Ogunte | Global Tribal Network

Plan your Social Media Activities... with Becky @WhoMadeYour Pants!

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 14:51:00 +0000

Becky John - CEO Whomadeyourpants

If Social Media makes you run away, read these Social Media Tips kindly provided by Make a Wave Fellow Becky John, CEO at WhoMadeyourPants. This is how she does it!

"Before doing anything, use the Social Media Planner spreadsheet, available here.

Use Facebook scheduled posts and set up a regular schedule in Buffer for tweets scheduling at set times each day - they are both better than anything else I have ever used.

I print out a 'Facebook" and 'Twitter' page from that planner every month to manage posts and tweets for the next month. The Facebook sheet is set to our key times; the Twitter one just lists core topics to cover. Facebook allows something crazy like 200 posts to be scheduled in advance, buffer allows about ten at a time.

Populate as much as you can in both in pencil at the beginning of the month - make a skeleton. Are there events, upcoming stuff you're doing, global/national/days to mark?

Make that your month skeleton.

Add in any press coverage or events or activities as soon as they get dates confirmed.

Schedule teaser coverage in advance and then keep pulsing it afterwards.

The planner helps plan that cascade.

I use the Facebook planner to be very specific about which posts I will share when ( I might share a piece of news coverage at 9am one day, 10pm the next, 12 noon the next so as to get it in front of different people) and I use the twitter sheet just to note key topics for each day.

For instance, we have some topics I share every day - the team for example. Some are month specific - in December a twitter topic would be Christmas...

I schedule 13 tweets a day (usually at around 9am and then 5pm so I can go home knowing that the morning is covered!) and then drop in in between times to respond to customers."

Nb: One thing that Becky does very well is engaging with her customers and her network, on top of these scheduled messages.

Remember: "ENGAGEMENT IS KEY!

5 Myth Busting Tips for Workplace Pensions Auto-Enrolment Scheme

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 09 Jun 2014 10:08:00 +0000

In October 2012 the UK Government's new Workplace Pensions Auto-Enrolment legislation was launched. On that day large employers all auto-enrolled eligible staff into their applicable pension scheme. Generally larger employers are to start the process first, with the smallest registering their plans across the next three years.

Guest blog by Lucy Haughey

No Financial Parachute

This legislation comes at a time when we are living longer, healthier lives, we have higher cost of living and the gap between the state pension age and workplace retirement is widening significantly.

For example, if I am 34, I won’t get my state pension until I am 72! If I retire without a workplace pension at 61, for instance, I will have a 10 year wait and will have little to no financial “parachute” for that time frame.

This new Auto-Enrolment legislation requires all employers to have an appropriate workplace pension plan in place, and be registered, before what is called a “staging date”, and to encourage staff to benefit from. This is supposed to help tackling the issues we have with poverty in later life and with a growing reliance on state services such as our state pension scheme which many people say is not even meeting their basic living costs and social needs.

"I'm in!"

If you watch enough television, you will have seen the adverts with a large DIY employer and all the staff joyously shouting “I’m in”! That advert is part of the national campaign promoting this new workplace auto-enrolment legislation. The legislation is complex, convoluted & unprecedented and apparently seems to regularly changing the goal posts.

We are in the early stages with this new legislative roll out but it's critical all employers and employees have a decent knowledge base on this new workplace law and how it works for them as soon as possible.

Plan B have been supporting Third Sector employers and small private companies with the legislation for several years now and fully expect a flood of request for help as staging dates comes about.

Plan B deliver information, guidance, education, advice and even pension planning to solve the variety of financial capability issues this new legislation is throwing up.

Here are top 5 Myth-Busting Tips for Workplace Pensions Auto-enrolment Scheme:

1. There are no exceptions!

Workplace Pensions Auto-enrolment is new legislation that legally requires ALL employers of all sizes and all sectors in all parts of the UK to have in place an appropriate workplace pension scheme.

2. The staging date is not individual to your company!

In some cases the “ staging date” by which you must have registered an applicable pension scheme and all eligible staff with the pensions regulator, can have as many as another 1000 workplaces all cramming to get registered on the same date. Try and avoid joining the queue and register your plan early- for instance 4 months before your staging date.

3. It’s not just one “set” of staff who are enrolled in your workplace scheme!

Staff are to be placed in 2 categories

a) Staff who are eligible to be automatically enrolled in the pension scheme and

b) all other staff who must be “offered in” to the scheme.

4. You might not be as ready as you think you are!

If you have a workplace pension scheme this is not to be taken for granted. The new legislation requires the workplace pension plan to meet key criteria. For example if your existing scheme has an annual management fee of more than 0.75% it does not meet the criteria and you need a review and fresh advice.

5. It’s not just contract staff on £10,000 gross who meet the eligible staff criteria!

There are weekly and monthly thresholds for staff income levels so staff who do not complete a year's service (for example) must be automatically enrolled. This is to ensure sessional staff, contract staff & other sizes and shapes of staff are permitted access to a pension scheme and full time staff are not just the favoured ones offered in.

For more information, contact Lucy Haughey, Director of The Plan B Partnership social enterprise, also delivering the Pensionplans4charities.co.uk service.

@Plans4Charities

@PlanBPartners

15 budget and cash-flow mistakes I promise I won't make

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 15:23:00 +0000

During the latest Make a Wave webinar on budgeting and fundraising, we have crowdsourced top mistakes to avoid when managing finances for your starting social enterprise...

Here's the top ones to avoid:

- Scraping by without doing a cash-flow forecast
- Prioritising business finances above personal finances
- Being scared of my accounts and of spreadsheets
- Self-doubting the value of my work
- Not keeping accounts up to date
- Putting too much attention on the merchandising and not enough on the CORE product/service of the business
- Not properly estimating costs
- Forgetting to cost in my time, and the time spent marketing the business, or planning for it.
- Not talking to potential customers
- Getting stuck in a sales lead that is not going anywhere.
- Not testing or learning from the piloting or prototyping experience
- Spending less than 80% of my time on sourcing income
- Not keeping a timesheet
- Not stating my payment terms clearly enough
- Stay isolated (if you don't necessarily need input, always ask for it, tell people and communicate what is happening).

Here's what you need to do instead:

- Be in control of your cash in real-time is an attitude that will make all the difference.
- Remember to cost for your time
- Remember to value your worth!
- Map your expenses, your costs, and YOUR REVENUE STREAMS
- Keep focused on the CORE of your business
- Align your financial results with the impact you promised to make (keep focus, kick the distractions out)
- Assess your funders or your customers, do you all fit together? Is there a mismatch?

What are the top mistakes you should avoid? Share in the comments below!

With great thanks to Stephanie Wilcock, Ruth Rosselson, Michelle Ayavoro, Jennifer Carr, Jane Bradley, Hannah Beatrice Prittie, Jo McGrath, Jackie Malcolm, Annette Dhami, Jo Caley.

Impact Women DNA

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Wed, 21 May 2014 09:32:00 +0000

General Election 2015: Why Women in Business Need to be on the Agenda #investinwomen2015 #socent

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Wed, 07 May 2014 06:03:00 +0000

As the countdown to General Election 2015 starts today, political parties need to take heed of the fastest growing group in the economy: women who run their own business.

Prowess Connect have launched a Manifesto to put women in business on the agenda.

There has been a revolution in women’s business ownership. Since 2008 there has been a 30% increase in female self-employment, compared to 7% for men[i]. Women are, for the first time, starting more new enterprises than men; together they delivered most of the new jobs in the UK between 2008-13. Leading commentators, including the Bank of England[ii], believe that this isn’t just a recessionary blip, but more likely a long-term trend in our economy.

