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May 26, 2008
Waya Quiviger, Director of Special Projects, Social Impact Management
IE Business School is pleased to announce a new “Training and Mentoring Program for Women-Led Business”, as developed by Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) together with the Center for Diversity in Global Management and the Department of Entrepreneurial Management at the IE . Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS) is an African NGO working to foster peace in Africa. Since its inception in 1996, FAS has striven to strengthen and promote the leading role of women in the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts on the African continent.
This Training and Mentoring Program is generously sponsored by the Government of Spain (AECI). Its aim is to assist 25 entrepreneurial women who have established business enterprises with strong growth potential in Liberia, DRC, Rwanda, Senegal, Mozambique and South Africa. Once identified, these 25 female entrepreneurs are paired up with one or two volunteer International MBA students who, over the course of the summer, will 1) meet them in person in Madrid during the women’s on-site training; 2) visit them for 2 to 4 weeks in their respective countries and give them personal assistance for their business locally; 3) continue their business consulting over email. Of the 25 candidates, 10 will be selected after the summer to present their business plan to a panel of investors in Geneva in October. Some IMBA students will have the opportunity to accompany their business mentee to Geneva.
Continue reading 'Training and Mentoring Program for Women-Led Businesses in Africa'
February 14, 2008
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
Here are some Jobs on Base of the Pyramid, ranging from COO positions to Management Consulting and Microfinance Development:
• Chief Operating Officer at Scojo Foundation. The Scojo Foundation is a global social enterprise, currently operating in 13 countries, which creates jobs and sustains livelihoods through the sale of affordable reading glasses to the 700 million people who require clear, up-close vision to read and work.
• Intellecap is looking for an Editor with Microfinance Insights in Mumbai; Senior Associates – Publications and Knowledge Advisory in Mumbai; Senior Associates/ Associates – Training and Research in Hyderabad; Senior Associates/ Associates – SME & Microfinance Development in Hyderabad; Senior Associates/ Associates – Management Consulting in Hyderabad; and Senior Associates/ Associates – Finance in Hyderabad.
Take a look at all Intellecap job postings. Intellecap is a leading consulting firm focused on capital advisory and innovations for the inclusive finance space, endeavoring to create and deliver mainstream, profitable solutions to address the problems of poverty and expedite sustainable development.
• Internship at Engineers for Social Impact (Internship with application’s deadline on March 2nd). Engineers for Social Impact is a unique fellowship program to connect the best engineering talent to the most credible social enterprises that drive market-based solutions to development in India.
• Associate, New Ventures Program, World Resources Institute. New Ventures promotes sustainable growth in emerging markets by accelerating the transfer of capital to businesses that deliver social and environmental benefits at the base of the economic pyramid.
• Director, TED Fellowship Program. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
Also have a look at a report which Net Impact made on December 2007 on Job's in the CSR arena.
February 12, 2008
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
On February 21st we will have at IE Business School a conversation which brings together a Sustainable Perspective.
Arthur Dahl, Coordinator of the UNEP/University of Geneva Programme of Advanced Studies in Environmental Diplomacy will talk in regards to "The limits and potentials of planetary sustainability”, using an environmental systems perspective to set the context within which business must evolve in the decades ahead.
Augusto Lopez Claros, Former Chief Economist and Director of the Global Competitiveness Program at the World Economic Forum will base his contribution on “Why good policies matter” The meaning of sustainability from a global economic perspective.
The session will be moderated by Daniel Truran, Secretary General of EBBF.
It will take place February 21st, at 18.00-20.00 at Serrano 105, IE Business School.
To reserve your seat send an email to SIM@ie.edu
November 19, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
Paty Ruiz Corzo will be at IE Business School this coming Wednesday, November 21, sharing a conversation with both environmental practitioners and IE students. After the SR Forum and IE Alumni Day, we could ask for no better closing roundup speech than with Paty. Both Ashoka and Schwab Fellow, Paty gives meaning to a whole life devoted to social entrepreneurship. Having the opportunity to share a conversation with her is something you should not miss. She will be talking about her work at Grupo Sierra Gorda and her most recent project, involving a CO2 emissions market driven by local communities at the forests of the central part of Mexico.
