Posted on May 4, 2010 by Raj Melville
Saturday morning a ten foot water pipe, that brought water to over 2 million Boston residents, ruptured. Authorities declared a state of emergency and imposed a blanket ‘Boil Water’ order. In the space of 48 hours Boston residents instantly got a first hand lesson on how over 1 Billion people, nearly a sixth of the world’s population, live without access to clean water. Today’ as residents of Boston struggle to get a fresh glass of water, we hope their thoughts turn to the thousands who go without potable water day after day around the world and reach out and do something to help. Read the complete post at
http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Poverty, Rural Health, Sanitation, Schools, Social Ecosystem, Water, Water resources, non-profit, water and sanitation | Tagged: Sanitation, Water resources, Boston, Poverty, Water Centric | Leave a Comment »
Posted on November 5, 2009 by Raj Melville
Another successful conference on Social Entrepreneurship was held on October 23rd, this time at Babson College in Boston’s Wellesley suburb. Details on the conference and photos were posted in a local e-magazine, Lokvani.com and are reproduced for those who could not attend. For details go to
http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Conference, Education, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, sustainable development | Tagged: Babson college, Boston, Carol Cone, Conference, ecosystem, Leonard Schlesinger, microfinance, non-profit, Pamela Hawley, Philanthropy, Pitch contest, Rural Education, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation, Social Investment, sustainable development, venture philanthropy | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 22, 2009 by Raj Melville
To help jumpstart job growth in Massachusetts, a unique public/private partnership, Masschallenge.org, was launched earlier this year that hopes to attract hundreds if not thousands of interested entrepreneurs to Massachusetts by unveiling what it claims is the world’s largest business plan competition. It hopes to change the way business plans are run by providing the winning teams with $1 million in seed funding in six different categories. With these incentives from MassChallenge and the support of the Massachusetts Government, the many entries the “Social Development and Non-profit” category will attract could help create the next new growth cluster in the state. Read my comments on this at http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Investment, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Venture Capital, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainable development, venture philanthropy | Tagged: Boston, business plan competition, ecosystem, Massachusetts, MassChallenge, Masschallenge.org, non-profit, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation, Social Investment, Sustainable ventures, venture philanthropy | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 17, 2009 by Raj Melville
A new breed of ventures has begun innovating revenue models to build greater capacity and sustain operations. These approaches leverage the power of markets and have discovered the sustainable power of partnering with their customers to meet their social needs. More details at
http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Conference, Rural Development, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainable development | Tagged: Babson college, Boston, Conference, ecosystem, Equal Exchange, Food Supply, ForSE, More than Words, New England Rain Barrel, non-profit, Revision Urban Farm, Rural Development, Service, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation, Social Investment, sustainability, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 14, 2009 by Raj Melville
An Investors perspective of Microfinance – Over the past years, microfinance has grown increasingly prominent and found its way into the common vernacular. As microfinance has become increasingly mainstream, major investors have started to take positions in microfinance companies. What are the potential returns and social impacts that investors see in this segment? More details at http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Conference, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, micro-finance, microfinance, social Innovation | Tagged: Babson college, Boston, Conference, ecosystem, Investment, investors, micro-finance, microcredit, microfinance, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, social Innovation, Social Investment | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 14, 2009 by Raj Melville
ForSE 2009: Forum for Social Entrepreneurs promises to continue the tradition of interactive and engaging forums that we have produced in the past. In-depth discussion with a panel of practitioners and experts in four parallel panels. Dissect the daily workings of a social entrepreneur and help brainstorm solutions. Refine your pitch and wow a panel of judges during the Pitching session. More agenda details at http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Conference, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, micro-finance, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainable development, venture philanthropy | Tagged: Babson college, Boston, Conference, ecosystem, elevator pitch, non-profit, Pitch contest, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, social Innovation, Social Investment, sustainability, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 13, 2009 by Raj Melville
For the first time ForSE 2009: Forum for Social Entrepreneurs, will have a pitch contest for aspiring social entrepreneurs. If you have an idea with significant social impact, here is your chance to pitch it and to wow a panel of expert judges and win a prize. Send in a short summary of your idea to pitch@tie-se.org
Filed under: Conference, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainable development | Tagged: Babson college, Boston, Conference, ecosystem, elevator pitch, non-profit, Pitch contest, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, social Innovation, Social Investment, sustainability, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures | Leave a Comment »
Posted on October 13, 2009 by Raj Melville
Our annual conference on Social Entrepreneurship – ForSE 2009: Forum for Social Entrepreneurs will be held on Friday October 23. This time we are working together with Babson College’s Net Impact Undergrad organization to host it at Olin Hall on Babson College’s lovely Wellesley campus.
Filed under: Conference, Investment, Micro-enterprises, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Venture Capital, creative capitalism, micro-finance, microfinance, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainable development, venture philanthropy | Tagged: Social Entrepreneur, Social Ecosystem, social Innovation, microfinance, Conference, micro-finance, Boston, sustainable development, ecosystem, Social Business, sustainability, Social Investment, venture philanthropy, MIT, social entrepreneurship, non-profit, Sustainable ventures, Accion, universalgiving, Babson college | Leave a Comment »
Posted on June 16, 2009 by Raj Melville
For the first time TIECON EAST – TiE Boston’s annual conference on entrepreneurship and innovation – had a dedicated track on Social Enterprise. The three panels for the track were all well attended. Here are some excerpts from an article I wrote for Lokvani about the sessions.
Filed under: Agricultural Development, Conference, Food, Health, India, Information Technology, Investment, Micro-enterprises, Rural Development, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, environment, international development, micro-finance, microfinance, mobile technology, social Innovation, sustainability | Tagged: Social Entrepreneur, Social Ecosystem, Health, Conference, Rural Development, Agricultural Development, micro-finance, Boston, sustainable development, Social Business, sustainability, Social Impact, India, internet, microcredit, Information Technology, mobile technology, Sustainable ventures, Food Supply, TIECON | Leave a Comment »
Posted on April 21, 2009 by Raj Melville
Vibha Krishnamurthy is the founder of Ummeed, and Ashish Karamchandani, leader of Monitor, Monitor Inclusive Markets, visit Boston
Filed under: Health, India, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, international development, micro-finance, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainable development | Tagged: Ashoka, Boston, Health, international development, micro-finance, non-profit, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Social Investment, sustainable development, Sustainable ventures | Leave a Comment »
