For a city full of stoic institutions such as the World Bank, IMF, USAID, and not to mention the US government, it is hard to see Washington, DC as an entrepreneur’s playground or home of tomorrow’s innovation. New York and San Francisco have traditionally reserved the title for entrepreneurial “make your dream come true” cities. These are locations where entrepreneurship is expected, encouraged, and fostered. Going against the status quo is seen more as invigorating than “politically or strategically risky”. However, in the few weeks that I have been back in Washington, DC, I have been blown away by the emerging entrepreneurial culture that is quietly emerging among young and ambitious rising stars that want to dramatically shake the status-quo here and around the world.

There is no reason Washington shouldn’t be a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship — especially social innovation and entrepreneurship! After all, it is the seat of power for arguably much of the world — playing host to governmental organizations both foreign and domestic, a slew of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and thousands of private sector companies including representation from every single Fortune 500 business. The DC-metro area is home to American University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, and University of Maryland just for starters. But beyond that, dozens of top universities from around the country have satellite campuses in or around the city. Within the beltway, there is a massive brain-trust, access to enormous resources, and expansive representation of global power and authority. And if you can’t find it in DC, all you need to do is hop on the BoltBus for $15 to New York! And the freakin’ bus has WiFi!

The only things that is missing from the equation is the “culture” of entrepreneurship. Nathaniel Whittemore said it best to me a couple of weeks ago in Miami when describing San Francisco as “One of the only places in the country where failure can actually increase your net-worth.” — essentially that everybody understands and appreciates the risk, process, and learning experience associated with entrepreneurship. DC is a city known for its “red tape”, inefficient systems, lack of dynamism, and any interest in really shaking things up. But this seems to be slowly changing.

A program that I recently learned about and I think embodies this culture shift is Compass Partners. Compass is an absolutely amazing program started by Neil Shah, a Georgetown University student, who wanted to create a way to connect entrepreneurial students with the vast resources that exist in the city. Through a mentorship program, an amazing lineup of speakers, and a business incubation process started during a student’s Freshman year, COMPASS Fellows are graduating college ready to run their own companies! This is a program that has succeeded at Georgetown and has ambitions to expand nationally in the near-future.

DC is also home to a growing number of entrepreneurs with a broad range of interests and passions. I’m continually running around meeting new people in this entrepreneurial space, and I’m seeing for the first time this growing and emerging culture here. DC could very well be the next major hub for entrepreneurship and innovation, and this could potentially be really huge!

About a year ago I faced a crossroads with my startup as I began designing the public face of the project: should I take the “Fake It ‘Till You Make It” approach or go “Radical Transparency” and be very honest and open about my shortcomings. Before I go on, let me quickly define each approach:

Fake It ‘Till You Make It: In today’s world of online communications, it isn’t hard to build an online presence that brings you authority and credibility (not to mention a global audience). Granted, there has to be some meat on the bones – quality and vision in what you are doing – because you are vying to capture and maintain the attention of major players in your field. But often the faces behind some major online presences are guys in their PJ’s working from their parent’s home, car, or local Starbucks hustling to achieve their dreams saying to themselves “Just Fake It ‘Till You Make It”.

Radical Transparency: A growing phenomenon whereby organizations defy the traditional constructs of “marketing” to share openly the shortcomings or challenges that they are facing. While this can be seen a “risky”, it often leads to an appreciation among followers and supporters who will then feel more inclined to support you either financially or with the technical/intellectual knowhow you are looking for!

So when I started Transparency Solutions, I decided to try and blend both (but between you and I, struggled with the risk associated with ‘radical transparency’ – seems kind of intuitive given my business model, though!). I definitely wanted to crowdsource parts of the business development and started a specific blog to do this, but it never picked up traction. When I built the website for my business, I designed it for the business that I wanted to run – it was a representation of my vision, and not of my reality at the time.

