If you are looking for an internship in social entrepreneurship (or what I’m trademarking a #SocEnternship), I’ve got two great ones for you!

Samasource.org is looking for a Quality Assurance summer intern. Samasource brings dignified, computer-based work to people in poverty. The intern will work over the computer with talented residents of some of the poorest regions of the world, helping to correct their work. This internship can be carried out remotely and part time. Email Luke[at]Samasource[dot]org if interested or to recommend.

African Woodsmoke is offering an internship that will change your life. We are looking for a creative, motivated, and fashion-oriented student that wants an internship with meaning and the chance to be a part of something greater than themselves. The intern will be involved in sales, fashion design, and the possibility of staying on with an exiting new company.

Woodsmoke offers a meaningful internship that actively supports African artists to start his/her business. All interns have the chance of visiting Africa on a buying trip with the owner.

To set up an interview, email your resume to woodsmoke[at]live[dot]com

A few weeks ago I published a post about the rising culture of entrepreneurship in Washington, DC. One of the major inspirations of that post was the emergence of Compass Partners — a social entrepreneurship education/mentorship/incubator-type program started by students at Georgetown University and on the way to a campus near you! I attended the Graduation Gala of the first round of Fellows at Georgetown on Monday night, and was blown away by the presentations given by this year’s Fellows — all freshmen in college!

I’m always amazed by the feats of students and young entrepreneurs, and this lineup of Compass Fellows has trumped all the expectations that one could have of somebody 18 or 19 years old.

Their presentations were some of the very best I’ve seen. The delivery was strong, the energy was there, and the passion bled through. It’s interesting listening to entrepreneurs pitch their businesses after having been through many of the trials and tribulations they inevitably have before them. I think if I could give one piece of advice to the Compass Fellows and to any entrepreneur in the early startup stages, it would be the following:

Start Small, Build Momentum, Grow Into Your Vision

Part of being a young entrepreneur is the pure ambition to take on the world with your business. For me, I want to revolutionize the way emerging markets are perceived around the world so we can facilitate more investment as opposed to aid. Oh, and I want to eradicate corruption! As students and young entrepreneurs, we tend to spend more time planning than doing — a process that leads to big visions of what we want our companies to look like. Then when it comes time to execute, bridging the divide between concept and end-product seems impossible!

Some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten was to stop planning and just do it! Think about what you can do right this moment to create value, and start doing it for somebody today. You learn the most from doing, and with many small victories you will gain the momentum you need to grow into your dream business!

I had the privilege to meet Paul Sika a few weeks ago at AfricaGathering in DC, and was instantly inspired by his charisma and vision. Paul is a photographer and emerging businessman from Cote d’Ivoire. He gave an amazing talk at the conference that not only reflected his lighthearted and energetic personality, but also a deep understanding and vision of the world around him (and all of us!). He’s been on a whirlwind tour here in the US — first joining us in DC for AfricaGathering, then doing an interview on CNN (see below!), and speaking with Google Executives in Mountain View, California!

Paul is soon going to be releasing a book of his photographs called “At the Heart of Me”, that I’ve had an opportunity to flip through and can highly recommend! Here’s a YouTube video promoting the new book:

If you’re interested, you can follow Paul on Twitter @paulsika and check out his website at http://paulsika.com

Over the weekend I have the privlege to attend AfricaGathering in DC. What I liked most about this conference was its size: very small and intimate. So many conferences are large, made up of niche group, and difficult to really develop strong relationships out of. AfricaGathering really excelled in creating a TED-like format event, focused on everybody’s passions for Africa, that at the end felt like being part of a family. I really enjoyed the day, and can’t wait for future gatherings!

As I thought about how to express my thoughts from the event into words or a summary, I figured the best way is through compiling my Tweets from the event that capture a live stream of consciousness and quotable moments! Enjoy!

Also, check out this image showing the “How It Works” of AfricaGathering (click it for lightbox effect!):

1. 
   marcopuccia Sitting here at #agdc with @jscarantino and @gkofiannan! #socent 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
2. 
   marcopuccia “Life is so much more important when you’re not doing it for yourself” – @jscarantino #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
3. 
   marcopuccia Building communities can go a long ways in breaking barriers and unleashing opportunity @jscarantino #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
4. 
   marcopuccia Africa today, is not Africa of tomorrow – Need long-term horizons when creating programs/platforms @jscarantino #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
5. 
   marcopuccia Poor local distribution systems are largest impediment to getting vaccinations to where they need to go! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
6. 
   marcopuccia Poor records lead to vaccination waste and overestimation of coverage. Drives cost up, and impact down. #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
7. 
   marcopuccia VaxTrac built on same premise as @ITS_LLC: “Better information, greater social impact!” #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
8. 
   marcopuccia Need accountability systems to make sure vaccines are actually distributed appropriatly -VaxTrac #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
9. 
   marcopuccia Need open-source alternative for fingerprint ID systems…many cross-sector applications! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
10. 
    marcopuccia Can I say Happy World Malaria day? Not sure what the proper etiquette is… #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie

1. 
   marcopuccia 11.2% – 2008 GDP growth rate in Rwanda /via @kitcody #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
2. 
   marcopuccia Doing business in developing regions often requires ownership or oversight of entire value chain – @kitcody #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
3. 
   marcopuccia “Positive change requires positive people” – @kitcody #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
4. 
   marcopuccia Awesome talk by @kitcody! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
5. 
   marcopuccia LOL Great Q by @chiefmoamba “Who makes those yellow containers? They must be loaded!” #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
6. 
   marcopuccia Man! Free Blue Sweater books!? I just finished reading literally yesterday! Just my luck lol #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
7. 
   marcopuccia So far, @acumenfund has invested around $45 million in around 40 companies #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
8. 
   marcopuccia Curious about how a social business like Iko Toilet changes consumer behavior… #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
9. 
   marcopuccia #agdc “We’re shifting to African solutions to global problems,” Catherine Casey of @acumenfund /via @ruackerman 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
10. 
    marcopuccia “Human dignity is more important than wealth” -Catherine Casey of @acumenfund #agdc /via @artate 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie

1. 
   marcopuccia I wish I could plug my iPhone into the raw energy and passion at #agdc! lol 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
2. 
   marcopuccia “Africa Rural Connect an experiment in global collaboration to build ideas” @mollymali #agdc /via @ideasforafrica 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
3. 
   marcopuccia Man, we had such an awesome discussion at lunch! I feel honored and inspired to be surrounded by such smart and amazing people! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
4. 
   marcopuccia Totally digging what @developingjen is saying about the need to integrate metrics into social impact ventures #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
5. 
   marcopuccia Mariemme Jamme (@mjamme) doing a great job as co-host of Africa Gathering #agdc /via @gkofiannan Agreed, she’s awesome! 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
6. 
   marcopuccia “You can’t be credible if you’re not visable” @mjamme #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
7. 
   marcopuccia I love and am so inspired by the raw passion expressed by @mjamme and others #socent #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
8. 
   marcopuccia “Dignity is more important to the human spirit that wealth” #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
9. 
   marcopuccia Africa doesn’t need money. We need a sincere relationship – @Mjamme #agdc /via @gkofiannan 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
10. 
    marcopuccia “People who volunteer time first are 7x more likely to donate” – @eglue #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie

1. 
   marcopuccia Great presentation by @eglue on leading collaboration into action! Really great! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
2. 
   marcopuccia Half of the worlds women still give birth without a health worker… #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
3. 
   marcopuccia In parts of Africa, 1 in 7 women die related to child birth… #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
4. 
   marcopuccia Mad props to White Ribbon Alliance for bringing women’s rights and maternal health to national and int’l agendas #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
5. 
   marcopuccia “Think about Africa’s mothers. Think about Africa’s children. Think about Africa’s health workers” #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
6. 
   marcopuccia Man this is awesome! So energized by Sean Coetzee and his company Woodsmoke! @liveafrican #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
7. 
   marcopuccia Show people the real faces behind your African products! Transparency sells! @liveafrican #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
8. 
   marcopuccia “From great need comes great innovation!” – @mikeymckay #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
9. 
   marcopuccia Focusing African ingenuity into high-impact innovation can create disruptive change! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
10. 
    marcopuccia 9 months is avg life of a computer in rural village in Africa, @mikemckay of Baobab Health. #agdc /via @mollymali 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie

1. 
   marcopuccia Art and design are both important elements in re-branding Africa… #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
2. 
   marcopuccia “Makmende is bigger than Wikipedia” LOL #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
3. 
   marcopuccia “Creativity will fuel an economic revolution” -Design Indaba #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
4. 
   marcopuccia Hmmm, I think I found the source of my next desktop background – Digital African Art @digitalafrican #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
5. 
   marcopuccia Every obstacle is a springboard for creativity – @paulsika #agdc /via @gkofiannan 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
6. 
   marcopuccia What an awesome person, speaker, and photographer @paulsika is! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
7. 
   marcopuccia “When you think about business, you have to think about more than the product; You have to think about the ecosystem” – @paulsika #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie
8. 
   marcopuccia Thank you @africagathering for an amazing conference! This is the begining of something huge! #agdc 24 Apr 2010 from Tweetie

