Women remain perhaps the world’s greatest untapped resource. Among the many brilliant ideas on Changemakers for empowering them and helping them reach their potential, here are some proven success stories that use vastly different approaches. These initiatives were endorsed by expert competition judges and voted on by our global community of social change. We’ve got two more women-focused competitions coming up soon. Please be a part of supporting the innovators who enter them.
Carpets for Communities
Carpet for Communities, based in Cambodia, operates on the understanding that strengthening women is a solution to myriad problems, 
including human trafficking. By identifying families at risk of being forced to send their children to work or sell their children into slavery, and by intervening quickly, they solve many problems at once.
Founded by David Bacon, the organization trains the mothers to earn income by making rugs in their own homes, taking the economic pressure off the children and allowing them to attend school instead of working. Participation in the families’ economic life raises women’s self-esteem and raises the families’ standard of living.
This organization was a winner in the Ending Global Slavery: Everyday Heroes Leading the Way competition.
Men Can Stop Rape
A winner in the No Private Matter! Ending Abuse in Intimate & Family Relations competition, Men Can Stop Rape pioneered a new way of 
addressing sexual violence against women: engage those most likely to be the perpetrators by making them allies in the effort to reduce the incidence of rape in the United States.
Through school-based programs, public outreach, and social marketing, the organization emphasizes the role young men can play in reducing violence against women by inspiring them to create positive definitions of masculinity, strength, and manhood.
Let us play!
A lack of affordable sanitary pads in Kenya has kept many girls off the playing fields and out of sports entirely. Let Us Play! Worked with a start-up local business to provide cheap pads, made of locally-grown papyrus grass, to school girls.
This simple initiative, a winner in the Gamechangers competition sponsored by Nike, takes the fear of embarrassment out of playing sports. It also improves adolescent girls’ hygiene generally, boost school attendance, and raises self-confidence and awareness about their own bodies and reproductive health.
Many other competitions have honored winners that address women’s empowerment. Check out some of these too:
Building the Movement for Women’s Land Rights, winner in the Cultivating Innovation: Solutions For Rural Communities competition.
Small Steps, Big Leaps: Community led approach to water and sanitation, winner in the Tapping Local Innovation: Unclogging The Water And Sanitation Crisis competition.
Instant Birth Control, winner in the Disruptive Innovations In Health And Health Care: Solutions People Want competition.
STOP (Stop Trafficking and Oppression of Children & Women), winner in the How To End Human Trafficking competition.
Three Sisters Trekking, winner in The Geotourism Challenge: Celebrating Places - Changing Lives competition.
Competition Status:
Closed
Competition Milestones
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Created on 05/14/2013 by cvsi
Affordable Nutrients/Technologies for Agricultural Breakthroughs program provides affordable natural nutrients or integrated solutions through the application of and access to small scale agricultural and production technologies which give health and economical advantage especially to women.
Organization: CHRISTIAN VOLUNTEER SERVICE INTERNATIONAL
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CHRISTIAN VOLUNTEER SERVICE INTERNATIONAL
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Hybrid
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
2007- Finalist - Google/Technoserve Ghana National Business Plan Competition; 2009 - Finalist - Improved Nutrition Solutions through Innovation Competition (The Green Journey); 2010 - Finalist - Women|Tools|Technology|: Building Opportunities & Economic Power Competition (Productive Agricultural Linkages and Marketing Systems- PALMS)); 2010 -Finalist- Leveraging Business for Social Change: Building the Field of Social Business Competition (Moringa Oleifera Farms and Industries Limited - MOFIL); 2010 - Finalist - Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI) program - Santa Clara University.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName your entry
Affordable Nutrients/Technologies for Agricultural Breakthroughs
Stage
Growth (the pilot has already launched and is starting to expand)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
Affordable Nutrients/Technologies for Agricultural Breakthroughs program provides affordable natural nutrients or integrated solutions through the application of and access to small scale agricultural and production technologies which give health and economical advantage especially to women.
Problem
Unsustainable agricultural practices, excessive use of chemical agricultural inputs and obsolete/labour intensive methods yield poor dividends and are also very unfriendly to the environment. Coupled with alarming soil fertility loss, lack of appropriate technological know-how and suitable natural agrochemicals, amongst others, militate against efforts to improve food security and availability of nutritious food necessary for optimal health.
Solution
Provision of nutrients and simple/appropriate technologies required in four stages of agriculture, with the aim of strengthening cereals, vegetable, fruit and moringa value chains is focused on. Aerobic disease suppressing compost and budded/grafted disease resistant seedlings are made available at the nursery stage whilst simple mechanized ploughing and weeding implements, drip irrigation equipment and technology, organic agrochemicals, nutrient, farm and integrated pest management, post-harvest storage/drying and value added production including fortification of staple foods with natural inputs like moringa and a modern marketing system are undertaken at the plantation, production and marketing stages backed by appropriate training.
Example
Kofi Koi Agricultural Co-operative Society, a predominately women group, engages in vegetable farming along the banks of the Densu River. After suffering great losses in 2009 and 2010 on account of erratic rainfall patterns and flooding, Maame Adwoa Mansa, the President, enrolled them under the ANTAB program as they could not produce the needed affordable nutrients themselves. Aerobic disease suppressing compost, compost tea, improved seedlings and oxygenated moringa leaf foliar sprays were given to them. Use was made of brushcutters to keep weeds down and cheap improvised drip irrigation system using plastic waste water bottles was established. Yields as high as four times the normal were recorded giving them greater income.
Impact
Over 100,000 vegetable farmers have been using moringa plant growth hormones on their vegetables since 2010 with a resultant increase in their produce three to four times giving them more income. 25,000 farmers have been introduced to the use of aerobic disease suppressing compost. The enthusiasm generated by this program is quite high and we are encouraged to institute farmer field schools. Soil fertility and human health is improving quickly as moringa is incorporated in various forms: disease suppressing compost, plant growth hormones, organic fertilizers, food supplements to fight malnutrition, food fortification, water purification agents and a number of notable products. For now, 25,000 farmers are being served directly and 300,000 indirectly. 150,000 farmers are to be reached directly and 1,000,000 indirectly in the next three to five years.
Marketplace
The Ministry of Food and Agriculture is interested in food security and has invested heavily in the provision of subsidized chemical fertilizers, tractors and irrigation equipment mostly sprinkler systems. Much water is wasted in the traditional sprinkler systems. We utilize drip irrigation which uses less water but gives excellent results. Our adapted drip irrigation system allow for proper fertigation although on a small scale. Declining soil fertility has occasioned the use of more inorganic fertilizers which is detrimental. We rely on enhanced compost from organic waste and moringa.
Sustainability Plan
300,000 to 600,000 farmers are to be supported in the next five years. A market penetration of 15% for our products in 2014 is estimated which will increase to 25% by 2015 with an annual sales growth of 15% to 65%. Expected cash from grants/investment is $1,500,000 with grants at 70% in 2014 which will decrease to 5% by 2016. Earned income is expected to reach $5,500,000.00 by 2017. The program is expected to be self-sustaining by 2015.
Founding Story
Mary Ansa, a vegetable farmer in Aveyime in the Volta region, belongs to Dekaworwor Women Group, a hundred and fifty member farmer group. They form part of the over 300 women farmer based organizations that have benefited from various workshops and training by the Productive Agricultural Linkages and Marketing Systems (PALMS) of Christian Volunteer Service International. Her main problem has been the availability of affordable natural agricultural inputs and mechanized implements. To meet this need, the Affordable Nutrients/Technologies for Agricultural Breakthroughs (ANTAB) program was mooted and put in place in association with various women groups and farmer based associations which will be of great benefit to them and the environment.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Healthy environments, Nutrient-rich farming, Full nourishment foods.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
Production of affordable and quality nutrients, nourishment foods and small scale mechanized implements require standard machinery and processes for economies of scale which will be assisted by added capacity in terms of capital, machinery and expertise. This will be of appeal to the small holder farmers who will use such for their profit and the sustainability of the program. The environment will be equally protected and soil fertility ensured. Our microfinance unit – Co-operative Finance Institute – will be strengthened to assist in acquisition of needed machinery by farmers especially women
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Created on 05/14/2013 by clovel2
Sustainable conservation agriculture (SCA) is a different kind of greener revolution. It is an empowering movement for small stakeholder farmers to revolt, and reclaims their soil and environment so that they could get the nutrients to grow their health, longevity and prosperity.
Organization: Organization for Research and Community Development Global
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Organization for Research and Community Development Global
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
ORCD has been recognized and honored with numerous provincial and international awards since its inception in 2011.
International:
• Aga Khan Development Network for sustainable management
• GIZ-DETA on behalf of Germany Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development in agriculture
• International WorkLife Balance Award for contributing to welfare of women in society
Provincial:
• Department of Women Affairs (women empowerment) in Daikundi
• Women literacy training in Baghlan
• Baseline Nutrition Survey using SMART methodology in Kandahar
• Provincial Coordination and Management Committee for agricultural projects in Baghlan
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName your entry
A Food Revolution to Reconnect Our Nutrient Chain
Stage
Growth (the pilot has already launched and is starting to expand)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Elevator Pitch
Sustainable conservation agriculture (SCA) is a different kind of greener revolution. It is an empowering movement for small stakeholder farmers to revolt, and reclaims their soil and environment so that they could get the nutrients to grow their health, longevity and prosperity.
Problem
Our productive and sustainable solution is unique because it can address a multitude of issues face by today’s expanding global population such as shrinking suitable arable land, declining soil potency, water shortage, and expensive fuel and agro-chemicals. Most of our food production is grown at the expenses of our environment, economy and farmers, and they are operated by mostly women stakeholders which are the most vulnerable group.
Solution
SCA is smarter farming with a one-stop solution. As an empowering movement, it uses updated scientific agricultural knowledge to increase and improve food production and builds sustainable income using local inputs. Studies showed that SCA using a 4000 square feet bed can provide a complete nutritious diet for a person annually with some leftover for income production. SCA maintains social, environment and economy sustainability. It allows for an extensive usage of available labor from family and community leading to social cohesion and justice. Moreover, it encourages a harmonious relationship with human and nature using concept of recycling, management and protection to increase soil biodiversity. It requires only minimal inputs.
Example
Chipo lives in the African urban slum with her three kids but one died young due to malnutrition and her husband left her for the city to work and never came back. Chipo was introduced to CSA but her main problem was lack of suitable cultivated land, and so we taught her to grow crop vegetables in bags of soil tied together to make a 100 square feet outside her home. She was successful and able to feed her family. She also formed a group with other women to do the same but each having to grow different crops and then sharing the outputs. Soon they are able to afford a goat and some chickens from selling the excess vegetables. The women started a micro-finance system to help their fellow friends and to propagate the CSA.
Impact
Many parts of the world are using CSA in ‘bits and pieces’ but never in a complete system like us. Therefore, the data about it is not absolute but almost all have been positive. The world contains about 470 million smallholder farms with almost all operated by women. CSA has the ability to provide a complete and balanced diet with all the macro and micronutrients for 8 persons per acre annually with enough remaining for income production. Imagine Africa where 33 million small farms produce the bulk of the nation’s food supply. If we take the math of 2 hectares per smallholder farm then we have about 82 million acres in total in Africa that can feed a population of 652 million Africans or 60% of the continent annually and forever. CSA can be a revolutionary idea to transform people’s live and elevate them out of poverty and food insecurity.
Marketplace
Global food production is generally approaches on a large scale using unsustainable mechanized chemical or organic farming. The food value is often supplemented with fortification and hybrid breeding. CSA differs by engaging women farmers who hold the largest share to apply cost-effective principles such as small bed preparation, composting, crop rotation, and et cetera. It unites and uses all family labor and local resources without expending on fertilizers, soil amendments, and heavy farm machinery. All the works can be done with little land and resources. This is our advantage.
Sustainability Plan
CSA is employable at any settings and sizes. It works best for small farms. The model is financially sustains from participants’ tuition fees, sponsored community trust fund, profits from selling crops, and setting up sponsored training facilities throughout. Another financial model can involved charging certification fee for approved CSA farm. Of course, by winning this competition we are able to get a head-start in executing our plan.
Founding Story
As a physician by trade, I am most concern about the nutritional effects of food on our human growth and potential. My ‘aha’ moment came when I was listening to President Clinton giving a speech about challenging us to find solution for food security. This was later deepened when I heard the world’s leaders at the UN discussing about insecurity of women and children. Therefore, I wanted an innovative solution to solve this ineffective nutrient chain. Our idea must be adaptable, cheap, uses local resources only, unifies communities and families, and most importantly, empowers women and children. We wanted an idea that uses women as Changemakers.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhere do you ensure the availability of nutrients?
Healthy environments., Nutrient-rich farming.
If you had greater capacity, which additional sectors would you like your solution to target - either through expansion, partnership, or thought exchange?
Full nourishment foods, Human wellness and vitality.
How specifically would this added capacity help you improve the quality, efficiency, or sustainability of your existing product or service?
The benefits of CSA can be extended by collective gathering of the outputs in a community food store and kitchen. The centralized location provides community members a space for sharing ideas about developments and support in health, business and skills trainings, and the processing of food procurement, preparation and distribution. A community kitchen is a great place to also learn how to cook and eat healthy, and to store excess food away from bugs and rodents. This capacity building is beneficial to create nutritious food for the people and promotes wellness.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow is your product or service connected to vitality for the people and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
People need appropriate nutrients to grow, learn, and fight off disease. How do you measure, track, or make use of information about nutrient levels in your own work?
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Considering the flow of nutrients from ecosystems to soil to farms to food to communities, what are the barriers to achieving vitality for people and the planet?
Other barriers you have identified
In your view, what developments need to happen in order to help overcome those barriers and produce a more nutrient rich and vital public and planet?
Approximately 125 words left (1000 characters).
What do you consider the most promising trends or evidence that indicates that the developments you described are emerging? Please elaborate.
Approximately 100 words left (800 characters).
Sustainable conservation agriculture (SCA) is a different kind of greener revolution. It is an empowering movement for small stakeholder farmers to revolt, and reclaims their soil and environment so that they could get the nutrients to grow their health, longevity and prosperity.
Women at Lotus House are extremely low-income and largely minority. 78% have a mental illness with 81% having been victims of some form of trauma. Via evidence-based, trauma-informed counseling, women and children can heal and build resiliency, breaking a cycle of violence and homelessness.
Affordable Nutrients/Technologies for Agricultural Breakthroughs program provides affordable natural nutrients or integrated solutions through the application of and access to small scale agricultural and production technologies which give health and economical advantage especially to women.
Created on 05/8/2013 by accohen
Film For Health will empower the children of Varanasi's Shivdaspur area to learn from each other through the medium of film.
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Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
Do you work with any social organizations?
Guria Swayam Sevi Sansthan
How did you hear about the competition?
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read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your venture
Existing project (scaling)
This Entry is about (Issues)
Summary: What specific issue or problem does your Venture address?
The children of Varanasi's brothels don't have access-- not to good schools, not to vocational training, not to a chance at a better life. Through the venture "Filming More Health", the documentary production crew of the forthcoming film "Specks of Dust" that will focus on the efforts of the NGO Guria Sansthan will teach the children how to use basic flip cameras to film basic first aid procedures in order to learn from them.
Misson Statement: What will your venture do?
We venture to help empower the children of Varanasi's brothels to take charge of their health and the health of those around them. We believe children can be responsible with this task.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
This summer, a film crew (comprised of two Princeton University students, a professional director, a professional cinematographer, and a professional sound editor) will be traveling to Varanasi to film a documentary about the work of a man called Ajeet Singh. His NGO, Guria Sansthan, combats sex trafficking through multi-faceted grassroots approaches. We will teach the kids how to use cameras and in doing so, empower them to make videos about the challenges they face (health and otherwise) and the solutions they find (health and otherwise). Logistically, we will provide the cameras and editing software for computers that exist at a school previously set up by Guria Sansthan.
The Community: Define the community that you work on behalf of. What population is affected? Are there other organizations working in this space?
We will be partnering with Guria Sansthan and working for and through their community. The community is comprised of the children of the brothels, their mothers, and the volunteers and teachers who help them. There are no other organizations working directly on this issue in this city.
Founding Story: What inspired your venture? Why?
Ajeet Singh refuses to rest until every child is free to live a vibrant and creative life. On the importance of finding one’s purpose and helping others, he believes, “the day you realize you are just a speck of dust is when you will begin living your life the way it should be.” He founded Guria Sansthan, the organization through which we will work. He inspires us every day.
Define your Venture in 1-2 short sentences
Film For Health will empower the children of Varanasi's Shivdaspur area to learn from each other through the medium of film.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat do you want to accomplish in your first year?
We will be travelling in the summer and hope to enable the kids with basic film editing skills. The sustained presence of Princeton University "Bridge Year" volunteers will ensure the sustainability of this project.
Set your first goal or milestone for your Venture Team in the next 6 months that will bring you to your vision
Task 1
identify the best flip cameras to donate to the kids
Task 2
write a film manual in Hindi/Urdu languages for the kids to use
Task 3
teach the kids effectively how to use the film software
Set a second goal or milestone for your Venture Team in the next 6 months that will bring you to your vision
Set a third goal or milestone for your Venture Team in the next 6 months that will bring you to your vision
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow will your Venture define success in the short term (1-12 months)?
Success means we boost the kids' self-esteem and teach them how they can use film to empower their own lives. It means they make videos that they are proud of.
In the long-term (1-3 years)?
The kids are able to teach each other how to use the film software.
How will you measure success?
The quality and quantity of the videos.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideHow will you recruit new members for your venture?
Guria Sansthan (the NGO through which we are working) has a connection the Princeton University's Bridge Year Program, so there will be volunteers annually sent to Varanasi to work on this project. We need not recruit when we already have such an interest!
How will you appoint new leaders and transfer leadership when the founding members want to leave the team?
We will encourage leadership on behalf of the kids rather than the founding members; when the kids have learned how to edit well, then we can transfer leadership directly to them instead of a "leadership team."
How will you continue your project in 6-months time or once you have spent all of its initial capital?
All we need are cameras; the rest is on us to continue the project emotionally and not financially!
Buyu is an African designer brand that makes timeless Travel accessories from the age old Baobab tree. The Buyu travel collection is the first combination of Baobab and leather in the travel accessory world. It is named after the fruit produced by the Baobab tree and it is 100% handcrafted in Kenya
Created on 04/10/2013 by ashnab
Approximately 50 words left (400 characters).
Organization: NAYA JEEVAN
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization's Country of Operation
Type of Organization
Please select
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
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Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
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Busanti- Women Empowerment on Wheels!
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
The idea is innovative because it represents the first ‘public health’ bus service for underserved
women in Pakistan and is committed to delivering:
• Safe and reliable transport (for women)
• Financial inclusion (the bus pass is equipped with mobile micropayments and
microsavings technology)
• The first health insurance plan in Pakistan for women working in the informal economy
By institutionalizing a safe, sustainable, alternate mode of transport to access both work and
quality primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare, Busanti will help relieve both the mental and
physical stress that is imposed on women who work in the informal economy.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
There have been other programs that were launched but had major issues of sustainability. Busanti is a sustainable model because it will charge the same fare that other buses on the road are charging yet offering women a safer and more dignified solution method to travel. The main distinction between Busanti and other buses on the road is:is
1. This Busanti is a safe/secure/reliable way to travel (innovation)
2. Busanti provides healthThis is education/awareness on wheels (innovation)
3. BusantiIt is a billboard on wheels which can promote progressive messaging around women’s empowerment (social innovation)
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
NAYA JEEVAN has a women-friendly work environment which is committed to positive social transformation for women in Pakistani society. A significant portion of our managers/leaders are women and we want to infect others with this positive spirit
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Detection, Long-term care, Social integration.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Naya Jeevan is still a relatively new organization albeit part of a growing health insurance ecosystem in Pakistan. No other insurance entity caters to the lower income socioeconomic groups using a convergence, integrated innovation model. Naya Jeevan is targeting employees whose monthly incomes are under PKR 25,000/month (~less than $8/day) which includes a large population of informal workers – maids, babysitters, cooks, etc. On the path to sustainability, Naya Jeevan is also partnering with corporations to provide health insurance to their low income workers and supply chains. Busanti targets these segments as well as there are a significant number of female workers working in factories as well as in agriculture and retail.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Idea (poised to launch)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Patient-centered design, New/redefined roles for healthcare service provision, New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare), New financing strategies for health.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Technology, Education/training.
Please describe your solution in more detail
The solution is straight forward. We create awareness of women’s health issues among our targeted population and they become initiators of change within their communities. They become accelerators of the same idea. We provide for them with a safe environment where they can commute daily and earn a dignified living. We provide a solution around these womenagainst the social and cultural barriers that impede access to socioeconomic opportunities for women. By educatingWomen can be educated them about their legalon women rights, legislation such as women protection bills and tools of personal safety (e.g. pepper sprays) through via film/video montages and interactive workshops
What are your vision and overall objectives?
The goal of the program is to provide low-income women workers with safe, reliable public transport and increased capacity to create financial and social value for themselves and their families. In addition, this program seeks to facilitate women’s active participation society and the workforce, empowering women with information, resources and institutions acquire control over their lives and improve attitudes and behavior towards women.
Objective 1: Increase women’s empowerment by expanding their awareness of labor laws and opportunities to exercise their rights in the workplace, community, and home.
Objective 2: Combat Gender Based Violence (GBV) and/or intimidation/harassment that informal, low-income female workers are routinely subjected to on public transport and in the workplace
What is your value proposition?