Please do save the date (November 21) and time:
14.00-15.30: Meeting with environmental practitioners (Maria de Molina 13, Room C-202)
15.30 - 16.30: Conference - Workshop with IE Students (Maria de Molina 13, A-203)
About Paty and her work at Sierra Gorda:
Over the past sixteen years, Martha Isabel (or Paty, as everyone refers to her) has been working to protect this unique area of the world (Queretaro, Mexico). The result has been the creation of a grassroots environmental movement that has transformed the natural resources management practices of the local population and reoriented public investment from government authorities. The Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda (GESG), which she and her husband founded, addresses the survival needs of the 100,000 men, women and children living in this biosphere by promoting alternative economic approaches while preserving the area’s endangered ecosystem. GESG engages the residents in programmes that enhance and protect the biosphere including reforestation, sustainable forest management, environmental education, preservation of species, sanitation and community improvement, agro-forestry, sustainable agriculture and composting. As a result of its visible success, in 1997, the Mexican government designated the area as the first federally protected reserve in Mexico.
November 05, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
The 2nd Annual Social Responsibility Forum, titled “Find Your Impact”, hosted by IE Business School and the IE Net Impact chapter will take place November 14th and 15th.
In our second year hosting this event, we are once again determined to guide and indeed, challenge IE students, faculty, and our community to find their impact in matters of corporate social relevance. Our experience at IE has been defined by a combination of our business and social interests. In the same spirit, this forum merges these themes to provide a platform for like-minded individuals to share their experiences and knowledge. We have brought together experts from the areas of corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, and renewable energy to lead us towards a responsible business model for the new millennium.
Jose María Figueres, Former President of Costa Rica and passionate advocate of the environment; Pamela Hartigan, Managing Director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Alberto Vollmer, CEO of Ron Santa Teresa and Founder of Proyecto Alcatraz; Jonathan Robinson, Co-Founder of The Hub; and Bibi Russell, Founder of Bibi Productions are some of this year’s exceptional speakers. The event will be broadcasted live by webcast.
See our invited Guest Speakers.
Register at the event and join us!
October 11, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
Madrid, October 10, 2007. IE Business School is No.10 in the world and No. 1 in Europe in the biennial MBA ranking published by The Aspen Institute's Center for Business Education. The Aspen Institute ranking, known as “Beyond Grey Pinstripes”, is considered the most prestigious of its kind and evaluates how social and environmental issues are integrated into the MBA programs of 100 top international business schools.
“In the Beyond Grey Pinstripes survey, success is measured not by how much new MBA graduates earn or how many offers they get,” said Judith Samuelson, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, “but by how well prepared they are to guide a company through the complex relationship of business and society, where issues relating to the environment or the well-being of a community can impact a company’s performance and reputation.”
The ranking’s authors highlight the fact that IE Business School offers an extraordinary number of courses with relevant social or environmental content in comparison with other schools. IE Business School’s longstanding commitment to society permeates every one of its initiatives, to the extent that IE now has a dedicated social impact management department that plays a pivotal role in the school’s day-to-day activities.
“At IE we are acutely aware of the need to generate knowledge about responsible leadership. This concern translates into initiatives like our seminars on ethics, the IE Alumni Chair in Corporate Ethics and IE research centres dedicated to eco-intelligent management, diversity and corporate responsibility,” says Joaquín Garralda, Vice Dean of IE Business School and Director of the PwC-IE Centre for Corporate Responsibility. “We know how important it is to have an integral vision of how business decisions impact the environment.”
Download a Pdf of the 2007-2008 Report
See the Global 100 List
See the Top Ten Lists
August 31, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
We’re back from the summer break and eager to continue the conversation on corporate responsibility and sustainability. As last year, I include a list of events and topics which took place in the month of August:
The winner’s of the “Disruptive Innovations in Health and Health Care” have been announced.
5 new Ashoka fellow’s in Mexico
Echoing Green has announced their 2007 Fellows
Cemex is considered as one of the leaders in BoP space both through Construmex and Patrimonio Hoy
Harvard Business Review’s article on the dangers of Microcredit
GE Money and their Earth Rewards credit card
The 2007 Global Development Awards and Medals Competition is now open
$100 laptop production launched
Take a look at people who live in Manhattan and yet receive agricultural subsidies from the US federal government
Interesting initiative of “Executives Without Borders” shared by Pablo Halkyard
Snapshot at Global Migration
Upcoming Social Venture Conferences
Social Enterprise Competitions
July 04, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
Hans Rosling's first GapCast is here. Professor Rosling shows how economic growth, public health and sexual rights have changed in Sweden during 300 years. How has life expectancy and GDP per capita of Sweden evolved from 1709 to 2004? He further explains how to use gapminder world in order to make statistics work for development. This is just the first on the series which promises to be a fantastic way to bring development into a visual and entertaining arena, thus further enriching the conversation and our understanding into how to make the “seemingly impossible, possible”.
