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<strong><br /></strong><ul><li><strong><keyword id="6485927" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="realme">Realme</keyword> announced its entry into financial services with Realme Payसा.<br /><br /></strong></li><li><strong>It comes days after <keyword id="874458" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Xiaomi">Xiaomi</keyword> launched its credit lending platform Mi Credit. <br /><br /></strong></li><li><strong>In the smartphone segment, Xiaomi holds a 27.1% market share, whereas Realme has a 14.3% share in the Indian market.<br /></strong></li></ul><br />Indian smartphone maker Realme announced its entry into financial services with Realme Payसा. It hopes to acquire 25 million users in the next two years.<br /><br />Its entry into financial services comes days after Xiaomi launched its credit lending platform Mi Credit. <br /><br />“We aim to repeat our success in the mobile business and become one of the top 5 new entrants in financial services in the next 2-3 years. We are evaluating the launch of mobile phone financing and payments in 2020,” said Madhav Sheth, CEO- realme India.<br /><br />Both Xiaomi and Realme are competing in the Indian affordable smartphones category and now they will continue it their fight in the financial services segment too as well. According to <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/11/realme-india-xiaomi-market-share/">reports</a>, Xiaomi holds a 27.1% market share in smartphones, whereas Realme has a 14.3% share in the Indian market.<br /><br />Realme’s offering is similar to that of Xiaomi. realme Payसा beta app offers digital personal loans upto ₹1 lakh and digital SME loans upto ₹5 lakh. Mi Credit too offers personal loans upto ₹1 lakh, after one registers on the platform with relevant details.<br /><br />In China, Xiaomi has already disbursed ₹1 lakh crore in loans since its launch in 2015 and for all of its financial services – payment, credit, wealth and insurance, it has a user base of 45 million. <br /><br />While Xiaomi has partnered with Aditya Birla Finance Limited, Money View, EarlySalary, Zestmoney and CreditVidya, Realme has associated with Early Salary, Lending Kart and Credit Mantri.<br /><br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/xiaomi-launches-mi-credit-in-india/articleshow/72350148.cms">Xiaomi’s Mi Credit promises to give you a loan by the time you order and finish a cup of coffee</a><br /><br /><br />

Smartphone makers Realme and Xiaomi will compete in the financial services market too

<p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/partners-for-a-sustainable-future"></a></p><div type="image" title="a group of people around a campfire in the desert" height="2050" width="2734" msid="87319370" hostid="261"></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>The not-for-profit The Sigmund Project connects sustainability-focused innovators in <keyword id="11894427" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tourism" source="Orion">tourism</keyword>.</li><li>Entrepreneurs and leaders can submit ideas or peruse projects to find an apt partnership.</li><li>The site is already facilitating successful collaborations and aims to issue grants by mid-2022.</li></ul><p>The ethos behind "open source" is that the more brainpower involved in a product's evolution, the better. Things like peer production, review, critique, and collaboration are all encouraged.</p><p>Recently, not-for-profit startup <a href="https://thesigmundproject.org/">The Sigmund Project</a> decided to apply this concept to tourism innovation. "The moniker we have regarding [open source] is 'nothing mentioned, nothing gained,'" founder <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-elliott-merschen-5577605/">Alan Elliott Merschen</a> told Insider. "If you don't share the idea, it's never going to take root."</p><p>Though it just launched in June 2021, The Sigmund Project has attracted thousands of unique visitors from more than 108 countries and facilitated about a dozen collaborations. For example, one Switzerland-based NGO recently connected with an ecoresort in the Solomon Islands via the platform, and the two companies are now in talks to become <keyword id="11896309" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sustainability" source="Orion">sustainability</keyword> partners.</p><p>Here's how Mershcen got The Sigmund Project off the ground, what some of the partnerships look like, and what he has planned for the future.</p><h2><strong>An industry inflection point</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="a screenshot of The Sigmund Project's website" height="675" width="900" msid="87319373" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p>Merschen has worked in the travel and tourism field for more than 30 years. He founded the travel marketing company <a href="https://www.myriadmarketing.com/">Myriad</a>, which specializes in international destination marketing for private and government clients across five continents. "My interest has always been the impact that tourism can have on a global economy as well as a local environment," Merschen said.</p><p>When the COVID-19 crisis hit, it <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-countries-that-rely-most-on-tourism-travel-2020-6">decimated the industry</a>. Before the pandemic, the sector <a href="https://wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact">accounted for as much as 25%</a> of all new job creation worldwide, according to the World Travel &amp; Tourism Council. But in 2020, more than 62 million tourism-related jobs vanished virtually overnight.</p><p>Merschen wanted to find a way to revitalize the industry while simultaneously addressing its sustainability problem - in 2016, the sector <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1222827/global-carbon-emission-share-of-tourism-related-transport/">was responsible</a> for about 5% of manmade carbon emissions worldwide, a number <a href="https://www.unwto.org/news/tourisms-carbon-emissions-measured-in-landmark-report-launched-at-cop25">forecast to increase</a> to 5.3% by 2030. So he began brainstorming and taking the pulse of his professional network.</p><p>He found that COVID-19 was paving the way for previously unthinkable partnerships. "I saw an openness and willingness to collaborate that I had never seen before, not only among complementary products but also among competitors," Merschen said.</p><p>Leaning into this observation, Merchen launched a digital platform to connect tourism industry innovators with one another. He envisioned an open-source ecosystem in which entrepreneurs with an app idea could connect with the perfect coder, for instance, or where a huge tourism company with a new product could identify niche distribution channels.</p><p>Merchen saw this vision come to life recently when a multinational travel corporation found synergy with a startup called <a href="https://gozeetheworld.com/">Gozee</a> after posting about their needs on The Sigmund Project. The two organizations ended up sharing an Application Programming Interface (API) to help customers filter for sustainable travel experiences.</p><h2>How it works</h2><p>Named in honor of Merschen's father, The Sigmund Project went live on Father's Day 2021 and exclusively highlights businesses with a "triple bottom line": an emphasis not just on profit but also on benefitting people and the planet. </p><p>Before submitting an idea, users watch a short <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QvpjRLXZu8">video</a> and take a quick quiz, which gauges if their proposed project fits into the platform's parameters. Aligning with one or more of the <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals</a> is mandatory.</p><p>Next, innovators can officially submit their idea to be vetted by a Sigmund Project staff member. If the proposal passes muster, the innovator is invited to a call with someone on the Sigmund team, where they talk through the idea, fine-tune its messaging, and suggest potential partners.</p><p>The organization describes itself as both "high-tech and high-touch." Though the vetting process is largely manual and will remain so for the foreseeable future, the platform also has built-in automation features that will help it scale as traffic and submissions continue to increase.</p><h2><strong>Travel with a side of social good</strong></h2><div type="image" title="group of women in black and white" height="960" width="1279" msid="87319378" hostid="261"></div><p>Projects on the platform run the gamut when it comes to the UN's SDGs. One of the collaborators currently featured on The Sigmund Project is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/aminamohamedphotography/?originalSubdomain=ca">Amina Mohamed</a>, an Ontario-based entrepreneur and founder of both <a href="https://www.triplefphototours.ca/">Triple F Photo Tours</a> and the nonprofit <a href="https://www.camerasforgirls.org/">Cameras for Girls</a>. Her companies align with the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/">UN's fifth SDG</a> around gender equality and empowering women.</p><p>"I designed my nonprofit to give back to my home country of Uganda and support marginalized females endeavoring to become journalists," she told Insider. To support the nonprofit work, Mohamed developed a separate for-profit company, Triple F, to lead "anti-tourist" photo tours that support local culture. About 10% of its revenue flows to Cameras for Girls, which is a registered charity in Canada as of fall 2021.</p><div type="image" title="women on a motorcycle with a man on the back" height="960" width="1279" msid="87319381" hostid="261"></div><p>When COVID-19 hit, it nearly tanked her tour operation. "I had a choice to make - to let this business die, or go all in and make it work" she said. She ultimately went for option B, venturing down multiple avenues to stay afloat, including posting about Triple F and Cameras for Girls on The Sigmund Project. In <a href="https://thesigmundproject.org/open-source-posts/cameras-for-girls-triple-f-photography">Mohamed's post</a>, she writes about looking for resources to expand her women-focused photography tours to Costa Rica.</p><p>The Sigmund team connected Mohamed with a reputable, Toronto-based travel agency in the company's network. In turn, the agency connected Mohamed with resources in Costa Rica. Thanks to the introduction, Mohamed now has plans to expand Triple F's tours to the country starting in February 2022, with future trips to follow.</p><h2><strong>Looking to the future</strong></h2><p>Thanks to contributions from an anonymous donor, The Sigmund Project is fully funded for the next five years. "Everything that people are doing is completely free, and it will continue to be like that," Merschen said. "We like to say our only currency is collaboration."</p><p>In that vein, The Sigmund Project is on the prowl for its own partnerships. The organization has forged an agreement with NYU's Tisch Center of Hospitality. Other notable institutions from Canada to Germany have expressed interest in becoming involved. One professor has already included the site in a class assignment, requiring students to collaborate on the platform with entrepreneurs from around the world.</p><p>Another upcoming goal for The Sigmund Project is to provide financial support to innovators. In 2022, Merschen plans to roll out an <a href="https://thesigmundproject.org/investment-grants">investment grant feature</a> to establish a healthy middle ground between micro-financing and the big-bucks world of venture capitalism.</p><p>"There's nobody in the middle," he said. "That's where we want to be."</p><p>Another differentiating factor for the grants, Merschen explained, is that no company will be able to secure one single-handedly - innovators will need to submit proposals with at least one other entity, in line with the platform's ethos of collaboration.</p><p>The Sigmund Project plans to take a small interest in companies that receive grants. "The idea is that that company will be successful/profitable, and it will share some of that back with The Sigmund Foundation," Merschen said. He clarified that all returns are immediately reinvested in Sigmund's operating expenses and future grant recipients.</p><p>Merchen hopes that this tactic will enable The Sigmund Project to develop its own circular operating model. "That's how we become sustainable," he said.</p>