Given the problems that women face in public transport, such as verbal abuse, groping, physical attacks... stalking- many women themselves feel uneasy and avoid travelling alone. We have taken 2 negatives, lack of access to healthcare & lack of access to safe transport, & created a positive in the form of Busanti. Busanti will be PK's first public health service for women. It will provide women a secure vehicle to get them to their destinations safely, all while providing them with access to education/awareness and resources on matters of health.
Who is your customer(s)?
Our primary customer are informal working women who are typically underpaid compared to their male counterparts, for the same job classification, in Pakistan ($1/day to $3.3/day). They are also often subjected to verbal/psychological harassment by their employers who exploit their vulnerable situation in economically challenging times. A majority of Pakistani women workers are unaware of their rights & hence, have not demanded that these rights be enforced. Awareness must by necessity precede change. Forming groups or UNIONS of working women who are made aware of their rights and labor laws will enable these women to collectively demand their rights.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
We will partner with corporations to raise awareness of this bus service through their marketing and distribution networks. We also expect media (TV/radio/print) to spotlight this initiative.
What are your primary activities?
All participating women will be trained in life skills including:
• Stress/time management
• Work-life balance
• Personal hygiene/sanitation
• Environmental hygiene
• Negotiation skills
In addition, women workers will be exposed to the following legal training modules including:
• Personal Safety in the workplace
• Protection Against Workplace Harassment (2010 act)
• Protection of Women Act (2006)
• Constitutional Labor Rights
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
Busanti is an initiator in this field, hence, competition is out of the question. There are other private buses currently on the road, but they do not pose a threat at all, since women would be more than willing to switch buses because of the obvious advantages of Busanti over the rest.
Daewoo is another good quality bus service, although it does not run within the cities, they are competitors to trains and flights that run nationwide.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
One of the major challenges is to handle the cashflow, the price that the average buses are charging is enough to cover the fuel of the buses but not enough to cover the cost of the trainings being held. Hence, the business innovation will come in handy, where corporates will BRAND a BUS for a limited time period, which will turn the bus into a moving billboard; a type of outdoor media that doesn’t exist in Pakistan right now. This innovation gives some breathing space to cover other costs.
Another challenge might be gangs/criminals that might want be tempted by a bus full of women. For such people we will employ guards in the buses. Safety is a priority.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
Creating awareness for the cause
Creating a curriculum to be followed (workshop/education on wheels)
Living up to the promise
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
A similar project was launched which was wrapped up within months. Women enrolled promptly although they were let down because the bus started taking everyone on board to cover their costs. Busanti is a sustainable model; BRAND your BUS, is an alternate revenue source that will keep it afloat
What are your key growth objectives?
Indicators:
• 50% reduction in incidence of gender-associated harassment/violence
• 100 course enrollments/month
• 100% awareness among those women who travel in Busanti
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
The next 3 steps to develop this idea include:
(i) Develop a mobile software application that will enable customers the ability to purchase a monthly Busanti Pass/open a mobile money account
(ii) Test the utilization of the bus pass technology in a prototype ‘Busanti’ bus.
(iii) Design and develop the ‘women’s health' modules that will be displayed via video in the
bus
June 2013 – September 2013: Mapping Study with Data Analysis
July 2013 – August 2013: Focus Groups along with gender sensitization training and capacity-building of project staff
September 2013 –April 2014: Pilot project: Four 1-week training modules x 8 months
May 2014-June 2014: Collection and Analysis of Employee Feedback
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
NAYA JEEVAN has achieved the following results thus far:
23,000+ low income members enrolled in corporate, NGO and community Health plans across 100+ organizations in Pakistan
5000+ medical consultations conducted by phone
3000+ Health risk assessments and 500+ hospital admissions averted In addition to this, we have measured the following:
Evidence of User Satisfaction
*In 2010, the client organization renewal rate was 82%. The beneficiary renewal rate was 79%.
*In 2011, the customer renewal ratio was 95 %, indicating high user satisfaction with the product.
*Naya Jeevan achieved a growth ratio of 582% in 2010 and 630% in 2011.
Improvements in Efficiency
* Naya Jeevan's operating cost/life impacted has decreased from US$8/life impacted in 2010 to US$6/life impacted in 2011; and should continue to do so due to increased resource optimization
And increased number of beneficiaries/economies of scale.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Employee Feedback surveys will be conducted within 4 weeks of training completion to assess satisfaction with training
Outputs:
• Number of Women Workers completing legal training program
• Number of Harassment/Violence incidents self-reported by women workers completing legal awareness training program compared to other factory-based women workers
Indicators:
• 50% reduction in incidence of gender-associated harassment/violence
• 100 course enrollments/month
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
More than half of Pakistanis are women, and a high percentage of SEC C and below have working women, this would mean that Busanti will be successful all over Pakistan, wherever slums, urban slums are found. This would include (put percentage of population) of the total population to be our target market.
Apart from Pakistan, in India the recent and fatal rape case is evident of the fact that Busantis are needed there more than ever. Also the population of India and Pakistan are similar. Other South Asian countries might also be in favour of the launch of Busanti in their countries.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We anticipate that working women’s awareness of rights and labor laws will increase by 50% in the target population over 12 months. We expect that industrial working women will become more facile with mobile banking and financial services that they will be provided. Equipped with improved life skills and knowledge, we expect that these factory/industry-based workers will be treated with far more dignity and respect by their employers and will actually enjoy going to work, demonstrated by a 20% increase in their attendance rate.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Income: List existing income sources for this project
• Existing sources of funding (incl. other grants received and income generated by project): $150,000 (USAID,
Nestlé Prize in Creating Shared Value - Nomination Form Page 12 of 13
Grand Challenges Canada)
• Organisation’s own contribution (cash or in-kind):
Total income: $150,000
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
Created on 04/9/2013 by Maternova2011
Maternova has created the first e-commerce platform connecting medical device innovations and end users. Our goal is to rapidly disseminate information and life-saving products at an equitable pace in order to speed the reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity. Our platform combines content, commerce and collaboration for a highly practical, efficient new business model in global health.
Organization: Maternova, Inc.
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Country
United States, RI, Providence, Providence County
Organization's Country of Operation
United States, RI, Providence County
Type of Organization
For‐profit
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating 1-5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
World Summit on Entrepreneurship Global Hot 100 Enterprise (2012), Live Plan Boost Business Plan challenge Grand Prize Winner (2012), Pitch NYC Global Finalist (2012), Pipeline Fellowship finalist (2013), Bloomberg Businessweek 'Top 25 Social Entrepreneurs' (2012), Cartier's Women's Initiative Finalist (2011). Mass Challenge finalist (2011).
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
Maternova's aha moment occurred in while working in Indonesia alongside a team funded by USAID, Meg Wirth's colleague - an Ob/Gyn by training - died in childbirth, trying to solve the problem to which she succumbed. We have made it our life's work to ensure innovations and lifesaving devices disrupt the distribution model and make it to end users, so that no more women die.
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName Your Entry
Maternova's disruptive business model
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Globally, an incredible 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries (WHO). Almost 300,000 women and 2 million infants die around the time of childbirth due to largely preventable causes. “An estimated 74 per cent of maternal deaths could be averted if all women had access to the interventions for preventing or treating pregnancy and birth complications, in particular emergency obstetric care” (UNFPA). Simple technologies and protocols save lives, and more are being developed -- specifically designed for and with low-resource settings as a target market—each year. Individual scientists and innovators often spend two or more years after clinical trials just searching for a commercialization partner, due to high barriers to innovation uptake in low-resource settings. Brilliant clinicians and procurement agents in LMIC are unaware of the existence of life-saving new technologies. What has been missing is an accessible, trusted online marketplace where these two parties can meet, purchase and test innovations and collaborate. Maternova was created to be this space. The group Women Deliver named Maternova ‘1 of the 50 best ideas for women’ globally in 2012.
Information about the existence of disruptive technologies and ready access to them are two barriers to delivery of innovations to those who need them most. An online e-commerce platform allows the inventors of technologies to skip over multiple hurdles and years of searching for a commercialization partner. We find the innovators, follow them and then become a commercialization partner to assist them.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Maternova is the only trusted source and aggregator for low-tech medical innovations dedicated to maternal, neonatal and child health. Our Innovation Index is the result of three full years of in depth research and planning. We go a step further and offer direct access to cutting edge technologies on the first e-commerce platform for maternal and newborn health technologies. And to complement the content and commerce, we promote collaboration online.
The selection process for our innovation index is a proprietary formula that considers sustainability, efficacy, cost effectiveness, global relevance and ability to scale quickly. Maternova combines the three critical 'C's' of: Content, Commerce, and Collaboration for our members to research, procure, test and review products in the field.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
We are a very nimble organization and able to adapt and adjust to meet market demands while focusing on the scientific and social impact and ROI our products deployed in the field have, We spend a great deal of time cultivating on-going long term relationships with clients. Our collaboration platform offer the opportunity to provide a social networking/clinical trial forum for people to work together in any number of ways. Whether it's focused on a specific technology, or sharing best practices, Maternova rapidly accelerates the dissemination of lifesaving information into the field - to save more lives.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
We have many great plans for the future. Because we are a platform for multiple innovations we always have the option to drop one product that isn't selling well or to replace it with something better/faster/cheaper that comes along. In addition our domain expertise in the field of maternal and newborn health puts us at the cutting edge of researching new technologies--in fact we have been published in major journals on the subject.
We learn as we go and we constantly reiterate. Our prototype for our first proprietary product, along with mobile capabilities will allow us to further engage end users in both commerce along with conversations. Maternova also has a keen interest in child health, and pharma ( select products) may be an option for our marketplace in the future.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Maternal care
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Intervention, Follow-up, Social integration.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Globally, 99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Simple, life-saving technologies designed for low-resource settings are developed at an increasing pace, more affordably than ever before. Unfortunately, most of these technologies are slow to reach clinicians in the countries that need them most. A large proportion of infant and maternal mortality could be avoided if clinicians in developing countries knew about technologies that already exist and were able to access them. Maternova has built an online global marketplace to speed access to innovations once they have undergone pilots and regulatory clearance and to introduce them to clinicians, Ministries of Health, private hospitals and distributors. A single, constantly updated marketplace for innovations.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, Patient-centered design, Redesign of the public healthcare system for more efficiency (in terms of processes, structure etc.), New approaches to distribution of health products and services, Unconventional partnerships (between traditional healthcare players and players outside healthcare).
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
Technology, Consultation, Education/training.
Please describe your solution in more detail
Our solution cuts layers of red tape and speeds the distribution of life-saving innovations. With our e-commerce platform we make it easy for those supporting, planning and supplying health systems around the world to track cutting edge 'frugal innovation' and buy what they need online in customizable quantities. We have some inventory but drop ship from multiple locations around the globe.
Using online tutorials, sms-text based messaging systems and our online collaboration platform will bridge the gap from the point of information origin and the end-user. Our solution also harnesses the power of trusted social networks and encourages feedback on technologies from the end user, a core stage in commercialization that is missing in much of global health.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
We know that one robust, intuitive portal where stringently screened medical innovations can be discovered, procured, and incorporated into a health system's device eco-system can save lives and money. Medical solutions exist to solve maternal health issues, and more are developed every month. It is our mission to help commercialize these breakthroughs and expedite their use in the field, providing user groups, user feedback loops and thereby generating even more great ideas for saving lives. We can accomplish this using product + technology+ storytelling + social networks + education. Our platform creates a complete ecosystem for accomplishing this vision: empower health workers, deploy innovations and save more lives more quickly. We aim to impact 6 million lives by the end of 2015.
What is your value proposition?
Maternova's value proposition is to make saving the lives of our global mothers affordable, accessible, and effective by providing the first trusted source and e-commerce platform in the global health space. We accelerate the dissemination of innovation and demonstrate a substantial return on investment over traditional interventions. On average Maternova products yield $13 saved for every $1 spent.
Who is your customer(s)?
Our early adopters have been traveling clinicians and health care professionals and non-profit health care organizations providing direct care in the most remote areas of the world. Now we are seeing a surge in interest from Governments, Ministries of Health, larger hospitals and clinics. We are also now on the UN procurement supplier lists. The end user of most of our technologies are the health providers on the frontlines of global health care.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
Traditionally Maternova has used grassroots guerilla marketing anchored by a strong social media presence. Word of mouth is a strong marketing tool for us as well--one clinician to another is the most powerful recommendation. We also do some inbound marketing along with modest Google Adwords. Our own blog is kept very fresh and current, which attracts viewers from 170 countries. We work with brokers who work with governments and also do a lot of dedicated research time seeking out opportunities for bidding.
As we grow, we will be able to send free product samples, present at trade shows and increase our search engine optimization online (in multiple languages). A major area of experimentation over the next year will be mobile marketing, especially in Rwanda and Tanzania.
What are your primary activities?
Our primary activities focus on a) marketing and selling 'best in class' technologies to aid in childbirth; b) storytelling about entrepreneurs and end users of the technology c) researching and uncovering the most innovative medical innovations that are uncommercialized or in the early stages of research and development. We are now acting as a 'pull' mechanism with entrepreneurs coming directly to us because commercializing complementary products in one place makes so much sense.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
Maternova currently doesn't have any direct competitors. Of course this could change, but our head start is considerable. We would most likely look to partner with any competition, or absorb them. There are some companies like Laerdal and WomanCare Global that could be seen as competitors but they sell complementary technologies. In general, most global health technology companies we see as potential suppliers for the marketplace.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
That's an easy question to answer. Our company is globally recognized, yet we are incredibly resource constrained. Our funding has been limited largely due to funders incorrectly believing we are not bootstrapped. We are in true dire need of working capital if we are going to continue what we have sacrificed years to build. We are actively working to obtain a line of credit against receivables.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
We have been able to establish several distribution contracts that are exclusive altogether or geographically exclusive. Moving forward, we plan to make that the prerequisite for our endorsement and showcase in our marketplace.
Additionally, we have developed a prototype for our first proprietary product.
Also, we have begun securing distribution partners and customs agents overseas.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
We already have the global traction, and one solid year of sales and revenue generation with our number of customers and average size of orders growing. Our 'test' period for market viability has proven successful. We are registered with the FDA, and also registered as a vendor for procurement on the UN Global Marketplace. Our business model has been vetted and our assumptions have been proven.
What are your key growth objectives?
Maternova wants to be the first and best e-commerce platform, mobile purchasing hub and collaboration ecosystem for maternal health. We aim to move to 100 products sold into 100 countries through key partnerships. Using these strategies we will move to cash flow positive in 2014. Once we generate a profit, we can then invest in more technologies and invest in midwifery schools.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
We are experiencing rapid growth right now in Q2 of 2013. In the short term we need to secure a line of credit to allow us to respond to 2-3 major government tenders (very large volume orders). By 2014, we plan to have better translation services for all content on our website, along with our mobile presence being partially ramped up to generate revenue. Another major investment in our platform in early 2014 will build out more collaboration capability, engage more users and allow more creative marketing of new products. By 2015 we aim to have 500,000 registered users and be doing $5.2M in sales.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
The social impact of Maternova has been huge. We have impacted over 73,500 lives with our products to date. We have visitors from over 170 countries, have engaged over 85,000 users and helped commercialize over 25 products and get them to the most remote corners of the world including East Timor, Guatemala, Uganda, DRC, Tanzania, Palestine, Gaza, Honduras, Mali and Thailand.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
In some ways we use an easy formula: product * number of uses = people impacted. Our social impact model takes each product sold and deployed and estimates the number of end users impacted. We discount our calculations based upon a) whether the end user provided some evidence that the product was actually used and b) some discounted rates of misuse or non-use. We also use customer feedback and reports from the field.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Our solution can work globally and does. We are not constrained by geography. We would need to build out our translation capabilities. Our strongest presence has been in Uganda, Tanzania, and Haiti. However, we've sold successfully into 26 other countries.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Our goal is to touch 6 million lives by 2015 and we are currently on track to do that. We will have 100 products in our marketplace. Our proprietary product will be fully commercialized.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
Maternova started with a very small grant from the S.E.VEN fund and then a grant from the Macarthur Foundation. We then spent about a year in extreme bootstrapping mode, refining our business model and participating in two startup accelerators, the CHANGE Accelerator and the MassChallenge Accelerator out of Boston. Based upon our market research we expanded our projections and our scope--most importantly we expanded the range of products we sell.
We refined our financing strategy and fundraised for a seed round of equity financing which closed in 2012 and which included 3 small social investors. Our goal is to secure another 500k in funding either via investment or lines of credit against receivables. That working capital will allow us to get to scale much more quickly. Our current financial projections show us reaching cash flow positive in 2014.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Individuals, Caregivers, Private businesses, Other beneficiaries.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Foundations, NGOs, Private businesses, Regional government, National government, Others.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Maternova is first and foremost an online distributor of medical technologies, devices and supplies. We carefully select a subset of products and develop relationships with entrepreneurs and suppliers. Maternova established favorable pricing terms with exclusive distribution rights in certain geographic territiories. Then we add in our own profit margin. Our collaboration platform can be sold on a subscription basis as a second revenue stream on top of the product revenue. We started by working with smaller NGO's, hospitals and clinics but we are now targeting much larger groups as well. Maternova is also gaining traction with government tenders. Currently we are the finalist (trial currently underway) for a statewide program in India.
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Single strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Unfortunately, we have not been able to be as giving as we would like to be. We do, however, donate products to select groups when asked. In the future, I'd love to create overseas opportunities for women who would like to run microfranchises. There are many protocols and products that can be created using locally sourced materials (infant warming is one). We'd love to help lift women out of poverty and impact communities.
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
Maternova plans to have 100 products available in our marketplace. We'll provide an easier alternative for procurement officers seeking to build out their maternal and newborn health programs. Our current projections show us as reaching cash flow positive in 2014. We already have several hundred customers and our orders are growing in both number and average size of order.
Our proprietary product(s) will also be generating revenue.
Created on 03/31/2013 by NeshasAgenda
Despite efforts to achieve equality, women still earn less money than men; they are over looked for promotions and are not likely to carry the title of CEO or President at major corporations. Among the Fortune 500 companies, women only hold 18 CEO positions, and before 1996 all CEOs were men.
The presence of women in these positions continues to shock and awe, further solidifying women as the “other” when it comes to positions of power. There’s a cycle of normalcy and complacency that exists around these sensitive topics.
Organization: Her Agenda
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Country
United States, NY, New York
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Hybrid
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName Your Entry
A hub of information and inspiration for millennial women
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Despite efforts to achieve equality, women still earn less money than men; they are over looked for promotions and are not likely to carry the title of CEO or President at major corporations. Among the Fortune 500 companies, women only hold 18 CEO positions, and before 1996 all CEOs were men.
The presence of women in these positions continues to shock and awe, further solidifying women as the “other” when it comes to positions of power. There’s a cycle of normalcy and complacency that exists around these sensitive topics.
Utilizing mentorship, personal empowerment, and an increase in information, women can mobilize through empowering themselves to ultimately break down the patriarchal structures of society and claim their power.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
*To build out our ambassador program increasing HerAgenda.com's reach in other cities.
*Build partnerships with corporations to identify ways to help young women lead and also to post their job opportunities for our network.
*Increase the frequency of stories posted and original in-depth features by bringing on a managing editor.
Need #1
Performance Management
Need #2
Message & Brand Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Since relaunching the website, HerAgenda.com has increased it's reach and also increased it's online and offline initiatives. With that, many have reached out to us regarding partnerships, and also to join our team. As of now, we have 20 contributing writers, a social media manager, an intern and two video production photogs. As the leader of this company, I am working on trying to find effective ways to keep the team motivated. I am looking to find ways keep them engaged and contributing new ideas, while also still having the energy to develop and produce our day to day projects. We recently started developing our offline initiatives in the form of quarterly panels. We also now host a monthly twitter chat series. Each project requires innovative thinking and top tier management. I also feel that the website could increase the resources and information we have available, but it has been difficult finding ways to motivate the team to invest in those objectives.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
The support from American Express will be focused on my organization overall. We are looking for dynamic ways to manage and engage our team while also looking for effective ways to brand and market our company. The support from the experienced executives at American Express would be beyond helpful. It would be the perfect investment we need to grow and move forward as a company.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
As the founder, I've done research in the area of managing and growing a team. I also have set up a few systems to help streamline our process and communications. However I have not been afforded the opportunity to work with outside consultants. Having the viewpoint of someone from the outside of the company would be beyond amazing because they offer a fresh perspective, and yet bring with them years of experience.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Identify effective ways to manage the team we have and stabilizing company protocols and systems.
2.
Increase the productivity of our team to work on developing our new intatives and strengthen the ones we have in place.
3.
Grow our social media presence in addition to garnering increased media coverage for our panels and projects.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We are telling the stories of women succeeding in their industries and using their story to motivate and inspire the next generation of women leaders. We have provided content to help millennial women in addition to exposing then to information about the latest job opportunities, internships, grants and conferences to help them get to their next level. We recently hosted a panel where 100 women gathered to hear the career stories of 4 dynamic women. (see that panel here: http://heragenda.com/event-recap-the-making-of-her-agenda/) We also hosted a laptop raffle contest sponsored by Microsoft. The laptop was given to a young lady who recently gave away her computer to her little sister for college. But she needed a laptop to work on starting her company. We also have 20,000 page views.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
We will have a sustainable team and a strong brand strategy in place to allow us to grow our reach and inspire even more millennial women to never let anything slow heir agendas! We will strengthen our core initiatives and increase productivity in our team. We will also then have a strong foundation to launch new projects such as the Her Agenda ambassador program. We are also planning on raising a round of funding and need to strengthen our team and product before doing so.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/30/2013 by Beauty Night
Beauty Night is committed to reducing poverty for impoverished women. We do this by building self esteem and restoring dignity for impoverished women and youth. The women we serve:
1/3 seniors
1/3 moms & children
1/3 street youth & survival sex workers
We use beauty and wellness services to:
a) Build community to bring people together in celebration
b) Use Beauty Services to reintroduce healthy touch to women who have experienced violence
Organization: Beauty Night Society
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideTitle
Founder & Executive Director
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Beauty Night is committed to reducing poverty for impoverished women. We do this by building self esteem and restoring dignity for impoverished women and youth. The women we serve:
1/3 seniors
1/3 moms & children
1/3 street youth & survival sex workers
We use beauty and wellness services to:
a) Build community to bring people together in celebration
b) Use Beauty Services to reintroduce healthy touch to women who have experienced violence
c) Through building hope and trust through our relationships with our participants, we hear their needs and wants. As they start to believe change is possible, we are able to connect them to our community partners. This enables them to access shelter, food and health care.