If you haven't seen him yet, invest 6 minutes of your time and I bet you won't regret it. If you watch this and are asking for more, how about sword swallowing at TED? O see our post on Hans Rosling on Africa and its growth.
Want to play with World statistics? Google found Gapminder fascinating and decided to be part of it.
And finally, a very recent achievement on the statistics arena led by Hans Rosling has been that of attaining access to all UN Statistical Division's data for free from May 1 this year. You can read this and other news at Gapminder.
June 25, 2007
Waya Quiviger, Director of Special Projects, Social Impact Management
On Friday 8 June, I was invited to speak in the context of the “Fostering Entrepreneurship and Leadership” seminar organized by the Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiations (CASIN). More specifically, I represented IE Business School in a session chaired by Pamela Hartigan, Managing Director of the Schwab Foundation, on Social Entrepreneurship. The audience was composed of 50 high level leaders from business, government and civil society who had come from all over the world for this 10-day seminar and training in government, governance, entrepreneurship, development and leadership. Other session topics included negotiation, global trade, access to micro-credit (see attached Program and participant profiles).
Pamela set the stage by defining the “social entrepreneur”: a unique, motivated individual who takes direct action to solve a social problem using entrepreneurial skills. She also gave examples of what social entrepreneurs were NOT: lobbyists, activists, socially-responsible-for-profit businesses. Social entrepreneurs’ main goal is transformational change and maximizing lasting social impact. For Pamela the social entrepreneur is a cross between Richard Branson and Mother Teresa.
Continue reading 'Fostering Entrepreneurship and Leadership'
June 22, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
On June 7th, Bill Gates addressed Harvard students with an eloquent and well prepared speech on their graduation ceremony. But it was not just another speech. Referencing Marshall’s speech 60 years ago when talking about the great challenges they faced in implementing the Marshall Plan, this was intended to be a speech with just the same impact.
I truly encourage you to watch the video or read the transcript . It’s not sophisticated but rather simple and down to earth. But it is simple ideas which address complex issues those that work best. From developing a more creative capitalism which helps better address the world's inequities, to committing ourselves and our best minds to dedicating our time and effort to solving our biggest problems, I include some excerpts of the speech, hoping they will motivate you to see/read it all.
“…I had just come from an event where we were introducing version 13 of some piece of software, and we had people jumping and shouting with excitement. I love getting people excited about software—but why can’t we generate even more excitement for saving lives?
You can’t get people excited unless you can help them see and feel the impact.
…To turn caring into action, we need to see a problem, see a solution, and see the impact. But complexity blocks all three steps.
The defining and ongoing innovations of this age—biotechnology, the computer, the Internet—give us a chance we’ve never had before to end extreme poverty and end death from preventable disease.
You know more about the world’s inequities than the classes that came before. In your years here, I hope you’ve had a chance to think about how—in this age of accelerating technology—we can finally take on these inequities, and we can solve them.
We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism—if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes.
If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world.
Let me make a request of the deans and the professors—the intellectual leaders here at Harvard: As you hire new faculty, award tenure, review curriculum, and determine degree requirements, please ask yourselves:
Should our best minds be dedicated to solving our biggest problems?
Should Harvard encourage its faculty to take on the world’s worst inequities? Should Harvard students learn about the depth of global poverty… the prevalence of world hunger… the scarcity of clean water …the girls kept out of school… the children who die from diseases we can cure?
Should the world’s most privileged people learn about the lives of the world’s least privileged?"
Waya Quiviger, Director of Special Projects, Social Impact Management
Invited Speakers: Pamela Hartigan, Managing Partner, Schwab Foundation, Switzerland; Mel Young, Founder, Homeless World Cup, Scotland
On Monday 11 June, Dr. Pamela Hartigan, Managing Director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and Mel Young, Founder of the Homeless World Cup shared their passion and commitment to social entrepreneurship with the International MBA class.