I had an opportunity recently to share an introductory presentation on social intra/entrepreneurship with a class of high school seniors at The Culver Academies on March 10, 2010. These students were sharp and did a great job of outlining the case for “Good Business” at the beginning of the presentation and asked fantastic questions throughout! Despite a few technical glitches (Mac vs. Windows), I think the presentation went very well — all thanks to the students’ awesome participation.

At the risk of being fact-checked, I’ve posted video of my presentation (available exclusively through blip.tv and iTunes this time) as well as the SlideShare of the presentation itself. In fact, I want you to fact-check the presentation and leave your comments on this page!

I know the video is long, but I hope there is some value in it for some readers!

The Presentation Itself:

Videos Embedded in Presentation:

1.) TOMS Shoes

2.) D.Light

3.) VisionSpring

Just a few weeks ago — Feb 11-15th — I had the great opportunity to join fellow social innovators from around the world at the 2010 StartingBloc Social Innovation Institute in Boston. I absolutely love attending events such as this (including GES, SOCAP, The Feast, and the upcoming SVC/SE Conferences). It’s a rare opportunity for like-minded entrepreneurs, intrapreneuers, and social-change enthusiasts to come together and share passions, ideas, and talents/resources. StartingBloc has done a great job recently in carving out a nice market in the field focused on not only students, but young-professionals in the field as well (serving as the middle-ground between GES and SOCAP).

The Institute was broken down into several components: Speakers, a Social Innovation Competition, and an “Ideas Marketplace” pitch competition.

The Speakers

The lineup of speakers included:

Houston Spencer – an inspirational speaker who I unfortunately missed on the first day due to travel failure, but really enjoyed hearing him speak a few days later about unconventional leadership and staying motivated in the field of social change.

Scott Sherman – One of the most excited and energetic people I’ve ever met whose Transformative Action Institute is spreading to colleges and universities across the world “training a new generation of social entrepreneurs, innovators, visionaries, and problem-solvers for the 21st century.” Scott’s presence alone is enough to get you out of your seat and want to change the world, and I had an awesome opportunity to chat with him on the second morning as we took the bus to Tufts.

Bob Tomasko – A professor at American University that I never had the opportunity to meet while I was there, but who is passionate about social enterprise and corporate social responsibility and integrating this into the curriculum. He has an extensive background consulting for companies like Coca-Cola, Ford, Mariott, and Toyota. I can’t wait to continue talking with Bob once I move back to DC!

Corey Szopinski – A social media guru who shared social media strategies for social change. Corey has been involved with developing interactive marketing initiatives for brands among the likes of Coca-Cola, Anheuser Busch, Volkswagon, Virgin Atlantic, and the Nelson Mandela Foundation. His company, Core Industries, brings “award winning interactive marketing to organizations that are leading the green economy and that focus on the triple bottom line: people planet and profit.”

Tom Szaky – An entrepreneur I’ve been hearing a lot of lately — the co-founder of TerraCycle — talked “trash” at StartingBloc. It was actually very interesting hearing him talk about some of the legal challenges TerraCycle has faced in reusing a product like an old Coke bottle as a container for another re-branded product because Coke owns the patent on the shape of the bottle! He shared some interesting insight between “little guy” vs. “big guy” battles that can come with entrepreneurship and the need for legal protections that can support innovation and keep “big guy” companies from holding-up startups in court. Plus, TerraCycle is a very interesting case study of a social startup!

Jeff Chapin – Probably has the coolest job in the world as a “Social Impact Designer” for IDEO. Jeff provided awesome insight into the product design process, particularly BOP-focused design. He shared some projects he’s worked on with IDEO around the world, and I think inspired a lot of to either pursue design-focused careers or at least focus more attention on design approaches to problem solving.

Patrick Meier – A member of the Ushahidi team, Patrick shared an awesome overview of Ushahidi and its involvement in the recovery effort of Haiti. It was really amazing seeing pictures and video “behind the scenes” of the massive volunteer effort of people tracking down information across the web and mapping it on the database. Text messages, tweets, news reports were all dissected to get accurate information to rescue teams on-the-ground. I think everybody in the room was just in awe and inspired by the massive undertaking and work that Ushahidi and the teams of volunteers managed to do in the wake of one of the largest crises of our lifetime (so far).