In 12 years, we've given 26, 000 makeovers. 200 women each week.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1) Increasing the number of participants served from 200 each week to 250 (50 weeks each year)
2) Doing a program and volunteer management audit to improve our programs
3) Hire a program coordinator to implement recommendations from program and volunteer management audit.
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Customer Relationships
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
To assess our competitive position and and better evaluate its performance. This would be useful for analyzing why we have a strong community that people want to become engaged in yet but have difficulty asking for funding. We would use the information to adjust the information on our website and our marketing strategy. Currently we have a strong social media presence for an organization our size (Twitter 6200 followers and Facebook 1600+).
We would also like to improve customer communications with the participants we serve directly, our volunteers, supporters and on social media. The assessment would be beneficial for us to share with all of our stake holders (participants, volunteers, supporters, social media, corporate and community partners).
1.
Enthusiasm and dedication to the timeline milestones we set
2.
Creativity and innovation to approach challenges
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
The support from American Express will be focused on our Life Makeover Program. One of the challenges we face is fund raising. When people hear about our project, they want to become part of it. We have been incredibly successful providing value (serving 200 people each week on $44 845 last fiscal year). By being able to evaluate and shift our marketing to continue to engage and build our community we would like to be able to increase our financial resources as we build our human resources. This enables us to better serve our participants and increase our programming in different areas.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Yes we have worked with IABCBC (Int Association of Business Communications BC) for a pro bono grant on social media in 2010 when we did our celebrated our 10 year anniversary.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
increasing the amount of participants we serve from 200 to 250 each week
2.
Increasing the amount of monies through sharing information with our supporters
3.
Increasing our monthly events in Surrey, Burnaby & New West to twice a month
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
In 12 years, we have given over 26, 000 makeovers thanks to over 500 volunteers. Since January 2013, we have added monthly programming in Surrey, Burnaby and New Westminister. We have had an additional 100 volunteers join our community project donating their skills and monies. Many of our participants have reconnected with their friends and families, found housing, volunteer opportunities, left abusive situations, and in some cases found employment.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
After receiving support from American Express, once the recommendations are implemented, it will enable us to grow increase the work we do in Surrey, Burnaby and New Westminister. This will be done through using strengthening our template and sharing the information with our volunteers and supporters.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/28/2013 by Mike Berkowitz
GPI is committed to solving two global challenges: the decline of quality international news and empowerment of women.
Organization: Global Press Institute
Visit websitemore ↓↑ hide↑ hideOrganization Country
United States, CA, San Francisco, San Francisco County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
GPI is committed to solving two global challenges: the decline of quality international news and empowerment of women.
A number of factors separate GPI’s work from others in the field. Foremost among them is GPI’s unique training-to-employment program. While many international development and media organizations provide training, few offer opportunities for on-going practical application of learned skills. GPI not only teaches traditional reporting skills, digital literacy and advanced writing skills, but each woman who completes the training program receives an offer of employment at a living wage and goes on to work for GPI’s signature publication, the Global Press Journal.
GPI has trained and employed 133 women as professional journalists across 26 developing countries.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
GPI’s top three priorities in the next year are to (1) launch the Global Press Journal’s new syndication service to market our unique content to news outlets around the globe, enabling dramatic growth in readership and potential for social impact. Syndication will also allow GPI to move towards greater sustainability through earned revenue generation; (2) invest in the continued professional development of GPI trainees and Journal reporters by providing advanced training to every reporter in our network; and (3) equip every reporter with a laptop, camera, and elevated internet access, enabling increased multimedia training and news coverage.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We are segmenting the GPI brand to include the newly created Global Press Journal in order to elevate our identity as a world class news agency. Together, the Global Press Institute, Global Press Journal, and Global Press News Service will demonstrate that the basic problems of the news industry – quality, ethics, source access, and economics – can be solved with a low-cost solution.
The Journal will give readers a unique news experience by offering a better reader experience. A new syndication platform, the News Service, will market unique content to news outlets around the world, increasing social impact (by drawing more readers to the Journal’s content) and long-term organizational sustainability (by monetizing our news product). Finally, the Institute will continue to focus on training and empowering women.
Visitors come to the current website for a variety of reasons, but the mixture of the nonprofit message and original news content is confusing and diminishes the value of our journalism. Brand segmentation will change that, but due to the complexity of our branding we need expertise to develop the right strategy for refining and executing it well.
1.
Creative, collaborative working style and perspective
2.
Accountability and reliability
3.
Honesty and professionalism
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Brand strategy and digital marketing strategy will focus on the entire organization, which is critical to the success of GPI’s new brand segmentation and the launch of our syndication platform. These two types of support will affect all parts of the organization, from our news syndication sales to our staff development and internal identity.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Yes, GPI has repositioned its brand before. A few years ago, we changed our name from the Press Institute for Women in the Developing World to the Global Press Institute to improve our branding and shift the perception of GPI as a primarily women’s empowerment organization to one focused first and foremost on journalism. We did not engage a consultant for that process, but we have worked with outside consultants on web development, organizational strategy and management, impact evaluation, and development strategy, and we have received pro bono support on a handful of occasions.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Brand identity and cohesion
3.
Increased syndication sales
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
More than 25% of GPI stories in the last two years have catalyzed direct action, sparking social protest, provoking international attention to issues first covered by GPI, and even changing laws in two countries. For example, in 2011, when the Parliament of Nepal passed an anti-discrimination law regarding inter-caste marriages, the Prime Minister’s legal team credited a GPI reporter with forcing the issue into the national dialogue.
GPI’s 2012 reporter survey demonstrated the impact on the lives of our reporters: 84% said that they are more respected in their communities; 90% said they have a sense of transformational personal accomplishment; 100% reported having a greater sense of basic journalism principles and ethics after GPI training; and 79% reported greater computer literacy.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
GPI aims to increase demand for our news coverage, grow our readership, and deepen our reader engagement as a result of having a clearer brand segmentation and digital marketing strategy, all of which would ultimately contribute to catalyzing social change and creating greater local and international awareness about the developing world.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/27/2013 by vtorassa
In Argentina, many rural communities are faced with the problems of inequality, resignation, apathy and isolation. Azul Solidario fosters social innovation through public-private partnership methodology and since 2005 has coordinated a rural development project (ProMeCER) that focuses on improving education, health, women’s empowerment and youth involvement. This integrated approach strengthens rural identity, promotes more sustainable rural development and helps prevent rural exodus to major cities.
Organization: Asociación Civil Azul Solidario
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Asociación Civil Azul Solidario
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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Developing and Empowering Rural Communities in Argentina
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
In Argentina, many rural communities are faced with the problems of inequality, resignation, apathy and isolation. Azul Solidario fosters social innovation through public-private partnership methodology and since 2005 has coordinated a rural development project (ProMeCER) that focuses on improving education, health, women’s empowerment and youth involvement. This integrated approach strengthens rural identity, promotes more sustainable rural development and helps prevent rural exodus to major cities.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. Strengthen current management structure with paid staff.
2. Reinforce current inter-institutional bonds and involve new peers from both private and public sectors.
3. Expand our donor network and improve our accountability and communication with them (fundraising strategy).
Need #1
Peer Benchmarking Analysis
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
In the last 8 years, Azul Solidario has worked to learn how to build a stronger organization and design sustainable fundraising campaigns. We are currently searching for advice on strategies to draw interest from a broader group of citizens, companies and government sector employees in order to improve our support network and sustainability.
2.
Outreach (community involvement)
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
We would like to utilize support from American Express in order to address the 3 previously stated priorities.
1. Strengthen current management structure with paid staff.
2. Reinforce current inter-institutional bonds and involve new peers from both private and public sectors.
3. Expand our donor network and improve our accountability and communication with them (fundraising strategy).
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
No. We have already formed a strategic plan but we are still seeking strategies to overcome our organizational scaling and its financial sustainability.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Local new partners (100 citizens and 10 companies)
2.
Regional & National partners (3 NGOs/ Foundations and 10 companies)
3.
Devise an efficient communication program
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
22 rural primary schools and 9 rural kindergartens have developed the personal, familiar and community links to become Changemakers in the areas of education, health, female empowerment, and environmental care.
1. Education. Children are receiving a well-rounded education with an enriched curriculum including arts, music, sports, computing and English.
2. Health. Approximately 500 children are involved in annual vaccination schemes and annual pediatric and odontopediatric rounds. In addition, health and nutrition education is provided through two exemplary organic orchards.
3. Female Empowerment. 32 rural women from 8 regions are involved in our sheep wool spinning and knitting project
4. Environmental Care. 4 sanitary wells have been built in farms to prevent hydatidosis.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
We would like to utilize support from American Express in order to address the 3 previously stated priorities.
This Entry is about (Issues)
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Women LEAD.
Created on 03/25/2013 by ccharamnac
Women hold only 10% of national decision-making positions in Nepal. An increase in allocated leadership positions, such as a 33% quota for women in state structures, represents new opportunities for women but schools & civil society are failing to equip them with the tools to access these positions.
Organization: Women LEAD
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United States, DC, Washington, Washington
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Women hold only 10% of national decision-making positions in Nepal. An increase in allocated leadership positions, such as a 33% quota for women in state structures, represents new opportunities for women but schools & civil society are failing to equip them with the tools to access these positions.
As the only leadership development organization for young women, led by young women, in Nepal, Women LEAD believes that the solution is long-term leadership development for girls. Since 2011, we’ve empowered over 400 young women to become leaders in their schools & communities. We’re locally owned & youth-led: all of our team are young women under 25. We include boys when appropriate (40% of participants in our Leadership track), as boys need to learn to work with & support female leaders.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1) Train 200 students through the LEAD Program.
2) Establish our Resource Center which will hold events for up to 1000 young women leaders across Kathmandu.
3) Raise our operating budget of $60,000 for 2013-2014.
Need #1
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Need #2
Peer Benchmarking Analysis
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We are a young organization with a very small donor base (less than 100 donors), a small email list (around 200) and a growing audience on social media channels (more than 1,500 followers on Facebook and 800 on Twitter). We also have only one staff member dedicated to fundraising (though we are expanding our capacities with our Board and Fundraising Committee in the US). We have opportunities to expand our fundraising within and beyond the US but have not identified and developed the strategies to do so. It would be very helpful for American Express to help us identify the gaps in our current strategy and form new tactics to reach new audiences. We need help in:
1. Effectively managing our social media community to increase conversion rates from “follower” to “donor”;
2. Developing a strategy for international engagement targeting: family foundations, business partners in the Nepali tourism industry, and high-capacity donors;
3. Identifying and cultivating a portfolio of 50 mid-to-high capacity donors (1,000-5,000 annual cash gifts) with the goal of ten major gift solicitations by the end of FY ’13-14.
1.
Honesty - being open about expectations and disagreements.
2.
Clarity - being clear about expectations and deliverables from the beginning
3.
Appreciation - recognizing and being grateful for each other's contribution to the partnership
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support will be focused on our fundraising strategy. Ideally American Express would study our existing strategy, evaluate its effectiveness, and propose new tactics for the strategy to increase and diversify our donors.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
Half my time as the US Executive Director is focused on fundraising. I created a fundraising strategy for Fiscal Year 2013 (which for us ends in June). Our revenue stream was divided into institutional gifts, individual gifts and events. We worked with a consultant from Accenture for one session who reviewed our existing strategy and proposed new options. Although we did raise the amount needed until the end of the fiscal year, we did not hit some of our other targets, such as recruiting 10 major donors and growing our individual donor base.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
No
1.
Create a fundraising strategy that reaches new audiences such as the tourism industry and high net worth individuals.
2.
Identify 50 mid to high capacity donors (1,000-5,000 USD)
3.
Grow our individual donor base by 100% to 200 donors
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
400 leaders have graduated from our organization. While only 18% of women over 25 have a secondary education or higher in Nepal, 87% of our 2010 graduates are attending university, studying subjects such as dental surgery, biotechnology, architecture & civil engineering. Our participants gain confidence in their abilities & skills, self-identify as leaders, raise their voices to advocate for change, form & work towards their career goals & become more politically aware & active. They’re challenging their community’s treatment of women, writing op-eds on the misrepresentation of women & becoming role models/mentors to younger students. Participants join a peer support network & develop supportive relationships that will help them face the challenges of advocating for a gender equal society.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
With American Express' support, we will be able to create a diverse fundraising strategy, which is a critical part of our sustainability as an organization. It will help us take our fundraising to the next level to ensure that we can invest in operational costs and retain and recruit full-time staff. Investing in our staff will enable us to expand our operations in Nepal (going from impacting 200 young women a year to more than 1,000) and look into replicating our model in other countries. With our current fundraising level, we cannot scale up our model.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/17/2013 by fountainofhopeAfrica
About 90% of Kiambu county populous lives below a dollar. The situation is even worse to families affected by HIV/Aids. Because of ardent poverty many families are not able to budget for sanitary towels since even food is not sufficient hence many girls miss school during their menses.
Organization: Fountain of Hope Youth Initiative Group
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Sanitary towels & reproduction health education to vulnerable girls.
Organization Name
Fountain of Hope Youth Initiative Group
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
Many school going girls continue to miss school during their menses. According to UNICEF 2007 report, a girl in primary school between grades 6 and 8 (3 years) loses approximately 18 weeks out of 108 school weeks. A girl in high school (4 years) loses 156 learning days which is equivalent to almost 24 weeks out of 144 weeks of school. Because of poverty most use pieces of dirty rugs, cotton wool, leaves and paper some even wash and recycle. These practices expose them to diseases and discomfort.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
This project provides sanitary towels and under pants to poor girls and widows. The project also offers reproduction health & career mentor-ship training to kids of both genders with emphasis on girls who are more vulnerable.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
Providing Sanitary towels & undergarments to poor women -Conducting Hygiene education and awareness on personal diagnosis checks for breast cancer and genital disorders. -Conducting HIV/Aids awareness capitalizing on prevention and transmission to women.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Kiambu County has 1.6m people. Kiambu County populous live below one dollar. Poverty levels are extremely high contributed by lack of land, extended families share small potions of land because of dense population; this leaves many without farming lands. The proximity of Kiambu to Nairobi city makes migration of commercial sex workers a norm which only promotes the HIV/Aids spread. HIV/Aids prevalence stands at 8% higher than national prevalence which is 6.3%. The socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDs in the district include the highs school drop out rates, female and children headed families, loss of manpower and high mortality and morbidity rates, orphans etc. Lack of economic empowerment, education and information has made number of women in leadership and elective positions very low.
Created on 03/12/2013 by duygudurak
b-fit offers 30 minutes exercise program for only women for affordable prices in order to make exercise a habit for women and create healthier nation.
Organization: b-fit Sports and Healthy Living Centers For Women
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b-fit Sports and Healthy Living Centers For Women
Organization's Country of Operation
Type of Organization
For‐profit
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating for more than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Ashoka - Founder of b-fit; Bedriye Hulya was selected as Ashoka fellow
Endeavour - Founder of b-fit; Bedriye Hulya was selected as Endeavour entrepreneur
Many awards from various universities from Turkey
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
b-fit is established by one of its partner’s participation to a similar system since 2006 in America after she reduced two sizes by working out only for half an hour a day. She decided that the system which is based on scientific principles and used by 13 million Americans, should be adapted to Turkey and Turkish women's culture. The system should have been more than just a member and gym.
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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Exercise for healthier life!
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Turkey, now, is considered as one of the most obesis countries among Europe. According to the researches made before founding; sports clubs in Turkey is mostly for men. There is not enough place for women to move.
Women, in Turkey, are the idea makers for their social environment. In many fitness clubs, women are not able to do exercise comfortably. And as many people, women has many excuses for exercising.
b-fit system was established by defining those exercises and creating solutions to remove them. After the steps were defined, first test office opened with 6 partners. In a very short time, b-fit became very popular for many women.
With its mission of 'contribution to women entrepreneurship', more than 200 women became entrepreneurs.
b-fit system, now, has reached 218 branches in 46 cities with more than 160.000 women members.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
b-fit is the first women only sports and healthy living club in Turkey. After 2 years, competitiors entered to the market. However competitors entered in the market by just providing fitness clubs.
b-fit is not only a fitness club with its special exercise programme, but also a living center for women. In many cities of Turkey, women is mostly housewifes and she does not anywhere to socialize and any friends. b-fit has changed this status quo by providing women to start their own business and create places where they can exercise, socialize, learn, plan group activities, etc. b-fit has created a job opportunity for more than 1.000 women and more than 160.000 women has exercised and socialized in b-fit clubs.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
Turkey is now considered as one of the most obesis country in the world. Most of the women in Turkey, do not have the habit of exercising. Our brand became the first in the country to break this common habit. We had very hard times introducing the importance and joy of exercising to women. Our team and entrepreneurs worked very hard to make women to come and try our system. We also organize seminars/educations for women to tell the importance.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
b-fit has first started silently in a small city to test the whole system. After 1 year, we believed that the system works and it is good for women. Just 2 years after the introduction business, competitors started to open the same business as ours. However, it was impossible to beat the success of bfit's. Bfit has now 218 branches, and the closest competitor in the Turkish market has just 40 branches.
In Turkey,laws and procedures may change very quickly. Bfit had many challenges but we always found the solution. As a social business, there many volunteers network around us to help and enlarge the business.
Our next step is to take the system to Middle East. We had many market research and redesign the system to adapt Middle Eastern culture. We need investors for the next project.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Other specialty care
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Detection, Follow-up, Long-term care, Social integration.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
We are trying to increase awareness of women on health, exercise, and many kinds of women issues by providing them places where they can exercise and socialize and by providing them to start up their own business.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, New/redefined roles for healthcare service provision, New approaches to distribution of health products and services.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
New skills, Consultation, Education/training, Community financing.
Please describe your solution in more detail
We offer women; accessible solution to avoid and heal their health problems for affordable prices.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
- to take the business to Middle Eastern countries.
- to provide more free services to women in need.
- to start new women schools to educate more illeterate women
What is your value proposition?
We would like experience more and more women of healthy life. So that, new generations will become more knowledgable and health. We will be able to decrease the level of illnesses.
Who is your customer(s)?
Any women from 13 - 81 years old are our customers.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
We have 218 branches all over Turkey and we grow by selling franchisees to only women. As the chain enlarges, our member numbers increase.
What are your primary activities?
We sell sports membership to only women for affordable prices so that we can reach and more and more women everyday.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
We make alliences with many institutions such as hospitals. So that we can continue their patient's healing process in our bfit centers.
We have 4 main competitors in the market. They follow all the strategies applied in bfit and open their clubs just next to our branches. However, competitor's strategy allows members to try both clubs and make the final selection on our clubs.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
Management is one the main issue for our organization. As we have 218 franchisees, they are all expected to serve the same service and quality. However, this is mostly impossible. We have our own auditing system to monitor and evaluate all the branches once in a year.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
Our success has been proven by many awards. As mentioned before, we, now, aim to enlarge the business by entering international markets.
To achieve this aim, we are looking for new people or organizations that can invest on our business.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New regions(s), New market(s)/country(ies).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
We consider ourselves ready for growth, as we monitor the success and positive change on the women that we could reach.
All we need for growing; is to find new sources for the business.
What are your key growth objectives?
The investor has to fully understand our company mission in order to provide the same service and quality in different markets.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
We have been increasing the number of our branches at ther moment in the domestic market. The big plan - investing on Middle Eastern market - is a mid-term plan. We made and continue our market research for that market.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
We increased the awareness of Turkish women on women issues and healthy living. As they realize the importance of daily exercise for their life, they become our followers to spread the word.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
We have our own made CRM software program where we can keep all the member's various information such as; their health needs, weights, BMIs, target... So that we can easily quantify how the system effected the environment.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
As the aim is to enter new markets; we made market research a lot. Our system will work with little changes on administration and application in Middle Eastern countries and Germany.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
We have already reached more tahn 175.000 women with 218 branches in 7 years. We project to reach 1 million women in the next 3 years.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Individuals, Private businesses, Other beneficiaries.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Private businesses, Others.
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Foundations, NGOs, Private businesses.
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
We have been earning capital at the moment with our franchising system. We also would like to find investor to raise capital for the future plans.
Created on 03/11/2013 by ahardin4
Water Ecuador is committed to providing communities with sustainable clean water sources through a broadly replicable and scalable business model. The organization's water centers are designed to be financially autonomous, paying for maintenance and repair costs through water sales. To ensure continued community uptake, Water Ecuador performs aggressive educational work in conjunction with its water center construction. Volunteer staff in the United States educate others about water health through social media and raise money for the construction of new water centers.
