SOCIAL ENTERPRISE NEWS AND DISCUSSION

YouTube has been planning the launch of new features to their Nonprofit Program and announced that members of the program now have the opportunity to stream their content live.  They will be able to engage live audiences in charity concerts, conferences, and other special events to raise awareness about their causes and drive donations in real-time. [...]

The New Zealand School for Social Entrepreneurs officially launches in South Auckland today.  Twelve social entrepreneurs involved in an array of social ventures that radically improve their communities have been selected as the first students of the school. These ventures include turning a community medicinal herb garden into a sustainable business that provides affordable medicines created from [...]

Korea’s third-largest conglomerate SK Group launches the nation’s largest social enterprise which will be officially certified by the Labor Ministry in six months.  MRO Korea, SK Group’s office supplies provider, is being turned by the company into a separate social enterprise renamed Happynarae Co. MRO Korea operates in the maintenance, repair, and operations sector and [...]

When Jacqueline Novogratz appeared on the cover of Forbes magazine last December along with an article entitled Can Venture Capital Save The World?, it was a breakthrough moment for those in the impact investment/patient capital/social finance – however you’d like to call it – space.  After all, the magazine is known for its list of [...]

Does the name of this social enterprise sound familiar?  Perhaps it’s because the name Jagriti Agro Tech was inspired by Jagriti Yatra, a 9000km train journey across India with a group of 400 youths to ignite the spirit of entrepreneurship.  The purpose of Jagriti Yatra is not to expect youths to become entrepreneurs immediately.  Rather, they [...]

Thalassemia is an inherited blood disorder that can cause the formation of abnormal hemoglobin molecules and thus anemia.  Treatment for severe thalassemia requires regular blood transfusion to prolong life.  It can be a nightmare for some families to try to secure blood on a consistent basis. Karthik Naralasetty witnessed a family’s struggle near his home [...]

Perhaps you heard of the term microfinance, but have you ever heard of the term microfranchise?  Generally pertaining to the developing world, microfranchising is a business model that applies the traditional concepts of franchising to small businesses and can be easily replicated by entrepreneurs, even those at the bottom of the pyramid.  VisionSpring is a [...]

Muhammad Yunus is establishing the first European branch of the Grameen model of microfinance in Scotland.  Yunus plans to raise £1 million through the newly established Grameen Scotland Foundation to set up the organization.  So far, more than £100,000 have been raised. In an article with The Scotsman, Yunus outlines the need for support. “In [...]

Funded by skin-care company Dermalogica, Kiva is offering 4,000 trial loans from lenders to women borrowers in celebration of the 101st International Women’s Day.  The first 4,000 registrants will be able to make a loan of $25 free of charge. Kiva and Dermalogica have recently joined forces to launch this loan program called joinFITE worth $100,000 in funding.  These [...]

The film Kony 2012 launched March 5th on Vimeo and within two days, it registered 7 million views across 150 countries.  As of this moment, comments related to the film are overflowing into social networks.  The purpose of the film is to make Joseph Kony famous throughout the world to facilitate his arrest and seek [...]