How a new platform is helping leaders in sustainable tourism build strong partnerships

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Kevin Winter/Getty Images</span></p><p class="caption">Sofia Vegara is the highest-paid actress on TV.</p></div><p></p></div></div><span>Sofia Vergara</span> may be famous for her role in "Modern Family," but she also wants to be known as a businesswoman.</p><p>Vergara is the highest-paid actress on TV, pulling in $41.5 million over the past year alone, according to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/sofia-vergara/">Forbes</a>.</p><p>But Vergara has learned not to rely only on her acting - she has been<span> endorsing brands like Pepsi and Head &amp; Shoulders since she started out as an actress, and she has her own perfume that's sold in Kohl's and on Amazon.</span></p><p>She's become a successful businesswoman in her own right, and in her latest venture, she's helping other women to do the same. </p><p>Vergara is partnering with <a href="http://www.sevenbarfoundation.org/about-us/chairwomans-profile/">Renata Black</a> to relaunch a women's underwear brand called EBY (formerly "Empowered by You"). Black, who is also the founder of <span><a href="http://www.sevenbarfoundation.org/about-us/">Seven Bar Foundation</a>, a non-profit that provides women with micro-financing to enable them to grow their own businesses, originally created the company in 2012 with the goal of spreading the message of women's empowerment. </span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of EBY</span></p><p class="caption">Customers can customize their delivery schedule.</p></div><p></p></div></div>10% of EBY's sales will go to the Seven Bar Foundation.</p><p>"It's about driving profits with purpose," Vergara told Business Insider.</p><p>The new underwear collection has been reimagined with Vergara's input.<span> Underwear is sold directly to consumers via an online subscription, rather than wholesale to stores. </span></p><p><span>Customers can decide whether they want to receive shipments monthly, every other month, or quarterly. </span></p><p><span>"It's a little gift you give yourself every month," Vergara said.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><span>The new collection comes in six different styles, in various colors and patterns, and from sizes XS </span>to 4XL. Each pair will cost between $20 and $27. There will also be bundle pricing and discounts for customers who buy more frequently.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/serial-entrepreneur-steps-success-thinx-miki-agrawal-underwear-career-retail-2016-12">A serial entrepreneur reveals her 3 key steps for success​</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="lpNzZ5NzE66LZMUtSgHvlybeUtDQEw3S" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

'Modern Family' actress Sofia Vergara is launching an underwear startup

<p>India's ultra-high net worth people give away the most money for philanthropic reasons.</p><p>But as a percentage of net worth, the United Kingdom's filthy rich give away the highest, followed by America's.</p><p>These findings were published this week in the 2015 Wealth-X and Arton Capital Philanthropy Report, which researched how the world's billionaires gave to philanthropy.</p><p>"Philanthropy" here spans everything from direct giving to private foundations to venture philanthropy and micro-financing.</p><p>The report found that worldwide, people in the finance, banking, and investment industries were the biggest donors. </p><p>The highest number of gifts were given to causes related to education, followed by health. Arts, culture and humanities came in third.</p><p>The Wealth-X and Arton Capital Major Giving Index climbed to an all time high in 2014, and was up 6.4% year-over-year. </p><p>"Although there is some concern about a decline in giving over the year ahead due to a slowdown in global economic growth, philanthropic giving is, barring a severe contraction, unlikely to see a significant decline as it did during the global financial crisis," the report said.</p><p> Here's a map of giving by the biggest donor nations:<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Wealth-X and Arton Capital Philanthropy Report 2015" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/566c5a3172f2c150028b5387-960/uhnw.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Wealth-X and Arton Capital Philanthropy Report 2015</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-apocalypse-survival-bunkers-2015-10">This is how billionaires can buy their survival during an apocalypse</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FzdjRieDrFX61vj_NshYPIl1bkh69Nic" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Here are the countries with the most generous billionaires