Pamela began by giving a definition of what a social entrepreneur is. According to her, social entrepreneurs possess the following characteristics: motivation, creativity, the capacity for direct action, courage and fortitude. These unique individuals address social problems with creative, entrepreneurial solutions. Social entrepreneurs are NOT philanthropists, lobbyists, volunteers or charities. They lead productive enterprises whose end goal is lasting social impact. To illustrate her argument, Pamela defined a social entrepreneur as a cross between Richard Branson and Mother Teresa. Social entrepreneurs can run non-profit , for profit or hybrid enterprises.
What Pamela does at the Schwab Foundation is promote social entrepreneurship worldwide and build a global community of entrepreneurs by identifying them and putting them in touch with the World Economic Forum’s vast corporate network, all potential partners and investors.
Mel Young is a social entrepreneur, founder of the Homeless World Cup, a global sports event that targets disenfranchised homeless men and women and gives them a sense of purpose and pride. The statistics are there to prove the success of his endeavour: after the World Cup, 92% have a new motivation for life; 35% have found regular employment; 44% have improved their housing situation; 39% have pursued education; 72 % continue to play football after the HWC.
Students seemed quite impressed with Pamela and Mel’s testimonies. Indeed, Social Entrepreneurship is a rapidly expanding space that is attracting more and more entrepreneurs year after year -- committed individuals who want to make lasting transformational change. Let’s hope this session inspired a few IMBA students to take the leap!
May 23, 2007
J.Pozuelo-Monfort, MSc candidate in economic development at LSE.
Extreme, External, Eternal
Published at elPeriódico.cat (In Catalan).
The three words that the debt and the poverty of the developing world have in common.
Extreme because debt and poverty have reached levels that are so regretful, so inhumane, and so beyond the normal levels, that need to lead to serious thinking in the industrialized world as to when and why this has happened.
External because the current levels of debt and poverty have been fostered by external causes. Their root might be in the developing world itself, but oftentimes not in its citizens, but in its corrupt leaders that once upon a time where given a wildcard to borrow as much money as they felt they needed to undertake their personal vision, far away from being backed and supported by their own citizens.
Eternal because debt and poverty risk to be long-time companions of a world that heads off in the wrong direction. An unequal world that operates according to the rules of a minority that is powerful and wealthy. An unequal world that operates according to the rules of a select club of nation-states unable to move forward and face the real challenges of the XXI century.
The Triple E. A challenging trilemma. One wonders who in this world of ours is responsible and can be accountable for a change. We are reaching a point in which the developing world will cry out loud and say it is enough. It is enough. We need public administrators ready to deliver. We need public administrators eager and willing to deliver. A huge responsibility lies on our shoulders as citizens of a democratic world whose leaders are not being consecuent and coherent.
The Triple E. Let's get to work.
May 17, 2007
J.Pozuelo-Monfort, MSc candidate in economic development at LSE.
The universe of outcomes is an unexplored series of potential future scenarios, some of which are more likely to materialize than others. More likely than others because in the minds of the everyday people, some futures are more readily imaginable than others. More likely than others because a majority of citizens are unaware of thinking beyond the usual, unable to think beyond what is standard and understood by default.
Tomorrow is oftentimes a projection of today. Tomorrow is oftentimes a continuation of what we live, experience and are witnesses of today. But even though there are expectations about what tomorrow will bring, even though there are forecasts about what tomorrow will be, no one, not even the more accurate weather forecaster, not even the better stock analyst, is able to guarantee what tomorrow will bring.
The universe of outcomes is an unexplored series of potential future scenarios. Future scenarios that may or may not involve imagination, creativity, the ability to think beyond the ordinary, the ability to suggest alternatives to today's problems. The universe of outcomes must not be controlled by the better off.
Imagine a tomorrow in which everything is possible. Forget about today, forget about what history has brought. Believe in a tomorrow in which everything is possible. Think beyond the ordinary. Include the universe of outcomes and assume each of them is equally likely to happen.
Another world is possible. Another word is possible. It is never late to dream with a better world. It is never late to think that the fate of the Human Kind is not predetermined. The ability of the Human Kind to reverse all the harm caused by centuries of exploitation and abuse, caused by a growing gap between the rich and the poor, the ability of the Human Kind stands out as the centrepiece of a theatre play that started long ago and has, still, not reached the end of civilization.
