I’ve been working at iDE for nearly 2 years, but the moment that changed my life—the moment when I truly experienced the impact of our work first-hand—was the day I met Anita Mwembe in Zambia…
Back in 2007, Anita and her family were living in a thatched roof hut on a small plot of land. She was making only $1-2 per day by selling packets of sugar and chickens outside the front of her hut. After becoming an iDE entrepreneur, she learned farming practices and invested in a drip irrigation system, which now allowed her to grow year round and sell crops for a better return.
Today, Anita is a full-scale entrepreneur. Not only has she quadrupled her income in only 5 years, but she’s also started a seed collective, purchased a car to get products to market more quickly, and even setup a women’s micro-lending network to support others in her community grow their businesses. But most important of all, is what this has provided…
Anita can now afford to send all of her children to school, she has built her family a new brick home, and she is even giving back to her community.
In short, through working with iDE, Anita’s entrepreneurial spirit has been unleashed. Her dreams are flourishing.
Since my trip to Zambia, I have traveled to Bangladesh and Cambodia also and I continue to be incredibly inspired and touched by the sparkle in the eyes of the people we work with – those who have invested in their future and with iDE’s partnership, brought themselves and their families out of poverty.
Please join me in spreading the word and help me reach my personal goal of $10,000 this holiday season. Our board is matching up to $50K dollar for dollar, so your investment is doubled.
It would be the greatest gift I’ve ever received if I reach my goal – which means we can help 500 individuals out of poverty.
As I stepped out of the taxi in front of the Skylight SoHo in NYC last Thursday, I took a deep breath. I was about to walk in to the celebration of Acumen Fund‘s 10 year anniversary.
During my time at Acumen Fund in 2004 and 2005, we were a start-up. 6 years later, we’re a global phenomenon.
I say “we” – because once you become part of the Acumen Fund community, you are always family. There’s something really deep that connects people that come in contact with Acumen Fund. I think its a sense of real commitment to people. To the world. To innovate new ways that can change lives. To unrest and unwillingness to let people flounder while others flourish. To recruiting the best and brightest minds in the world to this cause, and unrelentingly pursuing solutions that work. To knowing that we are all one and we are all connected, and there’s nothing we should stop at to give people the opportunity to change their own lives. When you feel that, along with others, it’s unstoppable and the constraints of time and space don’t apply.
I now live in Boulder, CO. Acumen Fund is based in NYC, where I lived for 10 years. I moved here to pursue a more balanced lifestyle, and still, I can’t rest until I find more like-minded people who care about the world in this way. I have found it in Boulder. There are so many conscious, loving people here. It’s why I am so passionate about my work with iDE which is headquartered outside of Denver – its the same story. I learned about iDE when I was at Acumen – because Acumen invested in iDE’s India program. I have been using the story of micro-drip irrigation for years when people ask me what social enterprise is.
Somehow, the stars aligned so that I happened to live in Colorado when iDE was hiring for the exact same position I was doing at Acumen Fund. I’ve been at iDE since February 2010 and have had the pleasure of visiting Zambia, Cambodia and Bangladesh to meet our customers.
My heart explodes with hope for humanity when I see the work that Acumen and iDE do.
I digress.
The celebration was spectacular. There were 450 people. Each person got a gorgeous scarf as they walked in. Many people, including myself, were dressed in South Asian garb. (I was wearing a Bangladeshi dress that I had made when I was there in February. I knew this would be the perfect place for it)
The energy was connected and loving and celebratory. During the cocktail hour, a flash mob assembled to dance Bollywood style in the middle of the crowd. A spoken word poet named Sarah K inspired us with her words about being a teacher in New York. Aaron Neville performed his beautiful songs. There was an engaging 7 minute video about Acumen told by the community. And Jacqueline Novogratz, Acumen’s visionary, brilliant, open-hearted CEO and founder, gave an inspiring 30 minute speech about where Acumen’s been and where they are going. They have ambitious goals: to double their portfolio to $150 million in 15 countries by 2015, while also expanding their leadership programs to include 400 leaders and 40 chapters with the goal of serving 150 million individuals.
Here’s the flash mob of dancers, made up of staff, board members and donors:
Here’s the 7 minute video during the program:
One of the main things that struck me was the humility. The truth about failures was not hidden, and there was a real effort to make everyone feel a part of this community. Even the fact that Jacqueline, my old boss, said she was proud of ME. Here’s this incredibly successful woman who inspired me to do what I do now, and still has time to be humble and give so many compliments to others. Here’s a great pic I had to share, because it shows the joy in our faces:
I was so proud to have been part of this incredible organization in its start-up days, and to see it flourishing now. I’m honored to have shared this incredible night with this inspiring global community, which came from 20 countries around the world to be there. There were Indians, Pakistanis, and Saudi Arabians all dancing together like family, and there was Jacqueline, heart exploding with joy at what’s possible.
IDE, w1sd0m, Skoll World Forum, Oxford Jam, TedXVolcano..