This new generation of women business owners is ambitious, socially motivated and digitally engaged. Where there is a level playing field, women-owned firms perform better than those led by men[iii]. But lower levels of investment, start-up resources and confidence hold back that potential.

To make sure that this new enterprise majority survive, thrive and that more become future wealth creators and employers, women’s business group Prowess Connect is calling on political parties to commit to creating an environment where women in businesses can flourish.

Based on consultation and experience with thousands of female start-ups and business owners, Prowess Connect are calling on the political parties to shape meaningful policies in five areas:

1. Leadership– Bold steps to improve the gender balance of business and political leadership.

2. Skills – Tailored training and support to take the brakes off women’s enterprise.

3. Childcare- A full review of maternity and childcare support for self-employed parents.

4. Social security - An enabling social security safety net for the self-employed.

5. Investment and funding – A fair share of government supported business investment.

Prowess Connect is a group of organisations and businesses that have come together to campaign and collaborate for a better deal for women in business. It is coordinated by Prowess, the UK centre for women in business.

Erika Watson, of Prowess, says: “There has been an historic increase in women’s business ownership, welcomed by all the political parties. We’d now like to see them commit to taking those new businesses seriously by including steps to support women in business in their own Manifestos.”

Servane Mouazan of Ogunte CIC: "In the current climate in communities, on line, and across continents, where women still have massive journeys ahead to be respected, valued and included, political parties in the UK have the opportunity to be bold and commit to significant actions that support women in business, and that will in turn trigger a positive social impact".

Notes for editors:

For further information please contact:

Erika Watson 07975743281 erika@prowess.org.uk

Servane Mouazan 07932982379 info@ogunte.com

The full Manifesto is available here: http://www.prowess.org.uk/manifesto

Editorial resources:

Profiles of women in business

Local women’s business networks

[i] ONS Labour Force Statistics analysis by the Women’s Budget Group in ‘The impact on women of Budget 2014.’

[ii] http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/minutes/Documents/mpc/pdf/2014/mpc1404.pdf

[iii] Women in Enterprise: A Different Perspective, RBS Group 2013

How Well Do You Know Yourself?

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 09:24:00 +0000

Knowing what drives you, what sucks your energy, how you see the world and manage information, proves useful when you are about to shape your team...

Look up these tools:

1. Click here to go through your Free Keirsey Temperament Sorter - (insider by MBTI) Know your preferences.

2. Once you have done the Kersey test, look at your type on this website here. And click on your 4 letters combination.

You will get quick insights on your type in times of stress, times of personal growth, career, your mental functions, and even how you might irritate others!!!

So what drives you and what will do you with this information?

4 steps to prepare for your business plan

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 08:45:00 +0000

Follow these steps to start building your business plan.

First build a plan for yourself, then amend and adjust depending on who will read your proposal.

1- Do the Purpose - People - Product exercise and develop it using the value & branding guidance by Olivia Knight, our guest on the first Make a Wave webinar this year. (Click here for slides)

2. Continue digging deeper: build your blocks with the Social Business canvas template. (Click here for canvas).

3. Use a cash-flow template tutorial by Erika Watson from Prowess, our guest on the second Make a Wave webinar.

4. Build a narrative for each of these business model blocks. Answer the Make a Wave Diagnostic Questionnaire (Includes guidance) to make help you with the narrative.

Remember to make the whole story easy and enjoyable to read!

If it's not even exciting for you, imagine others....

Put long winded details in addendum. Think of your own user experience...

Business Model Canvas, Business Model You!

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 13:38:00 +0000

During the Make a Wave Bootcamp in March, we all had a go at the Business Model Canvas.

Here's a few benefits we found in doing this exercise:

- I can breakdown key activities

- I realised i was talking about different businesses before i did the canvas. I want to simplify this.

- I have identified gaps.

- I come from a charity background so i really had to put my business hat on, to fill the “revenue” block.

- I come from a commercial background where we charge for everything, so i had to think about the social impact, the wider value my service would bring about and how it could benefit people who won’t be paying for the service.

- I had the purpose and the principles but what i would actually “do” (product or service”) to actually serve this purpose, was unclear. So i got to think about what i really enjoyed doing.

- My original model was to service women from a refugee or migrant backgrounds, who are often qualified in their countries of origin, but whose qualifications aren’t recognised in the UK. They often end up as cleaners. I want to help them finding the right information and the right resources. The business model canvass actually helped me look at the issue from a different perspective. I could educate all agencies or employment charities about what is possible, create an information pack, training, workshops, that they in turn could offer their beneficiaries This was i can make a bigger impact and there is an enterprise model.

- I was told: “If you were to be given the keys to your new business and start this monday at 9am, what would you actually be doing then, that you could sell at the end of the day?”

Business Model YOU!

So you may have had a crack at the (Social) business model canvas, but have you actually thought about yourself and the value you are bringing about?

Are you starting a new venture, just fresh out of corporate life, or have you just been made redundant?

What does this transition mean to you and how can you make the best of it and not burning out before having even started?

To do so, have a go at the Business Model You… just to clarify a few things… Business Model You is a one-page method to reinvent your career.

What's your brand identity?

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 14:51:00 +0000

Today we welcomed our guest Olivia Knight, CEO of Patchwork Present on our latest Make a Wave Webinar. Olivia went over all the crucial stuff that sums up your brand identity - your beliefs, your purpose, your product and what makes you different.

She encouraged the participants to "Not think too hard and stay succinct, really, really succinct.... and

"Just be true, simple and human".

Here's the exercise she encouraged the Make a Wave fellows to go through, answering
WHY, WHO, then HOW and WHAT.

Olivia Knight and colleagues in Brockley!

Look at Patchwork Present brand identity summary (slideshare), and answer these questions for your own business!

How do you sum up the product or service?

Collective, creative, giving.

Why would people use it?

To fund one thing they want.

Who is it for?

People with more imagination than money

How does it work?

Like a patchwork - piece by piece

Sum up your purpose? What are you for or what are you against?

Want not Waste.

How would you describe what you do to your Nan?

A whip round.

How would you describe it using 'X meets Y' lift pitch speak?

Just Giving meets Pinterest.

So what's your brand identity? Can you sum up your business...

- in one sentence?

- as an X meets Y?

- to your Nan?

- on your t-shirt?

- as a tweet?

Post your results here!

A few tips for crowdfunding (Make a Wave Incubator Learning)

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 14:45:00 +0000

Crowdfunding tips and learning questions, based on Theresa Burton's workshop during Make a Wave Incubator Bootcamp for Women Social Entrepreneurs - Manchester March 2014.

So, what is crowdfunding?

As you can read on Buzzbnk's website:

"Crowdfunding is exactly what it says on the tin: it’s funding for great ideas from a crowd of people who back those ideas. There’s a specific time frame for funding targets to be reached, and everyone who givesreceives something in return".

Theresa Burton, Ceo and Co-founder of Buzzbnk, the first UK crowdfunding platform for social entrepreneurs, - and Make a Wave Incubator fellow in 2011- gave an introduction to crowdfunding to the Make a Wave Bootcamp's participants this month in Manchester.

Participants designed a mock crowdfunding campaign page!

Jay Diamond going through a crowfunding campaign pitch exercise.