McKinsey Quarterly has just published an interview with Al gore and David Blood, from Generation Investment Management, which explores reconciling sustainability and socially responsible investing with the creation of long-term shareholder value.
It's an interview worth while reading. Through Generation Investment, they're changing the approach of investing to a long-term approach; that is gaining superior returns for investors while integrating sustainability into an investment model. They base this on the conviction that the context of business is clearly changing. "We are now confronting the limits of our ecological system, and at the same time societal expectations of business are widening. People realize that there are reputation issues related to sustainability, but they also recognize that, in the end, this is about driving profitability and competitive position."
Read the Interview by following this link (Requires subscription).
* Three years ago, former US Vice President Al Gore joined with David Blood, the former head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, to form an investment-management firm dedicated to investing for sustainability—that is, assessing the way social, economic, environmental, and ethical factors affect the strategy and valuation of businesses.
May 08, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
Africa - Which areas of innovation hold the best promise for enabling economic development?
This first-ever public ThinkPlace Challenge is a three-week online event designed to foster global collaboration on innovations that can fuel economic growth and improve the standard of living on the African continent. The ideas developed in this on-line challenge will immediately shape the agenda for the IBM Global Innovation Outlook/Africa deep dive sessions which will be conducted in person in locations around the world beginning in June. The input will also inform IBM's World Development Initiative, a new long-term effort to identify commercial opportunities addressing the needs of the vast population currently living on less than $5 a day.
Rob Katz has contributed with filling the Mesofinance Gap. "Small and medium enterprises need financing to scale up. However, most SMEs in the base of the pyramid can only access microfinance (loans up to $10,000) or formal finance (loans of more than $1 million). We need to fill that "mesofinance" gap."
Other ideas range from mobile to mobile platforms, microfranchising, microfinance, infrastructure and electricity. And this is just the beginning! Share your own ideas and/or contribute to ones already posted and be part of a program aimed at helping improve the quality of life for many people in Africa.
submit your ideas and collaborate with others on this topic by May 25, 2007.
April 17, 2007
Waya Quiviger, Director of Special Projects
Developing a coherent vision of political, social and economic trends is essential for business leadership. The Global Affairs Forum 2007 provides students with an overview of some of the global issues that impact business decision-making. The objective is to explore the ways in which business leaders can help address these problems and effectively become part of the solution.
In this ongoing seminar, outstanding business, political, academic and civil society leaders engage with the students and together analyse current challenges, threats and opportunities such as global terrorism, environmental degradation, the rise of China, and the importance of social impact in business.
Today's Invited Speaker: John Llewellyn, Senior Economic Advisor, Lehman Brothers
In this unique lecture, Mr. Llewellyn will present his recently published report: The Business of Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities. The publication first analyzes the hard scientific data about climate change, then explores the economic consequences of global warming and concludes with concrete examples of the impact climate change will have on different business sectors and industries. In Llewellyn’s own words: “Global warming is likely to prove one of those tectonic forces that gradually but powerfully changes the economic landscape in which business operate.” Those who seize the opportunity this represents will do well. Those that do not will be left behind.
April 13, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
For those of you who are still considering taking the Social Entrepreneurship Track at IE, here's one more incentive to take the step: The BiD Challenge is here again.
The BiD Challenge 2007 is open to start-up or established entrepreneurs with a business proposal for a new, or the expansion of an existing enterprise in a developing country. If you are serious and motivated about creating a business that reduces poverty in a developing country don't miss the opportunity to take part on the competition which brings you close to likeminded people, sharing ideas and best practices, as well as an economic incentive to fulfill your business endeavor. Some criteria to participate follows:
• Focus on creating a new business (start-up companies) or focus on the expansion or diversification of an existing business
• Focus on a developing country
• Require a start-up investment between €5,000 and €500,000
• Seek to be profit generating within 3 years
• Seek to maximize development impact in the developing country of operation
The deadline for the "Executive Summary" or Business Plan Template submission is May 31st. On last year's challenge, Alex Corrie, IMBA Alumni made it to the finals. Perhaps this is the year to come up with one of the grand prizes!
Who can participate?.
Timeline for the BID Challenge.