As entrepreneurs, we rely so heavily on the generous support of outsiders, supporters, and those random connections that end up bringing so much value to the table. When we get caught up in our own self-created delusion of “Fake It ‘Till You Make It”, we tend to close ourselves off to the massive brain power waiting to lend their thought or expertise to a budding idea.

And in the end, your brand will quickly lose its credibility if and when you can’t deliver what you’ve marketed yourself as. The deliverable is the most important part of the business, and being open and honest about what your capabilities as well as shortcomings are will go a long ways in creating a successful budding enterprise.

Hey everybody, here’s the first batch of essay responses for the Echoing Green Fellowship — your feedback is much appreciated!

Download the Essay Questions and Guidelines Here

Your Bold Idea

International Transparency Solutions is a new for-profit social venture designed to connect investors and the developing world through a suite of due diligence and investment oversight solutions. We are committed to delivering cost-effective services to the growing ranks of social investors and 3^rd world investment-seekers – a market where such solutions can radically transform the way we engage the developing world.

Our clients – individual investors, nonprofits, and even government agencies – will eventually be able to login to an online portal providing them access to their global portfolio of investments complete with pictures, video updates, and objective analyses and assessments. Investment-seeking institutions will have a platform on which they can be recognized and rewarded for their integrity through our VeriSign-like “Certification of Anti-Corruption” program. All of this will be facilitated by a network of “Transparency Professionals” tasked with serving as in-country liaisons between investors and their investments.

Our innovative proactive approach to due diligence serves to build confidence around global investment in developing countries while simultaneously facilitating more responsible and effective investment. By creating a more transparent and accountable environment for investment in the developing world, we seek to positively impact the cost-benefit relationship that individuals and organizations use when considering whether or not to partake in corrupt or dishonest activity.

Evolution

Two years ago, I was working for an e-commerce company in Nairobi, Kenya when I noticed so much lost investment potential in both the for- and non-profit sectors due to a high global perception of corruption. I watched as legitimate and hard-working charities worked right alongside organizations that were blatantly corrupt with no way for foreign investors to distinguish between the two. Compounding on this, I watched as US-based nonprofits were sinking money into programs with severe issues and not conducting the due diligence needed to recognize and fix these problems.

While in Kenya, I began work on designing a certification program to help lift honest and accountable organizations above that stigma of corruption and allow them to be recognized and rewarded for their integrity. The rest of the business model began to develop around this concept after I returned to Washington, DC and pursued research and discussions with representatives across the private, public, and independent sectors. After putting two years of work into developing the concept and model, I incorporated the business in March of 2009 and went about laying the groundwork to move forward.

Transparency Solutions is currently working on lining up the resources needed to carry out our pilot-program in Nairobi, Kenya so that we may have a presentable “proof of concept”. There is enormous potential to deepen and broaden our social impact over the course of five years including: expanding our client base, extending into new countries, investing in in-country programs (eg. E-government solutions, SMS-based fraud reporting mechanisms, taxi certification, etc.), and growing our online platforms to increase information accessibility and public engagement.

Innovation

Transparency Solutions takes a truly innovative approach toward ameliorating two key issues impeding investment in the developing world: First, social investors (including nonprofits) do not have access to any affordable and effective solutions for carrying out due diligence; Second, the mere perception of corruption that plagues developing countries is holding back massive investment potential for local investment-seeking institutions (including nonprofits) and is consequently perpetuating an environment for corruption even further!

Existing due diligence firms such as Kroll, Diligence LLC, and TRACE have failed to acknowledge the growing social investment sector and continue to serve the large and wealthy clients who can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for services designed more for mergers and acquisitions than grassroots-level social impact! On the corruption end, various watchdogs have cropped up around the world however there is no organization out there offering tangible solutions to help curb the root causes that perpetuate this social injustice.