Here are a few crowdsourced tips, based on the learning gathered during the session:

If you have a milestone of e.g.: £1000 to raise in 3 months, work out how many pounds a day you need to make! (+/- £11 )
Are you clear about managing expectations?
For project based campaigns, you can include overheads (reasonable ones) in the overall milestones.
Your page on-line has 3.5 seconds to impress, statistically.
If you have a catchy video, people might stay another two minutes
Remember the more hits you have on your page, the more likely you will get donations/loans in.
Some people might not have money but they would make great volunteers. So how can you go about co-sourcing?
Visitors will probably come back a few times before converting into donors or lenders.
Not everybody who visits the page with donate, but they might talk about it. How can you help them do this?
Campaigns need to be planned upfront (even the last minute rush!)
Set aside for instance 30 minutes a day for an activity that will promote your campaign, a group session, a webinar, a phone call, social media calls, get volunteers in to relay your campaigns, write an article, a podcast or a blog, make a video.
One of your rewards might be to be part of a select network, that helps co-design products or services.
Campaigns don’t end when the money is in the bank.
Make sure the money is in before your release the rewards (or benefits)
How will you deliver the rewards your donors have bought?
How will you inform your donors about the outcomes of your campaigns, keep them on board and keep them engaged?

Can you put yourself in the shoes of an investor...?

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 14:11:00 +0000

During our first Make a Wave Bootcamp in Manchester, we played the Dragon’s Apprentice Den!"

The group of participants was divided in two groups

One one side: the investors

One the other side: the entrepreneurs. (1 participant put her business idea forward and got support from her newly formed team)

1st part

The investors co-design questions they want answers to, after hearing the pitch

The entrepreneurs group decide on one entrepreneur’s case-study to put forward. The designated entrepreneur explains her idea and others ask questions to understand as much as they can about the business.

2nd part

The entrepreneurs pitch

Investors ask questions

Entrepreneurs provide answers to support the “founder”

Key learning

Putting yourself in the shoes of a potential social investor
Understanding someone’s business to be able to help them as much as you can
Articulating what your business is about in a limited amount of time, show passion, but also discipline and enough evidence, numbers, details to be able to give a realistic picture of what your business is about.
Going from Vision and Purpose (Why), Principles (How), to Products (What)
Looking at answering questions when, for instance, you are just starting up and haven't got traction yet. How can your team help you provide this traction, how can you use existing research and evidence into your business case.
How do you demonstrate impact as a start up (use co-founders track record, use academic research, use other businesses track record as evidence, and how valid it would be to duplicate a business in a new market..

Further thoughts...

Vision without evidence is not enough
Passion without discipline is not enough
You need to bring the business case, (find a niche and simply what you want to deliver specifically instead of willing to change the world… tomorrow!!)
Having critical friends is so useful
Articulating your ideas out loud helps shape your pitch
Your business is not who you are and you are not the sum of your business. But who is who?
The exercise helps me get new perspectives and new ideas.
The exercise helps me think about the way i need to show results.
We realised we needed to put ourselves in front of the right investors. Not all investors are relevant, and our products wouldn’t be all relevant to what they want to support or invest money in..
So… knowing how to "recruit" your angel, or your investor, is necessary, as it is a two-way process.
Angels will ask: "What do you want? Just money? Or relationships, expertise, access to networks, access to market?"

Investors can get excited by your passion too. They have feelings and emotions that help them make a judgment beyond just a track record, order sheets or promises of sales. Useful to remember!

Have hope
Just do it
Trust yourself
Be prepared, do your homework
Know your figures!!!

10 Ways to Overcome Impostor Syndrome, by Joyce Roche

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 10:49:00 +0000

Blog by Joyce Roche - Originally published here on the Shriver Report.

"Many successful women suffer from impostor syndrome. Impostor syndrome is the feeling that you’re a fraud—that you’re somehow less qualified than your peers, less deserving of success, and that you’ll be “found out” if you don’t work longer and harder than everyone else.

Despite the fact that I’ve been a corporate vice president, a president, a CEO, and have served on the boards of four Fortune 500 companies, I struggled for many years during my career before I no longer needed external validation to believe I was doing a great job. Just about every new accomplishment came with the stultifying doubt that I did not deserve the success and that sooner or later I would be discovered as an impostor.

For example, in early 1973 I got an entry-level job in Avon’s merchandising department. Secretly, I was terrified that I would be found lacking in preparation, intellect, and ability. The impostor fears started creeping up on me even as I interviewed for the job. I can still remember trying to look calm and confident even though I was churning inside. You see, I had no marketing experience and only knew what I had learned in my marketing classes at Columbia, but I also knew that the job required analytical skills. So I talked about my undergraduate degree in math, hoping that that would suggest I was comfortable with numbers. (I prayed that the interviewer would not ask me any marketing questions!) When I left the interview, I was thankful I had been able to sidestep questions about marketing, and felt that I had put up a good front.

But here’s the hitch—and what’s so insidious about impostor syndrome. I immediately started to worry about what would happen if I did get the job. I remember thinking: “Will I be able to meet their expectations? Will they realize I lack the right skills to be successful?”

To complicate matters, with the exception of one woman I met in human resources, every other person I met with that day was a white man. There were few women in executive positions at that time. I was even more keenly aware of how few other African Americans there were at Avon.

But I got the job and within a year I was promoted from assistant planner to associate planner. However, the impostor syndrome doesn’t allow success to go unpunished. Right away, I began worrying about being able to perform at this higher level of responsibility. And I felt that I needed to work even harder to prove that I could do the job. I would have laughed if someone had told me then that I would eventually become the first African American female vice president of Avon, and the company’s first vice president of global marketing. I sure didn’t feel that I could fill those shoes back then.

After almost 19 years with Avon, I realized that I had hit a real glass ceiling and that if I wanted to move to the next level of senior management I would probably have to leave the company. At that point, I suddenly felt a level of comfort in who I was and what I had achieved. All the success and recognition I had received over the years seemed to have sunk in without my noticing. I now believed in my abilities and management skill enough to step out to find the next challenging opportunity.

A feeling of inadequacy is a common experience among successful women—but with enough determination and self-reflection, we canlearn to manage it. Based on my own experiences and those of other women with impostor syndrome whom I interviewed for my book, The Empress Has No Clothes: Conquering Self-Doubt to Embrace Success,here are 10 ways to conquer it.

1. Take a hard look at your work habits.
Does working harder than anyone else around you really make you feel less like a fake? Or are you merely trying to compensate for feeling unworthy? After you answer these questions you may begin to see what makes you feel truly worthy in your own eyes.

2. Learn to internalize external validation.
When someone compliments you on a task you did really well, resist your habitual negative response and just let the information sink in. Another way to practice this is to ask a trusted ally what your special gifts are; listen carefully and “metabolize” your friend’s words.

3. Turn like-minded people into allies.
Clarify your own values, and build connections with people who share those values. If you feel like the “odd man out”—perhaps because you’re the youngest, you’re a woman, or you have a different race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background than your peers—don’t give power to the assumptions others may make about you. Work on owning who you are and what you believe in. Find people who see the real you.

4. Don’t suffer in silence.
Rather than harboring secret fears, speak about your feelings with a trusted friend, a coach, a mentor, your partner, or a therapist. Or express your real feelings in a journal or a recorder. One of the symptoms of impostor syndrome is isolating from one’s peers and suffering in silence.

5. Look in an accurate mirror.
How realistic is your way of seeing yourself and your abilities and accomplishments? Do a reality check by making a list of your special skills and the qualities you have that attract people to you and have gotten you this far.

6. See others objectively.
In a similar vein, practice seeing other people as they really are, with their own needs and foibles, strengths and weaknesses. Learning to see and accept flaws in others will allow you to see yourself in the same way—with compassion and understanding.