March 27, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
The Skoll World Forum is taking place today and until this Thursday. I have surfed through the Social Edge website all morning and sadly have not had access to the conferences live, as it was possible last year. Perhaps they will be uploaded later on. In the mean time, there are a couple of blogs available, which are covering the event from their own perspective. Some of the speakers are:
• Jeff Skoll, founder and Chairman, Skoll Foundation and Participant Productions
• Muhammad Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Grameen Bank founder and microfinance pioneer
• Peter Gabriel, musician, activist, cofounder and Chair of WITNESS
• Dr. Larry Brilliant, Executive Director, Google.org, founder and former Director of the Seva Foundation
• Bill Drayton, CEO and Chair, Ashoka
• Jeroo Billimoria, founder, Aflatoun / Child Savings International, who was this past November at the Social Responsibility Day at IE
Free the Children - 2007 Skoll Awardee
The 2007 Skoll Awardees will be presented at this event and include among others, Free The Children, NGO which recognizes the potential of young people to create positive social change. It works with schools throughout North America to educate and empower youths to act locally and globally as agents of change for their peers around the world. More than 500,000 students have joined the organization’s Youth in Action groups in 1,000 schools across the U.S. and Canada. They have shipped $11 million in essential medical supplies and have provided health care projects benefiting more than 505,000 people.
My deepest congratulations to Craig and Marc Kielburger, with whom i had the opportunity to work with back in 1999, at the State of the World Forum.
Have a look at the 2007 Skoll Awardees.
March 26, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
Philipp, Tobias, Guillermo and Blagoja have come up with the grand prize of the Sustainable Innovation Challenge competition at Thunderbird, which challenges the teams to come up with the most innovative solution to a real-world business issue that reflects corporate social responsibility.
“The Thunderbird Sustainable Innovation Summit is a clear recognition that we can no longer separate a business’ financial success from its responsibility to society and the planet,” says Gregory Unruh, director of Thunderbird’s Lincoln Center for Ethics in International Management. “Future business leaders will have to find innovative solutions that create simultaneous value for both the company and the world at large. And there is no better group to challenge than those MBAs from around the world that will have to create and implement ideas for a sustainable and prosperous future.”
German students Philipp Pausder and Tobias Schirmer, Macedonian Blagoja Hamamdziev and Mexican Guillermo Ortega presented their work called “Disruptive Thoughts” to a jury integrated by experts in innovation and CSR, including entrepreneurs, business men, consultants and academics. Among other 85 business schools and 10 finalists, they have won a cash prize of $20,000 as well as the title “2007 Global Champions of Sustainable Innovation”. IE Students won at the same competition last year, which was named Global Citizenship Challenge back then, an outstanding 3rd Place.
“Too often, the tools of innovation are deployed in the pursuit of riches and the cost of failure is seen as simply foregone fortune,” said keynote speaker Michael Raynor of Deloitte Consulting LLP and the bestselling author of “The Innovator’s Solution” and “The Strategy Paradox.” “By injecting the concept of sustainability, this event recognizes that failure has a real cost, and innovators that ‘swing for the fence’ and dismissively accept the cost of ‘striking out’ are taking an irresponsible approach to risk.”
Congratulations to you all!
Take a look at all the Business Schools which took part on the challenge.
March 23, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
You've read about The Hub, a space for social innovation. Well, if you live in the Netherlands and want to be part of the Hub Rotterdam, an incubator for social, sustainable innovation, don't miss the chance!
Starting this Saturday, March 24th, they are arranging a few dates to connect with fellow innovators out in the real world.
"There are still tons of things left to be done at the Hub "building site"...so we are looking for people who would like to lend a hand. You don't have to be a whiz-kid or technical handyman, anyone can learn! :-)"
Food, (live) music and fun will be catered for!
They have made a working schedule; if you can make any of the times just send an email to josine@enviu.org
How about the Soweto Hub? Or the Joburg Hub? See these and other hubs in action!
March 20, 2007
Max Oliva, Associate Director, Social Impact Management
The World Resources Institute and the International Finance Corporation have just released “The Next 4 Billion” report.
Based on the works of C.K. Prahalad and his book on "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" (which alerted private sector businesses to the importance of the market at the base of the pyramid); this report complements this work, building further on the conversation, providing a quantitative assessment and characterization of BOP markets. Here is an excerpt of their executive summary:
The 4 billion people at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP)—all those with incomes below $3,000 in local purchasing power—live in relative p