Organization: Water Ecuador
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United States, MA, Cambridge, Middlesex County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideName Your Entry
Water Ecuador Digital Media Outreach
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Water Ecuador is committed to providing communities with sustainable clean water sources through a broadly replicable and scalable business model. The organization's water centers are designed to be financially autonomous, paying for maintenance and repair costs through water sales. To ensure continued community uptake, Water Ecuador performs aggressive educational work in conjunction with its water center construction. Volunteer staff in the United States educate others about water health through social media and raise money for the construction of new water centers. Future efforts will be directed at developing a franchise model whereby aspiring local entrepreneurs borrow to obtain a water center, which they will operate as a franchise under the auspices of Water Ecuador.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1) Broaden donor base in Untied States through improved use of grassroots marketing and social media
2) Build Water Ecuador's brand awareness in Ecuador as a step towards the development of a franchise model for scaling operations
3) Hone business model at existing water centers through experiments in outreach and marketing
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Water Ecuador has begun developing a strong online presence through its website (waterecuador.org), facebook, twitter, and linkedin. However, Water Ecuador has struggled in converting hits on the website and followers on social media into donor dollars. Water Ecuador needs help in designing and implementing digital marketing strategies and partnerships that result in increased donations for the organization, thereby allowing the organizations to improve the services it provides for families in Ecuador.
Specifically, Water Ecuador would like help in analyzing the relative utility of the following strategies:
1) Google AdWords spending
2) Facebook advertising
3) Partnerships with US companies for online matching of donations
4) Inbound marketing strategies through development of manuals or informational web books
5) Creative mass donor campaigns such as those on kickstarter, charitywater.org, etc.
5) Merchandise sales on website or elsewhere
In addition to identification of areas of focus, Water Ecuador seeks advice and technical assistance in implementation of these approaches, given the limited technical skills of Water Ecuador's volunteer staff.
1.
Outcomes-based approach to problem
2.
Equitable sharing of opportunities and resources between partners
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
The support from American Express will enable Water Ecuador to increase access to clean and affordable water and education related to water, sanitation, and hygiene issues by providing overall support for all aspects of the organization's holistic approach.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
While Water Ecuador has a digital media presence currently, it has not focused on any of the specific tasks listed above and has not developed a digital marketing strategy directed specifically towards increasing donations for the organization. Currently, all digital media efforts have been performed by volunteers who are unable to provide advanced media services that the growing organization needs.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Increased donations driven by digital media presence
2.
Increased awareness of Water Ecuador and its work
3.
Improved branding of Water Ecuador in both US and Ecuador
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Water Ecuador focuses on two tasks to fulfill its mission: providing access to clean and affordable water and providing education related to water, sanitation, and hygiene issues.
Internal studies to date have shown a statistically significant 52% lower rate of diarrheal disease among households consuming Water Ecuador's water.
Water Ecuador operates six water centers providing approximately 2,000 people with water every day.
The organization educates hundreds of children in the US and Ecuador every year and has begun implementation of a peer-to-peer exchange of information between elementary school children in the US and Ecuador related to water issues.
Additionally, Water Ecuador's water centers provide sustainable employment for six locally-based water center managers.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Increased funding will allow Water Ecuador to expand from six water centers in one isolated sector of Ecuador to a nationwide network of about one hundred water centers by using a franchise model to reduce capital expenditure and overhead burden on the organization. This transition will require a strong brand presence and development of an efficient organizational structure in Ecuador. Furthermore, it will require the water centers to be refined with a scaled up production capacity that will allow them to be more rapidly deployed in new communities in cost-effective ways.
This Entry is about (Issues)
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Women LEAD.
Created on 03/11/2013 by ccharamnac
Women LEAD is the first and only leadership development organization for young women, led by young women, in Nepal. We've empowered more than 400 high school students with the skills, support and opportunities to become leaders in their schools and communities.
Created on 03/11/2013 by Goonj_2013
Goonj works using urban underutilized cloth as vital resource in the shape of a sanitary pad, My-PAD, by repositioning discarded material as valuable resource. My-PAD is affordable, easy to use & environment friendly clean cloth pad made for women in villages & slums by involving urban masses primarily women. Focused awareness also carried out on this taboo but critical health issue.
Organization: Goonj
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Type of Organization
Non‐profit/NGO
Year of launch of the organization
Years in Operation
Operating for more than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Some of the recognition are:
• Nov’ 12 : Social Entrepreneur of the Year award to Mr. Anshu Gupta by Schwab foundation
• July’ 12: GOONJ as ‘Game Changing Innovation’ by NASA & US State Dept.
• Jun’ 12: GDN- Japanese govts'. ‘Most Innovative Development Project’ Award
• Feb’ 12: Edelgive Social honour for the initiative ‘Not Just a piece of cloth”
• Nov’10: Listed in ‘Forbes’ as one of the India’s most powerful entrepreneurs
• May’10: ‘Innovation for India’ award
• Mar’10: Jamnalal Bajaj CFBP Award for ‘Fair Practices’
• Nov’ 09: ‘Cloth for Work’ wins international Lien i3 Challenge Award in Singapore.
• Jun’ 09: Napkin initiative wins Changemaker’s Innovation Award
• Mar ‘09: CNN IBN’s ‘Real Heros’ award to Mr. Anshu Gupta in women welfare segment.
• Mar ‘08: ‘India NGO of the year' award
• May ‘07: GOONJ’s sanitary napkin project ‘Not just a piece of cloth’ wins World Bank’s Global Development Market Place Award.
• July ‘07: GOONJ’s first initiative “VASTRA-SAMMAN” recognized as one of ‘The Good Practices’ in Dubai International Awards.
• 2006: Win the prestigious Changemaker’s Innovation Award, the second time, for our disaster relief initiative ‘RAHAT’.
• 2004: Prestigious Ashoka Fellowship to Anshu Gupta.
• 2004: GOONJ wins Changemaker’s Innovation Award for its “SCHOOL to SCHOOL” initiative.
We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
Anshu found out about a woman who died of tetanus as blouse piece she used as sanitary pad had a hook. Poverty,culture of shame added to hardships besides health risks.His work on clothing gave a new perspective. Goonj started opening up the subject and initiated dialogues in urban-rural both, It involved masses to mobilize awareness & discuss this taboo issue and created a basic cloth product.
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Not Just A Piece Of Cloth (NJPC)
Explain what the "innovation" is about, e.g., is it the idea and/or the model you use to accomplish the idea, or your understanding of the target population, etc.?
Menses and menstrual hygiene falls in the most neglected health subjects worldwide. Millions of women use sand, wood ash, old rags, newspapers & even plastic bags due to non-availability of sanitary pads in India. Shame & silence associated with the issue makes it the most taboo subject even among women. The irony is that even the biggest health/RCH projects don’t have a budget for sanitary pads. This is a nationwide intervention, which starts with providing a physical product but stresses more on changing practices, behavior change, education & replication in the long term. The clean cloth pad is developed out of old cloth collected from urban masses. Its made with highly indigenous processes while we also teach the user women to make it on their own.
We are using old cloth lying useless in the cities as a resource to address this important yet taboo basic need of the village & slum women and in doing so focusing on a critical gap in women’s health. The clean cloth napkins are an entry point to generate more awareness on the related health and hygiene issues. In the cities for the first time we are initiating discussion on this issue by directly involving the urban women, drawing on their instinctive empathy. The use of cloth; a material most village women are comfortable and familiar with, coupled with the reuse possibilities makes it a viable option.
Describe how your innovation model is distinct from any other organization in your field?
Sanitary pads that are affordable & environment friendly are on experimental level. As commercial sector hasn’t provided cheap & good napkin to masses, village India still survives on old cloth. A few groups have taken this as add on activity limited to communities they are working with.Gaps: Apart from costing, bigger challenge is this essential phenomenon hasn’t got enough attention from health/development sector.No macro analysis of problem/efforts to adapt small initiatives to different groups. Evident connection with health hazards hasn’t translated into comprehensive remedial action. During disasters, when victims don’t have access to basics, few agencies pay attention to basic need that ironically becomes more acute due to non-availability of normal clothing & covered space.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
(Goonj works on identifying aspects of rural beneficiaries’ lives where cloth plays important role. 10%of total cloth we get,is wearable.Cotton cloth from this lot is converted into napkins.Pack of 5 pads reache beneficiary with information on how to use & reuse,washing & drying practices, importance of sunlight &hygiene issues.We are developing exhibitions for partners for dissemination of information along with pads. Goonj works in 21states of India through its network of more than 100 partners.Other aspect is initiating discussion & debate on taboo subject in cities. We are spreading awareness among people from different strata thereby evoking empathy about chasm in resources leading to civic participation.In villages aim for local level replication so women don’t rely soley on Goonj.
How do you make sure you constantly innovate in light of (potential) external challenges, or your growth plan?
We developed models around napkin work depending on circumstances of beneficiaries or requirements & interest of partners.Given internal costs in making napkins we charge minimal amount for pack of napkins but in poor areas, we don’t charge, instead we motivate urban audiences to sponsor packs for rural women. In some places partners show interest in involving women,then we teach how to make napkins, apart from providing raw material. NGOs distributing pads buy from us directly, others want help to spread awareness, we meet with community women, distribute napkins & let NGO decide future course. We constantly seek inputs from end user to help make effective product. Big add on introduced is providing undergarments-adds to comfort & risk aversion for women defecating in open.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideThe systemic challenge you are trying to overcome (select one)
Bring accessible healthcare to communities in emerging markets
Health area (target market) where the need is [select only one]
Primary healthcare services
Categories along the health continuum you are covering [select all that apply]
Prevention, Intervention, Follow-up.
Please describe in more detail: what problem are you trying to solve in the organization's specific context?
Given poor economic status,sanitary pad is last thing on mind of rural women,use all kinds of rags leading to prevalence of RTI.What makes idea of clean cloth pads successful is familiarity to women. Mass scale replication of existing usage patterns possible.We remove risk elements, do value addition in terms of cleanliness& awareness.Given strength of network & expertise in management of old cloth,replication on wide scale makes it cheaper.Non-biodegradable market napkins unaffordable by rural women.We provide appropriate option, preventing problem of disposal.NJPC works with material lying idle in urban homes.Easy channelising for good cause with small financial aspect,makes people happy. Other Goonj initiatives address clothing issue & ensure regular supply.
Stage that best applies to your solution [select only one]
Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
Core strategies of your business model [select all that apply]
Approaches to behavioral change at the individual level, New approaches to distribution of health products and services.
Most relevant tools you are using to implement the strategies outlined above [select only two]
New skills, Education/training.
Please describe your solution in more detail
Women start menstruating from age 12years till around 50 years. They need napkins all though this period &need to be aware about hygiene issues connected with menses. By reaching My Pad, we get women who use all kinds of rags, to experience first hand what it feels like to use clean cloth as pad. When Cloth for work activity carried out, we ensure that her family gets cloth which can be used as pad later. Once women feel safety of clean cloth, correct way of using cloth as pad, she feels happy in continuing practice,with whatever cloth she has,even if she doesn’t get GOONJ pad for long.As they talk of taboo topic, feel emboldened & talk about their infections, feel empowered to shun taboo, use cloth sensibly & give attention to own health.
What are your vision and overall objectives?
GOONJ sees clothing as an ignored basic need,similarly sanitary pads is a basic need for a women.Absence of adequate clean cloth turns menses into a monthly disaster for her. We envision last shreds of cities cloth as an empowering tool for motivating women to work on their own challenges,bringing about a long term behavioral change of giving priority to her own health.Given the availability of surplus cloth across globe in cities & universality of menses,our vision is for idea to spread beyond India’s geographical boundaries.Our objective is to alleviate village women out of hardships,indignity & huge health risk they face every month as also using this work as an employment generation activity for women, breaking the taboo in the process.
What is your value proposition?
Rural women treat their needs as last priority thereby receiving less health care& education In scenario where they struggle for daily survival,NJPC brings awareness about fundamental issue,highlighting high-risk behavior that puts their health in jeopardy.Influencing health seeking behaviour by giving empowerment to influence their own health. Rural women socialized to tolerate suffering & this mindset is constraint to get adequate health for themselves.Exposure & interactions on taboo issue is key in highlighting possibilities available to them. Essence of NJPC is not just to provide clean napkin or making women aware, but to address clothing holistically. Addressal of clothing help free meager resources for pressing needs like food. This reinforces Goonj’s mission.
Who is your customer(s)?
Adolescent Girls:Nutrition Foundation of India says that average age of menarche is around 13 yrs yet 50%of both urban &rural girls aged 12 yrs have no understanding of this process (India chapter Women of the World).Adolescent girls face problems like low literacy level,sexual vulnerability contributing to dismal health. Young married women in reproductive/child bearing age:In India 1 in 6 girls begin child bearing between 13-19yrs. India has 10 million pregnant adolescents & adolescent mothers. Maternal mortality accounts for 15% of all deaths of women. (India chapter Women of the World,South Asia).Older women:Most studies on reproductive health & menses say older women in family are primary source of information about menses practices.This segment plays key role as knowledge leader.
What approaches to you use to reach your customers?
1.Sensitizing urban masses to bring attitudinal changes towards menses as taboo subject & show power of old clothing for women by initiating discussion through forums2.making MY Pad at processing centers3.Partners give information about community needs4. meeting with partners highlighting need,solution& process.5.Village meeting organized with community women to talk about health risks & solution offered by My-Pad6. Provide exhibition material with relevant information to partners to put up locally7.Sends 1st dispatch to women &general clothing for cloth for work activity for village community 8.Distribution of pads tied with awareness meeting9.Training to local women on how to make pads, where cloth material provided.10.other organizations buy pads for giving in their areas
What are your primary activities?
1.sensiting urban masses -discussions through lectures, addressing kitty parties,etc. 2.collection of material- Generating material through awareness cum collection camps. Every camp leads to new contacts & volunteers. We organize monthly sponsorship campaigns,touch base with hospitals & hotels for large quantities of old cloth.3.Process- Collected material is sorted, packed at GOONJ’s processing center & sent to our partner groups according to requirements of their target communities. 4.Education- Partners provided them relevant information like illustrative posters 5.Replication on local level; Over a period of time share our learnings with them & help them replicate small scale.6.A part of it is available for sale, increases reach, sustains work.
Who are your peers and competitors? What problems could these players pose to your success or growth?
We are not aware of any organization which is using old cloth as raw material for making sanitary pads. Most organizations working in this field are either using new cloth,cotton or some other man made or natural fibre. It mostly attracts an added cost which gets transferred to the receiver.Very few organizations give attention to awareness aspect. In any case we feel that given the vast scale of need in India & other countries,there is need for more organizations to work.Hence Goonj focuses on idea spread.Sanitary napkins that are practical are needed in rural India yet its not available at any village market. Uniqueness about Goonj’s work is that it succeeds only when it complements and supports whatever work is being done in different sectors by our grassroots partner groups.
What other challenges - individual, organizational, or environmental – are you currently facing or might hinder future success of your business, and how do you plan to overcome those?
1.Communicating a new idea to urban & rural audiences is a slow process;unhealthy practices,huge taboo,mindsets of partner groups call for long term behavioral change communication.2.Planning Risk in generating material from masses;we are approaching different channels for committed supplies3.tackling & changing the attitude of urban masses of acting as if they are doing greatest deed in giving away their discard.Sustained communication & awareness building on giving with dignity has helped4.we have turned lack of sustained funding into our greatest strength;growth owed to people who are giving material, time and money.5.Risk is not using full potential of the idea; opening up idea and processes for wider audience for others to adopt and spread the work with our minimal expense.
Briefly describe your growth strategy going forward
Long term growth strategy– sustain organizational spread plus focusing on more partners & village women starting to make pads with Goonj’s cloth raw material. We would like to put energy in idea spread,through knowledge sharing with partners, sharing replication kit & documenting, sharing impact with international academia to get rest of world excited about potential of idea.
What dimensions for growth are you currently targeting for your innovation [select all that apply]
New customer group(s), New regions(s).
What makes your business "ready" for growth?
Idea working for 5 years. Impact visible at many places,national & international agencies awarded work after rigorous due diligence, evaluation process. Demand much ahead of supply, ensuring long term sustenance. Overall volume growing, raw material ensured. Evolved multiple strategies for napkin distribution. Right juncture of knowing what we want with understanding of strengths & weaknesses.
What are your key growth objectives?
1. Work in backward areas directly, knowledge sharing in others
2. Cross subsidize costs by selling to organizations not directly working
3. Urban sponsorship for rural implementation
4. Speak at national and international forums
5. Open systems to enable replication
6. Work to motivate bulk suppliers for generating material, tie up with big brands for co-branded campaigns for idea spread.
What is your timeframe for growth, in the short and mid-term? What are the growth milestones and key activities going forward?
Short-Term: next 1-3 years
1. Focus on some areas & key partners,who show interest & capacities to work.2. Strengthen systems 3. Document impact through case studies.4.Work on replication kit 5.Get involved at policy level to bring this as key women’s health issue 6. Communication plan to target more sponsorship 7.Increase production capacity to 2 lakh napkins monthly by end of 2 years
Mid Term
1.Strategy brainstorm for scaling up.2. Replication of idea-women produce napkins-income generation-Goonj provides cloth for napkin making 3. Involve village women to identify their challenges; work on issues & get napkins in return. 4. bring out first major documentation report.5. Connect NJPC with village level health interventions.6. Equipping partners to generate material.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat has been the impact of your solution to date?
Quantitative Impact - Goonj’s Sanitary napkin work; highpoints
• Winner of several international awards (World Bank’s Development Marketplace award, Changemaker’s award, Lien i3 challenge award).
• Produced more than 20 lakh sanitary pads & reached to rural women. Presently 100,000 pads made benefiting 20,000 women monthly.
• Easily replicable world over.
• 60 exhibition held in villages to create awareness highlights taboos
• Worked with 30 partners.
• states covered –Orissa,Uttar Pradesh ,Rajasthan ,Gujarat ,Bihar,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra ,Jharkhand
• Village meetings bring out taboo subject & women discuss about this.
• Napkins produced without machines /technological inputs.
Qualitative Impact- Direct Impact-Improved quality of cloth used during menses,Better hygiene practices,More discussion, thereby initiating constructive organizing of women, dignity to women & better lifestyle,Increase in attendance of adolescent girls in schools, more productivity for women during menses period,Improved health seeking behavior of women ,Increased women oriented activities in village,Helps free up their meager resources for other pressing needs.
Indirect Impact-Credible network for channelizing urban discard, Stronger relationship of partners with communities,Highlight link between RCH, cervical cancer & other women issues. Community health workers benefit due to awareness,Second hand cloth industry product demand increases due to spread & replication, more people get employment,Due to better awareness, entry of market forces with low cost sanitary pad possible.
What methods for quantification of social impact are you applying (if at all)?
Indicators-No.of partners, women benefiting,usage patterns-monthly usage,washing,cleaning &drying patterns,usage practices of pads-with/without loops,preferred size of pads,storage of pads being reused,influence of pricing on usage,partner initiative taken to generate material & production of pads locally,role in addressing related problems of village women,level of interaction of women with local health mechanisms,women initiate discussion on their own,handling of shortfall in supply of pads,transfer of information between family members,incidence of reproductive infections,no.of collection camps organised,quantity of material sorted,no.of sponsorships coming from urban women, pads made,kind of cloth donated,no.of women spreading awareness & women centric meetings addressed.
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Model replication possible in any part of world struggling with poverty; where women unable to fulfill even basic needs of food & shelter. We talk to organizations in different countries through various forums. Other opportunity is to focus on supporting smaller active initiatives.
Opportunities:Audiences like garment exporters, hotels, Hospitals, Boarding schools can help in scale up of material without a big investment; School & college youth population –volunteer base because of enthusiasm & aspirations for change;urban educated working women good support as individuals & idea ambassadors at organization level;state-city-village approach: As we spread to other cities & towns, material generated in big city channelised to villages of same state, cutting down on logistical costs.
What is your projected impact over the next 1-3 years?
Year1 & 2:Reach women through partners.Work at four levels(1)Provide physical product(2)General clothing need of woman & her family addressed through other Goonj initiatives(3)Discuss of menstrual health issues with women(4)Equip partners to do small-scale replication.Year3:Focus shifted from providing pads to filling demand gaps.Women’s needs addressed1.Spare cloth available based on continuous cloth supply to them from other Goonj programs 2.Cloth napkins made by partners from self-generated material3.Goonj’s pads’ supply addresses gaps in supply left after above two sources.Making beneficiaries cloth-rich community:After awareness phase beneficiaries will have more clothes under other programs, dependence on Goonj for physical product of pads will diminish.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideElaborate on your current financing strategy
Goonj works through large citizen base, growth owed to 1000s of volunteers who helped in idea spread & financially.e.g: collecting old newspapers from people & raising funds through its sale,getting one side used paper from corporates for making school notebooks & writing pads for sale,asking urban women to give us one meter cloth every month when they have menses for their rural counterparts,one rupee one cloth;motivating people to give us one rupee with each cloth they give to cover cost of reaching it to the beneficiary.Cost sharing & cost cutting at every step.Subsidized interstate transportation of material, corporate sponsorship of washing machines etc. Insistence on minimal resources for logistical & administrative work.We use one sided used paper for stationary & promotional material. What is considered as administrative expenses in most projects is main expense in this project i.e. manpower, transportation and rents.Personnel cost- As we work with & through people; to generate material we need manpower at every step in entire process.Direct relationship between no. of people, amount of material generated,sanitary napkins made translating into more beneficiaries, justifying personnel expenses.Infrastructure- Goonj doesn’t spend on office automation systems as recycled products generated from people used. Only cost is industrial washing machines to take care of volumes.Collection &awareness camps- per camp cost is kept low as camps organised on participatory basis & volunteers take care of expenses. Camps used to sensitize urban masses.
