Young Entrepreneurs of Canada: Inaugural Youth Social Entrepreneurship Conference re:Vision
On March 27-28, 2010, YSEC is bringing together the top 100 young changemakers in Ontario to re:Vision change. Do you fit the follow criteria?

Theory of Change: A Collaborative Tool?
"The Theory of Change is a methodology, designed to create the kind of change social entrepreneurs are interested in." Says Charles "Hipbone" Cameron on SocialEdge. Keep reading to find out more on his perspective of change and join in the conversation.

Cape Town B-School Embraces Social Entrepreneurship
South Africa's oldest and most prestigious business school helps underprivileged students get ahead and teaches entrepreneurship for a continent in transition

Mobilizing Efforts and Resources: Ashoka Fellows Respond to Reconstruct Chile
On the 27th of February Chile was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the fifth most powerful earthquake in history. Moments after the earthquake, Ashoka’s staff in the Southern Cone were in contact with the 34 Ashoka Fellows residing in Chile to offer them psychological support and appraise their needs.

Singapore Launches New Youth Social Entrepreneur Program
Singapore International Foundation has been around since 1991 carving out greater community understanding on the western seaboard, but this year marks the first time they’ve instituted a camp for young, aspiring social entrepreneurs. In partnership with Volans Asia, they’ve launched a three-day camp at the YWCA Fort Canning Lodge in Singapore to cultivate the basics of running a social enterprise.

Your Role in Selecting the Next Generation Of Social Innovators
The Unreasonable Institute is one great big experiment. It stems from a group of recent graduates in Boulder, CO, who thought that with all this buzz about social innovation, there oughta be a place where people like them could get a jump start on creating the next generation of world-changing businesses and nonprofits. A couple years later, they are about to close down the first phase of that journey and begin the next.

Stillerstrong Brings More Than Just Comic Relief to Haiti
On the subject of charities, comedian Ben Stiller has come a long way from his days of “Derek Zoolander Center For Children Who Can’t Read Good and Wanna Learn To Do Other Stuff Good Too” to arrive at something quite possibly even funnier: STILLERSTRONG. His organization to ameliorate poverty in Haiti proudly boasts the slogan: “stealing great ideas from other people’s charities to build a school in Haiti” and despite the tongue and cheek, his business plan is viable and he has already achieved considerable success.

No, Not All Poor People Are Entrepreneurs
There is a troubling trend among social enterprises to romanticize the poor as entrepreneurs. Call it the entrepreneur myth. While it's an attractive one, this kind of doublespeak not only masks the reality of the social constraints and challenges the poor face -- it also hampers our ability to innovate high-impact poverty interventions.

This Week in Social Entrepreneurship is a column developed in partnership with SocialEarth and is prepared by Tristan Pollock.

Mexican social entrepreneurs Carlos Cruz was admittedly suspicious of big business when a group from Danone SA sought his help training low-income women to sell yogurt on the street.

For six months, their teams met in neutral locations, hashing out how Cruz might adapt a life- and job-skills program he’d designed for his citizen sector group Cauce Ciudadano to make the vendors more productive.

Three years later, more than 200 Cauce-trained saleswomen are now expected to sell 50,000 kilograms of Danone yogurt and 75,000 liters of water, more than triple 2009’s sales. According the food-products giant, that growth was possible because Cauce came to recognize the power of profits and Danone learned the value of investing in its saleswomen’s lives.

For that kind of business-social partnership to be successful, “you always have to put yourself in the other side’s shoes,” Cruz told a workshop in Mexico City this week. As a result, he added, “today we have a business that has ethics and that’s doing business, too.”

Scores of social entrepreneurs joined representatives from 25 companies – including Microsoft, Banamex and bread-maker Bimbo – to hear the Danone-Cauce story and to explore their own potential alliances at this week’s forum, which was organized by Ashoka and the Mexican business foundation Fundemex.

Since 1981, Ashoka has pioneered the concept of “social entrepreneurship,” supporting a global network of more than 2,000 social innovators. Now, it’s promoting so-called “hybrid value chain” alliances between corporations and civil society groups, tapping each sector’s separate strengths to sustainably serve the poor.

“Businesses know how to do things that we as social entrepreneurs, frankly, have no idea about; just as social entrepreneurs know how to do things that businesses can’t even imagine,” Ashoka vice president Valeria Budinich told the workshop. “That’s where the opportunity for complementary roles is born.”