7. Look at your fear.
Take a hard look at what you’re really afraid of. You may realize that what you’re feeling is a perfectly natural reaction to what you’re experiencing. Feeling unfit for your position is, in part, a conditioned emotional response to stress. Learn to distinguish the stress of moving up into new levels of responsibility and influence from the conditioned response of impostor fears.

8. Take stock of your success.
Keep a written inventory of your skills, accomplishments, and experiences to understand your success. Use logic and facts to assuage your fears. This will help you strengthen the skill of internal validation. Successful people get validation from others, but they most need it from themselves.

9. Have a sense of humor.
One of the best ways to maintain perspective is to laugh as often as possible—especially at yourself. People with impostor syndrome are often unable to joke and relax in the workplace, because they fear that they’ll be perceived as slackers. Enjoying your work and your life needn’t be a luxury that’s reserved for others, but not you.

10. Find the life you really want.
Ask yourself whether you’re satisfied with your life and your job. If you aren’t, make a change. Sometimes the need to prove ourselves to others keeps us stuck in a position that’s not conducive to real growth and fulfillment. Living an authentic life will help you minimize worries about not fitting in, no matter how high you move up the social ladder."

Want to know if you have impostor syndrome? Take a free quiz here.

JOYCE ROCHE IS A REPORTER FOR THE SHRIVER REPORT. @empresnoclothes

Joyce Roché has been a trailblazer in the corporate world for 25 years, as Avon's first African American female vice president; COO of Carson Products Company, now part of L'Oreal; the former CEO of the national nonprofit Girls Inc.; and a board member on four Fortune 500 companies.

UK and Global Funding and Competitions - February - March - April 2014

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 11:04:00 +0000

A small roundoup of funding streams and enterprise competions in the UK and the World.

GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES

Terra Watt Prize

National Geographic’s Terra Watt Prize aims to support entrepreneurs and investors in the quest to bring basic access to electricity to people worldwide. Two winners will receive grants of $125,000 to implement demonstration projects that provide energy solutions to off-grid communities.

The deadline to register is February 28, 2014.

To learn more visit www.terrawattprize.com

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PYMWYMI - Impact Days Conference - Amsterdam April 2014

Is your impact company ready for investment?Pymwymic (Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is) invites impact entrepreneurs to apply to be a part of the upcoming April Impact Days conference 'Pitch & Investment' breakfast, which concludes the conference.
Pitch takes places this year on Wednesday, April 9th.

Conference registration opens February 18th!

Mark these dates:

April 7th, 6 pm - Impact Days Opening Dinner Event:

April 8, 9am to 6pm - Full Conference Day:

April 9, 8:30a - Noon - Entrepreneurs' Pitch & Breakfast:

For more information visit the website or send an email to events@pymwymic.com

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WORLDPULSE $20,000 to bring your vision to life

World Pulse is honored to announce the inaugural Lynn Syms Prize in partnership with sculptor and philanthropist Lynn Syms. In 2014, the prize will be awarded to an outstanding grassroots woman and visionary voice using digital tools to effect change and advance her community work.

To be eligible to win the US $20,000 prize and trip to New York City, you must submit a written journal entry to all three phases of the Women Weave the Web Campaign.

1st deadline March 31st, 2014.
Further information here.

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UK OPPORTUNITIES

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Nesta grants of 10k for research based projects

We welcome applications from Universities and incorporated research organisations, charities, companies and consultancies. We will not fund individuals.

We intend to fund work that is primarily research-based. Suggested research themes:

Development and application of innovative methods for understanding innovation
Using big data or open data to understand innovation
Mapping and analysing new trends in social, business or technological innovation
Public policies to promote innovation
Adoption of innovation in public services
Innovation in emerging economies

Read further here.
Deadline 21 February
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HUBImpact Hub Fellowship for Longer Lives!

HUBimpact launched this award in partnership with AXA and Swiss Re Foundation, offering £30k worth of start up support. The award is aimed at helping entrepreneurs/ innovators that are working towards tackling the challenges of an ageing society.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN

Financial support of £22,000 (a 12 month living stipend of £1000 per month, plus one-time seed-funding of £10,000)
1 year Impact Hub Unlimited Membership: full time access to the creative space at Impact Hub King’s Cross (value £5,616)
Networking support from Impact Hub King’s Cross, AXA and Swiss Re Foundation: access to investors, partners, supporters, peer-entrepreneurs, media, and many more…
1 year start-up support including a dedicated coach, education, expert support, exposure and access to talent (value approx. £3,000)

Read and apply for the programme here.
Deadline 28 February 2014
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Deloitte Social Innovation Pioneers 2014

Deloitte comes back qith their exciting support package for social entrepreneurs. Explore this opportunity if you are:

UK Based
Minimum of two years of trading accounts with year on year growth
Clear and measurable social impact
Businesses with an innovative idea/product/service
Clear business model with over 50% of revenue generated through delivery of services or sales

To read and apply, please click here
Deadline 23d february 2014
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Big Energy Idea

Are you a leading social entrepreneur working to tackle energy challenges in need of investment and business support? The Big Energy Idea has launched to help 10 social entrepreneurs grow their ventures. It will provide the successful applicants with an individual package of support and the potential for funding of a minimum £50,000. Funded by Ignite Social Enterprise, Wayra, and Centrica plc.

More details here
Deadline for applications 28th February 2014

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Santander Breakthrough 50 Awards with Smarta

Santander and Smarta are looking for the 50 fastest growing businesses in the UK - Apply NOW!

Winning companies will receive mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs and become a member of the Breakthrough 50 alumni.

This means each winning business will receive exclusive access to networking events with the UK’s top businesses and other Breakthrough 50 winners.

Why enter? Opportunity to be named among the UK’s best fast-growth companies

’Money can’t buy’ prizes including mentoring from a member of Santander’s SME Advisory Board, and a place on an international trade mission.

Enter at www.smarta.com/breakthrough50

Deadline 30 April 2014

Top 3 things you have changed in 2013?

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Thu, 19 Dec 2013 10:24:00 +0000

Managing knowledge properly in your organisation or your project is an absolute necessity. It informs your strategy and your operations. It's not about collecting data and letting it sleep in filing cabinets. It's alive and should serve your purpose.

Managing knowledge about how you've personally adapted to change, is crucial too. The more you are aware of your capacity to adapt, learn, be flexible, be lean, be insightful, the more you can help yourself and your organisation. The more you can support your purpose.

How have you changed in 2013 and...What have you changed in 2013?

Share your insights, gains, achievements, losses, and ways you've overcome obstacles in the comments below or on our Linkedin group here.

Contributions will compete for a complimentary coaching session with the Ogunte team, early 2014!

Here's to 2014!

Holding Ground, Breaking Ground for Social Innovation: Apply for a grant at Match International

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 09:56:00 +0000

At Ogunte we are thrilled to announce our collaboration with MATCH INTERNATIONAL, the social innovation fund for women.

APPLY FOR A GRANT!

The MATCH International Women’s Fund is Canada’s only social innovation fund for women.

"MATCH is unique in that we bridge feminist grassroots human rights movements and the world of social innovation. We believe women are at the forefront of innovating social change globally. We fund women’s rights organisations around the world to make lasting changes in the lives of women and girls.

MATCH operates on the basic principle that women’s ideas and participation are crucial to successful development – a principle that has been honoured by MATCH since our inception in 1976. For us, equal participation means ensuring that more money and resources reach the hands of women working for change in their communities."

http://matchinternational.org/apply/

@MatchIntfund

Deadline 6th December 2013 - 2 Streams: Holding Ground, Breaking Ground.