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Jaden Smith, 21, has been active in tackling water-related problems since childhood.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Jaden Smith, entrepreneur and son of Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, spoke to Business Insider about using tech to tackle the problems of water supply and sanitation across the world.</li><li>Smith has made a documentary called "Brave Blue World" - which is set to launch in December - along with several other prominent water activists and entrepreneurs. It focuses on people across the world who lack access to affordable, clean water, and how innovative new tech can help secure such access.</li><li>Two key figures from the documentary, Gary White and Paul O'Callaghan, also spoke to BI alongside Smith.</li><li>White is cofounder of Water.org, a nonprofit aid organisation that helps people in the developing world access water and sanitation, while O'Callaghan is CEO of BlueTech Research, a market intelligence firm focused on water-related tech. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/international?r=US&amp;IR=T">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></li></ul><p>Actor and activist Jaden Smith, son of Jada Pinket and Will Smith, says there is an "educational barrier" stopping the world from tackling its shortage of clean, readily available water.</p><p>Smith spoke to Business Insider at the Web Summit tech conference in Lisbon, Portugal earlier this month about an upcoming documentary called "<a href="https://www.braveblue.world/">Brave Blue World</a>," which he created along with several other prominent activists.</p><p>Two other major figures in the documentary, Gary White and Paul O'Callaghan, spoke to BI alongside Smith.</p><p>White is cofounder of <a href="https://water.org/">Water.org</a>, a nonprofit aid organisation helping people in the developing world access water and sanitation by providing small loans. His cofounder is the actor Matt Damon. To date, Water.org says it has reached more than 20 million people in Asia, Africa and Latin America. O'Callaghan is founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.bluetechresearch.com/">BlueTech Research</a>, a market intelligence firm focused on water-related tech.</p><p>Filmed across six continents, Brave Blue World focuses on people in developing countries who lack access to affordable, clean water, and the innovative technologies being used to help.</p><p><a href="https://water.org/our-impact/water-crisis/">According to Water.org research</a>, 785 million people - 1 in 9 people on the planet - lack access to safe water, while some 2 billion people lack access to a toilet.</p><h2>Smith says most people don't know how much of an issue access to clean water is</h2><p>Asked what the number one goal of the documentary is, Smith said: "I think the big goal is always to bring awareness to people, because everybody wants the world to be a better place. But a lot of people aren't aware of what's going on, and aren't aware of ways they can help the world.</p><p>"That's an educational barrier, and I feel like documentaries are perfect ways to get out a lot of dense information in a way that people can really understand and grasp. That's going to be the big purpose: getting people to see what's happening, and learn something new, and say 'oh, this is how I can be involved', because I just got educated on this."</p><p>21-year-old Smith is no novice when it comes to tackling water-related issues.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo/Paul Sancya</span></p><p class="caption">501cthree.org provides water filtration systems for residents of Flint, Michigan affected by the water crisis.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Aged just 11, he cofounded bottled water firm <a href="https://justwater.com/">Just Goods</a> alongside Drew Fitzgerald, a US tech entrepreneur minded towards environmental issues. The firm's signature product is JUST Water: spring water sold in bottles made from plant-derived materials, and is <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90398045/jaden-smiths-just-water-just-hit-100-million-valuation">reportedly worth $100 million</a>.</p><p>The "Karate Kid" star is also cofounder of <a href="https://www.501cthree.org/">501cthree.org</a>, a nonprofit that provides mobile water filtration systems - called "Water Boxes" - for the residents of Flint, Michigan. The city's residents have not had an adequate supply of clean water <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/20/465545378/lead-laced-water-in-flint-a-step-by-step-look-at-the-makings-of-a-crisis?t=1573831389550">since 2014</a> when the city's main water source was changed to the lead-contaminated Flint River. The water has taken the lives of <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/14/health/flint-water-crisis-legionnaires-manslaughter-charges/index.html">at least 12 residents since 2014</a>, though <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/gdpr-consent/?destination=%2fnation%2f2019%2f09%2f12%2fthere-may-have-been-dozens-more-deaths-linked-flint-water-crisis-than-previously-disclosed%2f%3f">recent reports</a> suggest the true death toll may be far higher.</p><h2>501cthree.org provides mobile water filtration systems to Flint than purify 10 gallons of water every 60 seconds</h2><p>Elaborating on his work with 501cthree.org, Smith said: "We always had the idea that JUST Water was like the extra-small version of what we wanted to do. I wanted to be able to expand all over the world.</p><p>"Then I realised that if you can't help the places that are closest to home, you definitely won't be able to help the places that are very, very far away," he continued. "So we started off working in Flint, because of the crisis that's been going on down there, [to which] no-one's been paying attention."</p><p>According to 501cthree.org, its Water Boxes can purify 10 gallons of water every 60 seconds, and have been specifically calibrated to remove lead from Flint's water.</p><p>O'Callaghan and White also spoke to Business Insider about Flint and the problems of water supply and sanitation.</p><p>They emphasized the need for creative technologies like the Water Box, and the need for corporations to change their approach towards the problems.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Pakistan-Daily-Life/bf3e2f337c984b14b880e6afb67da500/3/0">B. K. Bangash / AP</a></span></p><p class="caption">Villagers collect clean water from a broken water supply line in the suburbs of Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>They argued that it's too difficult to repurpose existing infrastructure for sanitation, and that's where alternative ideas need to kick in.</p><p>"When you think about how one could ever go to a city like Dar es Salaam or Jakarta and put in a complete network of pipes, it is quite difficult to imagine," O'Callaghan said. "It almost becomes an unsolvable problem when you try and think of that happening. That's where this creative thinking has to happen, even in places like Flint, because that infrastructure is now 100 years old.</p><p>Meanwhile, White said Water.org's microfinancing approach can help corporations see people in need of water as "a market to be served" rather than "a problem to be solved."</p><p>"If it costs $200 to connect, you don't have that much money in your pocket," he said. "You can afford to pay the water vendor a dollar or two today every day, but you don't have the cash flow or the savings to get the connection.</p><p>"What we do is fill in that missing place with our partners, so that they can get access to an affordable loan, get the connection that they need, and then recover lots of cash in the process. One woman I met in the Philippines was paying $60 to the vendors. Now she's paying $5 for her water utility and $5 for her loan payment. So, right away, she has $50 in her pocket to contribute to advancing the welfare of her own family.</p><p>"Once that kind of mindset can be absorbed across different organisations and different financial institutions, then - all of a sudden - there's lots of people coming and solving the problem, not just us."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/we-used-the-motorola-droid-on-its-10th-anniversary-2019-11">I used the 10-year-old original Motorola Droid for a week</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

We spoke to Jaden Smith about his work educating people about clean water and sanitation

<p class="source"><span>Afolabi Sotunde/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Gates and Zuckerberg have backed a style of education that goes against much of what they've championed.</p><a href="https://medium.com/personalizing-the-learning-experience-insights/what-is-personalized-learning-bc874799b6f">"Personalized learning"</a> is one of the trendiest educational theories in Silicon Valley right now.<p>It involves each student learning at his or her own pace, generally through the aid of technology, and it's beloved by tech billionaires like Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.</p><p>But both Gates and Zuckerberg, in addition to other big names in Silicon Valley, also back an education model that is taking the opposite approach: for-profit, standardized schooling for all.</p><p>Bridge International Academies, the subject of a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/27/magazine/can-a-tech-start-up-successfully-educate-children-in-the-developing-world.html">recent New York Times Magazine piece</a>, operates in hundreds of schools around Kenya and Uganda, with dozens more of its low-cost schools scattered through Nigeria, India, and most recently Liberia.</p><p>Though it operates with the mission of providing high-quality, low-cost education for all, Bridge has drawn criticism from education experts and teachers unions for the model it uses to make good on that mission.</p><p>Bridge schools pay local, uncertified teachers a small monthly fee to use digital, pre-written lesson plans that get distributed across the company's international web of instructors. All students receive the same education at the same time - something personalized learning advocates generally shun as inefficient or, worse, ineffective.</p><p>By 2015, Bridge had raised $100 million, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/startup-aims-to-provide-a-bridge-to-education-1426275737">reported</a>. The money came largely from Gates and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a company formed by Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan to give away 99% of their Facebook shares in order to advance science and education. In addition, the Omidyar Network, the World Bank, venture capital firms, and the hedge fund Pershing Square have jumped onboard.</p><p>But even Gates, a vocal advocate for uplifting those in the developing world, has said the old-school model of education doesn't always cut it.</p><p><span>"It's amazing how little the typical classroom has changed over the years," the former Microsoft CEO <a href="https://www.gatesnotes.com/Education/Why-I-Love-This-Cutting-Edge-School-Design">wrote</a> on his blog, Gates Notes. For centuries, teachers all over the world have lectured at the front of the room to students seated in rows. </span></p><p><span>"This system was designed decades ago," Gates continued, "and it doesn't reflect what educators have learned about helping students and teachers do their best work," namely, that students learn far more effectively when their instruction is tailored to their specific needs. (Gates was not available for comment on this story.)</span></p><p>The personalized learning philosophy <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/personalized-education-special-ed-2016-10">underpinned special-education</a> when it began more than 40 years ago, and it continues to work its way through in public schools around the US. Zuckerberg, too, <a href="http://time.com/4132619/mark-zuckerberg-personalized-learning/">has endorsed personalized learning</a> time and again as the superior approach to instruction.</p><p>The fact Gates and Zuckerberg support Bridge financially likely reflects their primary goal of lifting the poor out of poverty. Smaller details about the specific style are perhaps immaterial if the data show the method is working. Bridge has data to back it up.</p><p><span>In 2015, the company <a href="http://www.bridgeinternationalacademies.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bridge-International-Academies_White-Paper_The-Bridge-Effect_Nov-2014_Website.pdf">published</a> a white paper that found among 2,737 students in kindergarten, first, and second grades, Bridge kids produced twice and sometimes three times the gains in reading and math compared to kids in public school.</span></p><p><span>Critics point to a host of other facts as drawbacks, however. Cost is the first and perhaps highest barrier, since Bridge calls on parents to pay for tuition, lunch, and, in certain cases, school supplies. The school network has high attrition rates and numerous cases of families defaulting or falling behind on tuition payments.</span></p><p><span>"People who engage in a discourse around making a vast number of the poorest people in Africa pay $6 every month for school tuition are people who have no idea what the lives of people living at or below the poverty line are actually like," Keith Lewin, professor emeritus at the University of Sussex, told the Times Magazine.</span></p><p><span>Bridge founder Shannon May told the New York Times Magazine that her company is considering partnerships with microfinancing firms to help families defray the costs.</span></p><p><span>Others in local teachers unions have worried about the quality of the education, arguing Bridge focuses less on getting poor students to the baseline as enticing public school students to switch to Bridge schools. </span></p><p><span>In December of 2016, secretary-general Wilson Sossion and the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) <a href="http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/12/15/parents-teachers-want-sossion-onslaught-on-bridge-schools-stopped_c1474050">published</a> a negative report of Bridge, saying the company was operating an illegal for-profit business. Earlier this June, Bridge <a href="http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/corporate/Low-cost-schools-chain-sues-Knut-for-defamation/539550-3983412-tiym1y/index.html">sued</a> Knut and Sossion for defamation.</span></p><p><span>But true to the Silicon Valley mindset praised by people like Gates and Zuckerberg, the model seems to be filling a genuine market need. Bridge is on track to educate 4.1 million kids by 2022, with yearly revenue of $470 million.</span></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/waterless-toilet-future-backed-bill-gates-foundation-2017-5">Bill Gates is backing the waterless toilet of the future - here's how it works</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg back a controversial education program in East Africa

