On CK Prahalad and his impact on social entrepreneurship

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Raj Melville

I, like many others, was saddened to hear of the untimely passing away of Prof. C. K. Prahalad. His career spanned over three decades during which time he introduced several innovative business ideas that quickly became mainstream. Perhaps his most widely influential work was his last book on “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” where he outlined his take on how corporations could profitably service the very large market that consists of the bottommost economic strata. You can read more at
http://blog.ambientengines.com

Filed under: BOP, India, Poverty, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, creative capitalism, social Innovation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Assured Labor – creating a mobile marketplace for jobs in emerging markets

Posted on April 10, 2010 by Raj Melville

In the fall of 2007, a group of young potential entrepreneurs struggled with a problem facing over half the developing world. As developing economies grew and provided new jobs, the infrastructure to communicate and broadcast the potential opportunities for employment was unable to keep up. The influx of migrant workers into urbanized centers provided a rich pool of available talent but the mechanisms for disseminating job needs were still rooted in the 19th century. The team seized on this opportunity to leverage the almost ubiquitous presence of cell phones in the developing world to provide a communications and matchmaking platform for employment. By providing an easy to use mobile platform connecting jobseekers with job opportunities, Assured Labor is providing a frictionless job placement approach that benefits employers and employees alike. Assured Labor is a prime example of the new wave of social entrepreneur bringing a for-profit business model to address some of the challenges facing the poor in developing countries. Read the complete post at
http://blog.ambientengines.com

Filed under: Information Technology, Latin America, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, mobile technology, social Innovation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Launching the Go-To networking event for Social Entrepreneurs in Boston

Posted on March 23, 2010 by Raj Melville

Over 30 people from diverse backgrounds, but with a common interest in supporting organizations making significant social impact, gathered at Tantric India Bistro in Boston for the first of what will be a regular meeting on the First Monday of the Month. From the interest expressed since the launch, it is quickly becoming the “Go To” networking venue for folks interested in meeting others with a similar interest in innovative social impact. Read more about the next event on April 5 at http://blog.ambientengines.com

Filed under: India, Poverty, Social Ecosystem | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Help select a winning teen social entrepreneur

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Raj Melville

Ashoka Youth Venture and Best Buy Children’s Foundation have teamed up to create the @15 Community Impact Challenge. Read about each of the winners on the Youth Ventures blog. Help select one of the winning teams and it costs you nothing, just register and vote. Read more at
http://blog.ambientengines.com

Filed under: Education, Schools, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Akanksha – engaging children in education

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Raj Melville

Twenty years ago, the first Akanksha center opened for children from the slum communities of Mumbai, an innovative after school program designed to provide them with fun, engaging learning opportunities. When we decided to visit India around December, we made sure that we had set aside some time to visit Akanksha at one of their facilities. Read about this wonderful NGO and our visit to one of their schools. More at http://blog.ambientengines.com

Filed under: Education, India, Poverty, Schools, Social Ecosystem, non-profit | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Some reflections on Martin Luther King and non-profit leadership

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Raj Melville

After spending some time on the production line at the Greater Boston Food Bank, and given the past weekend celebrating Martin Luther King, one reflects on what Martin Luther King might have done in light of what we had seen and experienced, at the Greater Boston Food Bank as well as the larger set of social issues that we are exposed to in our daily lives.

Filed under: Leadership, Philanthropy, Politics, Poverty, Service, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, non-profit, social Innovation | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Another successful year for ForSE 2009

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

World’s largest Business plan competition looks to help social entrepreneurs

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Social Media for Social Entrepreneurs

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Raj Melville

With Twitter and Facebook revolutionizing the business of marketing, can social activists lag behind? How does one turn followers into funders? Motivate movements with your messages? And leverage social networks to create social change? The experts on this panel have shown others how to maximize their impact with the latest online tools and techniques and they will help you figure out the right approach to integrating social media within your strategies. Find out more about the panel at
http://blog.ambientengines.com

Filed under: Conference, Information Technology, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, non-profit | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Sustainable Business Models for Social Ventures

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: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Next Page »