WOW! I don’t know how it happened, but somehow life has conspired to effect collaboration on a global scale. Ride-sharing, couch-surfing, new communities and networks forming … its mind-boggling and unimaginably inspiring. Last week, Oxford UK became the nexus of global social entrepreneurialism – launching a phenomenon (with a little help from a volcano in Iceland) that feels as if it has irrevocably altered the landscape for social entrepreneurs, their projects, and the people they exist to serve.
I came to Oxford During the Skoll World Forum for Social Entrepreneurship on behalf of IDE – (International Development Enterprises), a 28 year old organization founded by Paul Polak. I was to meet the international board and discuss how IDE could achieve greater scale and impact by helping more people at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) sustainably increase their income . We stayed at Corpus Christi college and enjoyed gorgeous days and intensive discussions with great minds. I managed to make it to OxfordJam for a breakfast about online collaboration platforms for Impact Investing – I could only stay for an hour, yet even in that brief period met an incredible group of people open to innovation and collaboration on a scale I’ve never before experienced.
The volcano had already erupted, but nobody paid it any mind till the conferences were over and we realized that we were stuck. So back to London we all went..
… and so now, a new community is being born that is coming together in an even deeper way.
Saturday there was a great Kiva event where people shared Kiva trivia, their own business ideas, and trains and bus trips to the south of France and other places were arranged.
Here’s a little video clip of Matt Flannery, Kiva C0-Founder, and Premal Shah, President:
After this fun trivia contest, Matt & Premal asked if anyone had an emerging company and would like to talk about it. I stood up and introduced w1sd0m, an emerging network that I’m helping to build as core team, that helps social & sustainable enterprises like IDE (For which it’s already opened a lot of doors) find the intellectual, human, social & financial capital they need.
Sunday was the first ever “TedXVolcano” organized by Nathanial Whittemore, Evan Grant & June Cohen. In 36 hoursthese rockstars brought together TED, TEDxLondon, The Hub, Sandbox Network, Newspepper.com, & Robert Leslie along with Skoll World Forum Speakers and other great minds such as Matthew Bishop, Jim Hornthal, Gary Bolles, Peter Greenberg, Elizabeth Lindsey and musician Shesheela Raman.. Click here for the story of how they did it..
One of my favorite moments was when Jeff Skoll read his volcano poem:
This is an ode to the volcano
That sent our travel plans into the draino
I’m not really one to complaino
But this all hurts my little braino
Madrid, Casablanca, Amsterdam, Rejkavik on cruiseships
The trains will fail
All the escape routes that we planned
Are blocked by nature or by man
We heard the French trains may soon be striking
At this rate we’ll all be biking
With our luck we’ll all be struck by lightning!
This is all rather frightening
So better we all meet at TED
That is what I should have said
So thank you June and thank you all
Damn the volcano, let’s have a ball
Presented at TEDXVolcano, London, 4/19/2010
Monday afternoon, Suzanne Biegel, social venture investor and “catalyst at large” (i love her title!) and Dr. Audrey Selian of Rianta Capital organized some action-takers from the Friday OxfordJam breakfast who have built collaboration and connection platforms for impact investors and social entrepreneurs. Socential, Artha, ClearlySo, Nexii, Sasix, Gexsi along with w1sd0m were there to talk about ways to collaborate in an efficient way and eliminate waste of resources for entrepreneurs, and the networks themselves.
Another networking event after this meeting led to even more fascinating conversations over dinner with Jill Finlayson & Jason Clark of SocialEdge, Lora O’Connor of Citizenglobal.com, Cathy Clark who runs the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) program at Duke, Suzanne Biegel, Sean Holt, David Green (Solar World for All), and others.
Waking up this morning I’m slammed with all of the ideas, people, and inspiration swirling in my head. I don’t even need coffee!
As much as being ‘stranded’ in London would be viewed by many as disastrous, the remarkable thing about this exceptional group of people is that, when faced with no other options, they simply turned lemons into lemonade. For the past ten days, due in no small part to the intercession of the very earth so many are working to save, some of the most brilliant minds and open hearts in the world have come together to talk, to dance, to celebrate – and most importantly of all, to find new ways of working together (as the Buddhists would say) in service to all beings.
I’m grateful and honored and humbled to have been invited to engage with these people, at this time, in this way.
I’m working on the coolest project right now which completely aligns with my passion and mission in life: use my skills, passion, knowledge and networks to make the world a better place for our children.. and their children..
I was recently retained to help Touchpoint Trust Group find 75 Triple Bottom Line (TBL) deals to review by January 22. That means, these companies have put PEOPLE and PLANET on the same level of importance of PROFIT. I’m speaking to incredible human beings about their work EVERY DAY, and I can’t wipe the smile off my face.
The Innovative Lilith I4C Campaign is a partnership with Sarah McLaughlin and the Lilith Fair, and TouchPoint! Trust Group. The goal is to select 4-6 ‘social enterprises’ or ‘people, planet, profit’ businesses to receive an investment and major promotion around the Lilith Fair, in June. The selected companies will actually go ON TOUR with the Lilith Fair and the huge audience will learn about their business, and how they are changing lives.
When I visited my friend Chandra Reddy Metzler during her Fullbright appointment in Nairobi, Kenya, in 2000, I was first introduced to micro-finance, micro-health and NGOs. I was incredibly inspired by the model, and it made an impression for the future when I would get introduced to the work of Acumen Fund.