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - Matt Damon is one of the most famous actors on the planet, and he's using his fame for good.<p>Damon was at the World Economic Forum this week to raise awareness of a devastating problem for numerous societies and nations around the world: a lack of clean water.</p><p>Damon and Gary White founded <a href="http://water.org/">Water.org</a>, which says it has helped 5 million people access safe water and sanitation.</p><p>On Wednesday evening I attended a small, invite-only event in an illuminated chapel in Davos where Damon, White, and representatives of the PepsiCo Foundation and of the tech group Tradeshift highlighted the plight of people who lack clean water. The event was also a way to acknowledge those who had become involved with Water.org.</p><p>White, who is Water.org's CEO, started the evening by signalling that he and Damon wanted to toast to all those involved with the group. The charity has benefited from corporates pitching in with funding and by raising awareness.</p><p>White then introduced Damon by saying, "Oh and who are you," to which Damon jokingly replied, "Ben Affleck."</p><p>Damon turned serious after that, telling the crowd that 663 million people globally do not have access to safe water and sanitation.</p><p>He added that trying to tackle the water crisis "is personal to me, someone with four daughters, as this is an issue that predominantly affects women and girls, who are made to do the water collection, and often it's girls that are leaving school early or missing school entirely in order to scavenge for water."</p><p>Here is the video of these comments as well as the rest of the statement:</p><p>And here is another video segment of the 2-1/2-minute speech, in which Damon highlighted how the West found its solution to this crisis 100 years ago and how he believed influential people needed to turn their sights to the developing world:</p><p>The lack of access to safe water and sanitation is one of the most devastating crises in the developing world.</p><p>According to Water.org, one in 10 people across the world lacks access to safe water - that's the equivalent to twice the population of the US. Incredibly, one-third of the global population lives without access to a toilet.</p><p>At an event in Davos on Tuesday, Damon, White, Anheuser-Busch executive Ricardo Tadeu, and WEF Global Future Council cochair Usha Rao-Monari described the problem as being solvable but requiring more than just donations.</p><p>Here's what Damon told Business Insider and others:</p><p>White, who comes from an engineering background, described the group's unique nonprofit model. Rather than rely only on donations to help solve the water-crisis problem, the group does something called <a href="http://water.org/solutions/watercredit/">WaterCredit</a>, an idea created by White.</p><p>It's a microfinancing solution, with small loans made to provide just enough funds for a change in local infrastructure to create better access to safe water and sanitation. It is a "pay-it-forward" system, where the loans - which are $187 on average - are affordable and easy to repay. Once the loan is repaid, the money just moves onto the next person who needs it.</p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>According Water.org stats, 938,000 WaterCredit loans had been disbursed as of June, with a 99% repayment rate. Ninety-three percent of borrowers are women.<p>The nonprofit has partnerships with some of the world's largest companies. Tadeu, the Africa zone president at Anheuser-Busch InBev, outlined how the company's brand Stella Artois had donated $1.2 million to Water.org financially and had introduced awareness campaigns.</p><p>Such actions could perhaps be seen as an investment. The World Health Organization in 2012 said <a href="http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2012/globalcosts.pdf">every $1 invested in water and sanitation provided a $4 economic return</a>.</p><p>In 2010, the Water and Sanitation Program said, "<a href="https://www.wsp.org/wsp/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/financing_analysis.pdf">$260 billion is lost globally each year due to lack of safe water and sanitation</a>."</p><p>Rao-Monari of the WEF Global Future Council said the world's attitudes regarding the water crisis needed to change. She said people often incorrectly thought of water as being "infinite" and needed to understand how the supply-and-demand gap for safe water would expand amid a growing global population.</p><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-president-barack-obama-full-farewell-speech-transcript-2017-1">Watch President Obama's full farewell speech</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="dhZGJ1ODE6ttQBcNA3FJsTia8qV9dOo7" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Matt Damon hosted a private party in Davos to discuss how he's cleaning up the world's water supply

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - Matt Damon is one of the most famous actors on the planet and he's using his fame for good.<p>Damon was at the World Economic Forum this week to raise awareness of a problem that devastates a number of societies and nations around the world - a lack of clean water.</p><p>Damon cofounded <a href="http://water.org/">Water.org</a> with Gary White, CEO of the charity, which has so far transformed the lives of 5 million people by helping them access safe water and sanitation.</p><p>On Wednesday evening, I attended a small, invite-only event in an illuminated chapel in Davos where Damon, White, representatives of the PepsiCo Foundation, and tech group Tradeshift, highlighted the plight of people around world who lack clean water. The event was also a way to say thanks to everyone there who had become involved with Water.org.</p><p>Gary White started the evening saying: "We here to celebrate tonight" all those involved with Water.org. The charity has benefited from corporates pitching in with funding and raising awareness for the charity.</p><p>White then introduced Damon by saying, "Oh and who are you," to which Damon jokingly replied "Ben Affleck."</p><p>Damon was serious after that, telling the crowd the startling figure that 663 million people globally do not have access to safe water and sanitation.</p><p>He added that that trying to tackle the water crisis "is personal to me, someone with four daughters, as this is an issue that predominantly affects women and girls, who are made to do the water collection, and often it's girls that are leaving school early or missing school entirely, in order to scavenge for water."</p><p>Here is one of the most personal parts of the two and a half minute speech:</p><p>And here's another segment:</p><p>The lack of access to safe water and sanitation is one of the most devastating crises in the developing world.</p><p>According to Water.org, 1 in 10 people across the world lack access to safe water - that's the equivalent to twice the population of the US. Incredibly, a third of the global population lives without access to a toilet.</p><p>At another event this week in Davos (on Tuesday), Damon, White, Africa Zone President at Anheuser-Busch InBev Ricardo Tadeu, and Usha Rao-Monari, Co-Chair of WEF Global Future Council, highlighted how the problem is solvable but takes more than just donations.</p><p>Here's what Damon told BI and others at the event:</p><p>Water.org CEO and cofounder White, who comes from an engineering background, talked about the unique non-profit model the group has. It does not just rely on donations to help solve the water crisis problem, it does something called "<a href="http://water.org/solutions/watercredit/">WaterCredit</a>," an idea created by White.</p><p>It's a microfinancing solution, with small loans made to provide just enough funds for a change in local infrastructure to create better access to safe water and sanitation. It is a "pay-it-forward" system, where the loans - which are $187 on average - are affordable and easy to repay. Once the loan is repaid, if just moves onto the next person who needs it.</p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>According Water.org stats, as of June 2016, 938,000 WaterCredit loans have been disbursed and there is a 99% repayment rate. 93% of borrowers are women.<p>The funding would only be possible with partnerships with some of the world's largest companies, such as AB InBev. Ricardo Tadeu, Africa Zone President at Anheuser-Busch InBev, outlined how AB InBev's brand Stella Artois has signed a deal to help Water.org financially, as well as by raising awareness with its immense branding reach. Stella Artois donated $1.2 million to Water.org, but has also been instrumental in drumming up awareness through campaigns.</p><p>This isn't just about corporate social responsibility or helping those in need - all this helps boost the economy. The World Health Organization in 2012 said <a href="http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/2012/globalcosts.pdf">for every $1 invested in water and sanitation provides a $4 economic return.</a></p><p>At the moment, "<a href="https://www.wsp.org/wsp/sites/wsp.org/files/publications/financing_analysis.pdf">$260 billion is lost globally each year due to lack of safe water and sanitation</a>," according to the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) in 2010.</p><p>WEF Global Future Council's Rao-Monari said the world's attitude needs to change when it comes to the water crisis. She said people often think of water being "infinite" but actually it is finite and we need to understand that the supply and demand gap for safe water is going be stretched as the world's population continues to grow.</p><div></div><div></div><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazing-facts-about-vladimir-putin-russia-2016-12">Here are some incredible things you didn't know about Putin's life</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="k4NTY1dDqFCsBpfiPjzGEUMzJURbWO-R" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