Dan Pallotta – Author of the book Uncharitable, Dan talked about how the way that we measure and perceive how nonprofits should run dramatically impacts their effectiveness. High overhead and compensation packages are not necessarily bad or signs of corruption — especially when you compare them head-to-head with the budgets and salaries of private-sector companies. We need to move beyond these misconceptions of the social sector and provide them with the tools they need to maximize impact. This involves developing more results-oriented metrics that do not punish charities for running more like businesses. This is something that I’m very interested in and hope to talk more with Dan about.

Colette Stanzler – Building off the need for more results-oriented metrics, Colette shared how her organization — Root Cause — approaches building a social impact market that blends the nonprofit, private, and public sectors through cross-sector partnerships and collaboration. A major part of their work is focused on measuring social impact, identifying successful programs, and spreading and scaling those programs effectively through cross-sector partnerships.

Cheryl Kiser – Cheryl shared her experience as a consultant for businesses’ CSR and sustainability initiatives. She is just now settling into her new role as Managing Director of The Lewis Initiative at Babson College.

Ryan Allis – Co-Founder of iContact, Ryan is actually very much engaged in the concept of social entrepreneurship and CSR. Ryan shared how his company has integrated a 1% Time/Product/Equity/Payroll model for its CSR initiatives. Ryan is somebody to keep your eyes on as an emerging player in the social enterprise space. I’m looking forward to seeing where he goes down the road.

Mindy Lubber – Mindy’s work as the President of Ceres is focused on integrating sustainability into the capital markets, encouraging and helping companies outline and publish sustainability initiatives (and ideally metrics as well). Having recently returned from the World Economic Forum in Davos, she told us how sustainability is becoming a more serious and central issue for business leaders — leading top business executives to attend her session at Davos.

Mitchell Wade – Concluding the Institute, Mitchell left us all with a quote that really resonated: The only change that really matters is that which happens after you leave. This is something that’s so important for us to remember as we build organizations or programs around the world focused on sustainability. From the very beginning we need to be focused on training others to build and grow the organization on their own! It seems like common sense, but you’d be surprised by how often this principle is forgotten.

Social Innovation Competition

One of the conference features was an event called the Social Innovation Competition. It was definitely an innovative way to help fund the institute — using the collaborative power of the fellows to serve as a consultancy to a corporate sponsor. I’m not sure how much I can talk about publicly about the client and the strategy we put together, but we put together a cross between a communications strategy and sustainability initiative for a major US corporation with offices around the world. My team had a blast working on the project, and actually made it to the final round!

Ideas Marketplace

This aspect of the conference allowed anybody to give a 1-minute pitch about their project or something they were passionate about. It was an awesome opportunity to hear everybody talk about their passions and interests! Three finalists were selected to give a longer pitch. Among the finalists were Maria Springer (Kito International) and Leticia Jauregui (CREA).

Final Thoughts

There is a lot of room for StartingBloc to grow as a network of social innovators and as an Institute. It would be nice to see more speakers at a TED-style pace (quick and to the point) as well as more workshops (a la GES).

Where StartingBloc really shines is in attracting an awesome group of fellows that have been vetted through the application process, and developing a strong life-long network connecting like-minded individuals and organizations. This is what attracted me to StartingBloc and was by-far my greatest take-away. As I return to Washington, DC in just a few weeks, I plan on being as active and engaged with this network as possibly by volunteering and helping organize events. Already in the last couple of weeks, I’ve had amazing phone calls and conversations with several fellows. They inspire me with every conversation, and I hope that I can bring some value to their work and their lives. That said, I really look forward to having a continued relationship with the StartingBloc community!

00:00 – 00:32 Introduction
00:32 – 02:23 Market Context
02:23 – 03:13 What is Ayllu?
03:14 – 04:55 What is Microfranchising?
04:55 – 06:20 Is There A Microfinance Connection?
06:20 – 08:04 How Did You Come Up With Ayllu?
08:04 – 11:01 Groundwork Laid in Brazil
11:01 – 12:34 Future of Ayllu

One of the largest challenges that social enterprises face is that of scale: how to bring their enterprises to new markets and maximize their potential social impact. Melissa Richer created the Ayllu Initiative with this in mind. Her organization seeks to bundle proven business models through a microfranchising mechanism to connect them with local supply chains, distribution channels, legal and financial support, etc in new markets (thus lowering the cost and technical barriers to entry). Currently, Ayllu is preparing for a pilot in Brazil.

