Ashoka Changemakers #socentchat August 3rd!

admin's picture
Submitted by admin on 3 August 2011 - 2:22pm

The Powering Economic Opportunity: Create a World that Works competition, in partnership with eBay Foundation, was a resounding success, sourcing a record-breaking 873 innovative solutions from 83 countries that are developing employment opportunities through market-based approaches! We are truly grateful for your support of this competition and your outreach to your networks and community.

 

Please join us in congratulating the 15 semifinalists:

 

·         The Working World: Bringing Impact Finance to the World's Poor with Greater Deft and Less Debt (Argentina/USA)

·         ADEL: Local Economic Development Agency (Brazil)

·         Solidarium Fair Trade (Brazil)   

·         Mobile JobHunt: Helping Blue-Collar Workers to Find Better Jobs (China)         

·         Using Crowd-Sourcing and Technology to Empower Underprivileged Talent with Fair and Flexible Work Opportunities (China)

·         Tiendatek: Mobile Business Tools for Micro-Entrepreneurs (Colombia)

·         Janani's IT enabled AgriService Venture (JAS) (India)

·         SammaaN Interventions (India)           

·         Nuru Energy to Empower: Rural Energy Entrepreneurship in India and East Africa (India/East Africa)

·         Mobile Micro-Franchising in Indonesia (Indonesia)

·         Souktel Mobile Phone Job Information Service (Palestine)       

·         The Financially Self-Sufficient School Model: Economically Empowering Education for Low-Income Youth (Paraguay)          

·         Hot Bread Kitchen: Preserving Traditions, Rising Expectations (USA) 

·         Nonprofit Innovation through Pay-for-Performance Funding (USA)

·         Prison Entrepreneurship Program (USA)

Please review these innovative ideas and invite your community to cast their vote for social change!  The top ten innovations will go on to be reviewed by our expert panel of judges and five winners will each receive US $50,000. Voting closes on August 10th, 2011. I have attached an eCard and the press release that you can share via email.

 

We also invite you to meet these semifinalists and join us for two Twitter chats on Wednesday, July 27th from 3-5pm EDT and Wednesday, August 3rd from 1-3pm IST (yes, you read correctly – this one is for our community across the eastern hemisphere!) Please help us spread the word and join us for the conversation by following #socenchat!

 

Comments

Vern's picture

Re: Ashoka Changemakers #socentchat August 3rd!

by Vern - 24 Aug 2011 - 3:01pm

Ashoka is an interesting organisation for people in third world countries, exploring entrepreneurship that engages with challenges in development.

But it is a very frustrating organisation for people in first world countries, where our challenges are totally different. I would like to see Ashoka identify and support American social entrepreneurs who are responding to issues like the malaise in US culture, the phenomenon of black ghettos, ethnic and cultural apartheid in US cities, the marginalisation of US blue collar workers from social and political decision-making, the bankruptcy of US democracy, the growing gap between US owners and those who own no assets.

But all this seems too hard. It's apparently easier to support Paraguayan farmers and African HIV campaigns. In the 1970s, this problem was called "Third Worldism", and it's still a hard nut to crack in the social change movements in western countries.

Vern Hughes