The British Council and the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) in Vietnam co-chaired a conference on Wednesday in cooperation with the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) to release the first comprehensive report on social enterprises in Vietnam, calling on the country to implement more effective policies to promote the development of social enterprises. This follows [...]

Applications for grants from West Sussex County Council’s Social Enterprise Fund have opened for this year, with an opportunity for individuals, community or voluntary groups, and social enterprises to bid on more than £250,000 in available funds. West Sussex County Council provides infrastructure support for startup or existing social enterprises that wish to grow.  A social [...]

On June 25-26, the Impact Forum 2012: Igniting Capital Markets for Social Good will bring together over 500 participants and speakers at the alumni complex of the National University of Singapore.  The Forum is part of an overall mission by the Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIXA) to bridge the gap between impact investors and social enterprises in [...]

Take a stroll through Singapore’s bustling hawker centres and you’ll find this sight: stir-fried egg noodles tossed above a flaming fire with moist shrimp and succulent pork, served with a sliver of lime and sambal chili.  The next time you order this dish at a hawker centre in Singapore, it may very well be prepared [...]

Sponsored by Senator Bob Bacon, Bill 182 passed Senate Monday by a vote of 31-4, which would make Colorado the eighth state to have the benefit corporation legislation.  The bill would allow companies to incorporate non-financial interests, such as social benefit and environmental impact, as part of their fiduciary duty along with bottom-line profit for their [...]

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Five leading innovators were named the Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2012 Africa by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship at the World Economic Forum on Africa from May 9-11. Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, presented the awards to the winners on the opening day of the meeting in the presence of President Ali [...]

The Bangladeshi government announced in recent that it will be investigating the affairs of Grameen Bank’s associated social businesses.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton touched down in Bangladesh following a truce between the government and the opposition amidst weeks of strikes, demonstrations, and violence.  Yesterday, she urged the government not to do anything that would [...]

In Japan, various social, cultural, and regulatory reasons contribute to a weak entrepreneurial environment.  Among these are values of unison over standing out, the belief that working for a big corporation is stable and better with a high likelihood of lifetime employment, the lack of tolerance for risk and failure, and too much red tape.  [...]

In the Philippines, 700,000 sari-sari stores (sari-sari is the Filipino word for “many or various kinds”) make up 30-40% of total retail sales.  These small, individually-owned convenience stores and retail outlets are the means by which low-income neighbourhoods obtain everyday goods. But due to supply chain inefficiencies, the goods cost up to 20% more for [...]

Maybe you’ve heard this story before: a teenage girl is forced to drop out of school to earn money for her family.  She becomes illiterate and because of her lack of education, she does not have the means to find better opportunities to support her family.  For Saba Gul, it was the story of Azaada [...]