Share of revenue generation in total income of organization (in percent)
Direct sales to patients or other beneficiaries (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these sales listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Friends and family, Individuals, Patients, Caregivers, Other beneficiaries.
Licensing fees, e.g., for technology/franchise model (in percent)
Of the possible sources of these licensing opportunities listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Service contract with organizations, e.g., government, NGOs (in percent)
Of the possible sources of the service contracts listed below, check all that apply to your current strategy
Explain your revenue generation strategy in more detail
Goonj raises resources through multiple sources to reduce its dependence on one source. We take up multiple strategies on covering costs of napkin work. We sell recycled products, collect newspapers from households, for scrap sale.Cross subsidizing rural products by sale of products in urban markets ensures sustenance. Since all work around masses; we involve masses in generating resources. We are requesting people who give their material, to also give atleast Rs 100 each time they give material.We have sponsorship campaign going on called 60 days of dignity asking urban masses to ensure year’s supply of napkins, undergarments and awareness work for rural women. We are getting together Team of 2000 people called Team 2000, who will commit fixed amount of Rs 12000 yearly endlessly.
Share of philanthropy in total income of organization (in percent)
Philanthrophy strategies you are using
Diversified strategy.
Explain your philanthropic approach in more detail
GOONJ believes that people living with all conveniences &facilities in cities have responsibility towards their village counterparts who lack resources & opportunities. Given growing consumptive nature of metros & shrinking spaces, there is need to find channelising things we don’t need. Thus GOONJ wants to move giving of one’s discard to move away from charity to contribution. We feel that village communities are very self respecting & resilient, thus by giving them anything as charity we hurt their dignity. We therefore believe that people in cities have to learn as to how to give with dignity, with sense of empathy rather than superiority .Development world needs to give value to rural wisdom & resources instead of treating them as helpless beneficiaries or recipients.
Expand on your selections; explain how you will sustain funding over the next 1-3 years.
1. As more and more people are getting accustomed to the idea of giving some money with each material contribution, that is a big step towards self sustenance.
2. Given our national level co branded campaigns with big brands means reduction of our expenses on collecting material as our brand partner uses his own channel network to do the same.
3. As we tap into big suppliers of cloth like exporters, hotels etc. it reduces our expenses & efforts as well.
4. In direct implementation our focus on a fixed geographical area, decision to only work with serious partner groups also maximizes the impact and makes our inputs most effective instead of wide experimentation.
5. as we grow the overall scale of our work, we will be motivating partner groups to take up the major expenses like transportation etc , which they will be more inclined to do having seen the impact locally.
6. Our emphasis in the coming years will be on moving the production of napkins to rural settings involving the beneficiary women in some of the steps like sorting , washing etc ; it will not only reduce our costs but will also generate income for them, train them further, make it more available and cheaper for village communities.
Section 6 – Changemaker’s Network
Created on 03/8/2013 by africaid
Tanzania has one of the lowest secondary school graduation rates for girls in the world with only 5% of Tanzanian girls graduating from high school. AfricAid is working to improve this statistic through the Kisa Project in order to develop future female leaders for Tanzania, thus advancing the status of women in this country. Pervasive causes of the problems include deeply-rooted cultural/societal beliefs that women are not as “valuable” or as “worthy” as men.
Organization: AfricAid
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United States, CO, Denver, Denver County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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AfricAid/The Kisa Project - Website Enhancement to Empower Tanzanian Girls
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Tanzania has one of the lowest secondary school graduation rates for girls in the world with only 5% of Tanzanian girls graduating from high school. AfricAid is working to improve this statistic through the Kisa Project in order to develop future female leaders for Tanzania, thus advancing the status of women in this country. Pervasive causes of the problems include deeply-rooted cultural/societal beliefs that women are not as “valuable” or as “worthy” as men. Through Kisa, we provide girls with more options for independent lives, including preparing for university, providing vocational training, or helping them start their own business. The most innovative aspect is that we ask our graduates to mentor 15 to 20 girls each from their own communities, creating a "pay-it-forward" effect.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
• To expand the Kisa Project, our girls' educational/empowerment program, to include 150 new girls in the 2013 school year, and to have 300 Tanzanian girls attend our Career Day in October 2013;
• To expand our Teaching in Action (TIA) teacher training program so it will be school-based in 2013.
* To grow awareness and loyalty among supporters and potential supporters by enhancing our website layout and design, and improving various functions.
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Our specific project need is to enhance the system, layout and graphic design of our website: www.africaid.com. AfricAid's original website was originally launched in 2003, and its current site was established in 2007. While the website has served AfricAid well, its layout and functions are in need of review and enhancement to facilitate visitors' abilities to navigate and take action on our site. Areas for improvement include: graphic design and overall look of the website; website and page layouts, including images, colors, fonts and content placement; software platform; security; navigation structure; navigation menu; online promotion; image rotation; multimedia components; newsletter registration; and ability to serve as the center of a robust social media program. We are interested in upgrading existing, and adding new, functions and tools, including SEP optimization; mobile accessibility options; search option; shopping cart; RSS feeds to capture contact information; E-commerce; Social Media plug-ins; fundraising pages, etc.
1.
Honesty - the ability to communicate openly and frankly within our working relationships.
2.
Competence - having the skills required to mutually benefit and/or help each other.
3.
Flexibility - the ability to work in a mutually-agreeable manner and timeframe.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support from American Express will be focused on the organization overall, but more specifically, on our signature program--The Kisa Project. Our budget funding for this program is largely dependent on individual sponsors from the U.S.A. and Canada, and it is important that we branch out to reach new sponsors via socal medial, digital marketing, search engines and other avenues. This will go hand-in-hand with our second stated need, which is Consumer/Audience Acquisition. Due to the mission of AfricAid, the scope and geographic nature of its work, strategic communication tools are essential.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
AfricAid utilizes a variety of mediums, both online and in print, to communicate with existing and potential supporters. We've focused on our website and social media using our small staff and interns. But with new communication technology, systems and tools being introduced into the market, AfricAid needs to identify and implement those which best serve its mission. To ensure we're truly on the right track and equipped for the future, we could greatly benefit from professional advice and input.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
To greatly enhance AfricAid's ability to communicate more efficiently with existing and build future supporters.
2.
To secure increased financial contrubitions via its website and new fundraising functions.
3.
To have strategic messaging and electronic tools essential for providing communication to our clients.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
In terms of our Kisa Project, the impact of the solution to date has been:
• In February 2012, our first Kisa class of 22 girls graduated from secondary school.
• We are thrilled that 20 girls (out of 22 total) in this first Kisa class are going on to university or another form of post-secondary training. This 91% rate is extraordinary for girls in a country where less than 1% of women have any training/education post secondary school.
•Upon graduation these young women—as part of our Kisa program—returned to their home communities and mentored over 300 girls with lessons from our Kisa curriculum.
• In terms of our website impact, it has given a "face" and a means of communication to our organization, but has not developed new supporters/donors as well as it could.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
After receiving professional support from American Express, AfricAid and the Kisa Project will have a greatly revitalized and improved website that is easy to navigate, more technologically savvy, and will help create more awareness about our organization and draw in new supporters. This, in turn, will allow AfricAid to continue developing and expanding our Kisa Program to empower young Tanzanian women, as well as continue conducting leadership development trainings, providing scholarships, coordinating teacher training workshops through the Teaching in Action (TIA) Program, building classrooms, installing computer labs, and supporting a school lunch program at Losinoni. It will also make it possible for AfricAid to help take on other projects in Tanzania.
This Entry is about (Issues)
The goal of Girl, unKnown. is to give women the opportunity to change their realities through accountability, networking and healthy social interactions by offering a website and structural site that supports all these qualities. Girl, unKnown. is an online/onsite interactive, goal-oriented social network, eventually to open Girl, unKnown Centers around the United States and elsewhere.
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Girl, unKnown..
Created on 03/7/2013 by AlexisMHW
The goal of Girl, unKnown. is to give women the opportunity to change their realities through accountability, networking and healthy social interactions by offering a website and structural site that supports all these qualities. Girl, unKnown. is an online/onsite interactive, goal-oriented social network, eventually to open Girl, unKnown Centers around the United States and elsewhere.
Organization: Girl, unKnown Inc.
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United States, WI, Milwaukee, Milwaukee County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Hybrid
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
The goal of Girl, unKnown. is to give women the opportunity to change their realities through accountability, networking and healthy social interactions by offering a website and structural site that supports all these qualities. Girl, unKnown. is an online/onsite interactive, goal-oriented social network, eventually to open Girl, unKnown Centers around the United States and elsewhere. Through girlunknown.com, women of all ages have the opportunity to use goal accountability programming that, like Match.com, links an individual to people and resources that match their interests, hobbies and career goals. Through Girl, unKnown Center, we would like to offer our members to connect, in-person with other members, give access to solid resources such as, computer labs, advisors, etc.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
The top three goals for Girl, unKnown in the next year are as follows:
1. Get girlunknown.com up and running with accountability, goal planning and tracking services.
2. Have strong community awareness through a great marketing campaign to grow our member base.
3. Get dialogue between older and younger women flowing, we really want to see a connection of generations take place and more cooperation between women.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Performance Management
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
The biggest problem that we are having in developing Girl, unKnown is getting people to understand exactly what we are trying to do. We are taking a few concepts from established companies, marrying the ideas and putting a new spin on it.
We also need help in establishing our brand and structuring it against competition. While we are not copying anyone else's business, it may seem similaar at first to the public, but we are giving a more hands on approach, really getting people to get involved with their community, but also in themselves by helping women to set goals and giving the opportunity to help them reach them.
1.
Good ethical practices, no stealing, cheating, etc.
3.
Standing behind one's word.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support from American Express will be focused on the organization as a whole. We would like to learn some of the ropes from an established firm as we begin to delve deeper into our business to help people succeed.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
I have not worked with an outside consultant before, it's been an idea that I have since college and I've been developing it for the last two years. I work with friends already to help them plan and establish goals, teach them how to use planners and make budgets. I decided to do it on a larger scale and Girl, unKnown was born. That is why I would absolutely love some guidance as to how to move forward.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
To send more confident, mature, resilient women into society to help themselves as well as others.
2.
Open dialogue between women of different generations, ethnicities, professional backgrounds etc.
3.
I want this business to continue and grow, I would like to see it blossom and give more opportunity to members around the world.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
It has been a small scale impact thus far, I've been helping friends and family members and directing them to resources in the community that can help them further succeed. We have become more aware of organizations that we didnt previously know existed and I'm glad to pass the information forward and make more people aware of their existence.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
I would like for Girl, unKnown to reach a much wider audience and give more women the opportunity to follow the program to success. The website portion gives us the tools, but the in-person portion gives us the socialization piece thats being taken away by modern technology. The two entities coupled can really take Girl, unKnown. far and with the guidance of the employees at American Express, I see this being a very lucrative business. I want to see it go global one day, and open Girl, unKnown Centers around the world, connecting us all by the internet, with summits to bring us together every few years or so. There are so many possibilities and ideas for Girl, unKnown. but the first one is to get it off the ground.
This Entry is about (Issues)
This project also has a Changeshop where you can read more about its latest progress.
Go to Changeshop: Yoga Outreach .
Created on 03/6/2013 by delaniedyck
Yoga Outreach is committed to developing and delivering life-affirming Service Yoga programs to people who do not have access to these resources for a variety of reasons. Barriers to access include mental health, age, gender, trauma history, violence, addiction, poverty, and incarceration. We approach Service Yoga in an innovative way by engaging yoga instructors who are all volunteers, and partnering them with social service organizations. We support volunteer teachers and partner facilities with training, mentorship, and ongoing program facilitation.
Organization: The Yoga Outreach Society
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The Yoga Outreach Society
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Yoga Outreach is committed to developing and delivering life-affirming Service Yoga programs to people who do not have access to these resources for a variety of reasons. Barriers to access include mental health, age, gender, trauma history, violence, addiction, poverty, and incarceration. We approach Service Yoga in an innovative way by engaging yoga instructors who are all volunteers, and partnering them with social service organizations. We support volunteer teachers and partner facilities with training, mentorship, and ongoing program facilitation. Our students are in turn supported by knowledgeable instructors that have an understanding of their needs based on the setting, classes that are trauma-informed, safe, and hopefully fun!
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Our number one focus is to continue to build capacity for yoga based programming to be utilized as a complimentary therapy for people who are already accessing services. These service settings include mental health, addictions recovery, shelters, youth centres, and correctional facilities. In order to support this focus we have identified several priorities for the coming year. Our first priority is to enhance our marketing and communications to better advocate for Yoga Outreach programs and trainings in the Lower Mainland and more broadly throughout BC. Our second priority is to streamline our yoga program delivery to maximize existing resources and allow for expansion. We currently accept all requests for programming and the level of support we offer is quite high. Our third priority is to ensure that any growth is also building a foundation for the organization to move to the national level.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Our branding and messaging still stems from our origins 17 years ago. Quite simply we need to update! We want to create a renewed excitement around Yoga Outreach and the work we do. We recognize the need to strengthen our brand to get people talking about Service Yoga, and to shift the perceptions around the people and settings we work with and in. There is a great deal of evidence that shows yoga can be a powerful tool for healing. Our project requires a knowledgeable guide to help us hone our core message and develop a strategy to build engagement with our brand. As we only have one full time staff member, developing a comprehensive strategy around our marketing and communications is key to maximize available staff time. Our project would include developing key messaging, an editorial calendar, and strategies for increasing digital engagement. In addition, the development of a system for tracking the impact of our messaging would be helpful.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
The support we receive will be focused on our organization as a whole. In building stronger messaging and branding for our services we hope to increase the overall capacity and recognition for yoga as a valuable tool for healing in people's lives.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
In 2011 the new Executive Director began to prioritize messaging and branding and has made some increases in community awareness of YO and it's programs. We have not worked with any outside consultants as we have limited resources.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Greater clarity and consistency of our message
2.
Greater brand recognition
3.
Increased community engagement as a resutl of 1 and 2
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Each year, we estimate that between 1500 and 2000 people have access to yoga as a result of our program support. We know that without our support the 25 weekly yoga programs we facilitate in partner facilities would not be able to continue. Research has shown that yoga provides numerous benefits for emotional self-regulation, physical relaxation, as well as an opportunity to experience safety and choice in one's own body. When asked about the yoga program, 95% of clients in an addictions recovery program said they would recommend the class to others. Additionally 90% of these clients reported feeling like they would be able to translate the skills they learned in class into their daily lives.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Our hope is that we will be able to increase our access to a larger pool of donors and sponsors so we can expand programming to other areas of BC and beyond. In addition, we anticipate increased numbers of volunteer teachers applying to work in YO settings. As part of our 3 year plan we would like to position the organization to become a national leader in the development and implementation of yoga programs for marginalized groups.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/4/2013 by Maternova2011
Maternal deaths are declining worldwide, yet over 350,000 women will die this year. Nearly all these deaths are preventable. A new non-invasive device is saving lives, for @$2.50 per use. The Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG) literally buys a mom one day so she can be transported to proper care. It's effective, sustainable, and proving invaluable in the field. Maternova has helped fund the CE marking, along with the commercialization of this device.
Organization: Maternova, Inc.
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Is your organization a
Hybrid
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Disruptive Content, Collaboration, and Commerce that Saves Lives
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Maternal deaths are declining worldwide, yet over 350,000 women will die this year. Nearly all these deaths are preventable. A new non-invasive device is saving lives, for @$2.50 per use. The Non-Pneumatic Anti-Shock Garment (NASG) literally buys a mom one day so she can be transported to proper care. It's effective, sustainable, and proving invaluable in the field. Maternova has helped fund the CE marking, along with the commercialization of this device. We are the exclusive distributor in ten countries.We also have built an online platform/network where caregivers are receiving training, sharing best practices, and their feedback is being compiled into instruction manuals. The Philippines, Kenya, and Burundi are working together now on our platform!
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
1. Scale up the usage of the NASG, and the total numbers in the field.
2. Establish warehouse space overseas for easy drop shipping.
3. Finalize the CE Marking.
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Maternova has considerable social media presence and reach already. What we don't have is a full time marketing person. We're a small team, and as a result we all wear multiple hats. This specific expertise will help us drive sales for the NASG. But it will also allow us to take those steps and incorporate that strategy into other product launches. We're working on a line of proprietary products (Super exciting!), so you can imagine how helpful this advice could be.
1.
Honesty, and a commitment to making a global impact beyond profit.
2.
Knowledge and subject matter expertise
3.
Sense of humor and a positive attitude! (this is actually #1!)
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
We really believe the NASG is a high potential product. Our goal right now is to focus any expertise and help we were to receive specifically on developing that product audience and customer base. It only seems logical that this will undoubtedly spill over to other specific offerings as we grow our lines of business. We're at a very exciting and pivotal point. We have to aggressively pursue our goals and be overjoyed with the help, like this, we receive.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have conducted pilots, and done limited marketing. Our collaboration platform is being used effectively to promote discussions and reviews of the NASG. We're just getting started!
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Increased visibility for the NASG product to potential customers.
2.
An effective digital marketing strategy we might be able to utilize for other products.
3.
Save more mom's, more quickly. Caregivers cannot be left helpless when a highly effective intervention is available.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Putting it in the bluntest terms possible, the Maternova NASG stops a woman from bleeding to death after she gives birth. A healthy baby is a blessing, thanks to better ante-natal care options, but all of it doesn't solve the issues of maternal mortality if the woman doesn't survive. Families suffer, the community suffers, and it's all usually preventable. We have shipped the NASG into three countries to date, and seen it save lives. Our partners share photos, stories and proof the NASG offers hope where there otherwise might be none. The return on investment for the NASG is staggering at $13.18-$45.00 saved for every $1.00 invested.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Our goal is to get more of the NASGs into the field. Not only in our own countries, but a rising tide will lift all ships. We are happy to partner with our trusted distribution partners and help them as well. The faster the products get into the hands of the caregivers who use them, the sooner we will meet our Millennium Goal (MGD5) to reduce the number of women dying in childbirth worldwide.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/3/2013 by PACE_Society
PACE Society Outreach Project (POP) aims to reduce violence experienced by street-level sex workers and engage sex workers by providing housing, job, employment, health and crisis support. Survival sex workers are the most visible and vulnerable of all sex workers. They experience the highest number of assaults and sexual assaults of any population group perpetrated by partners, patrons, pimps, dealers, other sex workers, and members of the public. Violence against survival sex workers in Vancouver continues to be a problem.
Organization: Providing Alternatives Counselling and Education Society (PACE Society)
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Member of the Board of Directors
Organization Name
Providing Alternatives Counselling and Education Society (PACE Society)
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
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Established (past the previous stages and has demonstrated success)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
PACE Society Outreach Project (POP) aims to reduce violence experienced by street-level sex workers and engage sex workers by providing housing, job, employment, health and crisis support. Survival sex workers are the most visible and vulnerable of all sex workers. They experience the highest number of assaults and sexual assaults of any population group perpetrated by partners, patrons, pimps, dealers, other sex workers, and members of the public. Violence against survival sex workers in Vancouver continues to be a problem. Stigma and criminalization prevent accurate reporting of the number of survival sex workers that encounter violence. PACE Society supports and engages over 100 members, all of whom self-identify as survival sex workers, by using peer-to-peer education and support
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
A self-initiated PACE Strategic Planning session in July of 2012 identified the following as top priorities for PACE Society in the coming year:
1. Branding: scope and identity (see below)
2. Financial Management: sustainable and diverse fundraising options
3. Administrative cohesion: developing the relationship between board of directors and staff
With the Supreme court appeal of the Bedford decision this June 2013, strengthening and developing organizations like PACE Society is more timely than ever and will ensure that sex workers continue to receive the support services they require.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Performance Management
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
Branding refers to the concept of a clear identity linked to what PACE does. For example, when people think of sex worker support agencies, is PACE and our logo foremost in people’s minds? Does the PACE tagline on the website accurately reflect who we are and what we do?
Two possible pathways of support services include:
1. Should PACE diversify to serve a larger community and should our definition of sex work not be limited to survival sex work (no mention of survival in our mission statement)? With the closing of PEERS Vancouver, many sex workers wishing to exit have fewer options than ever. Where will they go for resume/cover letters etc.?
2. Should PACE remain targeted to survival sex workers? In wanting to be able to help any sex worker that comes in the door/calls the organization do we run the risk of scope creep and staff burnout?Also, how does PACE maintain connections with survival sex workers who don’t currently access our services?
Lastly, It is important to understand valid versus questionable research as it relates to our population. Misinformation exists in our community; do we have a responsibility to dispel myths by offering relevant, factual research?
3.
Community based Collaboration
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Support through American Express' Serve2Gether Consulting service will be used to develop a creative and sustainable solution to the issue of branding for the overall organization with a specific focus on support services. Support services is an umbrella portfolio that encompasses violence prevention workshops both for sex workers and for community groups including the Vancouver Police Department, safety coach training and mentoring, resume, skills training and job finding resources, and the PACE Outreach Project (POP) which engages sex workers in the environments where they are working.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
PACE contracted an external consultant to facilitate a Strategic Planning meeting in 2012. An Environmental Scanning process labeled PEST (Political, Economic, Social, Technological) and a management tool called SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) were used to analyze and brainstorm areas of interest and concentration. In addition, PACE Society requires staff and support workers to submit monthly reports on support services, violence prevention and outreach as well as an annual report for each position. However, no solid plan has been laid out or acted upon.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Brand PACE Society in a way that makes it more accessible to survival sex workers who need to access services
2.