Transparency Solutions is flipping the concept of due diligence on its head to serve this new and growing market with customized solutions that meet their specific needs. Our strategy is built upon creating a network of Transparency Professionals: on-the-ground experts that proactively tap into and develop grassroots-level intelligence networks and carry out assessments of both the organizations we certify and the programs, organizations, and investments that our clients fund and support. Our company targets both ends of the investment spectrum – investors and investment-seekers – to create a more transparent and accountable ecosystem for social investment.

Need

Accessing information, much less credible information, in the developing world has always been a challenge. All one needs to do is consider briefly the Western perception of Africa — the stereotypes that are perpetuated due to a lack of any alternative information. Corruption. War. Disease. Online Scams.

Transparency International publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, which is accompanied by a color-coded map of the world illustrating the “perceived levels” of corruption from country to country. What stands out most on this map is the dark-red that plagues the entire developing world. These perceptions are rooted in truth, and absent any alternative information these perceptions negatively influence the investment climate.

It’s estimated that the World Bank loses 30-40% of its funds to outright corruption. A New York Times article cites millions of dollars in grants awarded to Kenyan nonprofits to fight AIDS – only years later to discover those programs were never carried out. Nonprofit fraud in the United States – one of the more judicious countries of the world – was estimated to account for $40 billion in 2006.

The environment for social investment is one currently mired by a lack of transparency and accountability. This inhibits investment, perpetuates real corruption, and undermines confidence in the social sector’s ability to create lasting and sustainable change.

Transparency Solutions was founded to fill the information asymmetry, connect investors with their investments, and build overall confidence around the investment climate emerging in the Global South. Our programs will make aid and investment programs more efficient and effective, realign investment with integrity and create incentives against corruption.

Programs

The mission of International Transparency Solutions is to “develop innovative solutions that build confidence around global investment in the developing world while fostering a culture or transparency and accountability.” Our clients can be broken down into two basic categories: Investors and Investment-Seekers.

The investor category, right now, targets specifically nonprofits that are working with partner organizations or country offices abroad, foundations with program related investments (PRIs) or grants abroad, and government agencies restrained by “diplomatic security protocol.” Our investor clients will be able to tap into our on-the-ground intelligence networks to conduct pre-investment due diligence, vendor/recipient verification, or conduct a needs assessment. Our post-investment services will allow them to ensure their programs are running smoothly and properly. Our Transparency Professionals will conduct site visits and carry out full assessments of programs to make sure investors have the information they need to make appropriate decisions or report back to their boards and funders.

For investment-seekers, we will offer a “Certification of Anti-Corruption” that uses our global brand of integrity to help lift them above the stigma of corruption. This seal will certify the organization meets a set of “Standards of Transparency and Accountability” and is continually subject to random audit by Transparency Solutions’ in-country staff. Through strategic partnerships, we hope to also offer exclusive access to grants and various discounts to help incentivize program compliance.

Down the pipeline, there is enormous room for innovation and development: e-government platforms, SMS-based reporting mechanisms, and a user-driven charity database, just to name a few ideas!

Please leave your comments on the post, e-mail me a marked-up .doc file, or Contact Me directly!

Thank You!

See Also: Transparency Solutions Root Cause Analysis (Please Review!)

And the Transparency Solutions Innovation Matrix

Click Here to Download The Directions and Examples

Click Here to Download my “Innovation Matrix Draft 1″

**Closest Competitor: Self-Auditing, Network Based Approach Used by Kiva and Global Giving**

Aspects of Overlap:

• ____ Working With Same Population
• __X__ Working On Same Issue Area
• ____ Using Similar Model of Change

How Will Your Approach be Different From and Achieve Greater Results Than Others Working in Your Field?

Organizations like Kiva and Global Giving have developed the best due diligence solution possible given the resource challenge: leveraging a network of fellows and volunteers to add a layer of transparency and accountability to their operations worldwide. While amateur oversight and reporting serves an important purpose, it does not fulfill an organization’s fiduciary obligations to its board and/or investors.

