When I spoke to French native Vincent Perrier-Trudov some weeks ago, two things stood out about him: One, he is very passionate about social entrepreneurship, and two, he comes up with bloody good analogies.
Vincent is the founder and international coordinator for Citizens for Social Business (CSB), an NGO started in July 2011 that aims to promote social entrepreneurship around the world.
Photo: Vincent (left) at the first CSB meeting in Paris. Courtesy of CSB
They have about 260 members now, and within Asia, they have representatives in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and Japan. Read more
Five entrepreneurs have been recognized as Social Entrepreneurs of the Year in Asia for 2011.
They hail from Cambodia, Japan, the Philippines and Pakistan, and address issues like healthcare, distribution of everyday goods to inaccessible places, nutrition in impoverished areas, and clean water supply. Read more
Entreprize, in cooperation with NTU Ventures and Social Enterprise Association is organizing Social Enterprise Challenge 2011. It is a start-up competition that focuses on social enterprises. The competition aims to create young social entrepreneurs as they come up with innovative and sustainable solutions to solve the social problems of today. There are no business plan submission required, but technical workshops, a 4-part of seminar series and constant mentorship from industry leaders. Read more
Post Museum, a social enterprise in Singapore that provides a platform for community causes and the arts, has closed shop on August 7, after four years of existence. The venue hosted a regular soup kitchen, NGO talks, and even a beer festival. It also has studio spaces for artists in residence.
According to newspaper Today, they are not the first of such cultural spaces to disappear recently. Blackhole, a community space focusing on music, lifestyle, and the arts, was shut down last September. Evil Empire, an eclectic arts space which holds events like a drawing contest and faux auction, followed suit in April this year. Read more
Do Business. Save the world. All in a day’s work?
If you have an idea how you could potentially ‘do well while doing good’, or if you already are working to get something off the ground and would like to get additional support and access to a whole ecosystem of like-minded individuals, come join the Rotary Youth Social Entrepreneurship Challenge 2011 (RYSEC). Read more
We met with Samuel, president of the Raffles Entrepreneurs Network last month, deciding to do so because of his article in Knowledge @ Wharton High School (KWHS).
We found it interesting to hear from the perspective of a young entrepreneur from Raffles Junior College. Below are his insights and experiences about entrepreneurship, taken from an article in KWHS (with permission): Read more
Most of you reading this wouldn’t consider your family or yourself “poor”. Sure, you may be a struggling entrepreneur but your experiences are still probably very different from those of whom society terms as “low income families”. Envisage Social Education aims to bridge this knowledge gap.
Envisage was founded by a team of five in Singapore based on a Poverty Simulation Kit from the US. It is a comprehensive program where participants will role-play various characters, in which students have the opportunity to put themselves in the shoes of the less fortunate and in turn develop a greater application of their family, education and financial literacy. Read more
Three world-renowned, award-winning social entrepreneurs from different corners of the world will share their experience and provide insight and direct advice on how to generate social change through successful business initatives in Silicon Valley, Asia and Latin America. You will learn how to create successful strategies, pitch your ideas to investors and engaged th masses for crodsourcing, crowdfunding and real social impact while turning in a profit and generating wealth for local communities and reaching global markets. Read more
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. This upcoming event is called TEDxKRP, where x = independently organized TED event. At TEDxKRP, TEDTalks video and live speakers will combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events, including ours, are self-organized. Join in for 13 mind blowing sessions about the power of local innovation and global entrepreneurship for social change. TEDxKRP aims to bring you the unique experience of 11 live speakers from Silicon Valley, Pakistan, Singapore, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean sharing their inspiring stories and projects changing the world at a local level with a global vision and impact. Plus, you will enjoy formal TED videos, a delicious dinner and a Taiji Ball performance at no cost. Read more
The Grameen Creative Lab (GCL) is dedicated to solving social problems by using business methods. It is a joint venture between Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus (founder of Grameen Bank) and serial entrepreneur Hans Reitz and run by a young team of top management consultants and corporate communications specialists. Read more