Melissa was kind enough to join me in the above video interview, during which she passionately explained the need for this type of solution among social enterprises worldwide. With all of the amazing ventures out there, there needs to be a way to bring those models to the poorest corners of the world so that we are not continually relying on entrepreneurs to “reinvent the wheel”. I love the concept, agree with the need, and can’t wait to see how Ayllu grows in the years to come!

My thanks again to Melissa for taking the time to share her insights and work with us!

More Ayllu Resources:

• The Ayllu Initiative Website
• Become a Fan on Facebook
• Follow Ayllu on Twtitter

Watch This Video on the Following Platforms:

• YouTube Part 1 / Part 2
• Vimeo (Coming Soon!)
• Blip.tv
• iTunes

Unfortunately I got an e-mail recently from James at Dvelo.org telling me that due to SEC regulations on delivering returns on investments in the manner that they had attempted required complicated registration as a “brokerage”. Hopefully we can get a new interview with James explaining the situation, and how they have responded!

00:00 – 00:51 :: Introduction
00:51 – 01:24 :: Could You Provide A Quick Pitch of Dvelo.org?
01:24 – 02:25 :: How Does Dvelo.org Differ From Kiva?
02:25 – 04:53 :: What Inspired Dvelo.org?
04:53 – 07:06 :: Tell Us A Little About Your Pilot Launch!
07:06 – 08:13 :: Could You Tell Us More About Your Microfinance Partners?
08:13 – 09:10 :: Speaking of Due Diligence, How Do You Rate MFIs?
09:10 – 09:44 :: What Does the Future of Dvelo.org Look Like?

I had an opportunity to chat with James Beshara, founder of Dvelo.org — a new Kiva-style microfinance website designed to connect micro-lenders like you or I to poor communities around the world. Dvelo stands out on two key fronts:

1. They are a for-profit entity and seek to return interest to lenders — thus motivating self-interest to do good! And,
2. Rather than investing in particular entrepreneurs, Dvelo is community-focused. They’ve left the door open for opportunities to expand into micro-insurance, education, and healthcare!

My thanks to James and Dvelo.org for taking the time to provide a little insight into their business!

This video is available on the following platforms (please share and embed!)

• Vimeo
• YouTube
• blip.tv
• iTunes

Menstruation is a major issue when looking at girls and women in the developing world having equal access to education and jobs. The numbers presented in this video are direct and to the point: Each year girls and women miss 50 days of school or work because of menstruation — 5 years over the course of a lifetime. According to a 2004 Council on Foreign Relations study, one additional year of primary school can mean a 20-30% rise in future wages. (HT: Ian Goldsmith/GlobalEnvision)

Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) takes a market-driven approach toward solving this problem while simultaneously empowering women and girls around the globe: By giving women the tools they need to start their own businesses producing affordable sanitary pads. I had the pleasure of hearing SHE’s founder Elizabeth Scharpf speak at The Feast, and she’s very enthusiastic about this and bringing the topic out of the taboo by confronting it head on. What I really like about this program, aside from it’s market-based solution, is that is places the social stigma of menstruation and the challenge of women’s equality in an economic context: that lost opportunity cost belongs to the entire economy, not just the woman.

Learn more about Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE) at: http://www.sheinnovates.com

Here’s your Daily Brief for November 23rd:

TerraCycle // Outsmarting Waste – This is a very cool up-and-coming venture that is taking trash collected by members of their site and turning it into eco-friendly products for sale. They currently sell over 50 products available at retailers including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, OfficeMax, Petco, and Whole Foods! HT Brooke Estin

Liberate Iraq’s Economy (via NYT) – While Iraqi security seems to be calming, a quiet storm may be growing in the economy — a rising unemployment rate driven by a shortage of jobs and a growing number of job-seekers. The first and most immediate step that must be taken in a change in the current hostile government regulation of the private sector. The potential for economic growth in Iraq is great, but it must be unleashed! Peace will not be sustained if there are no jobs.

Weekend Entrepreneur Links (via Change.org) – Nathaniel Whittemore put together a good collection of links from the last couple of days — the cream of the crop

The Social Entrepreneurship Standard (via Change.org) – Pamela Hawley, founder and CEO of UniversalGiving, wrote this great guest post over at Change.org about how her organization has succeeded at creating a revenue-generating nonprofit through a cross-subsidization model. It’s a great read to get a feel for how an organization can be structured, and to learn more about what Pamela and UniversalGiving are doing!