A model hybrid value chain – or “HVC” – forms a kind of win-win triangle, empowering businesses to create new markets and improve their image, citizen sector groups to earn stable incomes and up their social impact, and low-income families to benefit from new products and services.

A case in point: Mexican microfinance group AMUCSS works with global insurance giant Zurich Financial Services to sell micro- life insurance to the rural poor. The alliance gives Zurich access to AMUCSS’s distribution network and local market knowledge; AMUCSS gets Zurich to assume the financial risk, underwriting the initiative’s growth; and low-income policyholders help their families withstand the economic shocks associated with losing a primary wage-earner.

More than 27,000 low-income Mexicans have bought life insurance through the program, paying annual premiums of US$2 to US$50 – and Zurich sees a domestic market of as many as 70 million more people.

“Zurich doesn’t have the infrastructure, not in Mexico and not in the world, to be able to serve these communities,” Eduardo Becerril, director of mass markets at Zurich Mexico, told the gathering. “This alliance is a strategic arm for us. Without it, we absolutely wouldn’t be in this market. We couldn’t be.”

Still, business-social partnerships often develop slowly, and potential partners have trouble matching up. In breakout sessions and a one-hour round of speed-date-like meetings this week, both groups cited that lack of initial contact as a primary concern.

“We’re ready, and I see that companies are really ready to do this, too,” said Estela Villareal, founder of Unidos, a Mexico City-based group for disabled children. “What’s missing is that link to say, ‘You need this, I need that; let’s couple up,’ – like an internet page where people look for a husband.”

Hoping to play matchmaker, Ashoka is planning five additional workshops and a social investors’ roundtable in Mexico this year. Those sessions will focus on developing HVC models for housing, health, ecotourism and agriculture, training partners to bridge gaps in their disparate in organizational cultures.

Martin Lopez, who runs Mexico’s anti-poverty business group Movimiento BDP, was familiar with the strategy, but sat sketching the HVC triangle in his notebook nonetheless. “We have a clear idea what to do, but it takes time and tools to even out the different degrees of knowledge” that business and citizen sector groups bring to the table, he said.

Contributed by Theresa Bradley, a freelance writer and volunteer with Ashoka Mexico.

Ashoka Fellow Roshaneh Zafar and Kashf Foundation's work will be featured on Amanpour on CNN International today! (Thursday, March 18th, 2010). Kashf's mission is to alleviate poverty by providing quality and cost effective microfinance services to low income households, especially women, in order to enhance their economic role and decision-making capacity.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s Chief International Correspondent, will interview Roshaneh Zafar on stories from Pakistan rarely seen in the media - of committed entrepreneurs, business leaders and professionals that are working to create lasting, positive change. 

The broadcast will air on CNN International at:

March 18: 1600 Eastern Time; 2100 Central Europe; 0300 Hong Kong
March 19: 0900 Eastern Time; 1300 Central Europe; 2000 Hong Kong

In Pakistan: Thursday, March 18th at midnight

Podcasts and an online recording will also be available at http://www.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/amanpour/

This story was written by Andrea Boston and originally posted on Changemakers.com.

Amanda Phillips was 14 weeks pregnant with her second child when she suffered a miscarriage while living and working in a small village in India. On a rainy night, Phillips had to be carried on a stretcher to the nearest health clinic, located three hours away, only to find that the doctor was asleep, the medical instruments were not sterilized, and no one took her vital signs.

Thankfully, her husband—who is a medic—was on hand to provide assistance and save her life, but the ordeal struck a nerve with the now certified midwife. She experienced first-hand just how difficult pregnancy can be for so many women in poor, isolated communities, and so she started the Dayako Sagar Maternal Health Program with her husband to guarantee a woman's access to a healthy birth.

In many remote Indian villages, the local infrastructure makes rapid healthcare difficult. Most women lack education and support, are dependent on men for important decisions, and are afraid to give birth at local hospitals due to the horrible conditions. Mothers are subjected to soiled beds, beatings from nurses during labor, sewage-infested bathrooms, and are sent home without post-natal education. Even worse, mothers who decide to avoid these conditions and give birth at home often die due to unsanitary tools or improper training and care.