Transparency Solutions blends a grassroots-level intelligence network with a staff of in-country Transparency Professionals to capture the best available information over a duration of time. This allows us deliver not only post-investment oversight, but pre-investment intelligence. Our final reports can be presented to investors and donors, boards of directors, or included as part of an Annual Report.

Furthermore, our network does not only serve the interests of a single organization – it serves the due diligence needs of an entire community. Where a Kiva Fellow may work with a local microfinance partner, our intelligence network spans across organizations and sectors of society. Effective due diligence in the social sector means including community members and leaders, understanding the environment as a whole, and surveying both stakeholders and beneficiaries.

(Note: See Dennis Whittle, Founder and CEO of Global Giving, speaking of due diligence with Unreasonable Institute’s Teju Ravilochan at http://vimeo.com/7454050 at timestamp 6:50)

How Can Your Organization Work With, Leverage, and/or improve on the work that is currently being done?

Both Premal Shah (Kiva) and Dennis Whittle (Global Giving) have expressed the need for an effective due diligence solution for the social sector, and the model proposed by Transparency Solutions would fill the niche.

The network-based amateur reporting definitely plays a critical role in the process of due diligence, but cannot be relied upon as being the entire solution. Transparency Solutions seeks to build upon pre-existing networks like Kiva Fellows, Peace Corp, and global networks of volunteers to help aggregate the best available information. This is supplemented by our very own in-country Transparency Professions who can not only moderate and coordinate this information, but serve in a more official oversight capacity.

**Closest Competitor: Self-Auditing, Either By Dedicated M&E Staff or Self-Reporting By Country Offices**

Aspects of Overlap:

• ____ Working With Same Population
• __X__ Working On Same Issue Area
• ____ Using Similar Model of Change

How Will Your Approach be Different From and Achieve Greater Results Than Others Working in Your Field?

Many other nonprofit organizations have relied on the self-reporting of their country partners or have hired a dedicated staff for monitoring and evaluation. Both of these solutions lack the independence and objectivity that proper due diligence requires. If you think about it, country staff have no incentive to share failures or inefficiencies (they want to make the sure the money keeps coming!). And dedicated staff for M&E is far from being justifiably cost-effective (requires paying salaries, benefits, travel costs, expenses, etc.).

Transparency Solutions is dedicated to providing independent and objective intelligence and oversight. Our in-country presence and networks allow us access to a broad wealth of information that can bring critical perspective to an organization’s assessment. Our approach to due diligence is focused on a continued relationship with the organization we are reviewing as well as the local community, rather than a one-time site visit that serves more as a photo-opportunity than a due diligence review.

How Can Your Organization Work With, Leverage, and/or improve on the work that is currently being done?

Obviously, if we were to be serving these organizations as clients there would be close collaboration and work with the in-country staff as well as any M&E staff. Our goal is to deliver cost-effective solutions that provide clients with the best available information.

**Closest Competitor: Local Attorneys, CPAs, Auditors**

Aspects of Overlap:

• __X__ Working With Same Population
• __X__ Working On Same Issue Area
• ____ Using Similar Model of Change

How Will Your Approach be Different From and Achieve Greater Results Than Others Working in Your Field?

It should not be ignored that there are very talented local attorneys, CPAs, and auditors in developing countries – some of whom are committed to doing similar due diligence work. A major factor, however, in their ability to successfully serve foreign markets is that they lack a global recognition of credibility or any global coordination.

A client of Transparency Solutions should be able to access their global due diligence portfolio through our online portal, allowing them access to updates and reports from across multiple countries and programs. We will forge the necessary relationships in-country though establishing partnerships and possibly leveraging group-rates! Clients should only have to worry about one thing – doing good, well!

How Can Your Organization Work With, Leverage, and/or improve on the work that is currently being done?

As mentioned, there is an obvious need for us to incorporate local talent into our networks by forging relationships and partnerships. We will vet these partners, and through our international standing, will most likely bring them business that they possibly wouldn’t otherwise be getting. With enough business, we should be able to arrange lower rates allowing us to deliver maximum value to our clients.

