InVenture unleashes the potential of developing entrepreneurs to lift themselves and their communities out of poverty by connecting individuals directly with these entrepreneurs, thus enabling the opportunity to create long-term substantial impact.

Inspiration | Tagged by 1 person

OpenIDEO has partnered with the Holistic Social Business Movement (HSBM) of Caldas – a joint venture between the Grameen Creative Lab and the Government of Caldas, Colombia – to consider how social businesses can improve the health of low-income communities in Colombia and around the world. Together, with your help, we hope to develop a set of implementable and high impact solutions to support and promote social business development and improve health in low-income areas like Caldas, where 26% of the population lives in extreme poverty.

Challenge | Tagged by 1 person

So far, challenge sponsors have mainly consisted of large nonprofits, corporate philanthropy departments, public organizations, & celebrities, which is to be expected, given that being a challenge sponsor costs ~$50K (based on the quote Jennifer Davis received). These challenges have been great, but what would happen if we also had challenges run for scrappy, innovative, on-the-ground social enterprise upstarts; which could be subsidized by working with large corporations to transform their core business (not just their philanthropic/cause marketing programs) to become more socially conscious. How much positive impact could we achieve?

Concept | Tagged by 1 person

This video is a favorite of mine - an inspiring story about entrepreneurs who believe in their ideas and change the world.

Inspiration | Tagged by 1 person

A low-cost hub for mobile classrooms, enterprise training, and community enterprise. A path to test ideas, build prototypes, and build livelihoods in the community.

Concept | Tagged by 1 person

Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) is helping women in Rwanda set up their own businesses manufacturing sanitary pads from banana-tree fibers. Caldas produces bananas, and the various kinds of bananas are part almost of every meal.

Inspiration | Tagged by 1 person

Create businesses that represent growers of local produce. This collective model increases marketing and awareness of the food being produced in the region, which reduces the carbon footprint and helps people eat seasonal. Educating consumers to eat well leads to an upward spiral of consumption through these businesses, keeping the money in the Queensland community. There can be a social side to the enterprises. Runa uses their profits to reforest the Amazon using agroforestry methods, which benefits the community of tea growers. For this challenge it's best to work with the QLD community to come up with appropriate solutions to their environmental and food challenges.

Concept | Tagged by 1 person