will be plenty of juicy details.

So, like many people in their early to mid-twenties, my now-husband and I decided that we were ready for an adventure and actually had a few skills/experiences that might be of value to someone. So we applied for the Peace Corps in June 2008, had our interview in September, and were nominated to go to Jordan by October or so. We received our medical forms in the mail, went to our appointments, and sent everything back.

We were expecting a wait since our placement wasn’t until October 2009 and you have to be married for at least six months before getting sent anywhere. But then the letters started coming. I, like just about every woman at some point in her life, had had an abnormal pap smear. I hadn’t been concerned since my doctor, my friends, and the Internet had all made it quite clear that this was very common, wasn’t a big deal, and just required occasional monitoring. Unfortunately, this was a show-stopper with Peace Corps and it became clear that their de facto policy was that you couldn’t receive medical clearance until you had a normal pap smear. I wish I could have taken pictures of the expressions on all of my medical providers’ faces when I told them that. The general response was something along the lines of “Based on what medical reason exactly??!!” My doctor even wrote two very strongly worded letters pleading my case and arguing with the validity of their policy.

This was frustrating but I was being a good sport. My husband and I extended our time in South Africa by a month, got our Teaching English as a Foreign Language certifications when we returned to the States, and ended up moving back to the east coast for seven months to work on short-term projects. (Ashoka’s Changemakers for me, the US Census and the New York Philharmonic for Dan.)

But at a certain point in March 2010, I snapped. I had been in active contact with the medical office and kept hearing the same story. Finally, I decided to reach out to our recruiter to see if she had any suggestions or a new perspective. After over a week of no response, I started getting really worked up. I was sick of being stonewalled and was ready to get a little reckless. My friend suggested I just send an email to the Director of the Peace Corps since he was a former volunteer and might be sympathetic to our situation. So I did that. And I found the email addresses for recruiters in the many cities in which I’ve been based. And I emailed them. And I emailed the Office of the Inspector General, the Office of Medical Services, and the Office of Equal Employment Opportunity to initiate an investigation into whether or not this aspect of Peace Corps’ screening process was discriminatory against women. And then I emailed my senators in all the states I paid taxes in last year. I even mulled going to the press but thought it best to wait until we had exhausted our other channels. What can I say? We were still optimistic (or at least curious) after all of the nonsense.

In the meantime, I did more research and found discrepancies in what Peace Corps claimed their policies were versus the pdf of their screening procedures that I found online. I took a lot of pleasure in pointing these out to someone in the Office of Medical Services one morning after a poor night’s sleep. Let’s just say, I was definitely not having it.

Also, I wouldn’t shut up about it. I was telling everyone I met about Peace Corps’ ridiculous policy. And then one night, I met someone with a direct connection to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s office. Let me say quickly that I heard back from Senator Schumer’s office, Senator Feinstein’s office, and Senator Boxer’s office but Senator Gillibrand’s office was on the ball. I have no doubt that her office’s involvement contributed to a very satisfying conclusion by the end of April.

Before I get to the conclusion, I should tell you that the night of my first email blast, I felt sick to my stomach. I wondered if I was actually so crazy and so stubborn as to email several dozen strangers about my medical situation and expect anything good to come of it. But I really am that crazy and that stubborn so I just went for it and interacted with a number of very thoughtful people along the way. Many couldn’t do much but offer me moral support but compared to the non-attention I’d received before, this felt pretty great.

On April 17, 2010, the Office of the Director of the Peace Corps got back to me. They had changed their stupid policy. Now women with certain abnormal results can serve provided they get a note from their doctor. In addition to being ecstatic, partly for the benefit to myself and to other women and partly for winning after a protracted battle, I couldn’t help but feel that democracy might actually work provided you’re annoying enough to get shit done but not so annoying that people think you’re crazy.

~

Ironically, after all that hard work, my husband and I have decided that Peace Corps service is not in our future. We’ve got other exciting things going on – working and volunteering in Malaysia, a Kiva Fellowship in January, and plenty of other potential plans ranging from intensive Spanish and surfing lessons in Costa Rica, hanging out with my brother on a wine farm in Slovenia, boat-building apprenticeships in Greece, and maybe even getting traditional jobs at some point (or maybe not). But, like many things that have happened this past year, Peace Corps has given us a whole helluva lot to talk about so thanks for that, Peace Corps! I also hope that my efforts have opened up service to more women, who, quite frankly, are the key to connecting with families in the developing world. Why Peace Corps doesn’t make every possible accommodation of female volunteers is a mystery to me. Fortunately, I don’t have to worry about it any more.

