Grey Hair vs. Mop Tops: Generational Divide at Work

What will your desk look like… will you have one?

This evening I attended a Brown Alumni panel on generational divides in the workplace, a topic that is looming over managers in every industry. The panel comprised multiple generations of leaders from finance firms, to arms manufacturers, to tech startups . Each panelist had strong opinions [...]

Top summer reads for social entrepreneurship

In preparation for some exciting upcoming fall projects and happenings (including the Social Capital Markets conference), I’ve been cruising around the web looking for interesting and insightful commentary and critique about social entrepreneurship. I wanted to share a few of the documents I’ve found most interesting.
Putting social entrepreneurship in context: Blendedvalue.org
While ’social entrepeneurship’ has gotten [...]

New Orleans as a hub for social entrepreneurship innovation?

Real interesting post over on Alldaybuffet today about how New Orleans is becoming something of a “startup lab” for social innovation. The combination of the massive sense of responsibility along with the unique opportunities to rebuild are bringing social entrepreneurs out of the woodwork.
In an interview with Marktd, the founder of advertising agency Trumpet (tagline: [...]

Are IGAs reverse entrepreneurship?

One of the activities that’s become an important part of development programming are “income generating activities” or IGAs. They obviously range in type of activity and effectiveness, but basically they’re any activity – agricultural, small goods retail, crafts – designed to provide a source of income for the poor.
In my (limited) experience the IGA programs [...]

Social Entrepreneurship thrives in minority groups, reports UK-based Social Enterprise Coalition

A diagram of the “third sector’ in Europe from the UK National Council for Voluntary Organizations

The Telegraph reported today on a new study released by the Social Enterprise Coalition. The study finds that Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority communities have higher rates of social entrepreneurship than white people, and that “while women are only [...]

Safaricom, Africa-tech and Google in Africa

One of the things that many Afro-optimists share is an excitement about the way that technology is providing new opportunities for the passion, energy, and talent that’s so apparent in young people across the continent.
Last week, Google announced (hattip Appfrica) that it was launching a blog dedicated entirely to its work in Africa, which has [...]

Boston beer, small business philanthropy and the era of trust

There was a cool article in the Boston Globe about a week ago about a partnership between Boston Beer Co (brewers of Sam Adams) and Accion USA to set up a nonprofit loan fund that helped small business owners with grants of between $2,000 and $20,000. The fund also provides entrepreneurs with consultation and mentorship [...]

Echoing Green announces 2008 Fellowship Class

Each year, Echoing Green awards approximately 20 individual or team fellowships for aspiring social entrepreneurs. They’ve been at it since 1987 and have supported some organizations that grew into field changers such as Teach for America and the Genocide Intervention Network.
In the fall, interested organizations fill out a complex general application. A round of semi-finalists [...]