social entrepreneurship Archives - Page 9 of 15

Designing Functional Workwear for Women, with Sarah Calhoun, Red Ants Pants

October 23, 2017

Red Ants Pants is the pioneer in manufacturing functional women’s workwear that fits and flatters. In 2000, Sarah Calhoun was leading trail crews in the backcountry of Montana when she ran into a problem. The only pants available for the kind of rugged, physical work she was doing were made for men. As Sarah points out, “Curvy women don’t fit very well into square men’s pants.” She took her idea for a line of women’s workwear to several companies, but no one was interested. Undaunted by a lack experience in business, textiles or manufacturing, Sarah bought a copy of Small Business for Dummies and set out to create the line…

Advocacy Through Industry, with Raan and Shea Parton, Apolis Global

October 23, 2017

Apolis is a socially motivated lifestyle brand that empowers communities worldwide. Brothers Shea and Raan Parton grew up in the privileged surroundings of Southern California. To ground the brothers in reality, their parents traveled with Raan and Shea. Seeing how the rest of the world lived afforded the boys a perspective shift. This early experience of diverse cultures made them comfortable enough to eventually move from the passive role of tourist to participant: “The most rich way to experience places or cultures is to be working there and to be part of it.” By the time Shea was in high school and Raan in college, they shipped their first orders…

A Different Way of Doing Business, with Lucy Findlay, Social Enterprise Mark

October 16, 2017

Social Enterprise Mark provides accreditation for businesses that enhance the greater good. Accreditation exists everywhere from higher education to medicine. So why should entrepreneurs be any different? Lucy Findlay, managing director at the Social Enterprise Mark Company, helps socially-focused businesses receive accreditation for the work — and the good — that they do. “We recognize the type of business that is putting the money it makes back into society and the environment rather than using it for shareholder gain,” Findlay said. “Our mark helps them to prove that.” Earning a Social Enterprise Mark The Social Enterprise Mark is modeled after the Fair Trade Organization, Findlay said. The accreditation process begins…

Moving from Aid to Opportunity, with Jennifer Paige Holt, Building Markets

October 16, 2017

Building Markets’ mission is to reduce poverty in conflict-affected countries by creating jobs and encouraging sustainable economic growth. Jennifer Holt grew up in Alabama, a place she says, “has a dark history of racial terrorism.” This history drove Jennifer’s sense of purpose. “I can be an idealist to a fault sometimes, but I’m also a realist,” she explains. Her early work was in direct service, working with adolescents. But it was when she worked in Kosovo with Andrew W. Mellon Foundation‘s Forced Migration Program that her focus began to shift. Jennifer began to see how the economic ecosystem can impact the population. “I decided that I wanted to look at…

A Second Chance at Childhood, with Jenny Bowen, OneSky

October 9, 2017

OneSky is an international NGO that works with governments and communities to help the most disadvantaged and marginalized children. Jenny Bowen is a storyteller. In this interview, she tells the story of OneSky. I would also suggest that you pick up Jenny’s book, Wish You Happy Forever: What China’s Children Taught Me About Moving Mountains. Because Jenny tells the story so well, I recommend the audiobook. It seems like a simple concept. When children interact with loving parents, they learn…well, they learn everything. They learn a sense of self. They develop language and mobility and curiosity and so much more. But, not all children are so lucky as to have…

Liza Moiseeva: Empowering Artisans Around the World with GlobeIn

October 9, 2017

GlobeIn’s Artisan Box fights poverty through job creation and fair wages. A hand-painted mug from Tunisia. A scarf from Thailand. Cocoa powder from Ghana. You might not travel to any of those places, but thanks to GlobeIn, you can receive these handcrafted items in your home while empowering entrepreneurs in developing countries around the world. GlobeIn Co-Founder Liza Moiseeva is an integral part of the company’s operations. While her current role is in marketing, she’s worn many hats over the years to get the business off the ground. Moiseeva grew up in Moscow, where she says her access to information about nonprofits was limited. She did, however, read about Angelina…

Making Technology Fun, Relevant, and Accessible for Girls, with Betty Gronneberg, uCodeGirl

October 2, 2017

uCodeGirl offers pathways to technology careers for teen girls by tapping into their curiosity, skills, and potential. Betty Gronneberg grew up in Ethiopia. She attended Addis Ababa University where she majored in statistics. Betty recalls a day in college when she saw her name on a list of students who had been accepted into the new Computer Science track. She was one of two female students on the list. This was 1991. The “world wide web” had not yet been invented. Betty learned to write simple programs in BASIC, an early computer language. Betty’s experience grew rapidly as the internet began to spread. She became a country-wide email administrator for…

Connecting Buyers and Suppliers of Aid Supplies, with Stephanie Cox, The Level Market

October 2, 2017

The Level Market is the premier marketplace for aid and relief supplies. Stephanie Cox grew up looking at National Geographic with her grandfather. “I knew I wanted to travel the world when I was 6, 7, 8 years old,” she explains. After graduating from college, she traveled the world as a freelance journalist. In 2004, she had a near death experience during the Boxing Day Tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people. She worked in Nepal and in Eastern Europe during times of conflict. But, she found it difficult to make a living. Her family encouraged her to return to the United States to find her way forward. Stephanie moved…

One Million New Change Creators, with Adam Force, Change Creator Magazine

September 25, 2017

Change Creator is a platform for motivated social entrepreneurs who are ready to create solutions to the world’s problems. What would it take to produce one million new change creators per year for the next 10 years? That’s the question that Adam Force, Amy Aitman, and Keisuke Kubota of Change Creator Magazine sat down to answer. The result of that question is a new strategy. Change Creator Magazine is a multimedia platform empowering forward-thinking change creators and established enterprises to drive social progress. Their mission centers around three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They focus on SDG 1, No Poverty; SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation; and SDG 7,…

Clean Water, Powered by Gravity, with May Sharif, AguaClara

September 25, 2017

AguaClara designs gravity-powered water treatment plants for low-income communities around the world. According to May Sharif, Founder and Managing Director of AguaClara, “More than one in ten people around the world don’t have access to clean drinking water on tap.” When people don’t have access to clean drinking water, adults lose time at work and children miss school. They suffer from illness and or even death. “Up to two million people die each year due to waterborne disease,” May explains. “Most of them are children under five.” By providing access to clean drinking water, people prosper and children learn. Conventional water treatment plants typically do not last more than two…

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