To end things, two pics from our “home” in Malaysia. New definition of “home” – anywhere you can actually unpack your bags.

Day

Evening

Speaking Gig

If you're in KL, come to my speech about social enterprise, social media, and funding opportunities with Ashoka.

Just wanted to share a post on entrepreneurs.my about my speaking gig this weekend. Interestingly, I had already included a slide about them in my presentation since they seemed like a great hub for entrepreneurs in Malaysia and I liked their site. Small world!

Last Changemakers Blog Post

Mingling at the Revelation to Action final event

Well, the Revelation to Action competition is officially over and today marks my last CoffeeTalk post for the Changemakers blog (a recap of Wednesday’s celebration event).

I had a lot of fun live-tweeting the event for Changemakers while meeting the finalists and hanging out with coworkers but I’m still exhausted and probably won’t get back on track for another day or two. (Dan and I leave for Florida at 4:30am tomorrow. Ouch.) At least there should be plenty of opportunities for napping, reading, and relaxing once we get there since we’ll be on retirement time. Hopefully it doesn’t drive me crazy.

No Strings Attached

Listen to this BBC documentary about cash grants in Namibia

Yesterday, I went on a mini-run which was the perfect amount of time to listen to a BBC documentary about a pilot program in Namibia that’s making no-strings-attached monthly cash grants to residents of Otjivero, a squatters camp. According to the documentary, “School enrollment has shot up, small businesses are springing up, and the nurse at the local clinic says malnutrition rates amongst the children have dropped.” While the BBC was very positive about the program, I’m becoming more aware of how often reporting about the poor can be condescending. For example, is it really so crazy that the first things a struggling family would spend money on include food, health, and education? Incidents of the grants being spent on things like satellite TVs seemed to be an exception to the norm and were met with criticism from the other grantees.

This next part occurred to me in a dream last night but the pilot scheme reminded me of one of our discussions about rent-controlled housing in my microeconomics course. The argument goes that keeping the rent for apartments lower than the market rate discourages the landlord from maintaining her building and can eventually lead to a housing shortage as the units become so run-down as to be uninhabitable. Housing vouchers, on the other hand, would allow the landlord to charge market rate for the unit and the difference between rent-controlled and the market price would be subsidized. The tenant pays the same price but the landlord is happy and the building is in better shape.

To me, the program in Namibia seems like a cost-effective, low-bureaucracy way to provide vouchers for nutrition, health, education, housing, and small-businesses. The grant may be no-strings-attached but the impact of the extra money in circulation benefits the health center, other businesses whose goods and services are now in demand, and the citizens in general. Instead of an organization or the government trying to step in and over-regulate or micro-manage, the community members are trusted to make their own financial decisions and the quality of the services provided to them isn’t sacrificed.

Fun Times

Ever wondered how to enter a competition at Changemakers.com? All you have to do is watch this video I made for their site. Pretty fun morning. Hearkens back to my days recording voice-overs for BAM Rose Cinemas and writing copy and producing videos for BAM. Looking forward to actually editing videos for Kiva next year and maybe starting one or two personal project during my summer vacation.

How to Submit an Entry to a Changemakers Competition

Busy Week

While it’s been a very busy week and next week is looking even more crazed, I thought I’d take two minutes and share my latest post for the Changemakers blog.

On a different work-related note, I played around with Jing this morning and it was super fun and easy. Jing is a free application that records your computer screen and commentary, and I used it to create a quick “how-to” presentation. Now I just have to think up some non work-related activities to use it for. Sadly, the only things that come to mind are more interactive “how-to” manuals. I suppose I could create a social media guide for a future presentation but that sounds a lot like work.

Time for a random picture:

Worker on the roof of O'Hare International Airport

Revelation to Action Final Event

Come to our networking and celebration event!

It’s hard to believe that the Revelation to Action competition is on the verge of completion. Six months of research, outreach, troubleshooting, brainstorming, and community-building are coming to a close but I truly hope the participants received more attention, support, and resources than they would have received in a typical grant application process. I also hope that next week’s networking and celebration event in Boston (more on that in a minute) helps lay the groundwork for future partnerships.

So, if you’re in Boston next Wednesday, July 14, you should join me, Ashoka’s Changemakers, Green Mountain Coffee, and the Revelation to Action finalists, entrants, expert commentators, partners, panelists, and community members for an afternoon of panels, networking, and celebration. Complete details can be found here but if you have any specific questions, just leave a comment and I’ll respond.

All you have to do is RSVP by July 13, 2010 to RSVP@RevelationToAction.com. Hope to see you there!