**Closest Competitor: Consulting Firms (Eg. Dilgience, LLC; TRACE; McKinsey; Deloitte)**

Aspects of Overlap:

• ____ Working With Same Population
• __+/-__ Working On Same Issue Area
• ____ Using Similar Model of Change

How Will Your Approach be Different From and Achieve Greater Results Than Others Working in Your Field?

There are several major consulting firms that include global due diligence in their portfolios of offerings, but their services marketing largely to Fortune 500 companies or multi-million dollar charities and foundations. Their operations in the developing world tend to be managed by a loose network of high-priced attorneys, professionals, and consultants. And while their services may serve well in conducting due diligence prior to a merger or acquisition, these big firms have failed to recognize and adapt to the needs of the growing social investment community.

Transparency Solutions is taking the concept of due diligence and flipping it on its head to create innovative new solutions for a changing world! Our approach, dubbed Due Diligence 2.0, accommodates for smaller investors seeking to reach further parts of the globe.

Community-based engagement along with advances in information a communication technologies will allow us to deliver the best available information around the world at an unparalleled price to not only revolutionize the due diligence industry but the overall investment climate in some of the poorest parts of the world!

How Can Your Organization Work With, Leverage, and/or improve on the work that is currently being done?

Major consulting firms like Diligence, LLC, TRACE, McKinsey, and Deloitte are immense bastions of talent, information, and resources. They are a force to be reckoned with, but are focused on an entirely different market. The everyday social investor has been left to his own devices when it comes to the investment and due diligence tools held by the larger investors.

As social investment grows and emerging markets become more attractive, there needs to be a due diligence solution that can meet the needs of these new investors and can adapt to work in the non-traditional working environments of the developing world.

Our strategy and approach to due diligence is so different from the traditional ways of the larger institutions that I’m confident we will play a role in supporting their clients’ needs as investment opportunities grow in what are today some of the poorest corners of the earth.

**Closest Competitor: Charity Navigator or BBB Wise Giving Alliance**

Aspects of Overlap:

• ____ Working With Same Population
• __X__ Working On Same Issue Area
• ____ Using Similar Model of Change

How Will Your Approach be Different From and Achieve Greater Results Than Others Working in Your Field?

These watchdog organizations have undoubtedly laid a lot of foundation in the US for charity accountability, but miss the mark on several key points.

• Firstly, their focus is strictly on US-based charities – leaving perfectly legitimate foreign-based charities and nonprofits at a disadvantage.
• Secondly, they do not offer any tangible solutions to the social sector in terms of due diligence.
  • BBB allows people to report issues, but is not transparent in the least about this process!
  • CN publishes information that is publically available, and only focuses on financial efficiency while ignoring how actual operations and programs are being carried out!

Transparency Solutions is working on building a platform [...Oops! That's a little secret surprise!...]

Furthermore, we are committed to serving the social sector rather than simply auditing it from the sidelines. Our solutions are designed to help organizations access the tools and information they need to make their programs run more effectively and maximize their social impact!

How Can Your Organization Work With, Leverage, and/or improve on the work that is currently being done?

While our approach to charity accountability moves beyond what is offered by BBB and CN, there is certainly room for coordination and cooperation. These organizations have already conducted research, laid groundwork, and established networks that can prove valuable in advancing our own work. There is no point in duplicating efforts when we are all seeking to achieve the same end-goal!

These organizations serve more as a complimentary source of information than as a competitor in the marketplace.

Please leave your comments on the post, e-mail me a marked-up .doc file, or  Contact Me directly!

Thank You!

See Also: Transparency Solutions Root Cause Analysis (Please Review!)

A few days ago I announced that I was moving on to “Round 2″ of the Echoing Green Fellowship Application, and need your support. One of the sections on the application is a “Root Cause Analysis” where we have to break down some of the social issues that our venture addresses and prove that we are serving to ameliorate root causes rather than symptoms. Here’s my first draft — I’d really appreciate your input and feedback!