How to find your top ultimate mentor...

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Tue, 17 Sep 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Our last GlobalTribal meet-up offered us the opportunity to brainstorm about mentoring, its myths, its truths, and its variations. We used a few case-studies and explored how mentoring could help make progress on leadership and operational issues in organisations and networks.

What are the common myths about mentors:

o a mentor will solve all my problems
o my mentor knows everything
o my mentor is a superhero
o my mentor occupies a higher position
o a mentor can only be a person
o my mentor knows everything about my industry
o my mentor will stay with me for life
o I have to see my mentor every week
o I can not challenge my mentor
o trustees on my board can’t mentor me…
o my mentor has to be a man
o my mentor has to be a woman

A few truths about great mentors

o a mentor will help me to be self-dependent
o my mentor is not per se my supervisor
o a mentor can have tremendous coaching skills and not impose answers.
o my mentor should bring clarity of distance.
o a great mentor is a great communicator: succinct, simple and specific
o a great mentor can learn from me
o a great mentor can share stories of their own failures and weaknesses.
o a great mentor can also ask you for advice
o a great mentor can be a sponsor (ie. open doors and speak highly of me)

Your behaviour as a mentee, if you want to get the most out of it.

It’s all in the questions:

o A great mentor will spend some time exploring your objective first and will rarely go into details. They will take care of the big lines and it’s down to you to try on new things and get into action.
o Be critical about the questions you ask!
o Do you understand what you really want to know?
o Does your question contain different topics or is it unique, clear, time-bound and measurable?
o Be ready to have your topic challenged, as sometimes a question reveals an underpinning emotional or behavioural concern…

Paying attention to boundaries (what works)

o work on one subject at a time.
o be clear about what you would like to learn from the outset (knowing that it might shift during the relationship).
o be committed to the time you want to dedicate to the mentoring sessions.
o try short sessions first (ie 20 minutes over the phone) to train yourself to get to the point and prepare your questions carefully.
o set time aside before and after the session for preparation and research.
o stick to the plan
o plan your sessions ahead.
o Accept that sometimes there is no fixing possible or no immediate solution, but that the answer is rather in the thinking process.

Be aware of what the mentor, their contribution and their time, are worth:

o How much would you be ready to pay for this?
o How will you manage and use this intelligence?
o What will it be worth for you? (the impact of the relationship)
o What is your mentor gaining from mentoring you?
o what is their motivation and expectation?

Sometimes, it hurts…

o The mentor will bring alternatives to your usual way of operating.
o A mentor can request to observe you in action to understand you better.
o Sometimes, honest feedback can hurt and change doesn’t seem natural.
o Be open to learning, exploration and change. To do so, go forward, little by little, step by step and capture your learning at each stage of the journey (record it, write it down for yourself or on a blog, draw it…)
o Go back to this journey and appreciate each step!

A world of alternatives

o Find a buddy, a peer, a fellow associate, a colleague, who is able to give you unbiased feedback.
o a mentor is not necessarily a physical person, it can be a group of people, a focus group, an organisation you decide to shadow for a determined period to form an opinion.
o a mentoring journey can be a succession of insightful experiences.
o become a mentor yourself.
o do a swap shop in duo or triad: mentor someone and let them mentor you on another topic.
o Be bold and ask someone whom you wouldn’t have met in ordinary circumstances…

Why would YOU be a mentor?

o to influence others
o to learn how to communicate clearly
o to be excited to see someone making progress
o to be challenged
o to walk the talk
o to get a glimpse of the other side!

During the meet-up, the participants were asked to think of 1 specific, time-bound and measurable topic they would like to explore with support of someone in the next two months.

The Ogunte facilitator proposed the following challenge:

- What is the question you would like me to ask you that would help you start thinking deeply about your topic?
- In which context could you find an answer to that particular question?
- Identify Top 3 organisations or people (in the context described above) who could help you make some progress on your topic.

Learning edge: identify what you know and what you know you don’t know!Then explore the above...

How can you learn to invest in Social Enterprise?

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 10:07:00 +0000

“Companies who encourage staff to train as activist angels are boosting their innovation capacity and grow in-house talent"

Research shows that companies engaged in causes are seen positively by customers.

Many companies also encourage their staff to provide pro-bono mentoring to entrepreneurs as a way to contribute to society. But this opportunity could be extended significantly, creating marketing assets, whilst growing in-house talent.

We created a leadership development programme called “Activist Angels” that exposes staff to social enterprises, ventures that align their social and environmental purposes with their financial objectives.

In this programme, we upgrade mentoring connections into potential investment – or lending – opportunities, and encourage participants to think about the way they could be an integral part of the world’s sustainable development as investors, as opposed to just doing good “on the side”.

The difference between a mentor and an investor is the level of risk involved and how much personal values and social capital (let alone financial resources) can be put to the test.

When staff undergo such a development programme, they get exposed to thriving, vibrant emerging businesses, new relationships, and a chance to contribute and learn about challenges of different business models, and social or environmental impact challenges. This open innovation opportunity is challenging mainstream business references, aligning personal passions with professional experience and is more likely to grow their talent and accelerate the staff's own innovation capability.

In one of our programmes, the head office’s foundation trusted each participant with a micro-loan to finance an early-stage woman social entrepreneur.

We noticed that staff, after the training,

1- talk more across silos, connect social and environmental impacts with business decisions

2- think differently about the way they engage with their clients, and are more open to state they do use gut feeling and instinct in their work relationships.

3- re-assess their professional choices, their attitude to risk, and also the way they make life decisions.

4- learn to look at challenges from a "futures thinking" point of view (“What if…”) rather than only looking at external benchmarks and past performances.

5- learn that being an angel is about validation and reassurance too, that investing in others is about investing in yourself.

Learning to invest in social enterprises is not just about “giving back”, or supporting a different asset class, it’s about totally integrating the way you live, with the way you work, and your future impact.

Know more about Ogunte Activist Angels Development Programme, a combination of face-to-face and remote sessions for business professionals developed in collaboration with our associate Bonnie-Foley Wong from Pique Ventures.

Realstars: a new initiative to promote Fair Sex and stop sex trafficking

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 10:33:00 +0000

Social Entrepreneur and CSR consultant Malin Roux is the founder of the new Swedish NGO Realstars.

Active since 2010, Realstars have influenced individuals, decision makers and companies to promote fair sex and to put an end to sex trafficking.

Post author: Amanda Cambronero Watson

Why is this necessary?

Over the past decade we have noticed that the issue of human trafficking is worsening and at the same time we see how this issue is not being addressed as a top priority. It’s clear to us that a more efficient legislation is necessary to combat this issue. The Swedish Sex Purchase Act is a great strategy to combat both prostitution and human trafficking because it criminalises the buyer as being part of the trafficking chain (See the Sexbuyer). This specific fact is actually one of the reasons why Realstars was established. At the moment there are plenty of organisations that work against trafficking, but there are a few things that make us different from the rest.

Fair sex: a new initiative

One thing that makes us stand out is our concept of fair sex. Fair Sex, for us, means to acknowledge sex as a positive force in people’s lives, on equal terms and with mutual respect. Fair Sex is the opposite of sexual violence, abuse and trafficking. This concept helps us all to consider the difficult issue of sex trafficking from a new perspective that all of us can relate to. Fair Sex gives us meaning, direction and energy beyond the tragic circumstances of sex trafficking guiding and inspiring us in our work without losing the sense of urgency.

Fashion, art and design

Apart from incorporating the concept of fair sex in our work we use fashion, art and design in order to channel our message of Fair Sex to a broader audience. Incorporation fashion, art and design in our work allow us to come in contact with artists that want to make a stand against this awful crime by standing behind our values and sharing their art for a great cause.

