Hi,
I am an independent consultant who has been active in enterprise development for about 7 years (6 years with MEDA), and prior to that I was in the private sector for 10 years. I have done a lot of work in value chain development, and I am interested in understanding what social enteprise has to offer in terms of impact (breadth, depth, temporal sustainability) for micro and small entrepreneurs. I will be facilitating the SEEP Value Initiative’s sustainability and scale-up grant program which provides me with additional impetus to understand other areas of work such as social enterprise, fair trade, etc. As a consultant, I work for a range of organizations including Aga Khan Foundation, ILO, CARE, MEDA, Microenterprise Development Institute and others.
I look forward to learning what has been achieved, what is sustainable, what is scalable, and what else is possible with social enterprise.
Best regards,
Linda

Hi,

I am woking at the Amhara Cedit & Saving Institution, the largest MFI in Ethiopia.Previously, I worked in various organizations focussing on rural development planning.

I look forward to learn the ‘sustainability’ issues of social enterprise, as this is affecting much of microenterprise interventions like microfinance

Hello,

I have worked in the government, NGO and INGOs on livelihood development and management focusing in the institutional strengthening of cooperatives, MFIs, community based organizations and common service facility (lately, BDS providers) to facilitate sustainability.

I have also worked in governance in the context of community driven development with a hope of promoting a holistic approach for this sector (backward, forward, social infrastructure, regulation and enabling policies). This is taking account as a lessons learned from field implementation.

I look forward in hearing from experts and practitioners around the world on latest innovations, lessons learned, issues and strategies addressing those challenges faced by the social enterprises.

Hi,

I have been working in the Development Sector, specifically enterprise / SME Development for the past 8 years. I have also worked in FDI Promotion. Currently, I work for a Matching Grant Fund in Pakistan and provide grants to agribusiness enterprises and BDSPs.

I am looking forward to learning about sustainability issues for NGOs and best practices in converting NGOs in to Social Enterprises.

Dear All,
I take this oppurtunity to introduce myself first:

My Dedication————

Inspired by the wonderful words of Woodrow Wilson “ I had rather been defeated in a cause that will ultimately triumph, than in a triumph that will ultimately be defeated”, I decided to use my creative abilities in the development sector by empowering the poorest of poor. Economic Empowerment through sustainable community initiatives is an area with excites me a lot.

My Experience in Development Sector….

Having overall experience of Ten (10) Years in the Development Sector and Five (5) Years Research Experience, iam well versed with the challenges in the community development.

Successfully implemented various grassroot level projects and key learning’s from this programs will be very helpful for me in onceptualizing the future programs.

My Leadership and Organisational Abilities…..

My journey in development sector started as a project coordinator and within four years I became the Deputy Director (executive head) of the same organization and Headed key and important departments like Operations, Planning & Coordination with proven track record in establishing departments, streamlining operations, funds mobilization etc. Developed a strong committed Team in various parts of the country for the implementation of the programs.

Taken several initiatives to strengthen planning, monitoring and evaluation components in the organization.

Created Micro Enterprise Division with Research, Cluster Development, Projects, Conferences & Workshops, Training& Capacity Building and Marketing sub divisions.

Instrumental in creating a Section-25 Company (MFI) to carry out Micro Finance Operation from Vidharbha region of Maharastra.

Believe in Team work and presently heading a team of dedicated members as Executive Director of Fair Trade Forum-India.

My Core Competency Areas:

Micro Enterprise Development in rural non-farm sector with a focus on sustainable livelihood creation through effective enterprise development services.

Business Development Services for rural producers, farmers, cultivators and rural micro-businesses in the areas of Quality Enhancement, Packaging, Branding and Marketing.

Capacity Building of NGOs & SHGs for the promotion of Sustainable Micro enterprises through marketing.

Research & Development in Women Empowerment including SHGs/ CIGs, Micro Enterprise Development, Diagnostic Study and Business Plan preparation for Potential Clusters in India, Market Research Studies and Evaluation studies

Fair Trade Adherence and Fair trade related issues

Nationwide Network Building in Development sector among NGOs, CBOs, MFIs, SHPIs, Government officials, Academicians and Social Activists throughout the Country.

MY BELIEF IN LIFE

Take Nothing, But Pictures
Care Nothing, But Nature
Serve Nothing, But Humanity
Leave Nothing, But Foot Prints

MY EXPECTATION FROM THIS INITIATIVE....................
To evolve an appropriate Social Enterprise Model for India and identify Ways & Means of integrating this with micro enterprise movement in India.
Lots of Expectations!
Warm Regards to all
Your’s in Fair Trade
Mallikarjuna from India

I founded and ran a socially responsible business with strategic planning and communications clients in Washington DC from 1970-2000 before becoming a full time development consultant.

I am now a resident fellow at Citizens Development Corps and visiting scholar at the George Washington University School of Business. My focus is turning theory into trade practice; now creating a business model and distribution system for SMEs in pioneering markets linked into the global travel industry.

I work in value chain analysis, supplier training, import substitution, procurement linkages, public-private partnerships and practitioner networking.