As co-founder of Empowering Communities to Transcend Adversity (ECTA), Amanda Phillips designed the Dayako Sagar Maternal Health Program as a comprehensive initiative that gives all mothers proper pre- and post-natal care. The ECTA trains a group of Village Health Workers (VHW), who make monthly home visits to expecting mothers, offering regular checkups and information on nutrition, hygiene, and potential warning signs during pregnancy.

In the eighth month, each mother receives a home birthing kit that includes a receiving blanket, clothes for the newborn, sterile cord clamps and a sterile razor, soap, medication to stop possible hemorrhages, and an instruction sheet—both illustrated and written in Nepali—to guide mothers through the process. This hygienic birthing kit is available for women who choose to deliver at home, do not require the assistance of a VHW, or cannot make it to a health facility in time.

VHW's are trained to properly manage the birthing process with hygienic materials and a compassionate approach. They are available to assist women during emergencies, and also offer after birth visits to monitor the health of mother and baby, and to identify any possible infections.

Thanks to the work of the Dayako Sagar Maternal Health Program, a community-run initiative has been established around the needs of women and children. There are currently 20 trained Village Health Workers who have been given valuable health and business training to maintain their own micro-enterprises for assisted births.

Women in the community are being empowered to make their own decisions about their health, and the village has witnessed a decrease in maternal and infant mortalities thanks to follow-up care and sanitation. VHW's and ECTA staff have successfully assisted hundreds of pregnancies, and even more have been assisted through the at-home birthing kits. The Dayako Sagar Maternal Health Program is thriving in just one village in India, and hopes to spread its message and progress to other communities in need.

Amanda Phillips' maternal health initiative is one of many fascinating projects submitted in the Healthy Mothers, Strong World Young Champions competition. Read and comment on other projects submitted to this competition at www.changemakers.com/maternalhealth.

What cause to you care about? Is it the Environment? Education? Global Poverty? Young people just like you are making a difference on these issues and you can help them create the change you want to see! The @15 Community Impact Challenge, a partnership between Ashoka's Youth Venture and the Best Buy Children's Foundation, has opened for voting.

Visit www.at15.com, watch videos from the competing teams and vote for your favorite teams to win up to $5,000 to make their dream a reality. You must first create a member profile to vote and help spread the word about these great teams!

Voting is open to any US resident age 13 or older between now and April 2. Winners will be announced on April 9.

Go here to get started.

Tia Johnston Brown, Director for Ashoka's Youth Venture initiative, on ‘creating an “everyone a changemaker” world’:

South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) is currently happening in Austin, overwhelming the Twitter accounts of many of us left behind with the #sxsw hashtag. SXSWi is a huge collection of panels, workshops and venders promoting the latest in social technologies.

For many people though the most important thing is the networking and much of this happens at the after-hours parties. This year many of the leading organizations in the social enterprise and social entrepreneurship space have got together to organize the "Good Capitalist" party, which is shaping up to be one of the biggest events this year.

From the event description:

"Can you really do good for the world and make a profit at the same time? Come meet the entrepreneurs who have proven you can!

"Learn about the whole spectrum of social entrepreneurship from leaders in the field: from for-profit to non-profit to hybrid models, and the training, fellowships, contests and investors you need to help you get your social venture launched.

"Not ready to take the plunge? Learn how you can contribute your skills and expertise to social enterprises that do good.

"Free drinks (21 and over) and (happy hour priced) food  with raffles for prizes throughout out the event.

"Who: Social Entrepreneurs, Slackvists, #SocEnt Tweeters, Social Investors & VCs, Artists, Design Thinkers, Techies, and Linchpins who want to do good and make a profit!"

If you are in Austin this is a must-attend. No SXSW badge required.

The Good Capitalist Party has been organized by Martin Montero and is supported by Ashoka's Changemakers, Acumen Fund, Social Edge, Social Capital Markets and others.

Registration is here.

Good Capitalist Party at SXSWi reaches 1500 registrations
Ashoka’s Changemakers, along with Acumen Fund and the Social Capital Markets Conference is a sponsor of what looks to be one of the biggest parties at this year’s South by Southwest Interactive Conference. If you’re in Austin don’t miss it!

Ashoka Fellows Respond to Reconstruct Chile
On the 27th of February Chile was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the fifth most powerful earthquake in history. Since then numerous Ashoka Fellows have mobilized to help with the reconstruction effort.

5 Lessons From the Tech Response to Haiti
Nearly two months ago today, Haiti was devastated by a 7.0 earthquake, and the tech community went into overdrive to try and make the relief effort smarter and more responsive. Looking back, what are the most important lessons we can begin to draw, and how should we think about how our systems can evolve to meet future disasters?