Click Here to Download “Root Cause Directions” / “Examples”

Click Here to Download my “Root Cause Draft 1″

Statement of Need: At a time when increased economic and political stability in the developing world is opening the door for new and exciting investment and economic opportunities, there is one factor that remains unaddressed: confidence. Transparency Solutions seeks to serve as a “Trust Agent” liaising between investors and investment-seeking institutions in the developing countries – unlocking economic potential and fostering an environment where integrity is recognized and rewarded.

Symptom 1: Honest and accountable organizations in the developing world are not meeting their full investment potential

Why? Because there is a high associated risk / perceived risk with investing in the developing world

Why? Because without being on-the-ground and having access to a network of reliable sources of information, there is no way to know good organizations from bad ones and properly assess risk

Why? Because many / most countries in the developing world have historic track records of corruption and suffer from high perceptions of corruption – deeply affecting credibility and putting investment-seekers in a position where they are assumed corrupt until proven otherwise

Why? Because our perceptions are based on information we have available to us, and there is a cataclysmic information asymmetry between the developed and developing worlds

Root Cause: Without access to credible in-country intelligence, investors face high risks (both actual and perceived). There are few tools that can easily be used to distinguish honest and accountable organization from the corrupt and financially-hemorrhaging institutions.

Intervention Needed: There needs to be an independent organization that certifies legitimate organizations, maintains a continued in-country presence with community-based engagement, and can serve as a credible liaison between investors and investment-seekers.

***

Symptom 2: Donations and Foreign Assistance Are Being Lost to Corruption and Preventable Inefficiencies

Why? Because donors don’t have access to timely and credible information about how their money is being spent

Why? Because funding organizations often remain in the dark or discover failures after it is too late

Why? Often because they put too much trust and faith in the honesty of their staff (who have the incentive of lying to keep the money flowing). Many organizations have found out about their inefficiencies losses through investigative news reports!

Why? Because the costs associated with conducting due diligence internally would include hiring dedicated staff (salaries and benefits), paying for plane tickets and expenses. It’s expensive, usually retroactive or after-the-fact, and is done in the style of a one-time spot check rather than a deep engagement.

Root Cause: Conducting effective due diligence internally is costly and unreliable.

Intervention Needed: An organization like Transparency Solutions can pool together the resources needed to carry out due diligence in-country and benefit from economies of scale. Using the same network, the same staff, and the same tools we can provide cost-effective and independent due diligence for many clients.

Funding agents will then have access to the auditing information immediately through their online portfolio, and can act / react accordingly before too much money is lost into an inefficient or corrupt program.

***

Symptom 3: Environment for Corruption is Being Perpetuated in Developing Countries

Why? Because when individuals and organizations weigh the costs and benefits of corruption, the reward often outweighs the risk or opportunity cost

Why? Two reasons: A. Because they are not likely to be caught, and B. even if they do get caught they can likely wrangle another donor/investor into supporting them

Why? A. Because investors and donors are not likely to do the proper due diligence or follow-up, reducing the chances of getting caught. And B. Because of the lack of transparency, there is most likely no record of that previous association or “falling out”.

Why? Again, because of the cost and logistics of doing due diligence in the social sector. But also because reliable information is hard to access in the developing world.

Root Cause: Lack of oversight reduces the risk of getting caught, and there is virtually no reward on integrity

Intervention Needed: There needs to be a credible source liaising between investors and the developing world. Increasing access to reliable information will lead to more accountable investment. When integrity can be recognized and rewarded by investors, the opportunity costs of corruption skyrocket – providing an opportunity to fundamentally shift the dynamics that perpetuate corruption.

Please leave your comments on the post, e-mail me a marked-up .doc file, or  Contact Me directly!

Thank You!