I went to a party hosted by Matt Damon and he gave a powerful speech about a key global crisis

<br />
<span>In a gesture that can be interpreted as the government’s acceptance and encouragement, the <keyword id="155823" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Securities-Exchange-Board-of-India">Securities Exchange Board of India</keyword> (<keyword id="35210" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="sebi">SEBI</keyword>) proposed new norms to guide <keyword id="990338" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="crowdfunding">crowdfunding</keyword> ventures this week.</span><br />
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">As per the norms, there is a clear cap on how much capital firms can raise for their ventures as crowdfunding and the platforms provided would be those registered with SEBI. Companies can raise up to Rs 10 crore through this route. SEBI will issue final set of norms soon, but  indications are that certain category of operators would not be accepted as crowdfunding donors. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">Since last few years, Crowdfunding has turned into a very enticing proposition in India, which has many innovative minds across the strata – starting from agriculture to the technology sector. Despite the criticism Indian education system has been facing over the years, it is fascinating to watch students participate in science contests and come up with some astonishing ideas. Some even have the business and production aspects worked out and can dumbfound the greatest minds with their attention to end use of the innovation they have made while exercising care for the environment, being totally conscious of what their product can do to save the earth from further exploitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">What comes further is a cliché, but an observation nonetheless. Just as the high percentage of women who enter the corporate sector with gung-ho and then mysteriously taper down in percentage when it comes to occupying the influential positions, the scenario is the same with students too. Supposing a sprightly student who has exhibited signs of turning into a promising talent in his/her chosen field, somehow dissolves into the mainstream and disappears forever into the boardrooms. The talent seen at a young age, simply melts into nothing since companies want mindless bodies who fit into their vision and mission statements. Any deviation from the regular path would be considered ‘difficult.’<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">Hence, India stands to lose a lot of talented minds who have the innovative streak in them, but don’t have the necessary economic backing to turn their innovation into something that can make the world a better place.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">In such a scenario, crowdfunding becomes an endearing departure from the beaten route. Crowdfunding, if it takes off in India as much as it has done elsewhere, is going to be one BIG DEAL. Why? Because it is not about business alone but about a new concept.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">But if you look at the hype created by the media about crowdfunding, you would think soon the equations between concepts, corporates and innovative minds is going to change. Right? Well, yes and no. As much as crowdfunding is an emerging concept in India, it is also ridden with a lot of loopholes that need to be fixed before it becomes a norm.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">There are about a half a dozen of crowdfunding platforms in the country. Crowdsourcing.org has been predicting some big numbers in terms of money coalescing into funds since the beginning of this decade. But the source and operation of these funds is diverse and unclear. This is what SEBI plans to fix with its intervention.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">For instance, some funds are about rotation. Investors or donors who come to fund a few ‘new ideas’ would like return on investment (ROI) in a particular time frame and go on to support newer ideas. There is another category that would like to be a total donation or some sort of a reward for a big concept to take off, without bothering about the commercial angle of this concept.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">Then there are micro-financing ventures about handing out small loans, mostly free from interest, but certainly with an eye on getting the money back into the funder’s kitty. Milaap is one such example.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">There are those equity-based fundings for a start-up where the donors take a share of equity in a project. If you set the emerging trend aside and take a cursory look at the way Indian psyche operates, it is a recipient of both philosophical and modern methods of donating. India is home to millions of NGOs which work on various causes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">Religious institutions run on donations. Festivals are organised en masse only through donations and around these events, people often donate very liberally. So, that’s one perspective of crowdfunding that already has a sanction of the society and exists in the very fabric of it. Elections are another thing altogether when people donate and receive money in huge amounts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">With completely non-existent benchmarks to arrive at the success potential of an idea and impersonal interaction coupled with no talks at the government level yet, don’t make crowdfunding as attractive as it is made out to be.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="ecxmsonormal">
	<span lang="EN-GB">But that’s not the end of the concept. Emerging India will soon learn to change the definition of crowdfunding to suit its established pattern, and hopefully march ahead, holding promises for the young minds. <o:p></o:p></span></p>

SEBI Opens Windows;
Will Crowdfunding Shine Through?

