Category Archives: social Innovation

Innovative models for Social Change

Posted on July 11, 2008 | 2 comments

Last year I had written a piece for a conference blog with the title “Innovative models for Social Change“. I think the theme and topic is still relevant and I have reproduced it below.

Next week, I will be moderating a panel that will be addressing this theme at the 50th Anniversary celebrations for my alma mater, the Indian Institute of Technology – Bombay (IITB for short) in New York. The panel is titled “The New Philanthropy – New models for Social Impact“. I am fortunate to have several of the innovative organizations that I mention in the post to be a part of my panel. The panel consists of:

It promises to be an engaging discussion and one, I hope, that will answer some of the questions raised in my post from last year. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conference, non-profit, Philanthropy, Social Ecosystem, social Innovation

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Prof. Muhammad Yunus, Social Business and the Future of Capitalism

Posted on July 11, 2008 | 2 comments

Earlier this year, Nobel laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus was the invited guest speaker at MIT’s 142nd commencement. In his prepared remarks to the students he outlined how he started microcredit thirty plus years ago from a simple desire to free villagers near his university in Chittagong from the penalizing interest that they paid to moneylenders.

Today his organization, Grameen Bank, has grown to cover 7.5 million borrowers in Bangladesh, 97 percent of them women. From this beginning he has expanded to provide services and products in a number of areas ranging from health insurance, to affordable cell phone service with Grameen Phone to renewable energy solutions through Grameen Shakti.

Drawing from his successes with these businesses, Prof. Yunus has refined an overarching social business philosophy that he recently published in his latest book “Creating a World Without Poverty – Social Business and the Future of Capitalism“. Continue reading →

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Posted in micro-finance, non-profit, Social Business, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, sustainable development

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Ashoka Support Network

Posted on July 10, 2008 | Leave a comment

Writing a blog about Social Entrepreneurship would be incomplete without writing about Ashoka – a Washington based non profit started by Bill Drayton in 1980 that virtually coined the term “Social Entrepreneur”.

Ashoka has built a worldwide network that has identified and supported over 1900 social entrepreneurs in 60 plus countries. They follow a rigorous nomination and review process to identify leading social entrepreneurs around the world.  Ashoka looks for candidates with innovative new ideas, reviews their professional and ethical backgrounds, conducts in-depth interviews and determines the potential national impact of the innovator’s ideas. It is a great network of leaders in various social fields from all parts of the world. Continue reading →

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Posted in Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation

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Designing for the bottom of the pyramid

Posted on July 6, 2008 | Leave a comment

A few months ago I wrote an article on the new focus on the “Bottom of the Pyramid”. The BOP as it is known is loosely defined as the 2 to 2.5 Billion people around the world who manage on less than $2 per day. The affluent tip of the pyramid in contrast consists of less than 100 million people who make over $20,000 a year.

Recently, there has been an increasing focus by organizations to address this segment with products and services tailored to their needs. The trend was popularized in C.K. Prahalad‘s book “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid“.  I tried to extract some of the core approaches used to address this market. Here is the short version. You can see my entire article on Lokvani by clicking here.

  • Reengineering Organizational Processes:  Reduce process costs by reexamining every step. By focusing on improved delivery models, new systems are able to provide services to thousands who would otherwise not be able to afford it.
  • Building Affordable Financing Models: Match small scale loan payments to meet customer needs and cash flows. Leverage local support systems and peer pressure to encourage timely repayment.
  • Leveraging Rural Networks: Tap into existing informal networks and make them work to support the product or service.
  • Designing Local Solutions: Tailor indigenous materials and processes to provide similar functionality. Use local talent to iterate design solutions.

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Posted in BOP, micro-finance, Rural Development, Social Ecosystem, social Innovation

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Forum for Social Entrepreneurs: ForSE 2008

Posted on July 5, 2008 | Leave a comment

In 2007, I helped found an annual conference on Social Entrepreneurship in partnership with Boston University called the Forum for Social Entrepreneurship or ForSE for short.

We founded the Forum for Social Entrepreneurs (ForSE):

  • To bring together social innovators with leading business professionals, investors, donors, government officials, academics, and students
  • To facilitate the sharing of new technology and business ideas along with hard-earned management learnings
  • To foster informed discussion and action on new social venture concepts.

We feel no place is better suited to host such a conference than Boston. Boston is a center for a new breed of social entrepreneur. It is home to nearly a fifth of the Fast Company Social Capitalist awardees as well as dozens of pioneering social enterprise investors. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conference, Health, Micro-enterprises, micro-finance, Social Ecosystem, Social Entrepreneur, social Innovation, sustainable development

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