Incase you missed it, I launched my very first podcast yesterday featuring one of my favorite initiatives: HopePhones.org! HopePhones allows you send in your retired mobile phones so that they may be recycled and used to purchase 2-3 mobile phones that will be dispatched to medical clinics around the world through FrontlineSMS:Medic. It’s a brilliant way to get those old cell phones out of the drawers and put them to good use!

According to the HopePhones Website:

“Every cell phone given to community health workers connects distant patients to a medical clinic. A $10 cell phone will give 50 families access to emergency medical care, health information, transport services, and clinic resources.”

“When your old phone is received by the recycling center, it is given a value. We’ll use this value to purchase appropriate, usable cell phones for community health workers at the medical clinics. The average donated phone in the US will allow us to purchase 2-3 cell phones for clinics.”

For more information on FrontlineSMS:Medic, check out this video from CNN:

And visit the FrontlineSMS:Medic Website Here!

Here’s your Daily Brief for December 9th:

Women at the BoP: what does it mean when your money belongs to you? (via Perspective 2.0) – Ownership is a critical step toward empowerment at the bottom of the pyramid. Advances in technologies, in this case biometric ID cards, will be the future of solving this problem.

The ever-growing business case for CSR/sustainability (via Business Fights Poverty) – Ian Berry takes a look at a recent survey of 250 global business leaders on CSR/Sustainability initiatives. Of those surveyed, 68% are using CSR as a platform for growth and differentiation to create new revenue streams. And 54% believe their CSR activities are giving them an advantage of their top competitors. (Full Report Here)

Rallying the World against “Blood Oil” (via Africa Business Source) – I posted earlier on the topic of conflict minerals in the DRC (with Appfrica’s wonderful use of Ushahidi data to visualize the correlation between conflict and mining). Today, this post from Africa Business Source shares the problem of “Blood Oil” in Nigeria — the “use of proceeds from stolen crude oil in financing international terror groups and domestic insurgents in Nigeria.” What is amazing is the magnitude of stolen crude oil — ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 barrels per day! Outside of the criminal uses of stolen money, there is an enormous lost opportunity cost to the people of Nigeria.

Nigeria’s Brain Gain – It seems that the rising unemployment rates in the US and the UK are driving native Nigerians to take up job opportunities available in their home country. We talk so much about brain-drain in the developing world, it’s interesting to see that the current economic climate is driving quite the opposite effect: brain-gain! (HT: Annansi Chronicles)

This is a little off topic, but it’s something that’s been driving me nuts the last couple of months. The digital media market has been rapidly evolving over the past decade, and forces de resistance have been scrambling to find ways to adapt. The RIAA played the role of the bully enforcer by suing kids over downloaded music. The newspaper industry is attempting to wall off its content from non-subscribers and Google! TV shows are trying week-long delayed releases on sites like Hulu. And most recently, this post by Gizmodo states that Simon and Schuster plans on delaying the availability of e-books by four months.

What has happened over the last decade with digital media is that the market has stood up against the industry giants and said, “We’re tired of you dictating the terms of how we consume your products!” We live in a market economy, and when high demand meets resistance or unruly terms, consumers turn to the underground economy — the black market. This means the TV shows that could be earning revenue of Hulu are going to be sought out via torrents or streaming sites. Media moguls need to come back down to earth and talk 1-on-1 with the market they serve. If they are going to survive, they need to come to an agreeable understanding. The more time they waste resisting, the more likely somebody else is going to research and develop tomorrows new media delivery medium.

We consumed your media at your prices and on your terms in the past because we had no alternatives. You built your empires, bought your multimillion dollar homes, private jets, and other luxuries at our expense. Well, times have changed. The market has changed. Stop looking backwards to the “good ol’ days”, and look into the future. Start by looking at the now. Downscale your empires, reevaluate your business plans and models, and innovate for a prosperous tomorrow. If you don’t, and you keep resisting, you will only find yourself in a hole that you dug as a means to entrench yourself.