Ensure PACE Society remains in a financially able to not only maintain but broaden its services in response to increased demand
3.
Enure that PACE Society has a presence in research and community efforts that inform policy regarding sex work
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
- Provision of in-house safety workshops to over 360 participants with 75% of participants reporting a feeling of new confidence in their safety plans and self defense skills. (Report available upon request)
- Development and upkeep of website, facebook page and twitter account to establish a social media presence. Currently, board members and staff sit on and are connected to over 15 community based initiatives including UBC and CDI College, Vancouver Police Department recruits, BC Coalition of People with Disabilities, and LAPP (Local Area Planning Process).
- community engagement: through hosting speakers such as Dr. Gabor Mate which resulted in the engagement of over 100 community members on addictions and sex work.
- POP and support services that engage members and non-members
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
Professional support from American Express will allow PACE Society to balance growth with cost by defining a scope of engagement (ie a clear branding strategy). This will be measured by greater depth of understanding concerning the environment PACE is operating within, as well as a clear assessment of future service needs and delivery. Success will include diversification of funding sources based on need as well as the development of long term solutions to physical space ("No space, no PACE). It may also address the potential for satellite (franchise) centres outside of the downtown eastside (in Victoria, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, etc). Ultimately, PACE Society support services aims to provide uncompromising support to it's members and relevant, valid information to it's community partners.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/3/2013 by purkalstreeshakti
1. A very backward rural hilly area without access to regular Income; absence of a craft or organized industry. The American craft of quilting given an Indian flavor and a market developed for the products. Potential buyers developed. Now needs to be well established among discerning customers; the brand “PURKAL” has to reach those capable of appreciating and affording designer products. Strategies and resources for brand building and marketing these designer products at premium prices needs development.
Organization: Purkal Stree Shakti Samiti
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Purkal Stree Shakti Samiti
Country where this project is creating social impact
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Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
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Brand Building to Change Rural India
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
1. A very backward rural hilly area without access to regular Income; absence of a craft or organized industry. The American craft of quilting given an Indian flavor and a market developed for the products. Potential buyers developed. Now needs to be well established among discerning customers; the brand “PURKAL” has to reach those capable of appreciating and affording designer products. Strategies and resources for brand building and marketing these designer products at premium prices needs development. Payment of fair wages and social security measures with pension and provident fund to the artisans will then become possible. This project which is now in its infancy has the potential for employing very large numbers and the face of this economy can be transformed and become a role model.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
I. Train enough trainers so that the skills can be transmitted. Document and standardize training processes apart from documenting and securing designs developed. Equip and open three more outreach programmes to induct a hundred more women. Employ additional designers capable of creating products.
II. Develop a brand building/marketing strategy capable of implementation of over a 3 /4 years period.
III. Invest in training of youth in digital and other retailing skills. Elementary ability to handle English is a prerequisite. A six months period of planned and intensive programme will create the needed support from among our community.
Need #1
Message & Brand Strategy
Need #2
Digital Marketing Strategy
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We have established a viable economic proposition in a backward rural area.
II. We have proved that women can be skilled and helped to earn.
III. Our products are designer premium products and eminently marketable.
IV. We know that the market is widely spread among discerning customers with disposable incomes. We need to reach our products to these select customers.
V. We need to improve production to meet the demand that will be created through conscious branding and marketing strategies.
VI. With enough investment and knowhow we can accomplish this goal and change the face of a whole community.
1.
Honesty, Openness and complete transparency with regard to our dealings.
2.
Highest quality of our products with materials which are as good as we claim they are.
3.
Complete accountability to all our stakeholders with meticulous care to their interest.
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
We are hoping that American Express will focus on our entire organisation. We have only one product although there is a range and a variety. We deeply value the expertise and experience of your executives. Although we have focused on brand building we would appreciate counsel in all areas listed. Digital marketing and acquiring consumers have not been planned activities with us. We need a SWOT analysis and build effective management information.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
5. Never have been able to afford outside consultants. The excellence of our design, awareness of the need for quality among the workers, its verification at every stage and our desire to practice kaizon have helped us build dedicated customers. Our market share has grown steadily over the years through word of mouth of satisfied customers. Fair trade practices have provided dedicated workers. Self Help Groups which establish ownership ensure dedicated stakeholders. As for brand building, SWOT analysis and performance management we have been reading books and experimenting.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Winning national and international recognisitions to our brand "Purkal" and building our sales on its strength.
2.
Build a viable and vibrant market for our products through digital marketing portals based on integrity.
3.
Training our women workers and the youth of community so that we become a viable self dependent business enterprise.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
6. The experiment with the idea of planting a skill among the rural women has worked. We now have over a hundred of them earning regularly. The designs that we have developed are very popular and we are unable to make enough. The product pricing has yielded surpluses and we believe it can be improved.
Outstanding infrastructure for our present level of activities has been developed through donations. The altruistic attitude of the promoters has had an appeal that helped us collect all our working capital as well.
The potential of this model has encouraged us to commence an outreach programme so that another cluster of villages can be helped to benefit from our experience.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
7. A well-developed marketing strategy with a well-established brand would help us widen our client network geographically. However I do not expect that the seed grants that you may offer can help us with our training and production needs. It can help us build a brand and we hope to match the additional demand generated with support from other grant givers. Additional demand will need to go hand in hand with training trainers, additional workers and creation of new clusters. Our working capital needs will also grow.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Created on 03/2/2013 by atwoodsa
Ittavi (an acronym for “it takes a village”) seeks to end conflict, improve transparency and simplify the process of paying child support while saving parents time and money.
Parents can now spend less time managing child support and more time focused on raising happy, healthy children.
Organization: Ittavi
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United States, CA, Santa Clara, Santa Clara County
Country where this project is creating social impact
Is your organization a
Hybrid
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Ending Child Support Conflict
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
What problem is your organization committed to solving? In particular, share what is innovative about your approach.
Ittavi (an acronym for “it takes a village”) seeks to end conflict, improve transparency and simplify the process of paying child support while saving parents time and money.
Parents can now spend less time managing child support and more time focused on raising happy, healthy children.
What are your organization's top three priorities in the next year?
Public product launch
User Acquisition
Additional funding - Angel or VC
Need #1
Digital Marketing Strategy
Need #2
Consumer/Audience Acquisition
Based on your first choice of the eight technical categories you selected above, what is your specific project need? Please be specific!
We need assistance defining and executing a digital marketing strategy that will reach our unique markets (single, divorced, remarried parents) and startup / entrepreneur / funding targets. The strategy should be built to meet our goals for the year - customer acquisition & getting additional funding
3.
Collective Responsibility
Will support from American Express be focused on your organization overall or a specific product/service? Please describe.
Since Ittavi only has 1 product the focus will essentially cross both the company and our product, Ittavi Child Support Manager.
Have you focused on the above area previously? If so, please explain, including whether you have worked with outside consultants before.
We have begun to define our strategy but due to lack of resources have been unable to effectively define and execute the strategy.
Are you able to commit 3-5 hours/wk over 10-12 weeks?
Yes
Are you able to meet virtually or at a convenient in-person location?
Yes
Are you able to meet in the city where your organization is based?
Yes
1.
Successful launch with increase of press / media coverage by 50%
2.
Acquire 1000 customers by the end of 2013
3.
Meet funding goal of an additional $675,000 in angel funding
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Today we have over 50 beta users that all state that our product, Ittavi Child Support Manager, has help them save time and money while dramatically reducing the conflict that occurs between themselves and the other parent. This is allowing them to focus their energy on raising happy, healthy children.
What is your project future impact after receiving professional support from American Express?
The future impact is to acquire additional customers who can benefit from our product, untimely reducing conflict between single, divorced and remarried parents. By reducing the conflict associated with child support parents can focus their energy on raising happy, healthy children.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Ittavi (an acronym for “it takes a village”) seeks to end conflict, improve transparency and simplify the process of paying child support while saving parents time and money.
Parents can now spend less time managing child support and more time focused on raising happy, healthy children.
Created on 02/15/2013 by Josh Ko
Life Unexpectancies is a short film in development that aims to show a real, raw look at rape, abortion, and abuse to create engaging discussion. The goal is to premiere the film at the first ever Voiceless Film Festival, an opportunity for this film and other filmmakers to share their work with the community and inform them honestly & openly about these issues.
Created on 02/10/2013 by BoldFutures
Our corporation sponsors the school fees of Kenyan girls who would otherwise not have access to education. These girls return to their communities as leaders and innovators.
Samsara is and organization working in sex health education and abortion counseling.
We have launched an education program called 'Literarcy for All'. We are determined to teach/literate 140 millions illiterate Pakistanis especially rural Pakistan with special focus on people of Northern Pakistan i.e. FATA and KP - bordering Afghanistan.
For this purpose, our partner who has developed mobile videos for educating people, we are educating people all over Pakistan.
For details explore:
www.rehanschool.com
Created on 01/22/2013 by Ferris Kassar
Finally Fit is a health & wellness organization that provides virtual, customized personal training programs for disadvantaged women. Our mission is to be a catalyst in the advancement and empowerment of women and fitness globally.
Created on 01/16/2013 by ahmerashraf
Our program is to educate rural women of Pakistan regarding the harmful effects of tobacco usage and smoking, through demonstrative and captivating theatre plays/ re-enactments, which would not only help them understand easily (due to high illiteracy levels), but also aid in cessation of this disease burden.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
The team comprises of a few individuals from the Public Affairs wing of Pfizer Pakistan Limited, as well as the core team of the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA), who want to make a difference by working towards eradication of tobacco and smoking from Pakistan.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
Diverse team, with passion to dedicate efforts towards alleviating tobacco burden from Pakistan.
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
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Growth (your pilot is up and running, and starting to expand)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Looking at our country, and the general trends prevailing in our society, smoking has seen an alarming rise. More and more people take up smoking every day, without realizing the harmful effects it poses to their health, or not paying enough ‘attention’ to those harmful effects. According to a survey, more pregnant women are using tobacco and 92% of women said that smoking was allowed in their home, and 50% said they and their young children were frequently or always exposed to tobacco smoke indoors. Among India’s immediate neighbors, only Pakistan figures in this infamous list of worst in the world when it comes to women smokers.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
In a unique concept and following insights from the rural areas – we aim to develop demonstrative enactments/ theater street plays, as a way of providing counseling and education to rural women and highlighting effects of smoking on women health. In most rural areas, such plays and reenactments are successful in delivering the message to the audience, as opposed to literature (due to high levels of illiteracy).
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
The solution is innovative as previous ways have been focused on professionals and not communities. The communities need to be aware of the hazards of smoking and since most of them are illiterate, demonstrative ways are only solution. A women’s social welfare organization, such as the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA), with the technical expertise of National Alliance for Tobacco Control (NATC), is a unique combination that will aid in developing sustainable solutions.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
The model is a simple training, counseling and awareness program; I will share two major examples below;
APWA has a vast network of Lady Health Workers (LHWs), these LHWs work with the local communities by paying door to door visits and counseling women on health related problems. The first step was to train these workers on WHO’s M-POWER model for smoking cessation and certify them as smoking cessation counselors. Once the training had taken place, the LHWs were given adequate materials to discuss with the women in these communities. Our model has introduced smoking cessation counseling in their daily curriculum of health and now it is a part of the basic health topics that these LHWs discuss with the communities. This started a debate around a new health topic and kicked off the discussions in the homes. As many as 95% of the total women population visited were not specifically aware of the hazards smoking poses to health, they were just aware of the fact that ‘it is bad’.
The second innovative way to reach out to communities were through a series of street theatre workshops where a leading theatre group working for women activism partnered with APWA to put together a stage play. This play captured two different stories in low income households where individuals suffer from smoking and tobacco abuse. The play was moving and staged in the communities so women can easily attend the plays as well as learn from looking at the enactment as opposed to reading (since illiteracy levels are quite high).
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
There are not many people working with women groups on smoking cessation primarily. A number of other groups work on smoking cessation including the National Tobacco Control Cell (NTCC, a public office) and National Alliance for Tobacco Control (NATC, a private NGO) but with different aims, once focusing on addressing overall smoking problem in the country from a Federal level and one working on training healthcare professionals in smoking cessation and counseling. The latter has been our training partner in this program. There are no obvious challenges any of the above could pose to the program as this is the first ever time such a program has been implemented.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
I will capture a heart moving moment from the Central Prison for Women and Juvenile Jail where APWA held a session with the women inmates. After the awareness session was held, women were shocked by the dangerous effects of smoking and explained how difficult it is for them to get their hands on cigarettes whilst in prison. Many women got up one by one and promised to quit, save money and send it to their families.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
Reached out to 40,000 women, create awareness about the consequences of tobacco consumption and motivate them to quit this addiction, through door-to-door visits, as well as through the theater plays.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
Significantly high awareness levels for smoking hazards among low income communities and households in various parts of Karachi city, and other cities in Pakistan. This awareness will be able to drive ‘quit smoking rates’ as well as having a positive impact on the overall health of the communities.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Social pressure, cultural norms, and peer pressure, are some elements that can hinder this project. The target audience indulges in various forms of smoking due to stress and pressure, mainly building on from low-standards of living, increasing costs due to economic recession, unemployment, and increasing number of family members and those women who are not smokers but are susceptible to smoking due to the environment and surroundings.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
Pfizer focuses on building partnerships to address health related issues. With Pfizer Foundation’s involvement in this project, which is carried out by an NGO working for women’s welfare, Pfizer is seen as a responsible corporate entity committed to addressing key public health issues in the country. It also builds the company’s image in a positive light.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
We are committed to the cause and have invested a great deal of time in the project and have encouraged our partners to utilize internal resources. With Pfizer’s core team, having the experience of handling such a project in the past, the knowledge and learning was transferred to APWA. The smoking cessation training certification developed with the help of NATC was used for the training of LHWs in APWA. APWA also utilized internal auditorium, and office spaces for meetings etc.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
APWA will continue to monitor and reach out to women with the objective of training and counseling the communities. The play has been developed and can be replicated with minimum funding to more communities. Similarly, the training provided to APWA LHWs can be refreshed. All these factors provide sustainability to the program. There is no long-term funding plan, however, we may be able to allocate some funds for activities in future.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
This idea mainly involves three organizations – Pfizer Foundation, APWA, and the National Alliance for Tobacco Control (NATC). APWA is responsible for the execution of the plays, whereas NATC is responsible for providing training and expertise to the workers of APWA.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
The current leg of the project has been funded by the global Pfizer Foundation, and Pfizer Inc, and so far the project has continued to meet its objectives.
Created on 01/9/2013 by jenniferjs
Cooking With Mama is a new culinary school with a twist - it aims to empower unemployed or underemployed women to reach their highest potential through teaching ethnic and authentic cooking classes in the community. It aims to provide women with confidence, work-readiness skills, compensation, and a personal network.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
Jennifer Fong is Director/ Founder at Cooking With Mama. She holds experiences across Canada, US, UK and China with organisations such as UNICEF, UNDP, World Economic Forum, UK Cabinet Office, and PwC. She currently works as a management consultant at Accenture. She attained a joint Master of International Affairs from Columbia University and Master of Public Administration from the LSE, with a focus in international development.
Amanda Briden is a Director at Cooking With Mama. She joined the team while completing her MBA at the Said Business School at the University of Oxford. She holds experiences as an aerospace engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Participle, a London based public service design firm, working toward measuring human capabilities.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
I currently hold two jobs - a management consultant at Accenture, and a director/founder of Cooking With Mama. I am able to apply my analytical and problem-solving skills from Accenture towards the development and growth of Cooking With Mama. While these organisations have two separate missions, they both utilise the same business planning and problem solving tools.
What makes me an intrapreneur is my ability to apply both my private and public sector knowledge into a social enterprise which straddles both disciplines, my curiosity to pursue the road less travelled to see if I can turn this seed of an idea into a global initiative, and my drive to empower and build confidence for unemployed women through Cooking With Mama.
Company Country
United Kingdom, LND, London
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
United Kingdom, LND, London
Additional countries or regions
Industry
Accommodation and Food Services
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read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Cooking with Mama aims to empower unemployed and underemployed women, who are incredible home cooks, to reach their highest potential through teaching cooking classes in the community. In today’s economic climate many women are struggling. U.K. statistics show that in 2011, 1.12 million women were unemployed, with the 50-65 age range disproportionately affected. While women’s circumstances vary widely, many have extensive culinary experience gained at home. Cooking with Mama hopes to demonstrate the value of these skills by providing training and opportunities for these women to lead cooking classes in the community.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The unemployed often struggle to gain the experience needed to re-enter the labour force. For example, women who have focused on raising families may lack professional experience, and those who have lost jobs can find it hard to enter another sector. We offer women who are in these circumstances, and who love to cook, an opportunity to lead a cookery class. We see this as a tool to gain leadership experience, develop communication skills, grow confidence, and begin to build a distinctive CV. By developing their confidence and work-readiness skills, we aim to empower participating women to reach their highest potential.
We also offer an experience boost for those seeking to begin their journey into employment in the food industry. We are developing partnerships with restaurants and caterers with the eventual goal of offering women exit opportunities into the cooking trade.
We also aim to reinvest our profits through microloans to invest in the culinary dreams of our mamas.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
Cooking with Mama is the only culinary school of its kind which works with unemployed or underemployed women to lead its cooking classes. Class participants are able to experience a culture through its food by learning our mamas' recipes, which have typically only been passed through family generations. We offers a creative and safe environment to bring the community together through food, develop cultural understanding, and support skills development for unemployed women.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
We hosts "Mama Days" as training programs for our participating women every other month and prior to them teaching their own class. Skills development training is focused on confidence, public speaking, budgeting, and time management. We believe these key skills are critical to teaching a cooking class and can be applied in other facets of her life. We work with each Mama to design her menu according to a budget, source the ingredients, structure her class timing, and achieve her personal goals of each class.
Cooking With Mama hosts its 2.5 hour cooking classes in rental kitchens in London. We have held six pilots for both guest classes and corporate events of about 15-20 people each, so far featuring Indian and Brazilian dishes. Mamas demonstrate each dish before they are replicated by class participants. Mamas share not only their cooking, but also share their stories and traditions behind each recipe. Participants are charged for attending classes, and this money is used to partially fund class expenses (kitchen rental, ingredients, etc) and a payment for the mama.
The Mamas who have led our classes say the experience has been helpful in building confidence and allowing them to interact with people they would not have otherwise. They have been able to develop skills through the training and have built a community with other women and individuals in the culinary trade. We are working with other restaurant and catering organisations in London to provide further exit opportunities for these women in the culinary space.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Cooking with Mama offers an experience like no other cookery school – an opportunity to learn about food preparation and tradition from a woman who has mastered her own culture’s home cooking. While other cookery schools offer classes with trained chefs, we give participants the same cooking skills while also re-creating that special feeling of home cooking, conjuring up nostalgic memories of family gatherings and holidays. It’s the experience that sets us apart. Our competitors are other cooking schools in London - from at-home lessons to professional culinary schools. There are currently no other cooking schools working with unemployed women or untrained chefs. However, if a similar idea arises, our first mover advantage has been set through established relationships in the industry.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
Jennifer is a self-proclaimed foodie – she enjoys experiencing new cuisines from around the globe, trying new recipes, and taking cooking classes whenever she’s on holidays in a new city. After she moved from Canada to the UK, she fell sick and wished her mum was around to cook her delicious soups. Except her mum was living on the other side of the world, Jennifer didn’t know the recipe, and she didn’t even know any other mums in London to call upon for cooking help. Then it dawned on her – What if she could learn cooking from someone else’s mum? What if she could learn different types of ethnic recipes and cooking skills from different mums throughout London? And What if she could use food to empower unemployed women and to gain new skills? That’s when Cooking With Mama was born!
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
To date Cooking With Mama has held six cooking classes for a total of 120 participants. Therefore, we have been able to provide 120 individuals with the opportunity to learn a culture through its cooking classes and develop their home cooking skills.
More importantly, these classes were taught by three women. Through our pre- and post-class surveys and discussions, these women have noted an increase in their confidence, public speaking, budgeting, and time management, Over the past four months we have worked with six women through our "Mama Days" (i.e. training and focus groups) to explain our program and provide them with the necessary skills for leading their own cooking class. Our statistics show that we are achieving our impact of providing these women with confidence and work-readiness skills.
Our statistics also prove that this idea can be replicated in other countries. We are currently working on developing chapters in Berlin and New York through interested volunteers.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
We at Cooking with Mama are dreaming big. While cookery classes are our core activity, we want to expand our offering and impact, while remaining sustainable. We are keen to begin selling supplementary products at our classes – including spice kits, aprons and cookbooks. Another long-term goal is to set up a fund to provide microloans to our Mamas, so that they can pursue their own culinary dreams, such as to run a stall at a food market, to attend culinary certification classes at a local college, or to develop her own catering service. Another goal is expand globally - we have had interest in expanding the idea in NYC, Berlin, Shanghai and Toronto. We see these ideas ways to remain a sustainable venture, while providing maximum benefit to the women.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
As a social enterprise one key barrier to success is understanding how to achieve our social mission while remaining profitable. We are currently addressing this barrier by reviewing our business strategy in understanding how to lower our largest cost (kitchen rentals), increase profits by looking into different customer groups, and applying for grant funding to cover specific costs related to our venture (i.e. fees paid to the women for teaching cooking classes).
