Posted on March 25, 2010 by Raj Melville
Last week I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion at Continuum, the design consultancy, on “Building Leadership in the Microfinace Sector”. The presentation and discussion centered around some very preliminary findings based on an initial field trip and set the stage for more detailed field research to be conducted later this year. I have outlined some of their observations at the meeting and my reaction to what I heard. Read the details at http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, bottom of the pyramid, micro-finance, microfinance, social Innovation | Tagged: BOP, Center for Creative Leadership, Continuum, Grameen Foundation, Human resources, micro-finance, microfinance, mid-level managers, Shorecap Exchange, Social Business, social Innovation, Social Investment, Sustainable ventures, talent, yunus | 2 Comments »
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 16, 2009 by Raj Melville
As a number of young entrepreneurs launch their social enterprises, one of the areas they all struggle with is attracting socially conscious investors. A challenge for all is how to evaluate a social focused business on metrics other than strict return on investment. More details at http://blog.ambientengines.com
Filed under: Conference, Investment, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, creative capitalism, non-profit, social Innovation, sustainable development, venture philanthropy | Tagged: Babson college, Conference, ForSE, New Profit, Philanthropy, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social entrepreneurship, Social Impact, social Innovation, social Innovation forum, Social Investment, Sustainable ventures, venture philanthropy | 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 August 20, 2009 by Raj Melville
The latest Time Magazine has a great article about social entrepreneur Reed Paget and his startup Belu that has grown from $13,000 in 2004 to nearly $4 million in 2008 while providing water in corn based bottles that can be composted and redeploying its profits to projects that bring clean water to deserving regions of [...]
Filed under: Investment, Recycle, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, Water, environment, social Innovation | Tagged: Belu, Greenpeace, Reed Paget, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, Social Investment, Sustainable ventures, venture philanthropy, yunus | 2 Comments »