Here’s your Daily Brief for December 7th:

The Next Generation of Microfinance: Microfranchising (via Allyu and BeyondProfit) – One of the challenges for microfinance institutions is covering their overhead expenses. I’ve written about my friend Ben Lyon’s approach to integrating mobile platforms that deliver microfinance services at much lower cost (See FrontlineSMS: Credit). Melissa Richer, Founder of Allyu, has created a strategy of “microfranchising” that could offer additional means for adding value to MFI’s distribution networks while deploying more wealth creating opportunites to the world’s “bottom billion”.

Can Obama Deliver American Investment in Africa? (via Africa Business Source) – As many of us await concrete steps by Obama Administration on its foreign policy strategy toward Africa, this article lays out the foundation on which the Administration will be expected to build as well as the forces it will be working with. One of the best overviews I’ve seen in quite a while!

Is Social Enterprise Ethical? Or Even Legal?  (via SocialEarth) - Several posts on this blog have been centered on the legal and moral foundations on which social enterprises find themselves. In particular, does the corporate framework in America support social entrepreneurship? Mike Shoemaker addresses these concerns in this very well laid out post.

I fell behind on posting Daily Briefs this last week – I was focusing most all of my attention on great Thanksgiving food and company, as well as working hard on completing my Echoing Green Fellowship Application! Here’s a compilation of some of the coolest articles and blog posts that have come across my desk in the last week, hopefully you will find a gem you haven’t yet seen!

B Corps Win Healthy Tax Break in Landmark Law (via Triple Pundit) – Awesome and exciting news on the social entrepreneurship front: B Corps will be privy to a tax break in Philadelphia — and the vote was UNANIMOUS!

Africa and the Crisis: What’s Next? (via PSDblog) – A very interesting look at Africa’s trade portfolio, and what it means particularly in the current economic downturn. While Africa’s growth is largely tied to commodity exports, it is increasingly being integrated into the global economy which will provide it more leverage and economic options during tough times. Interesting point: China’s increased engagement on the continent is noted as driving prices up and increasing value of exported commodities.

Start-up Visas Can Jump-Start the Economy – WSJ.com – This WSJ article makes the argument for “Start-Up Visas” that would allow immigrant entrepreneurs preferenital access to the US so that they may help jumpstart our economy! Thoughts?

Interviewing Good Capital’s Investment Manager (via UnreasonableInstitute) – Teju continues his series of interviews with social innovation leaders with this segment featuring GOOD Capital’s Investment Manager – Wes Selke.

Europe’s $774 billion African desert solar power project launches (via Annansi Chronicles) – A very interesting project designed to build solar power plants across North Africa and the Middle East to provide 15% of Europe’s electricity by the year 2050. What are your thoughts on this?

East Africa Common Market Coming Alive with Business and Investment Opportunities (via Afribiz) – The East Africa Community (EAC) has been in limbo for many years, suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. A recent agreement among the countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi will hopefully advance the purpose of the EAC towards a “common market” — allowing for a common external tariff and unhamperd movement of resources (goods, services, labor) within the region. This article takes a look at what this means for investors and businessess, and the EAC region as a whole!

Where Are the Exits for Social Enterprise? (via Change.org) - I’ve always been confused about the concept of building an “exit strategy” into a startup company — especially with social enterprises. Nathaniel raises the point that the concept of “exit strategy” has changed with both an evolving economy and especially in the infancy of the social capital marketplace. He asks, “Where should social enterprises (and their investors ) look for financially and socially rewarding exits?”

The Big Picture: Eid al-Adha and the Hajj, 2009 – This page takes a little time to load, but it’s well worth the wait! An awesome collection of photos from Eid al-Adha and the Hajj 2009!

Coconut + Zippers = Handbags (via AfriGadget) – Creative little product being sold in Lamu…

How Can We Help the World’s Poor? (via NYT) – Nicholas Kristof wrote this great overview article in the New York Times about the aid debate defined by the two camps: Sachs v. Easterly.