Another barrier to success is understanding how to brand and market our venture to the public. Through our pilot phase we know that we have a strong service - now we need to determine a way to communicate our value proposition to our customer base. We are currently working with marketing experts to address this issue.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
Cooking With Mama has adopted a sustainable business model where class participants pay a fee for each cooking class attended. This money is then reinvested back into the venture - with the majority covering the rental costs of the kitchen space, providing compensation to the mama for leading the cooking class, and covering the raw ingredients. A small portion of this money is then reinvested into the growth of the entire organisation. In the future, we plan to expand our profits through cooking products (i.e. spice kits), recipe books, and catering.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
Cooking With Mama is an entirely volunteer-run organisation. It's lead by two directors, Jennifer and Amanda, who are also supported by a volunteer team assisting in areas such as mama recruitment, administration, and event planning.
In addition to its volunteers, the organisation reaches out to its four advisers (through the Emerge Venture Lab) who have experience in social entrepreneurship. It also reaches out to mentors and friends who work/volunteer in food-related industries, social entreprises, and community groups. This has been useful such as receiving tax or legal advice upon company setup, or attending a marketing and branding brainstorm held by marketing professionals in London.
To start, we invested our own funds and also received a £2000 grant to help in the pilot phase,
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
Our long term funding strategy is three-fold:
1. We plan to increase our profits through our cooking classes. Having piloted different classes and developed a strong model for our mama training program and cooking class delivery, we are now looking to better cater our classes towards different customer groups - for individual, group and corporate classes. We are currently undergoing strategic planning for our marketing and branding to better communicate our venture and its mission.
2. We plan to develop partnerships with groups such as supermarkets and kitchen spaces to reduce our costs of hosting classes.
3. We are applying for grants to drive our growth. This funding will be used to help test different cooking class ideas, expand class offerings,and develop our mama training programs.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
In addition to its volunteers, advisors and mentors in our internal resources, Cooking With Mama relies on its partnerships with culinary schools and community centres where its rents its kitchen space, relies on other community groups which support womens unemployment to reach out to potential mamas, and relies on its social entreprise community to help spread the word about our venture in their personal networks. This is important to us and word of mouth is our best advert.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Cooking With Mama has received support from two organisations:
1. The Emerge Venture Lab is a 12-month accelerator program which supports new or early stage social entreprises. Through this program we have received training on how to develop our venture from an idea into its current pilot phase. We have also received mentorship through various volunteer advisors from the startup community.
2. The Royal Society of Arts has granted us £2000 to assist with our pilot phase.
Created on 01/9/2013 by akatun
The PackH2O water backpack is the lowest cost, ergonomically correct way to manually transport and store household water in the developing world. It holds 20L and allows women and children to avoid the in-transit contamination and water loss that often occurs when they transport water in buckets and jerry cans.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
As the Chief Sustainability Officer for Greif, Scott Griffin is responsible for leading the sustainability strategy for the world’s leading industrial packaging company. Since joining Greif in 2006, Scott has helped Greif not only reduce its environmental impact, but also implemented a “sustainability-in-action” program that includes developing business innovations to alleviate humanitarian issues.
David Fischer joined Greif in 2004 as senior vice president and divisional president. He later assumed responsibility for operations in Asia, Australia and Africa. He was named CEO in 2011. Fischer identified the Achilles' Heel of the global clean water crisis and he knew that Greif had the expertise to devise a solution. It was under his direction that the water backpacks were created.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
As a team with years of experience in managing and growing organizations, we have a strong entrepreneurial core. We seek and identify opportunities and focus on developing business innovations that alleviate humanitarian issues. While the scale of the problem we have identified is big, our technical skills and capabilities in manufacturing and distribution have put us in a unique position to solve this problem. We are aware of our strengths and weaknesses and where we see a weakness we partner with leading groups such as The Clinton Global Initiative and Habitat for Humanity International who can help us achieve our goals. We are fully committed to our goal.
Company Country
United States, OH, Delaware
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Haiti, SD, Port-au -Prince
Additional countries or regions
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Scaling (the next step will be growing impact on a regional or even global scale)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
The poorest gather and transport water in discarded jerry cans and buckets originally used to ship fuel, pesticides and other chemicals. The plastic absorbs these toxins, which end up in the household water. On average, women and children travel 3.5 miles daily to collect water, carrying up to 20L per trip. Medical studies have shown that repetitive head carrying of heavy loads is harmful to the body. Furthermore, water is lost during transit and arrives home contaminated.
Numerous organizations invest in clean water-drilling wells, purifying water and filtering, yet human transport of water from access point to home remains the “Achilles Heel” of the global clean water challenge. The design targets the challenges of carrying water in diverse geographies, under difficult conditions.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The water backpack, PackH2O, is the lowest cost, ergonomically correct way to manually transport and store household water in the developing world. It holds 20L and allows women and children to avoid the in-transit contamination and water loss that often occurs when they transport water in buckets.
A wide mouth allows for fast filling, minimizing wait time at the source point that can expose women and children to danger in unstable regions. Lighter weight (7x lighter than the average jerry can) allows for fast, high-volume emergency relief shipments. A roll-down closure reduces water loss and contamination during transit while the protected spout keeps water clean for drinking. The backpack is leak proof, durable and easy to clean and sterilize and collapses when empty. It is designed to be sewn in developing markets with minimal capital and training to create needed jobs. Made from an industrial-grade woven polypropylene, it delivers strength while reducing weight and cost.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
We identified an important problem and knew that Greif, a global leader in industrial packaging, had the expertise to devise a better alternative. We took an industrial grade polyethylene material that is used to manufacture flexible, industrial containers and redesigned it to solve an essential need at the base of the pyramid. The result is a lighter, stronger, more sterile water transportation vessel that also produces 57.6% less CO2 emissions than traditional containers.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
The average woman in the developing world is under 5’4” and weighs less than 125 lbs and walks on average 3.5 miles everyday to get water to bring home, making the challenge of carrying up to 40lb of water every day and over long distances a significant health issue. Water is lost during transit and more importantly arrives home contaminated. A test conducted by Battelle of jerry cans being used by Haitians to carry water found that more than 90% were contaminated with E.Coli; more than 70% previously held oil and other toxic chemicals.
By using the water backpack, a woman’s life changes in the following ways:
-Because the backpack is lighter, distributes the weight evenly and can be adjusted to the size and strength of the person wearing it, it is much easier and safer to transport water home
-It can stand on its own or be hung up for dispensing water making water storage easy
-Roll-down closure reduces water loss and contamination while the protected spout keeps water clean for drinking
-With no chemical coating, it is water safe, easy to clean and sterilize
-A wide mouth allows for fast filling, minimizing wait time at the source point that can expose women to danger in unstable regions
-It leaves hands free, which helps a user to navigate steep inclines and slippery terrain and defend herself against any danger
-It is available in kits that are optimally priced to be sewn and sold by women with minimal capital and training providing them jobs
-Sanitizing the backpack liner in the sun removes E.coli from the liner nearly as effectively as chlorination
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Current known alternative methods developed to carry water include: 14-liter Oxfam Bucket,
CDC Safe Water 20-liter modified jerry cans, 5-gallon (19-liter) buckets, clay pots and a barrel shaped container called the Hippo Water Roller, which carries 24 gallons of water. The Oxfam Bucket and Safe Water jerry can are moderate cost, hard-sided solutions with higher distribution and storage costs than PackH2O. The Hippo Water Roller is often filled by pouring water from dirty buckets into the drum and is not suitable for pushing over rugged terrains, such as slopes or mountains.
At scale, PackH2O costs lower than other options and is collapsible and lightweight, driving down transportation and storage costs.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
After the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Greif was among the first companies to commit long-term resources to recovery efforts there. On a trip to Haiti to help install a rain catchment system in a rural village, Greif CEO David Fischer observed women carrying water in containers on their heads, and children lugging home dirty jerry cans and buckets full of water. Recognizing that the containers being used were likely chemically contaminated, he knew there was a better way and that Greif could apply its business innovation and technical skills to create a solution so he challenged a group of employees to find it. The result is the PackH2O backpack that alleviates the physical and safety challenges of getting water home.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
• In total more than 16,000 water backpacks have been in distributed in Haiti, Guatemala, Kenya and Uganda.
• More than 4,000 water backpacks were distributed in four communities in Haiti with support from the Clinton Foundation.
• In Guatemala, women are selling the backpack to other community members, generating or supplementing income for their families and building economic stability for local communities in two successful pilot projects, one of which has been expanded through support from the Knights of Columbus.
• In Marsabit, a remote area in northeast Kenya, we have partnered with Partners for Care and Habitat for Humanity to field test 600 water backpacks with women who spend 6 hours a day obtaining water for household use.
• A study conducted by Partners in Health in Haiti found that 100% of users said the backpack is comfortable, 72% could carry more water than with buckets, 60% said it took less time to carry water home with the backpack.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
We are pursuing three separate business models simultaneously: disaster relief model, livelihood model and entrepreneurship model. The first two models involve the distribution of the backpacks via NGOs and other partners. The third model involves creating micro-entrepreneurial opportunities in developing economies.
We estimate that by combining the three models, by 2016, we will distribute close to 500,000 backpacks and touch two and half million lives in 10 countries.
*Based on the assumption that each backpack touches five lives
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
1) Generating awareness about the problems surrounding the current methods of personal water transport and storage and effectively communicating the benefits of the new solution. We are working to overcome this by collaborating with partner organizations who have experience in training and educating community members.
2) Scaling something as aspirational as transforming the way water is carried. To address this we are working hard to build an investment model vs. and aid based model. We have a for profit approach as opposed to a foundation/ charity based approach.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
- The application of our expertise and core competencies to the creation of new products that help improve the lives of individuals in developing economies
- Gaining a better understanding of the needs of the base of the pyramid
- Entrance into new markets
- Increasing visibility on the issue with key stakeholders
- Increase visibility of the company via awards such as the Popular Science's Best of What's New and Global Green awards
- Strengthening of our relationship with our customers
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
Greif has committed its internal manufacturing division to produce and improve upon the development of the backpack. We are also leveraging the capabilities of our partner Partners in Health (PIH) for testing and validation of impact of the backpacks. Greif has provided significant funding for the program to date.
Greif has also partnered with a Columbus based venture capital firm, NCT Ventures, to lead operations and marketing efforts for PackH2O. NCT Ventures along with Greif, has built an exceptional team with the necessary funding needed to accomplish our mission.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
Our focus is on building a sustainable model based on commerce. Greif & NCT Ventures have made a commitment for the long term. Both companies understand that to tackle a global issue such as the crisis tied to water takes time, resources and requires funding. From a resource perspective, Greif has offered its core competencies in manufacturing and distribution and invested two million dollars in R&D and design; they are committed to continuing this investment to provide a product that is both environmentally and economically better than the alternative. NCT supports this vision and is ready to make the necessary investment towards this social venture. Our strong partnerships with PIH, the Clinton Foundation and others are helping us scale our efforts.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
Within our company we work in full cooperation with our manufacturing, product development, marketing and communications departments.
We partnered with NCT ventures to lead operations and marketing efforts.
Our partners are:
Globally: Operation Blessing, Partners in Health
Haiti: Clinton Foundation
Kenya: Partners for Care, Habitat for Humanity
Guatemala: CXCatalysts, CEMACO, Knights of Columbus and the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
We have received full support from Micheal Gasser, former CEO, current chairman of board and from our current CEO David Fischer who has initiated this project. We also have full support of Greif's manufacturing, distribution and communication departments. We have not received any push-back.
Created on 12/31/2012 by Birgit Berglund
We partner with NGOs that work with vocational training for vulnerable women. In spite of empowerment programs stigma and high unemployment rate obstruct job opportunities. As a social enterprise we will hire members from these NGOs, and together we will manufacture ethical and fashionable high quality leather bags.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
We are three young women with background from voluntary work, social work, business and marketing. Our skills and qualities are quite different from one and another, and this is what makes us a adequat and good team.
We are currently taking a master within entrepreneurship and innovation, and our ability to work and communicate as a team has been tested several times.
Considering that we are a business in the nascent phase it is confiding that we have seen eachothers strengths and weaknesses. We know when to support and when to enchourage eachother, and this we consider as an advantage.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
A good intrapreneur is one that can create new ideas and make positive changes from within the business. We are in the start up phase, and it is part of our vision to see change in the women that will work within our business. In order to do so we will be working "on the ground" with the business staff as a whole. It is here will find the dynamo for good ideas. Motivation and encouragement of the women we work with is what will make us succeede as an intrapreneural business. Our utter most important personality trait is therefor the ability to show emapthy.
Communication amongst our colleagues is key to pick up the good ideas for viablity of our bottom line.
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
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Idea (you're poised to launch)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Since 2010 we have been working alongside a volunteer organisation in Livingstone, Zambia, whose purpose is to eliminate prostitution. Kwenuha offer a variety of programs with the goal of empowering former sex workers, as well as vocational training, where prospective work or self-employment is the desired outcome.
However, over the years it has proven to be difficult to reach this objective. Stigma and high unemployment rates are the leading factors that prevent Kwenuhas members in obtaining future employment.
This also creates a great challange for the organisation. If the women can't move forward the organisation will not have staff to help others "off the streets", and the organisation will not be able to create positive ripple effect.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
We are starting up a social enterprise in Livingstone, where we will create and sell high quality leather bags for the concious consumer under the brand WayaWaya.
As a social entrepreneurial organization our vision is to “fulfill dreams and strengthen the individual through sustainable work”. We are establishing a sewing factory in Livingstone, Zambia. This will operate as an extended job prospect for vulnerable women, and will be a possibility for them to engage in an ordinary work environment. The fashionable leather bags that we manufacture will be exported internationally under the brand WayaWaya.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
Over the past years the fashion industry has been critizised for the lack of collaboration along the value chain. The demand has created poor working conditions, and there is need for change. It is not only the manufacturers wrong-doing, but a value chain as a whole. High demand for quick delivery gives little room for flexibility and change. By being in charge of designing, manufacturing and sales we are shortening the value chain and improving transparency.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
We are collaborating with several NGOs in Zambia who work on a basic level solving emergent social problems. Our organization will be the next step for the people involved. We are offering proper work with good salaries and uplifting work conditions.
We believe in transparency and as we, unlike most other fashion brands, are in control of our own production, we have a unique position. We strive to maintain our social and ethical value throughout the whole value chain, and partner only with suppliers who can meet our requirements. Local suppliers are preferred.
We will strive to uplift our employees through skills training, respect, empowerment, motivation and close and personal follow-up of each individual. Workdays will be no longer than 8 hours, 5 days a week, and wages will be on a good Zambian level with possibilities for a bonus.
We will continuously scale our production based on the market demand. More products sold, means more people employed. We will continuously search for more NGO partners to recruit from. When we have a good working production model, we want to scale to other African countries to scale our social impact.
Our brand story will be concentrated around the unique stories of our women. How they find strength and motivation despite their background. Through our brand the consumer will get a feeling of knowing the person who made their purse. Story will be communicated through elements such as tags, leaflets, webpage, PR stories and social media/viral videos.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Our main target segment is trendy, wealthy and conscious female consumers from 25-40yrs. We are entering the luxury market, which is growing. Products will be sold on the Internet and in fashion stores first in the Nordics, then US and other European countries.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
We didn´t have the "aha" moment for our idea while working for the peace corps, but on our time off. It didn’t take long for a couple of shopaholics to discover that Livingstone lacked proper clothing stores. And with a big passion for fashion we quickly trailed the solution to our problem.
In Livingstone there are hundreds of informal second-hand clothing stores. Vintage, second hand, beta products, high end. You name it they’ve got it. And so the treasure hunt had begun. Any garment with an outdated design, nice colour or good quality we took to Emmah´s Wear, the local seamstress.
Over the year of 2010 Emma and her employees made many nice things for us, but that is merely all they have done. They taught us about Zambian courtesy, work ethics and everyday struggle. We have to date a much appreciated relationship. Emma is an important piece in our puzzle, and we are very grateful to have her as part of our network.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
When Merete and Iris enrolled a master in innovation and entrepreneurship in Norway Birgit becacme engaged. From here we have worked with the project as part of school and on our time off, which has helped us strucutreize our nascent business idea.
We are still in the nascent phase, and we have not yet made any impact to any individual. The creation and composition of our team and help from teachers and professional guides through our school have helped consolidate our business model. We have reviewed several ways on how to implement further training for our future staff. The design of our product has been evaluated carefully both to satisfy the consumers need and in order for our business to survive and grow organically. As an example we wanted to use off-cuts and second hand material, but after evaluating access to the supply and quality of material we saw this as a less sustainable model. Using leather from a local tannery is more viable and will support the local economy.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
Job creation will have a tremendous impact on the individuals, their families and the community. They will have the possibility to earn their own money, which will buy food, shelter, clothes and medicines. Our partner organizations will also be able to help more people when spaces are opened.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
The biggest barriers for success within the handbag-market is distribution and customer loyalty. This can be contract with distributors, placement in store, realtionship to the fashion-press, scale advantages within marketing and production and branding familiarity. We are actively working on lowering these challenges.
An example of lowering the challanges is to use under the line marketing to get our brand recognized.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
The possibility for the women to earn their own money, which will buy food, shelter, clothes and medicines. Our partner organizations will also be able to help more people when spaces are opened.
in accordance to our growth we will also be supporting the local economy.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
In order to run the start-up process as smoothly as possible with the necessary resources available, we account with a capital requirement of $350 000 distributed over 2yrs. This will result in a surplus after 2 years. At this point we have employed 100 women in Zambia and are selling 10 000 purses a year.
We are currently working on applications for support through philantropic funders and supporters. We are also working on carrying out fund raising in Norway and Zambia.
For the first period our biggest expenditures will be location, equimpent and expert staff (designers and seamstresses).
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
As mentoined above it will take us about 2 years to break even. It will be important with funding and support in the very beginning. Our advantage is that we can sell our product from the very first manufacturing day locally in Zambia. It is part of our strategic plan to make use of the tourist market in Livingstone to cover expenditures while expanding and streamlining the business.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
We are in contact with suppliers in both South Africa and loccaly in Zambia. The supplier in South Africa has already helped us with leather for our prototypes, free of charge.
We have a good network in Zambia, and have involved both a local accountant and advisors. We are collaborating with individuals that with can create pull-effects locally.
We are also in contact with three large NGOs that are working with vocational training for vulnerable women.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Our board is to date our most important internal support. Livingstone is the tourist capital of Zambia, and one of our board members are heavily involved in LTA (Livingstone Tourist Association). As part of the strategy to obtain cash flow on an early stage we will attract tourists locally to buy our products. Our board has already been in contact with different lodges, and they will set up tourist shuttels to come to our manufacturing site.
Our vision is to “Fulfill dreams and strengthen the individual through including and sustainable work life”. We are establishing a sewing factory in Livingstone, Zambia. This will operate as an extended job prospect for vulnerable women recruited through our partnering NGO organizations, and will be a possibility for them to engage in an ordinary work environment. Fashionable leather bags for the conscious consumer will be produced here, and exported internationally under the brand WayaWaya.
Created on 12/15/2012 by Gretchen Dimeling
The project is the formation of a global HIV/AIDS Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition. My private consulting firm will align and manage corporate participation with initiatives while establishing a network of international agencies and fostering collaboration.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
I am a global health care consultant and humanitarian focused on uniting HIV/AIDS organizations with anti-human trafficking groups. After years of working for international health care organizations, I have formed my own organization to consult internationally. My team includes clients and partners from pharmaceutical/biotechnology/medical device companies, members of Law Enforcement, NGOs, Social Service Agencies, Education, Religious Organizations, and concerned citizens.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
I am an intrapreneur because over the past 8 years, I have utilized my position within private sector firms to enhance social welfare projects and encourage corporate collaboration and innovation. Now I will create my own for-profit consulting firm that specializes in guiding large international organizations to develop sustainable philanthropic projects related to HIV/AIDS and trafficking.
My background in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry have allowed me to understand the business models and challenges associated with private sector foundations and philanthropic programs. I leverage my professional experience and industry knowledge to create opportunities and partnerships with social inovations platforms that are in alignment with the corporate structures and regulations.
Company Country
United States, PA, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
United States, PA, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County
Additional countries or regions
GLOBAL! Headquarters is located in Pittsbrugh, PA, but company reach is GLOBAL.
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Idea (you're poised to launch)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
The HIV/AIDS - Human Trafficking Coalition will address two social problems:
1. HIV/AIDS
2. Human trafficking
2013 is a pivotal year in achieving the Millenium Development Goals that must be pioneered on both a global and local level. According to Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, "Halting and reversing the spread of AIDS is not only a goal within itself; It is a prerequisite for reaching almost all the others."
Human trafficking is a growing industry that targets women with roughly 80% of its victims sold into the sex slave trade.
As the human trafficking sex slave trade industry grows, so does the spread of HIV/AIDS and human rights violations amongst women.
Uniting forces will support organizational objectives and empower victims.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
My private consulting firm will align and manage corporate participation in The HIV/AIDS Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, which will align and unite HIV/AIDS groups with anti-trafficking organizations to enhance awareness, medical advancement, funding, and patient/victim support.
The HIV/AIDS Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition will achieve the following:
- Raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and human trafficking
- Support the Millenium Development Goal achievement
- Decrease violence towards women
- Enroll Trafficking victims in HIV/AIDS clinical trials
- Enhance education and prevention
- Increase funding
- Enhance and extend wrap-around support services for victims
- Establish a Survivor Network to spread awareness and foster support efforts
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
The The HIV/AIDS - Human Trafficking Coalition is an innovative solution because it achieves the following:
- Advances science and technology towards a cure for HIV/AIDS
- Strengthens anti-human trafficking initiatives
- Promotes victims of human trafficking as highly valued Ambassadors, leading the way in scientific advancement
- Creates a platform for victims to share their knowledge/experience
- Creates an extensive global network that supports local partnerships
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
Below is a real life example of a situation in which the Coalition activities could unite human trafficking groups with HIV/AIDS organizations for mutual benefit.
