The Skoll Foundation presents the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship each year to select a few organisations who are solving the world's most pressing problems. The Skoll Award includes a core support grant to the organisation to be paid over three years, and a non-cash award to the social entrepreneur presented at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship each spring.
The application process for the 2013 Skoll Awards is open upto March 1st 2012.
Kibera Community Youth Programme is a community- based organization formed and run by a group of young people in the Kibera slum in Nairobi. The group have been manufacturing and selling solar torches going by the trade name Kibulight.
We recently got the opportunity to briefly interview Elizabeth Otieno, a Programme Manager of the organisation regarding the group’s solar energy project. She told us though the group started assembling the Kibulight torches last year, the organisation has been implementing solar project for years. In fact in 2007, KCYP won a clean energy award in Switzerland for their solar technology program.
The market reception for the torches has been promising, though Elizabeth told us that at the price of Kshs. 3,500 (approximately US $44), the torches were beyond the pockets of the majority of the market. The price could be cheaper if the group was in a position to manufacture all the components themselves.
Another marketing challenge the group faces is the influx of cheap products from China that have flooded the Kenyan alternative energy market. Nevertheless, in spite of the challenges the group face, they continue to produce the solar torches for increased security as well as promoting the use of clean energy in Nairobi.
Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. - Confucius.
We recently stumbled upon Meme (pronounced “meem”), a technology site tracking innovation, social media, culture and business. The site features an interview with Richard Branson, the renowned entrepreneur - best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies.
At the conclusion of the interview where Branson is asked about his philosophy on focus he responds: “I tend not to think of work as work, or business as business. I am passionate about any business or challenge I put the Virgin name to, this helps me to stay focused. I truly believe you have to love what you do and be the best in the market – simply by providing the consumer with the products they want.”
This triggered recall of another interview with social entrepreneur Ami Dar of Idealist.org on Dowser, a site that tells stories about people who are creatively attacking social problems. For those not in the know, Ami Dar is the founder of Idealist.org an interactive platform where people and organizations can take steps towards building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.
When discussing what motivates him, Ami Dar in the Dowser interview said “It can be frustrating at times, but when people ask me, ‘How do you motivate yourself, how do you keep going,’ I’ve never felt that I have a choice. I’ve never in a million years imagined working for a different organization. This isn’t a job, it’s not a workplace. It’s what I do.”
After the initial excitement of the brain wave that will change the world and revolutionise society has long ended; and the entrepreneur sets to the task of actually making their vision happen, sometimes set backs or sheer fatigue sets in. Then the visionary who was once so elated over their business idea starts to view it as work.
Though it has been said that employees work in a business while entrepreneurs work on their business, however particularly for the micro-entrepreneur sometimes all of a sudden the purpose of the idea looses prominence and the entrepreneur only sees the necessity of getting the work done.
After a while even that business plan we spent so much time on prior to launch gets thrown by the way side and it becomes a matter of survival to stay afloat. At this time it’s important to step aside, pick up the plan and assess whether you still see the bigger picture and whether it still excites you. If it does, then like Richard Branson and Ami Dar think of your business as a vocation. Your legacy to the world.