In our first fashion collaboration we pair up with the Swedish designer Johanna Brag to design a collection of legwear that we were able to showcase at The Röhsska Museum of Fashion, Design and Textile in the city of Gothenburg.

We are currently launching our new collection of t-shirts with messages to captivate our audience and spread our message of fair sex. The main purpose of our Realstars branded products is to allow our audience to become active agents in our work.

Being part of the world of fashion, art and design connect us with high profile personalities and celebrities that want to collaborate with us and stand behind our work. On our main page we have a special page where we feature interviews of celebrities that support our work.

(To read some of the interviews please check out this page)

Work and collaborations

Our work mainly consists of campaigning, spreading awareness, influencing policy makers and inspiring other societal actors and corporations to join our commitment. In one of our latest campaigns -"Business against trafficking"- we have had the opportunity to work with a marketing and management organisation in their annual CSR project to spread information to businesses that may unknowingly be associated with trafficking.

The second stage in this campaign consists of partnering with business to help them build up ethical guidelines that prevents them from being part of the trafficking chain.

For more information about Malin and Realstars, connect to their Social Media Channels:

Web: www.realstars.eu

Twitter: @realstars_eu

Facebook: www.facebook.com/realstars.eu

Campaign http://realstars.eu/for-fair-sex/

3 Simple Tips for Future Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 09:39:00 +0000

To grow a future centric economy that is kind to people and planet, we need to tap in women's contribution to accelerate change. Women have talent, wisdom and local knowledge that we cannot afford to waste and push off in the corner.
At Ogunte, our mission is to support thousands of these women globally to accelerate change. What is your future centric mission?

Check his months' pocket tool for futures thinking:

1. ASK "NARROWER" QUESTIONS

Build a sense of what's next to strengthen your offer now. To do so, check this post by Jamais Cascio, that explains basic methods of structured futures thinking. You will learn to ask new questions about the world, and start to see bigger implications of events and choices.
Training yourself in this process will develop your decision-making capacity.

The process goes over 4 parts:
a- Asking the Question;
b- Scanning the World;
c- Mapping the Possibilities;
d- and Asking the Next Question.

Read further about the Futures Thinking Process and try out for yourself

2. MERGE OBVIOUS CONCEPTS AND SEE WHAT COMES UP!

We have interviewed Shazia Mustafa, CEO and co-founder of Third Door, a South London based workhub combined with a nursery. Two not-so-new services, which, when combined, cater for people's need to re-group work and loved ones, waste less time on commuting, and fulfil their desire to live a flexible life. The Third Door team also reinforce local learning, social and enterprising networks and remind people that their community is their first asset!

Also, tap in our previous conversations with :
>> Joanna Kossak Founder of Organic Skincare Brand "Gaiavita" about the cosmetics that slowly kill you. Don't Slap Nasties on Your Face.
>> Iara Lee, Founder of Cultures of Resistance, a disruptive Brazilian filmmaker who works on global social justice issues and also gives grants to activists through her foundation!

-----------------------------

3. ASK YOURSELF: "AM I IN THE RIGHT PIPELINE?"

You have a clear vision, a great network, access to all the information in the world, yet you feel as if you were desperately trying to run in water. Based on what we observed with Social Entrepreneurs on Make a Wave, PRe-Incubator programme, this is the "Wrong Pipeline Syndrom".

You are trying to get results in an industry or a sector that "isn't ready for change" (it's maybe time to jump ship and try a more commercial customer base, or revise your business model all together).
You think your product has never been marketed before. But it might be that there is no market for it.
You have put together a great advisory board, but think again. They are not accountable. You'll start to fight for your life (and your venture!) once a board having real interests and expectations, will start challenging you when you don't make sense, AND backing you for your visionary objectives.

OGUNTE IS:

- Personal and Business Development Coaching, an Investment Readiness Programme,
- An activist angels development network and an advisory group made of Women Social Innovators.
- Monthly free news, and Insightful videos,
- The free social entrepreneurs features
- Access to hundreds of women social innovators

Melissa Sterry | What's the future holding?

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Fri, 05 Jul 2013 11:20:00 +0000

Design Scientist and Futurist Melissa Sterry is known as 'a champion of science and technology that serves to make the world a better place'.

Whether giving a keynote speech on the potential of ICT to improve our cities or writing about leading-edge innovations in bionics, her work is essentially concerned with developing a vision of what successful change may look like and supporting others on a journey towards it. For more than a decade, Melissa has worked to integrate pioneering sustainability thinking into mainstream business and society.
A recipient of several innovation awards, Melissa is Head of Technology at Earth 2 Hub™, which she co-founded in 2011 and of which InHabitat.com said "a groundbreaking digital media platform conceived by some of the brightest, most forward-thinking people on the planet, Earth 2 Hub encourages the discussion and implementation of cutting-edge scientific and technological innovation by engaging with the global community through social media, cloud technologies, and smart technology."

This month, Melissa Sterry returns to give us a quick guidance on how to embrace risks and uncertainty, through futurology. Especially as you are about to embark on a new social venture or strategise to expand innovatively.

1. Necessity is the mother of invention - ask yourself where change is needed, why it's needed and then explore how recent and likely near-future developments could address that need.

2. The future is not the exponential expansion of the present - change is not born of linear events, therefore future-thinking involves planning for several scenarios, not one.

3. No-one owns Future Inc - don't be fooled into thinking that only big organisations have a say how in the future will manifest. Far from it. More often than not you'll find the most new radical ideas at the edges of industry, not at the centre.

4. Hold your hand up to the hype - if some of the popular press is to be believed, future-thinking is about big boys tech toys. While gadgets and gizmos have their place, when all is said and done, they are just tools and tools are nothing new.

5. Think of the future in terms of scenarios, not objects.

Discover more of Melissa's futurism pieces at http://www.melissasterry.com - including publications, podcasts and presentations.

Follow Melissa on Twitter on @MelissaSterry

6 decisions by successful women social entrepreneurs

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Sat, 25 May 2013 09:34:00 +0000

Sofia Bustamante - London Creative Labs - Pic Sara Hacq

In this hyper connected age, we are witnessing the growth of entrepreneurial activism on one hand, holding people accountable for the consequences our actions have now and in the future, and on the other hand, the expansion and recognition of women’s leadership in civic society and in business. These two trends combined is the greatest opportunity this world can grab to turn around massive issues.

Highlighting the relevance and the impact that amazing women are making on the world, as social business leaders, campaigners, and as catalysts for others, is about inspiring others to follow their tracks, inviting angels and investors to look at these models and understand why the gender lens can grow opportunities and inclusive positive impact.

The Ogunte Women’s Social Leadership Awards were set up in 2007 after what originally was a leadership development programme for women from diverse backgrounds, who were all focused on making an impact in their respective communities. We first developed the programme in the London and Yorkshire areas, focusing on building capacity of community leaders, social business leaders and activists. One success story was Michelle Swann attending the Yorkshire course back in 2007, and then got the confidence to start the Identities programme.

Michelle and her team have recently been granted £50,000 by the RBS Inspiring Women in Enterprise programme, to expand the personal and professional support they give to a large network of women in Yorkshire.

Keeping The Women’s Social Leadership Programme as a simple accredited training would have been selfish. We needed a substantial amount of people to know about the achievements and resilience of these women solving social and environmental issues. This is how the awards started.