<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-conscious-investor" target="_blank" rel="noopener"></a></p>                     <ul><li><strong>Ross Baird is the president of Village Capital and the author of the "The Innovation Blind Spot: Why We Back the Wrong Ideas―and What to Do About It."</strong></li><li><strong>Baird points out that only one percent of start-up investment goes to African Americans, only two percent of capital goes to women, and 80% of all funding goes to only three states. This leaves many entrepreneurs overlooked. </strong></li><li><strong>Baird says if you are an entrepreneur that wants to change the world then think small.  He says pick a very specific problem that you see in your job, in your industry, in your neighborhood, and try and be excellent at solving that very specific problem. </strong></li><li><strong>Baird's interest in social entrepreneurship started when he was working in microfinance in India. He helps us understand when microfinance is beneficial to the community and when it becomes extractive.</strong></li></ul><p><em>Following is a transcript of the video.</em></p><p><strong>Sara Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tell me what you do at Village Capital.</span></p><p><strong>Ross Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">So at <a href="https://vilcap.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Village Capital</a>, we back entrepreneurs that are reinventing the system. You know we've got inequality at a 100-year high in our world. We're worried about the sustainability of our planet, we're worried about feeding a growing population, and we're backing entrepreneurs who have new ideas to solve some of those challenges that hit us in the face everyday.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">And are you focusing on the ideas that the entrepreneurs have or who the entrepreneurs are?</span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">I think, I think it's inseparable. You know we have a story I tell a lot. We have an entrepreneur name and he grew up an immigrant from Haiti. He moved here, age 11 and saw his mom get ripped off everyday by payday lenders, check cashers, people taking advantage of poor people like his family. He came here to New York, worked on Wall Street figured out how to <a href="https://www.lendstreet.com/about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">help poor and middle class families refinance their debts</a>, and he went out to raise a bunch of money and completely struck out.</span></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>JPMorgan</span></p><p class="caption">Jerry Nemorin is founder of LendStreet</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I said, "Jerry" - When I first met him, I met him a few years ago, I said, "Jerry, you've got a great idea solving a huge problem, where - what's happening?" </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He goes, "You know, the financial market works in patterns. I am a black guy, I come from South Florida, and I'm solving poor people's problems. I'm 0-3, you know."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">White guys in hoodies in San Francisco and New York do pretty well when it comes to raising money. We think that there are ideas that solve problems in people, places, industries we're not paying attention to and those are the entrepreneurs that we're trying to lift up and back.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">How did you get involved in this in the first place?</span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">So I started a company about nine years ago. I have always been an entrepreneur. I mean, every since I was a kid, I was running different hustles all the time. And I saw very often working - you know, I was living in India working for a start-up microfinance bank. And the microfinance industry is - $30 billion a year around the world is lent in $500 chunks to small businesses, near a 100% repayment rate. Totally transformed financial services in emerging markets. And the thing I saw in India was how businesses on the ground close to the problem can solve a lot of the problems that we have. And so I tried to take what I'd seen in the grassroots all around the world and apply it to the capital markets here where, you know, the distance from Wall Street to Newark might as well be half the world away even though it's only a couple miles.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Is all microfinancing good? Is some of it bad? And how is it different from payday lending?</span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Albert Einstein once said, "If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes solving the problem and five minutes on the solution." You know -</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">What does that mean?</span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">That means microfinance is a tool. All investing is a tool. Every microfinance bank, every bank is neither good nor bad, they're amoral. It's just what are people trying to do with it. I've seen microfinance banks that act in extractive ways and their primary goal is extract as much profit out of poor communities as possible. I've seen payday lenders do the same thing. I've also seen microfinance banks that are very good and say, "Our core goal is building wealth for the community and we've structured our business in a way that works for us." I was in India and there was a microfinance bank that was the fastest growing microfinance bank in India and they raised venture capital from Silicon Valley and they were pushed to grow 10 times faster. I would argue that because that happened they lost their impact. They started signing people up for loans who may not have needed them and you know, people had three or four loans at the same time and it - the bank grew unsustainably fast because profit dominated what they were trying to do and ultimately, the bank lost a lot of value because they lost a lot of customers and so it was an unsustainable way to operate a bank. I would say, you know, investing is neither good nor bad. It depends on what you use it for. Same thing with microfinance. Same thing, you know, there are people who lend in very poor communities who are very extractive. There are some lenders in poor communities that are payday lenders at good interest rates that are good. So I think you just have to look at what is this business trying to accomplish in addition to making money and evaluate it from there.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">And can you expand on the thesis behind<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Blind-Spot-Wrong-Ideas_and/dp/1944648615" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> "The Innovation Blind Spot,"</a> behind your book?</span></p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Innovation-Blind-Spot-Wrong-Ideas_and/dp/1944648615">Ross Baird</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yeah, so you know, going back to Jerry. 0-3 - he says, you know, as a black guy he has a hard time getting his ideas, his small little idea into the big market. One percent of start-up investment goes to African-Americans. Two percent of start-up investment goes to women. There are a lot of people who are overlooked. Jerry was from South Florida. He was trying to start his business in Central Virginia. Where you live matters. So roughly 80% of start-up investment goes to three states: New York, Massachusetts, California. If you're in Ohio or Florida or Nairobi or Mumbai, it's really hard to get your idea into the system. And Jerry said he was trying to solve poor people's problems. The biggest industries, the six biggest consumer industries: health, education, financial services, energy, agriculture and housing only make up 15% of the billion dollar start-ups that we've created. So we have a lot of money going to a few people and places and problems that are - make the lives of people who are doing pretty well more convenient, but the people working hard on the problems that really matter for the future of our society often have a really hard time getting a shot. And so "The Innovation Blind Spot" says here's how you can be, in your day-to-day life, more innovative. And here's how you can find ideas from the people and places and areas that you might not have otherwise thought of.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">And when you're talking about these entrepreneurs and start-ups, what size allocations are you making to them?</span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">So we will do, you know, $50,000-$250,000 investment in an entrepreneur who is solving a chronic problem that the market is overlooking.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">And how much have you put to work in these types of investments?</span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">So we've invested almost $10 million. <a href="https://vilcap.com/companies/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We've invested in close to 100 companies</a> all over the world. And we found, we have a very different process for investing. We found very different results. So about 43% of our investment is in women compared to 2% in the mainstream market. About 34% are in people of color compared to 1%. Ninety percent are outside New York, Massachusetts, San Francisco, compared to 20%. So we've been able to get a lot of ideas out there and we're seeing some really exciting results.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">And can you make money investing in people and ideas that are making the world a better place? </span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yeah we are. I mean if you look at how our investments were doing and you looked at it blindly, we would, it would be a pretty promising - I mean, it's very early days. You don't want to declare victory before anything, but I think we're pretty excited about the results we have so far, even if you extract the mission for what we're doing. But I actually think our companies are performing well because of the mission they have. I mean everybody wants to work at a company whose values we believe in. Everybody gets more excited about investing or funding something that has what we believe in. So we think we've got a good business model with a very exciting mission, you're going to outperform over the long-term.</span></p><p><strong>Silverstein: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">And do you have any advice for people who might be coming out of school right now who want to be social entrepreneurs or want to be - who are capitalists that also want to improve the world?</span></p><p><strong>Baird: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Yeah, you know, a lot of people think, "I want to change the world, bigger is better. I want to go, you know, to the biggest firm or the biggest city or whatever." And I would say the most impactful entrepreneurs I've seen embrace the mantra, small is beautiful. Pick a very specific problem that you see in your job, in your industry, in your neighborhood, in an issue that you care about and try and be excellent at solving that very specific problem. Because if you can change, you know, your line of your division at your first job, you can change your company, which changes your industry, which changes the world. Or if you can change your neighborhood or your block, you start to see a ripple effect. So I would say try and get as specific, and tangible, and small about the problem you're excited to solve, and your career will take you in really exciting directions. </span></p>

80% of start-up money goes to three states - here's what one visionary is doing to help spread the wealth