I was head of fundraising at Acumen Fund in 2004 and 2005 and was more immersed than ever in the idea of ‘social enterprise’ and ‘social entrepreneurship’. I had dreamed about business models which generated social change before, but to see this group of MBAs, who could have been making a fortune in banking, putting their heads together to solve the world’s social problems.
I had a very successful time at Acumen Fund, and have been interested in the ‘Triple Bottom Line” (TBL) space since then. To that end, in addition to this project, I recently joined the core team of w1sd0m, a network that connects entrepreneurs, investors and advisors in this industry.
You can do something too!
Please connect with the I4C Campaign on Twitter, and Facebook, and spread the word!!
Wow. I mean, wow. 2010 is coming on FAST and FURIOUS. Here’s my take on what’s happening already: Baggage gets dropped. New doors are opening. FAST. and the signs of what to do are really clear.
I’ve heard all kinds of stories about the new moon, the blue moon, and the lunar eclipse, and how powerful the night of new years eve would be this year.
Apparently whether you believe these things or not, what you thought of on New Years Eve is a big part of what your life will become in the next 2 years. You will be able to manifest the plans you set forth on New Years Eve.
So, I was at a great New Year’s party at my very good friend’s home with about 60 other people celebrating the coming year together. I stepped outside to look at the moon, alone, at one point in the night, very late. I took a deep breath and put out what I wanted to manifest in the next 2 years.
Now, on January 4, the first work day of the year, It’s already happening. I mean HAPPENING. I am on the biggest rollercoaster ride I’ve ever been on. (I LOVE rollercoasters and screaming my head off!)
First, I found out one of the businesses I’m doing is about to implode and fall apart. Then, I found a new one to plug my existing partners into which is a much better opportunity and more legitimate in every way. Baggage, negative thing gone. New, valid and big opportunity presents itself.
Then, I find out that an idea in the Social Entrepreneurship space that I presented to a friend and colleague 3 weeks ago has taken off and we are going to have major backing for our project, and kick it off TOMORROW.
And on top of that, I have meetings tomorrow with two major social enterprises / Triple Bottom Line organizations based in Colorado. IDE and I4C. They are going to lead to big projects in this area, which is where I’m being pulled in a BIG WAY in the last couple weeks of the year, and now 2010 is kicking in HARD to show me the way..
So folks it looks like this blog is going to have quite a few updates and announcements coming… and coming… and coming!
In my quest for learning and awareness around the social entrepreneurship space, and through my participation in marketing for the Angel Capital Summit in Denver which was held last week, I’ve come across some really cool stuff lately.
The Angel Capital Summit was a pet project of mine over the summer and in the fall. I worked with Investor and Advisor Partners to help them get the word out about the event, which was intended to bring together a community of entrepreneurs, advisors, investors, and service providers. It was a buzz of excitement and the energy was high.
190 Entrepreneurs submitted their deals and applications to present, and 40 companies were selected. mShopper, the company I co-founded with my husband David Gould, was one of the companies and I found out later was one of the highest-rated deals. Exciting stuff!
mShopper, although it is a mobile app company, has an element of ‘giving back’ and social consciousness . When you purchase a product through mShopper, you can save from 10-40%, and then we suggest that you give some of that savings back to charity as you are checking out with your mobile shopping cart.
Of the 40 companies selected to present, HALF qualified as sustainable/green/social businesses. How Awesome is that!!?? Colorado is becoming a hub for social entrepreneurs.
I’ll be reviewing each of the other companies that I came across that day, and since the event. One that I want to focus on for the purpose of this post is “EVERYWUN“.
I was lucky enough to be invited to meet with the founder, Dan Jacobs, and his very talented partner/fiance Eve Cowen, last week.
In addition to Dan and Eve, I was in the company of some other brilliant social entrepreneurs, committed to be world-changing activators of social consciousness applied to business models. We had the most exhilarating, deep, intellectual conversation which was so incredibly refreshing. Passionate, brilliant people.
We spoke about Everywun and how it could work with a new project we’re working on called W1sd0m. More about W1sd0m later…
Everywun has made it possible for you to give to charity just by taking actions on the internet via social media. Just by placing a badge on your blog (as I have one here), or facebook, or signing up for the newsletter, and telling friends, you get ‘credits’, and then you can choose what to do with your ‘credits’.
Here’s a little blurb about everywun and SIGN UP! PASS IT ON! world changin’ is on its way… I recently joined an incredible new website called, Everywun.com. By having businesses sponsor advertising, they enable people to take fun, easy, cost-free actions on behalf of charities.
One of the easiest actions I can take is to enable my network of friends and family to do the same! Every person who joins will automatically receive 100 “Everywun credits” that can go towards planting a tree, feeding children, or donating books! If you use my personal invitation link provided below, I’ll also receive 100 credits to plant a tree!
Please remember to click on the unique URL below or I won’t get credit!
I’ve been working at iDE for nearly 2 years, but the moment that changed my life—the moment when I truly experienced the impact of our work first-hand—was the day I met Anita Mwembe in Zambia…