Technology and Social Innovation chat on Social Edge
Ashoka’s Rosa Wang is sharing her insights from the recent Tech4Society conference on Social Edge.

The New Dork – Entrepreneur State of Mind
A great parody video of Alicia Key’s and Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind, all in the name of promoting entrepreneurship.

Have an Awesome Idea? Win a $1,000 Grant
The Awesome Foundation for Arts and Sciences awards a monthly $1,000 grant to projects “that support the interest of creating Awesome in the universe.” It’s a community organization, funded completely privately by micro-trustees around the country; payment comes in the form of cash, check, or gold doubloons

What I’ve Learned from the Unreasonable Institute
If you haven’t heard of the Unreasonable Institute, you will. The Unreasonable Institute attracts, incubates, and finances young social entrepreneurs with bold ideas to change the world.

This Week in Social Entrepreneurship is a weekly column covering developments across the social entrepreneurship sector, presented in partnership with SocialEarth.

On the 27th of February Chile was hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake, the fifth most powerful earthquake in history. Moments after the earthquake, Ashoka’s staff in the Southern Cone were in contact with the 34 Ashoka Fellows residing in Chile to offer them psychological support and appraise their needs. Ashoka has now been able to communicate with nearly all of them, and although the material losses are great, the Fellows, their families and constituents are accounted for and safe.
 
Days after the earthquake, Ashoka Fellow Macarena Currim said: “We now need to reinvent ourselves at the rate at which the most affected families need us to. Although this has been terrifying, it is clear that we, Chileans, are survivors.” Ashoka Fellow Ximena Abogabir and many others joined Macarena in thanking Ashoka for its support and for acting as a refuge in these difficult times: “Thank you all for sharing our dreams, but also our pains. It is clear that we can count on each other.”

Ashoka Fellows in the country are quickly responding to their communities’ needs. For the next two months, most will be focusing their efforts on addressing the affected populations’ short term needs. For example, through his organization, Ashoka Chile Fellow Caduzzi Salas is asking for bottled water, non-perishable food items, personal hygiene supplies, lamps and tents. Most importantly, Caduzzi mentioned the need for school supplies: young students were getting ready to start the new school year before the earthquake struck and having lost everything, their parents are not in a position to buy school supplies.

Ashoka Fellow Pedro Serrano has begun a workshop on emergency shelter in partnership with the Federico Santa María (FSM) University. He is working with a team of eight architects and engineers and 300 student volunteers to build hundreds of low cost provisional shelters and sanitation infrastructures. To make this initiative a reality, Pedro is currently looking to leverage the funding he just received from FSM University.

Yet another example is that of Ashoka Chile Fellow Vicky Quevedo who is seeking immediate support to rebuild the community radios affected by the earthquake.

This emergency response phase will be quickly followed by a long-term planning and reconstruction phase. Ashoka Fellows have mobilized their communities of changemakers and are already beginning to see how they can work as a coordinated group to organize this larger effort with the support of the Ashoka Southern Cone office.

If you are interested in supporting the short and long-term reconstruction efforts in Chile, do not hesitate to contact Maria Fonseca () and Ana Estenssoro () in the Ashoka Southern Cone office. (Phone: +54 11 4393-8646).

For the third installment in a series of blog posts for the Harvard Business Review website Ashoka Vice President Valeria Budinich explores the latent opportunities which exist to serve the 2 billion people worldwide who live on less than $2/day. How can market solutions be brought to bare to help these people gain greater stability, agency and safety in their lives?

She writes:

Markets are emerging for social problems. Consider these numbers:

    * $158 billion = size of the low-income health care market
    * $332 billion = size of the low-income housing market
    * $2.90 trillion = size of the low-income global food market

And there are other unformed markets that cut across income levels: For example, what's the size of the market for privacy problems? Or the market for new forms of education that teach skills as well as content?

These numbers and issues represent enormous untapped opportunity. It's time to explore them by forming alliances with citizen-sector organizations, a new and powerful kind of partner for the private sector. Any company that doesn't seriously consider working with citizen-sector organizations, forming what we call "hybrid value chains" — or commercial partnerships that leverage the critical strengths of each — is missing an important opportunity.

Read the entire post here and leave a comment to join the conversation!