I am an independent banking consultant providing project based advisory services to various clients worldwide. I do have a banking background (seven years with a leading Italian bank in Milan) and Executive Director with a consulting company in Rome. I accumulated expertise in the field of banking advisory services, micro finance, SME-SMI, project management, grant facility guarantee fund/trust fund, training field staff, project evaluation, impact assessment, governance, credit lines administration, and restructuring/privatization. I do possess a vast exposure to banking industry in micro finance across Europe and in twenty-five Countries. I had collaborated with various Funding Agencies including EU-Development, EU-Tacis, EU-Phare, FAO, UNDP, World Bank Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Italian Co-operation and Danish Cooperation.
I contributed articles and studies on microfinance issues and project evaluation. I al Advisor with Development Gateway Foundation, Washington, DC
Member of Council-Advisor, Gerson Lehrmans Group, N.Y. USA

I would like to discuss what I think to be topic issues and I sent a paper on social enterprise and poverty alleviation from microifinance point of view.
Ascanio Graziosi
www.cambridgedata.com.GraziosiAscanio/

Hello,

I’m a social enterprise and poverty alleviation professional with over 20 years experience in the public, and for-profit and non-profit private sectors. I’m presently concluding my work with Mercy Corps as Director, Economic Development. Over the last two years with Mercy Corps, I have crafted programs for poverty alleviation and development in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and fostered funding and implementation partnerships with government, foundations, and corporations. With a number of USAID projects, I’ve led economic growth and competitiveness work. For a State Dept funded foundation, I crafted and led a four (4) country entrepreneurship program and for the UK Government, I fostered transatlantic trade and investment. In the private sector, I’ve developed business worldwide with partners and customers such as Texas Instruments, Kyocera, and Siemens.

Being committed to social enterprise, I’m always excited to leverage my experience in multiple sectors to achieve benefits for society. I’m looking forward to learning and contributing through this initiative.

I’m a social enterprise and poverty alleviation professional with over 10 years experience in the Microfinance sector, and for-profit and non-profit private sectors. I’m presently The Orogram manager Of Rafode(Rural Agency for Development) for the last three years, am building an organization that is to reach out to the poor in Kenya and africa through financial services, social development, povverty alleviation, research and development, monitoring and evaluation and product development to vulnerable communities.

I have worked with Care international, Amurt international in southern sudan and i have Visited several institution in Peru, Bolivia and equador in program exchange to learn about how they succesfully implement rural programs.

Am being commited to social enterprise and i believe is the only way to eradicate poverty in Africa and especially Kenya where the gap between the rich and the poor is so big. That why my organization is introducing multisectoral approach to adress the poverty epidemic.

Am interested to know how we can adress the issue of poverty through social development in order to bring up the poor of the poor to be economic active

Gilbert arap Bor

I teach management and marketing at the university in Eldoret, Kenya, but I live among rural farmers and I am more interested in the enhancement of these resource-poor rural communities through organizing and training so as to attain sustainable production and marketing of their produce with the aim of addressing poverty through food security and income generation initiatives. It is by getting them to manage their resources efficiently and to market their produce appropriately that our efforts will become effective.

Through this forum, I hope to learn the efforts of other social entrepreneurs and communities of practice with similar goals.

After many years in financial management of businesses from tiny to multinational, from for-profit to non-profit to unprofitable, I organized MicroVenture Support. Our mission is to promote community economic development through fostering of the MSME sector. We will invest in promising microenterprises, train their management in basic business practices, incubate them in our centers, and help them grow to the point where they can access the conventional financial markets. We also offer opportunities for “green” franchises in several areas.

Because our goal is community economic development and not merely the enrichment of the business owner, we have social requirements for participation in our program. Our businesses will create quality jobs beyond the family, will bring needed goods and services to the community, and will be environmentally sound. Also, once a program is mature, all staff will be nationals.

I'm a social enterprise practitioner based in Berkeley, California. I've worked in nonprofit AIDS education, environmental education, and scholarly publishing. I currently edit and publish the Social Enterprise Reporter at SEReporter.com and publish Home Energy magazine, based at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

I look forward to learning more about how social enterprise is practiced around the world and to developing social enterprise as a poverty reduction and workforce development strategy.

Tom White, Editor & Publisher
Social Enterprise Reporter

my name is Zadig Abrha.I am working as a senior legal researcher in ILD ethiopia.i am working in the areas of access to urban property and regularization of informal settlemnts in Ethiopia.I have a research interest in law and economics, law and developement,law and poverty,gender empowerment,property rights and HIV AIDS,property rights and security.I have a well deloped project and research ideas on the aforementioned issues and woulld like to explore for their realization

Hi Antony,

Greetings and good wishes!

I am happy to hear about your work among the poor.I do agree that the only way to reduce poverty is social enterprise.I too work with the poorest of the poor especially the marginalized and the differently abled in rural India since 10 years.I had been trying to introduce micro finance among the poorest. We have 150 Self Help Groups covering nearly 3000 persons. But the problem is the Donors do not come forward to support this venture. Most MFIs and those who lend give only to big players who exploit the poor and make huge profit out of it. But the grass root organizations who are really working with the poorest do not get enough support.I wish at least a few of the Big Donors or Lenders come forward to support real grass root level organizations!!!!!

Dear Colleagues,

Glad we are having this conversation. I think there are many good examples of social enterprises in the international development context, but just as with microfinance, they look a bit different.

I would draw attention to the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) defining social enterprise, as that is a wide range. I see a continuum from market based, triple bottom line solutions (including for-profit businesses) to more of an Ashoka like definition looking at entrepreneurs that seek to develop paradigm shifts in how social activities are done.

From my experience, it is important for people to define their terms, and identify their goals. In addition, it is important to be clear on the desired markets and intended impacts.

Best,
Drew Tulchin
drew@socialenterprise.net
202-256-2692

Social Enterprise Associates – www.socialenterprise.net
Financial Performance * Social Impact * Environmental Sustainability

Hello,
Actually Drew Tulchin’s comment is in line with what I proposed – borrowing from my field experience – on what has been going on in the microfiannce industry.