At <keyword id="824043" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword> India, we kick-start our association with the 'Thinkers 50' <keyword id="23897" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="forum">forum</keyword> with the interview of <keyword id="49090" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Stuart-Hart">Stuart Hart</keyword>, Founder and <keyword id="2540" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="President">President</keyword> of Enterprise for a Sustainable World, and one of the foremost thinkers in the world. In his interview to the <keyword id="6364480" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Chairman">Chairman</keyword> of the <keyword id="188563" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indian-Council">Indian Council</keyword> of Competitiveness, <keyword id="209438" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Amit-Kapoor">Amit Kapoor</keyword>, Mr Hart shares his views on poverty and how <keyword id="107737" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Entrepreneurship">entrepreneurship</keyword> and mirofinance can play key roles in its alleviation. In addition to the academic positions at <keyword id="2767405" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="University-of-Vermont-Business-School">University of Vermont Business School</keyword> and <keyword id="31781" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Cornell-University">Cornell University</keyword>'s Johnson <keyword id="191757" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="School-of-Management">School of Management</keyword>, Mr Hart is also founder of the Base of the Pyramid Global Network and <keyword id="170488" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="co-founder">co-founder</keyword> of the <keyword id="2767406" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Emergent-Institute-in-Bangalore">Emergent Institute in Bangalore</keyword>.<br />
<br />
<strong>What is your view on poverty and how can it be tackled? </strong><br />
Poverty is a big idea like sustainability or strategy. The default position that most people hear is income poverty, which is related to lack of money and there is no doubt that money is a significant part of poverty. Poverty is a multidimensional term– income and quality of life is a function of many things and most of them are to do with opportunities and capabilities. So, this is why entrepreneurial process is an important source of poverty alleviation. At the end of day it’s really about building capabilities, and creating opportunities. The root cause of poverty is capability deprivation and lack of opportunity. From there money follows; simply giving money does not solve the problem. Only education, capacity building, and creation of opportunity will address it in the long run.<br />
<br />
<strong>Why do you think </strong><strong>‘</strong><strong>poverty is a multidimensional term</strong><strong>’</strong><strong>. Can one say it is about making available health, sanitation, and opportunities?</strong><br /> Certainly it’s all of the above. Compare the following scenarios. “Community A” where the average per capita income is $8 a day but the agricultural soil is washed away, water quality is terrible, food is expensive, families have torn apart due to migration and the incomes have gone up as people have migrated and taken big jobs; but the quality of community life, quality of <keyword id="6356826" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="environment">environment</keyword> has degraded significantly.“Community B” where incomes may be lower, i.e., $2 per capita, but there is still a dynamic community life, families are still connected together, it’s still possible to farm and grow food and the environment is not degraded to a significant extent. To describe which community is poor is debatable.<br />
<br />
<strong>How can India kick-start the process of building capabilities and creating entrepreneurs?</strong><br /> The ideal market base solution would be when the government plays a significant role in creating the conditions that enable this, but often it does not happen as effectively. So, I think of entrepreneurship and market based solutions as the best next option and it does not actually require too many pre-conditions. The crucial ones being the base line level of education, understanding, and capability. The idea of BOP business is two-ways. Often it is thought of as selling cheap stuff to poor people but that is not so. To be effective BOP business one can certainly serve the communities, which are under served and devise business models that enable better service, engage with the local population and provide learning, capability and skill development. At the same time the extreme side would be– where we work with corporate entrepreneurs and also with local entrepreneurs. The traditional notion about <keyword id="113684" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="microfinance">microfinance</keyword> or even social entrepreneurship is <keyword id="134585" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Micro-Finance">micro finance</keyword> is about providing credit to local people to do more of what they already know how to do. This can generate increased livelihood. To shift the game in a significant way requires 2 things – one is something<br />
coming in from the outside or the significant leveraging of certain local skills and capabilities or both. People in the local community would have to learn how to deal with work and play with those coming in from the outside. That doesn’t mean that you are fundamentally looking to shift the underlying culture of the local community but it does mean building the capacity of some key people in the local community.<br />
<br />
"We worked with a company called“Head Held High”. It is a group of entrepreneurs who have devised a low cost education platform in villages. They can take the 18 year old that is functionally illiterate, who can’t read or speak English and has no computer skills to the point of reading and speaking English and being functional in terms of email, MS office, and learning the culture of business and being punctual. They become job ready in a span of 14 months. We have been working with them because the people that go through that program simply want a regular job and to get a decent wage, which helps them support their family. But all those people who go through this program (say 5%) are not satisfied when they come out of the other side."<br />
<br /> There is big difference between necessity based entrepreneurship and big entrepreneurship. Necessity based entrepreneurs want to start their own company, and they would do anything in their power to make their business successful. We want to work with such people though it requires some additional skill and capability on top of what they have had at “ <keyword id="6411847" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="head">head</keyword> held high”. But it requires additional level of scaffolding to get to the point that they are able to deal with people whom we think as entrepreneurs. We would want to connect with people in companies, connect with other entrepreneurs, connect with key people in the eco system including financers, technology providers who can work them with the local entrepreneurs and can build the business from ground up.<br />
<br /> So, it’s a combination of introducing technology, financing, and variety of other things from the outside well at the same time growing bottom up skills and capabilities of the people in the community itself. And I am convinced that most of the BOP enterprises that have been purely outside in we have inner entrepreneurs from outside or corporations coming from low cost operations haven’t really been very successful. At the same time purely microfinanced <keyword id="6359222" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="small-business">small business</keyword> at the local level isn’t going to be a game changer in the long run. It will incrementally increase local income but it is not going to shift the game. The only way we are going to shift the game towards a more sustainable and prosperous world is to connect the 2 pieces together. That 2 pieces being the technologies of the future and those long that come from outside (although some would be <keyword id="6500558" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="Indigenous">indigenous</keyword> technologies like the honey bee <keyword id="50752" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Networks">networks</keyword>) and app up local indigenous technologies, business skill and financing coming from the outside. At the same growing the capacity and capability of the locally embedded people to become part of the entrepreneurial team. It’s only in that way we can actually create value proposition and a business model that is really embedded, growing the internal skill in the community itself while you serve it at the same time.<br />
<br />
<strong>You said poor and entrepreneurs is a mythology. How do we get out of this cycle of self defeating thinking that we actually have?</strong><br />
Saying the poor are entrepreneurs sounds as though we have significant equality, that inspite of a poverty problem the poor are not trapped as there is a way out of it, as poor are natural entrepreneurs. I don’t think people in communities are capable of updating themselves on their own. With microfinance there is an incremental improvement in their living conditions. But they are not going to differentiate themselves and would not be able to get to the next level. So, there is the need for transformational development and not just incremental increase in incomes. Certainly we can learn from ancient indigenous technologies and local farming practices and embed the practices in the business that we are talking about. But at the same time it is going to take technology coming in from the outside as well. We have to blend the 2 things together – indigenous knowledge and practices and technology and financing coming in from outside. The business skills are generally going to come from the outside. We could learn from the local business people and vendors but to be really successful as entrepreneurs there is going to be a healthy dose of new perspective coming from the outside.<br />
<br />
The true entrepreneurial process is about creating new ventures that are eventually going to employ 000’s of people and have the aspiration of creating something big. Necessary entrepreneurship is about how to make a better life for my immediate family. But that is not going to be transformative and sustainable in the long run. It would be smaller numbers of entrepreneurs and ventures that can create transformational enterprises that leapfrog us to the future technologically and also create employment for the future. Ventures that became large – 21<sup>st</sup> century entrepreneurial corporations as opposed to just millions and millions of small mom and pop ventures. The improvement of the mom and pops is important but it can’t be the whole story.<br />
<br />
<strong>How many types of business organizations exist?</strong><br />
Business organizations empirically are of 3 types.<br />
<strong>Craft businesses</strong>:They are the vast majority businesses in the world – mom and pop ventures that are interested in providing for immediate needs usually of family. They represent 90% of businesses in the world.<br />
<strong>Administrative businesses</strong>: They are craft business that become extraordinarily successful. So, rather than staying at 2-5-10 people they grow to be 100-150-200 people and require formal systems of business.They generally stay local or regional and that is the extent of what they do.<br />
<strong>Promotional enterprises</strong>: These are the tiny minorities of all the businesses in the world but they are founded by people who have an aspiration of becoming very large, successful, to scale geographically and to dramatically change the world. These are very small percentage of enterprise compared to craft or administrative.<br />
<br /> I am convinced it is important to grow craft businesses and micro <keyword id="25455" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="finance">finance</keyword> can help do that and to give business assistance to administrative businesses so they can employ 10’s and 100’s of people but it would be the promotional enterprises that really shift the game in the world. When I think of BOP business I am most interested in figuring out how do we form, help, generate, the promotion of enterprises of the future that are based upon inherent clean and sustainable technology and that can lift capacity and build up an employee who has been underserved.

Thinkers/Thinkers 50: Micro Finance and entrepreneurship to help alleviate poverty in India: Stuart Hart