And this is a the key learning this year’s finalists have brought about:

1) Start and work with what you have, not with what you haven't got

Try a little experiment: If you think of what would make you happier now, do you think of what you haven't got or actually growing the resources you already have, even in their tiniest form?

Jeroo Billimoria founded Child Helpline in India and grew internationally. After 150 million phone calls, that were largely related to abuse, she discovered that the root of abuse was the lack of self-confidence and lack of money. She started to tackle the issue with street children, because they were the most entrepreneurial, and set up structures to provide financial and social education, and access to the financial system. Through Child and Youth Finance International, she also works within existing systems and structures to educate children about money in primary schools.

Jeroo argues that even in the poorest areas, children can save even 1 cent. Some can save up to 50c a year, and sometimes even 2 to 3 Dollars, with which they buy slippers and food and they can attend school.

But in all cases, she noticed that even with the best savings attempts, if children don't have a bank account, they will in most cases remain in poverty.

Jeroo campaigns to have every bank provide children with a bank account.

2) Change cannot be forced upon people, like an air-dropped aid package

Bringing about change is about re-using the basics, and understand how the person can create value to themselves, and subsequently to the wider community.

The Reader Organisation, created by Dr Jane Davis, demonstrates that the simple act of reading in groups can trigger amazing change.

People get accredited qualifications as a result of leading and facilitating these groups.

Reading in groups is proven to bring mental health support, improving participants' social and communication skills.

We know that socialisation and the ability to network constructively contributes to well-being, and is the necessary springboard for success.

Nurturing individuals and their capacities

This is how Sofia Bustamante, Founder at London Creative Labs , ensures people engage in the support they provide.

By inviting long term unemployed to engage in local network-based peer-to-peer coaching, London Creative Labs creates a ripple effect throughout the community.

Participants think through what their community needs, and how they can contribute to the best of their ability, not just through stacking shelves for the sake of it because someone said it’s what apprentices or unemployed people should do.

Creating a coaching culture is fundamental to help people ask themselves the right questions at the right time and make best use of the few contacts they have.

So, when have you been coached lately?

3) Help others be seen as assets, not liabilities

Finalist Brinda Crishna, CEO at Vaani Deaf Children Foundation, is making sure that deaf children have a voice, through equipping carers, parents and community organisations in India with the communication skills and policies that help them to support deaf children.

Finalist Kathryn Llewellyn, co-founder of Positive Women, has worked in Zimbabwe, and Swaziland, where life expectancy, is on average 47.5 years. There are dramatic issues and gender discrimination in relation to the high rates of HIV/AIDS. Women get the blame and loose everything because they have been infected. Kathryn sets up community programmes and projects that focus on equipping women with skills, resources, and networks to develop themselves and their communities.

Kathryn recognises that communities should be the ones to decide the services they need. When they are committed to becoming self-sufficient, they are most likely to succeed.

Positive Women have provided over 800 orphans with access to education, and sustainable access to food for over 500 people. This has meant that communities are no longer reliant on food parcels that are infrequent and unpredictable. Positive Women provided access to healthcare for over 1000 people and treatment for opportunistic infections, which in turn was an opportunity to hold advocacy sessions. Finally, Positive Women have set up 6 income generation projects, creating an income for 50 women. All this was made possible by awareness and fundraising campaigns such as Live Below the Line, which Kathryn took part in, to challenge individuals and communities and see how much change they can make out of £1. By living off just £1 a day for 5 days, she brought to life the direct experiences of the 1.4 billion people currently living in extreme poverty.

4) Re-organise your resources to “activate” the change you want to make

What strikes me is that it's not necessarily only the poor and the disadvantaged that need "help". We live in an inadequate system that caters for a minority!

The Awards finalists know how to influence decision-makers with the evidence they have collected and make a business case.

They understand how the local economy principle can shift mountains.

Marcelle Speller OBE, founded Localgiving in partnership with Community Foundation, to establish a giving platform that enables easy donations to small, local charities and community groups in the UK, who wouldn’t have the means to pay for a large branding campaign. Proximity also means donors can be personally involved in the cause they support.

Benita Matofska, Chief Sharer at compareandshare.com, leads the People who Share campaign, that explains how to make best use of resources, without necessarily buying new ones. It extends goods' life span. It creates an emotional link between people and products, it reconnects them with their local community with all the evidenced environmental, economic and social advantages.

Finalist Dr Akudo Ikemba is the CEO and Founder of Friends of the Global Fund Africa (Friends Africa), a pan-African organization that fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria using the capacity of African governments, African businesses and African community-based organizations.

Dr Ikemba says: “Most of the advocates for Africa’s health are based in Europe and America where there is little knowledge about day-to-day life in Africa. Africa must have African-based advocates in all sectors of development. The critical step for the work of Friends Africa was the mobilisation of some of Africa’s best leaders to lead this advocacy”.

So, who is best placed to “activate” the change you want to make?

5) Love your data but make quicker decisions!

The finalists in these awards all understand the importance of data and measurement and they know how to make relevant decisions out of these numbers.

They ask the questions that matter. It implies understanding their own arguments, dissecting them, and fighting the case until no stone is left unturned, and importantly act.

All finalists have reduced the time others generally spent between the idea, and the implementation.

Madalina Mocan is executive director of Ratiu Foundation for Democracy, coordinating a series of research-based projects and programs on democratization, human rights and active citizenship

Her latest work in the not for profit sector includes the introducing of a new governance model in the organisation and using modern technologies in support of transparency, accountability and rule of law.

The website cinceapromis.ro ("Who promised you") is an online platform that collects promises made by candidates during the campaign, and enables votes to hold politicians accountable during their term.

She is also part of national and international initiatives in the fields of democracy building, public participation, and human rights with a persistent interest in preventing human trafficking. The "Not For Sale" website, initiated by the Ratiu Foundation for Democracy, is a response to the growing phenomenon of human trafficking in Romania

In this case, you understand why thought-leadership without rapid intervention is pointless.

6) Mentoring will not give you the keys to your own boardroom, sponsorship might.

The awards finalists are a step further to other women social entrepreneurs because they seem to balance and attract better mentoring and sponsorship opportunities.

What blocks women social entrepreneurs in general is that they are also “over mentored but not enough sponsored."

This is why at Ogunte we are also training supporters to move from being just mentors, to becoming “investors”: investors in skills, social capital – connections, introductions, pushing opportunities forward, and if the relationship works well and the context is favourable and relevant, financial investment. That is the type of commitment that makes a real difference.

4 keys to readjust when times are tough. #leadership #socent #women

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:48:00 +0000

The Brazilian martial art Capoeira teaches us a simple way to take stock, grow and develop:

Look for ways to train and learn as much as you can, in order to find these four elements in the same place, at the same time:

Focus, timeliness, (self-) control, and balance.

I have used this at times when I had difficulty making a business - or a life- decision -
I have used this when i wasn't sure if what we did mattered at all.
It helps to realign your thoughts and your actions.
Please share!

Meet 9 women who tilt the world upside down

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 09:38:00 +0000

A massive "thank you" to all who have applied to the Women's Social Leadership Awards. Our amazing judges have selected 9 of them in 3 categories, in a very close competition.
These women are offering models for impact and showing leadership qualities that can be learned and replicated.

We are now opening the poll for the People's Vote! Select here your favourite Woman Social Leader and tell us why she deserves to win...

The winner will receive her award on June 4th 2013 during the Women's Social Leadership Awards event, held at OLSWANG, our Partners' venue in Central London, where we hope to meet you too!