Step 1: Identify a NEED/OPPORTUNITY
- HIV study participants are NEEDED: Recently, HIV researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences and Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI) were awarded four grants totaling nearly $11.5 million (from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
Step 2: Link the need to a SOLUTION
The Coalitions notifies The Project to End Human Trafficking, which assists male and female victims locally. Victims often require HIV/AIDS testing and or services. The agency then notifies victims of the opportunity and those interested in applying for study enrollment will be referred to the appropriate contact.
Step 3: Share success stories and build on partnerships
The Coalition will circulate a newsletter, hold meetings/webinars, and maintain a website announcing partnerships and opportunities. Victims who participated in the study will be offerend opportunities related to the Ambassador role.
Step 4: Expand the Network and create synergies
The Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force (PATF) provides free HIV Testing as well as wrap-around services to diagnosed clients. Victims received by the Project to End Human Trafficking could be referred to the PATF for support services such as legal council.
A cycle of social innovation is spurred as information and resources are shared, patients receive better care and organizational missions advance.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
My consulting firms works in collaboration with The HIV/AIDS - Human Trafficking Coalition, which does not have competitors. The Coalitions is based on a collaborative model that returns maximized benefit when all organizations and individuals participate. The Coalition promotes and identifies needs/opportunities, foster collaboration, share resources, and support Ambassador development. The Coalition operates as a supportive network to organizations and individuals by connecting needs with prospective solutions.
Member organizations include the following:
Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical companies
Clinical Research Organizations
Governments
Universities
Crime Enforcement Agencies
Social service support agencies
Human Rights Coalitions
Medical Research Organizations
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
My "Aha!' moment took place at the Carnegie Mellon University Film Festival in 2005. I watched a film about about a young woman who was abducted into a sex-slave trade ring. Her final destiny was a cold, lonely and horrid death. When I saw the film, I was working with HIV patients. I knew the pain associate with a positive diagnosis, but I had never imagined the combination of being abducted, infected, and continuously abused until death. Prior to viewing this film, I did not imagine anything more painful than and receiving an AIDS diagnosis. That day in 2005, I realized that there was a reality far worse and not only was I unaware of the underground human trafficking world, but so was the majority of the population. The victims did not have a lifeline. The magnitude of this film impacted my life forever. In 2012,while at the Vienna United Nations, I toured the Trafficking exhibit and was impressed by the progress and determined to unite efforts with HIV/AIDS initiatives.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
To date, my impact is the following:
- Generated interest and commitment among corporate leaders and private sector consultants to enhance the strategic partnership between HIV/AIDS and human trafficking groups
- Communicated the alignment of HIV/AIDS medical advancements with global political and humanitarian dedication to anti-human trafficking efforts
- Initiated plans to include sex slave trade victims in HIV/AIDS clinical trials
- Spread awareness and created a sense of urgency in the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry via marketing of news reports and intelligence information regarding the increase in the human trafficking industry
- Proposed projects with a sustainable level of commitment to international and local companies
- Increased use of the Trafficking Hotline
- Motivated individual, departmental, and company wide participation via speaking engagements at private sector meetings
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
The impacts of my project, The HIV/AIDS Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, are just beginning.
Over the next year, I will partner with the United Nations, World Health Organization, GBCHealth, MDG Health Alliance, multi-national pharmaceutical companies, generic drug manufacturers, clinical research organizations, law enforcement agencies, and local organizations/companies to achieve the following:
- Raise awareness of HIV/AIDS and human trafficking
- Support the Millenium goal achievement
- Decrease violence towards women
- Enroll Trafficking victims in HIV/AIDS clinical trials
- Enhance education and prevention
- Increase funding
- Enhance and extend wrap-around support services for victims
- Establish a Survivor Network to spread awareness and foster support efforts
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Barriers to success and corresponding solutions include the following:
Barrier: Time necessary for large international companies to take action
Solution: Propose minor changes to existing projects, widen scope. Proactively create formal plan for next budget cycle/review period.
Barrier: Lack of interest, unclear benefit
Solution: Demonstrate financial benefit via grants, donations, tax deferrals, cost reductions, enhanced market access and visibility, increased resources via collaboration with member groups, strengthening of current company initiatives.
Demonstrate social benefit via promotion of image enhancement, awards and recognition, success stories, affiliations/relationships with various industry leaders including governments and regulatory bodies
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
For my consulting business, I create value as follows:
-Financial benefit via consulting contracts and government funding
-Social value via an extensive network of organizations which have a shared interest in advancing anti-trafficking efforts, HIV/AIDS treatment
-Referral network via large scale collaboration with organization that value my consultancy
- Human capital value via collaboration with subject matter experts across industries
- Leadership in advancing international efforts to improve health care and sustain humanitarian development
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
I am leveraging my personal and professional international experiences, connections, and industry knowledge to penetrate pharmaceutical companies, social work agencies, governmental bodies, and to advance progress.
For example, I will participate in the Anti-Human Trafficking Open House held on January 15, 2013 held at Heinz Field’s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here I will discuss y experience in pharma, non-profit HIV/AIDS work, and context for alignment between local and global initiatives such as the Millenium Development Goals # 3: Gender Equality, Goal # 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Goal # 8: Global Partnerships (Specifically, Goal 8.E: In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries)
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
My business model operates on profit derived from consulting contracts with private sector health related companies such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device, clinical research organizations, and universities. As a consultant, I will have access to the client resources as well as support from coalition members.
At this time, I need to grow the concept of an HIV/AIDS anti-human trafficking coalition. Once established, I will have 2 primary objectives:
1. Grow my consultancy
2. Support progress of coalition member projects
While my consulting firm will focus on specific projects, the large scale objective of the Coalition is to unite organizations which will collaborate and manage additional projects.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
An example of key partnership, include the following:
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based Mylan Pharmaceuticals has recently been awarded a large contract with the South African National Department of Health to distribute AVR (HIV/AIDS) medications for the tender period of from January 1, 2013-to-December 31, 2014.
I previously worked at the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force and am involved with the The Southwestern Pennsylvania Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Support has been exceedingly high. The international attention on anti-human trafficking initiatives driven by the United Nations and the elevated emphasis on HIV/AIDS treatment supported by the Millenium Development Goals and pharmaceutical companies, have created an ideal marketplace supporting the demand of consultancy related to support HIV/AIDS and Anti-Human Trafficking efforts. Whether employing my services or not, nearly are groups are willing to join the coalition.
Created on 11/15/2012 by aaronwhite81
The Women's Leadership Audio Toolkit transforms the way we access and develop the leadership potential of rural women. The contextualized radio drama provides an innovative platform for development, with a focus on 1) understanding of self, 2) how to better work with others, and 3) how to transform communities.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
I work for the Center for Creative Leadership in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where we have created a social sector innovation hub. Our work centers around developing leaders at the grassroots level through innovative approaches in mentoring, training, coaching, and low tech solutions. I've lived in Ethiopia for the last 7 years, working in humanitarian relief efforts and most recently taking those skills into developing better leadership at the community level to improve projects and organizational impact. I'm married to a beautiful and wonderful woman named Zayid, have a big dog, and love to ride my motorcycle into remote parts of the country.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
I like to challenge assumptions, challenge our organization to stretch themselves into new and potentially risky endeavors, and challenge others around me to break their mental models. The ability to challenge the status quo, coupled with keen business acumen and a deep understanding of cultural context has enabled me to thrive as an intrapreneur at CCL.
Company Country
United States, NC, Greensboro
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
Oromiya Region, Gambella Region
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Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Rural women form the backbone of the Ethiopian economy, yet they have largely been excluded from agricultural development and are not recognized as leaders in their homes and communities. Traditionally, development organizations have carried out tiered training of trainers programs, which tend to dilute content to the point of ineffectiveness. We wanted to figure out how we could develop better leaders at the household level to improve agricultural development.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
To move away from the TOT approach, and to provide a culturally relevant leadership development process for groups of illiterate women across the country, we developed an innovative audio toolkit with a 10-part ‘radio’ drama loaded up onto an easy to use, solar-powered audio device. This is combined with a low-literacy pictorial guidebook. Peer learning is enhanced with a narrator to provide structured dialogue and fun action learning that can be done in the home.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
Traditionally, leadership development only occurs at the highest points of organizational and economic pyramids. This flips the model upside down making leadership development affordable, scalable, and accessible. It's about unlocking human potential, but doing it through a low-cost model.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
The women's leadership audio toolkit is targeted for women's self-help and savings groups in rural areas of Ethiopia. Women meet on a regular basis and work through the audio toolkit, learning from the experiences of the characters and also from their own lives. The women are able to internalize the leadership content and how it relates to their roles in their homes and communities, setting goals and maintaining accountability for these goals through the group.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
There are hundreds of non-profit organizations trying to reach and empower rural women through skills training, access to capital, and improved knowledge. We're enabling these organizations to better reach these women with something that is more engaging, more relevant, and focuses on the personal leader development (which is often overlooked). So far, we're the only organization that has created a dramatized, women's leadership audio toolkit. It can be coupled with programs around health, economic development, and many other development sectors.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
The idea came while researching a women’s self help group model in Ethiopia – a model where 15 women get together and begin saving money (or sometimes they start by saving coffee beans) providing other group members accountability and support. Once the group has amassed enough capital they keep saving, but begin doling out small loans within the group, charging interest, and maintaining almost 0% default rate on loans. The group started 3 years ago with each woman saving 50 coffee beans a month and now has a working capital of over $3500. The groups received no capital or support from non-profits but had organized themselves to seek out additional training for leadership. That's when i had the idea that we could reach several thousand of these groups with high level content, geared towards illiterate women, using low cost solar powered audio devices.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
We've just started marketing these audio toolkits to women's self-help and savings groups and organizations engaged in women's empowerment programs, so we only have about 30 women's self-help groups (about 500 women) currently using the solution. Most of them will go through the toolkit in 10 weeks, with measurable goals being set at the end. Initial prototyping research has shown that an increased understanding of self, better team work as a group, and an improved understanding/accountability of goal setting. We anticipate that this improved individual leader development will act as a lever for better agricultural and economic development.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
We have been asked to take this concept and meld it with a maternal and child health program in Uganda (leadership for maternal/child health) that would potentially reach 20,000 mothers in Karamoja of Uganda. In western Ethiopia we are using the same concept to improve mentoring and HIV awareness/prevention for 3,000 young women. As more and more organizations hear and understand the concept we could see it spreading considerably in the next 3 years.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Language and cultural contextualization are potential barriers. The original women's leadership audio toolkit was developed in the Amharic language, so it's not directly transferable to other parts of the country. When rolled out, the toolkit needs to be culturally specific and language specific to overcome idiosyncrasies that would detract from the program. We plan to overcome this by using grant funding to develop new language/culture toolkits that can be used.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
We're taking a 42 year old educational institution and expanding the possibilities. The Center for Creative Leadership has the mission to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide, and we're making sure that gets put into practice. Specifically, low cost innovations like this help us take high quality leadership development to the grassroots, to act as a lever for development programs.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
CCL funded the initial development and prototyping stage. They've allowed me and others to spend time on this, and have leveraged knowledge to make this product relevant and effective.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
We're working with other organizations to co-create solutions to bring this type of leadership development down to the grass roots level. The audio toolkit has already paid for the initial investment through grant funding. We are working to include the toolkit into other grant funded projects that will ensure long term funding. As we use this product in different initiatives (health, agricultural development, water and sanitation) we will contextualize and adapt the content to better serve the intended audience.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
We are able to effectively partner within our organization and externally to create innovative products and process designs. Within CCL we work with the Research, Innovation, Product Design group (RIPD), our Africa regional Social Sector Innovation Hub, and our Europe, Middle East and Africa office in Brussels. In Ethiopia, we partner with Desert Rose Consulting for design, innovation, and anthropology support.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
Lot's of internal support from RIPD and our Africa office. We also received financial support from a group of CEO/CFOs that were part of a Leadership at the Peak program at our Colorado office. They were moved by our both-and strategy and wanted to support it.
So far we have not received any push-back because of the low cost, low risk approach.
Fomentar a extraordinária capacidade empreendedora das mulheres do Bolsa Família através de um conjunto de ações que buscam sua inclusão socioprodutiva.
The mission of Benevolence Farm is to provide an opportunity for women leaving prison to live and work on a farm where they grow food, nourish self, and foster community.
According to a study by Marketdata Enterprises in 2010, the motivational self-improvement market is worth $10.5 billion. This includes programs and services developed into books, CDs/DVDs, audiobooks, infomercials, motivational speakers, seminars/workshops, retreats, webinars, personal coaching, online education, websites, training organisations and more.
Many thousands of South Africans living in informal dwellings are hurt or killed each year in raging shack fires caused by the use of unsafe paraffin appliances. The Arivi stove is designed not to ignite or explode when knocked over and the flame self-extinguishes immediately when the stove is moved.
Created on 10/24/2012 by bsheetal
Nutrition Education for the next Billion through mobile text messaging is going to help DSM get a leap start in the emerging economies while giving critical education to the people that are at the highest risk of suffering from micronutrient deficiency.
read more ↓↑ hide↑ hideTell us about yourself/your team.
DSM - Sheetal is Senior Corporate Affairs Manager at DSM North America and is responsible for corporate communications, public affairs, government relations, sustainability, employee engagement and managing partnerships such as United Nations World Food Program and Department of Energy.
Louise Guido is Founder and CEO of Foundation for Social Change, and has over 25 years of sales and marketing communications experience with some of the world’s most recognizable publications, including: The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, House Beautiful and Town & Country magazines.
Nokia - Jawahar Kanjilal - As the Global Head for Ovi Life Tools, Jawahar is responsible for pioneering Nokia’s efforts in bringing the benefits of the Internet and mobile services to enhance the daily lives of people.
What makes you an intrapreneur? What are the skills, capabilities, and personality traits that make you an intrapreneur?
I believe I have high emotional IQ and am someone who never pigeon holes herself into one category. I have been fortunate to have experience in fields such as IT, Supply chain, Purchasing, Finance, Communications, Executive training and Government relations in corporate world and I am able to leverage these experiences into finding opportunities for myself, my partner companies and organizations I work for. My engineering background helps me to visualize large, intangible and seemingly difficult concepts into manageable and actionable goals. I am humble to never assume to be an expert and confident to present and develop an idea
Company Country
United States, NJ, Parsippany, Morris County
Primary country where this project is creating social impact
Additional countries or regions
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read more↓↑ hide↑ hideSelect the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
The Need: What social or environmental problem are you trying to solve?
Today as per UNICEF micronutrient deficiency – situation where a person receives enough calories to survive but lacks critical nutrition to promote proper development and avoid chronic diseases – is affecting up to third of world’s population and the most cost effective way to help solve this problem is food fortification. The major cause of chronic micronutrient deficiency is the inability for families to afford foods such as vegetables, fruits, meat etc. that provide naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. These families lack the knowledge of how important nutrition is for their development. The need for companies such as DSM, world’s largest supplier of vitamins and micronutrient premixes, is to reach the Billion people in developing world, make them aware of nutrition supplementatio
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
DSM’s long term strategy is to develop products and innovative solutions that leave a sustainable world for future generations. DSM is also a 100 year old western company selling to giant customers around the world with a B2B sales model. DSM has a very strong nutrition background and are experts in information and solutions regarding human nutrition – specifically for pregnant women and infants, the period when most of the child’s brain development takes place. DSM is also world leader in animal nutrition. To disseminate nutrition information for healthy infants, pregnant mothers and productive animals, which is critical information in developing world to create healthy population and food safety, DSM needs to reach the Billion people at the base of the pyramid. To reach this population the idea is to collaborate with partner such as Nokia who are able to reach this demographic via their cell phones. DSM provides content, Nokia provides the technology.
The Solution: Why is this solution innovative for your company and industry?
DSM is a life science and material science company with a long history of B2B selling model. We are very successful in what we do. Our long term strategy is based on sustainability for running business and innovation. Educational text messages via non-smart phones is a completely new way for DSM to reach population we are unable to reach in our daily business processes. We will be able to cost effectively educate people on benefits of nutrition, thus creating positive impact.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities.
DSM will use its current nutritional information and create short sequential text messages in language for target population – not for a smart phone user. The short text messages will start with basic information on a health issue, such as anemia, explain what the common symptoms are, explain the lack of iron rich foods as the cause, give recommendation on what kids of food to eat to avoid the condition. The next sequential text will give address to a local store that contains DSM product that can deliver iron fortification.
Nokia gets user information – such as name, gender, home address, number of people in family, their age etc. So the information will be targeted to that audience in their language. If the wife is pregnant, information will be given based on the stage of her pregnancy. If they have cattle, information will be given for optimal animal nutrition and where to find local animal feed outlets with DSM fortification.
DSM has location around the world, so building an infrastructure will be easier for us as compared to a medium or small sized company.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Our competitors are major and global nutrition companies and as far as we know they are not using this model. We are leaders in nutrition, so we right now have the first mover advantage. The challenge will be if we are late entering this market with our information database, we will loose the edge of being first in the market and we might not find the most suitable partner to team up with.
This Entry is about (Issues)
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideFounding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
Social impact can be made possible only with collaboration with governments, NGO’s and corporations. Governments create policies, NGO define the need and corporations fit their unique expertise to make a positive impact. Louise and I were trying to figure out how best to get DSM further involved in social impact projects that also fit with company strategy of growth and expansion. When we did some initial research, we saw there was a large scope of completely untapped market to disseminate our innovations and knowledge into emerging economies and create future customer base for our products. Jawahar who is leading Nokia to sell their phones to the next billion customers by giving them “free” educational and entertainment service applications, was able to help us reach nutritional content to these billion people.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
The solution is still in idea phase and we are evaluating which demographic and geographic location we should target first. We have very large and sophisticated Human Nutrition, Animal Nutrition and Infant Nutrition groups. We will have to find out each group priorities, geographical focus for growth and in-country resources to make this a success. The focus and resources for the project will be decided by the decision of the selected demographic - infants, pregnant women, adults or animal nutrition.
We are hoping to create a surge of nutrition awareness amongst local people, improved diet habits for infants and children, and local governments and NGO’s focusing on purchasing fortified staple food products.
What is your projected impact over the next 1 to 3 years?
We hope to engage our infant nutrition group and our animal nutrition group into accepting the mobile text messaging model into their businesses.
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
The biggest barrier for the project and hurdle to get to the success point is resources. We have not converted our human knowledge into an electronic database. This knowledge has to be converted to digital and in several languages depending on the geographies we cover. We sell product online which is different than converting knowledge into digital information in a sequence of short text messages.
The only way to tackle this is to run pilots for small geographic locations with one specific target audience – either cattle nutrition, or infant nutrition and then scale it up with different languages and content.
We are not an IT company so it is going to be a challenge to involve business and technical people on the project so we are able to give a complete solution.
read more↓↑ hide↑ hideWhat is the benefit or value you're creating for your business?
DSM is a very diversified business and has very large growth ambitions in emerging economies. The nutrition education to the next billion via mobile text messaging is the right tool for DSM to reach the base of the pyramid, and build a complete new customer base that will become well aware of nutrition impact on health and will proactively seek fortified foods and products. Once successful we can replicate this model to other parts of our business.
How are you leveraging internal resources (funds, time, knowledge, etc.) to support this initiative?
One of the biggest benefit of my job is that I know the key players and decision makers at DSM. This has helped me channel the project to the right people, get feedback, refine it and send it for approvals and ideas. The initial pilot cost will not be the hurdle to be successful, but to ensure the strategic fit with the running business so as we enhance their reach into the emerging economies and they see this as an addition to their strategy. All sales pitches for this idea is centered to have the business be in charge.
Expand on your answer, explaining the long-term funding and support plan.
The long term funding has to come from running business. They have to decide which geography, which target audience to work with. If the funding does not come from running business, this model will not be successful. It has to become part of the business strategy and regular reporting.
One person has to be the overall project manager to see the connections across DSM businesses and keep seeking new opportunities to expand.
Best option for DSM is to create a role that spans all DSM business units – nutrition, pharma, plastics, biomedical – that looks into mobile technology to reach the target customer in each segment. The role can expand to change the current IT infrastructure and organization to support future mobile expansion.
Tell us about your partnerships across your company and externally that are key to your project's success.
Partnership with Nokia and other mobile companies is critical. The partner we select should be able to navigate different country rules and regulations on mobile telephones and have a very good future reach.
Internal business group strategy and growth manager needs to be part of the key decisions for this project.
What internal support have you gotten for your project? What kind of push-back have you received?
The biggest sponsors for the project have been the core team members – Jawahar and Louise. DSM Managing Board Member Mr. Stephan Tanda, who wants us to explore such possibilities, has endorsed the project. DSM North America President, Mr. Hugh Welsh, who has given initial green light to proceed with the project planning; Mr. Ruy Freire, and his team who is helping us evaluate possibility of this project with Animal Nutrition. The obstacle is idea not fitting running business.
The BC Women in Energy Network fosters the success of women in the energy industry and seeks to support the development of a green economy based on clean tech.
DWtO will establish a student-created online video-library website celebrating the social history of Can. political women, that engages youth politically and combats voter apathy. Each piece (3 minute max.) will tell the story of one woman from Canada's past told in whatever storytelling medium they choose that is uploadable online.
The goals of the initiative are to…
• Develop a fun, creative way for students to learn about our political past, and engage in political thinking and action.
• Provide content that speaks peer-to-peer.
Our solution will mobilize girls and young women to create social change in our community. We will utilize existing strengths and assets such as the arts.