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"></div><p class="source">Wikipedia</p></div>Colombia today is considered to be one of the world's great emerging economies. Its growing political stability, decrease in violence, young working population and overall positive economic trend make it a country with interesting prospects.</p>
<p>Robert Ward, a global forecasting director for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), categorizes upcoming developing nations into a group called CIVETS. All the countries included in this group -- Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa -- share several very important characteristics, including positive trends in political, social and economic aspects.</p>
<p>In 2011, a financially troubled year for the world, Colombia achieved a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 5.9%, becoming the 33<sup>rd</sup> largest <keyword id="34412" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="economy">economy</keyword> in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). For 2012, the Colombian government forecasts public debt to reach 25% of GDP, an enviable mark compared with many other indebted nations. In addition, the country is experiencing an investment rate of 28% of GDP, the highest level seen in the country in the last decade. In a world where some of the most powerful nations are facing grave challenges, this is a very good position for a country such as Colombia to be in.</p>
<p>While Colombians are proud of today's economic status, it was not an easy journey. Issues such as violence and economic inequality long hindered the nation's economic potential and affected the people's morale. For many years, Colombia placed great emphasis on overcoming these obstacles.</p>
<p>According to the Ministry of Defense, the homicide rate in 2011was the lowest it had been in 26 years, with the country experiencing a 12% drop from the previous year. This positive trend brought great optimism for what Colombia's future may hold. Where violence -- headed by factions such as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) -- previously caused major safety issues and distribution challenges and repelled investors, today the improvements are noticeable, and the Colombian government is promoting this change proactively in hopes of attracting international interest.</p>
<p>A second and related challenge for Colombia today is economic inequality. Colombia still ranks seventh among countries with the highest degree of economic inequality, but it is seeing a change for the better.</p>
<p>The government's recent decisions to increase public savings, reduce the public deficit and invest in social programs have already resulted in improvements. According to Catalina Crane Arango, the Colombian high presidential counselor for public and private management, the purchasing power of minimum-wage workers has increased significantly over the last decade. In 2000, a minimum-wage worker had to work for 125 months to be able to afford a car; in 2012, a minimum-wage worker could afford a car after 57 months.</p>
<p>The lessening violence and reduction in economic inequality are among many developments driving the positive economic trend in Colombia and giving its citizens hope for a better future. As a result, the country is seeing a great expansion in its entrepreneurial environment.</p>
<p>According to the most recent survey by GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor), the world's largest study of entrepreneurship, 20.6% of respondents in Colombia in 2011 reported they had started a company within the last three years. This figure compares to the average result of 11.8% from a selected group of peer countries. Now the Colombian government has the challenge of figuring out how to cultivate and maximize this entrepreneurial potential.</p>
<p><strong>Entrepreneurship, and How the Government Drives It</strong></p>
<p>In the report <em>Politica de desarrollo empresarial: la "politica industrial" de Colombia,</em> published in May 2011, Sergio Diaz-Granados Guida, a former Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, says, "In the past, industrial policy in Colombia was based on artificial protection of selected sectors of the economy using methods such as high customs tariffs, import licensing, monopoly of the government on food product import, price control and others." This appears to have led to the creation of an arguably artificial and isolated entrepreneurial environment.</p>
<p>In the beginning of the 1990s, the Colombian government's role in driving entrepreneurship changed as the policy focus shifted toward helping small- and medium-size businesses, which were viewed as the nuclei of economic development for the country. This was the first time the government had used the term <em>política de desarrollo empresarial</em> (entrepreneurship development policy) to describe its new industrial policy.</p>
<p>Today, this policy has evolved into one that concentrates governmental efforts not on protecting businesses and industries, but rather on eliminating barriers for entrepreneurship development and on driving competition.</p>
<p>More recently, the Colombian government has concentrated its efforts on elaborating the appropriate legal framework and financial infrastructure to support new entrepreneurial activity in the country. One of the most important pieces of legislation on entrepreneurship was passed in 2006. Law 1014 aimed to promote entrepreneurship across different sectors of the economy.</p>
<p>One of its initiatives was the creation of the national and regional network for entrepreneurship development. In 2009, Law 1286 established the national system of science, technology and innovation, whose goal is to support high-technology high-impact entrepreneurship.</p>
<p>In addition to strategies and laws, the Colombian government has been looking at other methods for growing and supporting entrepreneurship. In 2002, the government launched<em>Fondo Emprender</em>, a seed capital fund that specializes in financing the companies that were formed within SENA (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje), an educational entity responsible for promoting entrepreneurship among students. Institutions such as this focus primarily on providing financial and infrastructural support to specific entrepreneurial projects. Together with the national system of creation and incubation<em>,</em> this network has established more than 20 business incubators across the country, which in turn have helped to launch more than 1,500 start-up companies since 2003.</p>
<p>Faced with growing entrepreneurial activity and need, the Colombian government has had to find a more effective and wider-reaching plan. According to Sergio Zuluaga, director of entrepreneurship and innovation in the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism -- responsible for promoting entrepreneurship in the country -- the government recently decided to change its approach, choosing one where it takes into account the entrepreneurship ecosystem as a whole, focusing both on the different types of new business and on the institutions that are part of this ecosystem. "Colombia has a lot of types of entrepreneurs and institutions, and we need to develop precise and tailor-made instruments, strategies and policies for each one of them," Zuluaga stated.</p>
<p>The new approach does not stand alone; it is supported by the national entrepreneurship policy of 2009 and, subsequently, by the national development plan of 2010-2014. According<em>to Política de Emprendimiento 2009, </em>the main goal of the new policies is to resolve what have been identified as today's key challenges for the Colombian entrepreneurial environment.</p>
<p>These challenges include an informality of entrepreneurial ventures, time-consuming and costly registration and liquidation procedures, difficult access to financing, market-entry limits, limited access to high-end technology, intellectual-rights protection, low levels of innovation, a lack of communication and articulation among institutions and a low level of overall entrepreneurial competence -- a long and daunting list for the government to work though.</p>
<p>In an effort to resolve these challenges, Zuluaga indicated that the Colombian government intends to structure its efforts on the basis of four strategic principles: First is to apply a differential approach; as Zuluaga put it, "every type of <keyword id="6359301" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Entrepreneur">entrepreneur</keyword> and support institution needs a specific solution, and we need to work side by side with them to design and implement effective policies."</p>
<p>Second is to create and support instruments and programs that facilitate the "go-to-market" part of the entrepreneurship process. Third is to promote easy access to financing for entrepreneurs and new businesses (such as venture capital funds, a network of investors and micro-financing). Fourth is to establish and help maintain communication among all institutions responsible for entrepreneurship development within the ecosystem.</p>
<p>These principles are inspired by what Zuluaga and others in the Colombian government like to call the "Try Fast, Learn Fast, Fail Cheap" model -- a model the government hopes will help Colombia's existing and aspiring entrepreneurs. The government also plans to carry out a variety of programs that deal with nonfinancial industries, such as a national competition for entrepreneurs; tutorship programs; support for businesses that incorporate science, tech and innovation; a national system of business incubators; techno parks and innovation programs.</p>
<p>Clearly the government has set some bold objectives in hopes of growing the entrepreneurial presence in Colombia. But the long list of plans makes some observers question whether the government will be able to execute these plans effectively and, indeed, whether these plans meet Colombian entrepreneurs' most pressing needs.</p>
<p><strong>Looking to the Future</strong></p>
<p>By creating a system of special incentives and support for establishing new businesses, the Colombian government has achieved successes in making the country a place where entrepreneurs and their businesses see positive prospects. However, challenges still exist. In order to harness and grow the existing entrepreneurial environment, the government needs to select where it focuses its efforts and determine how to do so carefully and effectively.</p>
<p>In its attempt to drive entrepreneurship, the Colombian government faces the challenge of dealing with large numbers of fundamentally different types of entrepreneurs. Some are driven by necessity, such as the unemployed impoverished people who sell juice on the street corners. Others are driven by opportunity or motivation, typically educated people with access to at least the basic necessities of life. According to the GEM survey, in Colombia, for each entrepreneur driven to launch out of necessity, 1.49 do so because they see an opportunity. This ratio is lower than the average indicator for efficiency-driven economies (including Colombia), where the number of opportunity-driven entrepreneurs is almost double that of necessity-driven entrepreneurs. Government policy must recognize the different needs and goals of these two groups. "The government applies a differential focus and elaborates specific strategies to approach opportunity and necessity entrepreneurs differently," says Zuluaga.</p>
<p>The initiatives created by the Colombian government are solid first steps toward building an environment conducive to entrepreneurship. However, until now, not all entrepreneurs have felt positive about governmental policies and plans. According to the GEM survey, even though people recognize the government's recent efforts, they explicitly stated that policies are still not clear or communicated sufficiently. Alejandro Venegas, co-founder of an online financial services company in Colombia, pointed out that although he has heard that government programs exist to support entrepreneurs, he has no information about them or how to access them.</p>
<p>This sentiment seems to be a common theme among entrepreneurs. The GEM survey also indicated that current tax policies and interest rates were not beneficial for starting a company, and that the delay and inefficiency of bureaucratic procedures in government departments is an impediment to the start-up process. Angela Maria Yepes Ruiz, a Colombian business owner, commented that government processes and taxation in general are extremely difficult for starting businesses in Colombia. In addition, none of the dimensions rated by the survey were rated as "outstanding," demonstrating the need for improvement in a diverse range of areas such as education, financing, intellectual property rights, infrastructure, interest in innovation and support for women in business.</p>
<p>Colombian entrepreneurs continue to face daunting challenges: difficulty in accessing information about specific support programs offered by the government or a lack of such information; the still-high importance of personal contacts required to make things happen, and the underdeveloped financial markets, including the lack of accessible venture capital funds and seed financing and the low activity of international start-up financing funds.</p>
<p>According to the GEM survey, nearly half of Colombian entrepreneurs finance their businesses through family members. All the entrepreneurs interviewed for this article stated that issues of raising capital and financing were among the key challenges they faced in starting a business. As Venegas noted, "in Colombia, you have to be well-connected so that the right doors open. The laws here [in Colombia] are changing a lot for the good, but there are still certain things the government needs to change to make the online start-up process easier."</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the entrepreneurial desire is alive and well. In the GEM survey, 88.6% of Colombian respondents noted that entrepreneurship is an enviable career, versus 72.8% of those from the peer countries. It is simple: Colombians want to be entrepreneurs. The economic conditions are looking good, and people are feeling positive: 68.1% in Colombia said they believe there will be better conditions for business within the next six months. And the government is making a strong effort to establish the right laws and programs to help entrepreneurs. If the conditions continue to improve, Colombia will transition from being a country once known for its violence, economic disparity and large cocoa industry to one known for a flourishing entrepreneurial environment filled with impressive opportunities.</p>
<p><em>This article was written by </em><em>Melissa Blohm, Andre Fernandes and Bulat Khalitov, members of the Lauder Class of 2014.</em></p>
<p><strong>NOW READ: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/japans-entrepreneurship-vacuum-2013-1">Why Japan Has A Massive Entrepreneurship Vacuum</a></strong></p>

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