Category "Leader in the Workplace | Intermediary" 2013

Category "Leader in Campaigns and Charitable Organisations" 2013

Category "Social Business Leader" 2013

Benita Matofska | The People who share // compareandshare.com | UK | @benitamatofska @peoplewhoshare

Dr Jane Davis | The Reader Organisation | UK | @readerjanedavis

Sofia Bustamante | London Creative Labs | UK | @olasofia @LonCreativeLabs

The awards are kindly supported by OLSWANG

8 Essential Questions to Ask Yourself - #women #socent

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:50:00 +0000

Panmela Castro - Anarkia Boladona -
Political & Arts Activist
Leader Rede Nami (Nami Network)

From our conversations and research with women social entrepreneurs, most of them point at questions they wished someone had asked them when they started their venture. Here's a sample:

1. "What are your top priorities and what's your plan to achieving them?" In hindsight, if I was more focused and strategic about how I allocated my time, I would have achieved much more

2. "I once read that the perfect social business is the intersection of what you are passionate about, where your skill set lies, and what makes you angry about the world. I think this is a great filter to test any new ideas and when I was struggling at the beginning to find my voice, this would have been helpful.

3. "What makes you cross and what are you going to do about it?"

4. "If you drew a map of your life, how much would the career component cover?"
Sometimes ambitions don't align with a harmonious balance in life. I'm a lot happier now that I'm more honest about how I want to share out my life between my work and my family and everything else.

5."What is your favorite quote and what does it say about what you want to do?"

6. "Are you ready to lead? "In order to lead, you’ll have to step out of your comfort zone. And that whilst some people will admire you for that, others will project their own fears onto you and give you a hard time for daring to be audacious."

7. "How passionate do you think you are going to need to be?" "The answer is... "very". But you need to align it with discipline. A lot of it.

8. "What question would you like to ask your 16 year old self?"

Read about other essential questions women social entrepreneurs ask themselves here.

If you feel it's time to step back and look at your current & future work, and/or your life direction, request a call back on how the Ogunte coaching can help you!

Do women social entrepreneurs face capital punishment?

noreply@blogger.com (dubaxango) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:56:00 +0000

Women and Girls can move mountains... Yet drastic inconsistency in capturing the real impact of women in general, and women social entrepreneurs in particular could have a slowing effect on growth.

Servane Mouazan, CEO of Ogunte, the UK organisation that accelerates women social entrepreneurs, says:

"Despite media attention on women entrepreneurs on one side, and a growing demand for accountability and sustainable business practices on the other side, women social entrepreneurs' contribution in the economy is overlooked by policymakers and there's a critical lack of academic research on this topic.

On top of this, we only start now to push gendered metrics in impact investment and there is still a lot of work to be done to standardise what already exists."

Ogunte's own research among successful women social leaders globally, shows that almost 1 out of 4 women social entrepreneurs state "capital punishment" as the first barrier to grow their venture (sustained funding, commercial finance). One out of five cite lack of packaged external support ( combination of partnerships, mentoring, and technical assistance, pressure of mainstream cultural habits, sometimes unethical) as an obstacle to their development. Discrimination and prejudice comes third in their list of barriers.

"So it's our mission to tackle these issues, by sharing processes that we've identified among successful Women Social Entrepreneurs and Activists, and that they use to further their cause, develop themselves to approach obstacles differently, and get results. It's a question of behaviour and structures...

1- Embrace flexibility: accelerate with focus

I am convinced that gendered focused accelerators and incubators are necessary to fill the gaps and contribute to produce great social ventures, supported by well branded communications, robust operations and smart networks. But they do not need to be in physical spaces. They should be conceived as smart networks first.

The women social entrepreneurs I know are travelling around. They also have got retails to run, patients to care for, green spaces to manage, employees or clients to train, materials to source and export, technology to develop, b2b or b2c meetings to attend. They are not all based in large city centres, some also live in rural areas, sea side, small communities.

Not everybody needs to be linked from the womb to a computer in someone else's building, 24/7, nor do they have the space/time to add another semi-permanent location to their already busy schedule, and the transport to get there. Not forgetting their -shared- caring duties that don't simply vanish overnight and that force them to be back at home by 3pm.

Accelerators need to adapt to their needs, not the other way round. It's easier to include remote digital hangouts and occasionally introduce live meetings to create the necessary intimacy of confidential group discussions.

Accelerators are great when they focus on providing resources to facilitate collection of evidence, proof of impact, development challenges, real technical assistance and not just involvement from sector pin-ups or great orators, on top of an eco-desk and a fancy coffee house.

If acceleration is also about promoting the peer-to-peer learning and experimentation, it shouldn't add unnecessary logistic pressure to the venture.

One way to adjust offering is to ask a woman how she can use her phone or VOIP to avoid commuting or extra childcare, or what her best times are to attend events.

2- Reject social deviancy labels

Women are not a niche market. But sexism in parliament, girls sex trafficking, police refusing to record rape claims, white male board members as default setup in large companies, stereotyped so called "female sectors or occupations", girls forbidden to surf, all these news items, as extreme they can be, are just contributing to making women social deviants, sometimes victimised, sometimes ostracised, inconvenient outsiders.

I am also a bit perplex about the stereotype that makes us believe that women are over-emotional beings, lacking confidence, risk averse individuals, and nurturing staff like mother hens. This is anecdotal, whereas evidence consistently leads us to other facts. See particularly the work on Gender and Business, by Dr Rebecca Harding from Delta Economics).

Did you know that evidence shows that women in low and high growth businesses are better than men at identifying market niches or opening up new markets? And, also, that when women work part-time on their business, they are less likely to bring it to high-growth stage.

So business support should start with provision of structures that enable women to work full-time and with quality on their business. This is how Shazia Mustafa from ThirdDoor justifies her venture, a co-working space with an on-site creche, based in South London, and working in total harmony with her local community.

Far from being in a pink bubble, the Social Enterprise sector is not immune from presenting worrying symptoms. Why? Because, with an increasing involvement of large companies or public organisations, as funders, mentors, clients of social businesses, you can expect bad habits to leak.

Women social entrepreneurs and their male supporters, colleagues and clients can join forces to accelerate and sustain change. We need evidence put forward, we need academics to propose research papers on the topic - and not be blocked. We need policymakers to reflect the real contribution of women (social) entrepreneurs in the economy and support bold regulatory measures. We need affordable and GOOD childcare, and support for carers (male included).

3. Be a smart connector not just a mechanical networker.

Successful women social entrepreneurs are great at maximising their opportunities by having a clear management of content and processes. Networking just for the sake of growing your mailing list isn't working - because it only covers a cosmetic process, it doesn't nurture your content.

From what we've observed, successful women entrepreneurs build relationships to learn about their own field, their clients' and ever changing trends. They set up focus groups, mentoring relationships and peer support groups because they want to be surprised, maximise the flow of information both ways through word of mouth and experiential learning.

Importantly, they seem to be very vocal about their cause but they still want challenges, debates, and influence from experts across industries. They want to build the business case.

Benita Matofska from The People who Share and Compareandshare.com does behave like this. She is contributing to growing the sharing economy movement with global networks, and is building a business principle.

4. Monitor mentors

Corporate mentors should be very clear about what they want to learn in the process of "giving back" to social entrepreneurs. If they fail to tell you openly what the real gain is for them, stay far away from them.

I see mentoring as an interactive and equal content/process relationship. It should look more like an open innovation interaction. And in doing so, it is worth the investment in time and resources for women social business leaders."

Read Servane's interview with Hatty Richmond for the NextWomen.com

Servane Mouazan CEO Ogunte a one woman social revolution

Women's Social Leadership Awards are open for nominations until March 11th 2013. More information here.