Echoing Green deadline approaching

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published November 20, 2008 @ 12:46PM PST

For all of you almost-there social entrepreneurs out there, the Echoing Green Fellowship is a chance to have the financial freedom to dedicate yourself fully to a big new idea. The Fellowship provides solo entrepreneurs $60,000 over two years, and teams $90,000 for the same period. Their alumni include the founders of the Genocide Intervention Network, Teach for America, and one of our Top Social Entrepreneurs You Haven't Heard of Yet, Andrew Youn of One Acre Fund.

The deadline for the application is December 1, and even for those of you who aren't sure whether you'd really be competitive, the process of having to succinctly answer the set of questions they ask is an extremely useful idea development tool.

To learn more and get some tips about applying, check out this podcast on the Echoing Green Be Bold blog.

Waxman and the green economy

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published November 20, 2008 @ 12:31PM PST

I've written a few times about green technology and Obama's potential investment in that sphere as a major boon for social entrepreneurs. Change.org's Stop Global Warming blogger Emily Gertz has a nice post today about how Rep. Henry Waxman's ascension to Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee might be the "third leg to the stool" of pro-environment policy.

From Politico: "Chairman Waxman has been a leader on global warming for many years, and we look forward to working closely with him in this new role," said The Natural Resources Defense Council's Karen Wayland in a written statement.  "Our nation faces many challenges, including the climate crisis, and Congressman Waxman understands that we can’t delay in taking on these issues."

Read the rest of Emily's post here.

GEW: Russell Simmons and the Race to Be

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published November 19, 2008 @ 12:39PM PST

The premier event of Global Entrepreneurship Week USA is the Russell Simmons-hosted "Race to Be," a "creative entrepreneurship challenge," aimed at inspiring young film-makers, musicians, and fashion designers to become entrepreneurs.

Since October 2, creative artists age 18-29 have been submitting their portfolios online. Five finalists were selected in each of three categories, BE. The Story (Film), BE. The Sound (Music), BE. The Style (Fashion), and are making presentations in the next few days, as well as getting some serious professional mentorship.

What would something like this look like for social entrepreneurship? Students from anywhere submit videos and plans explaining their projects and ideas; maybe they can use a public competition commons to find resources (a la NetSquared) for their ideas; finalists are selected and they all have access to professional development and mentorship; winners are given the support and networks they need to make their projects happen? Could be cool. Maybe Change.org should host it?

GEW: Ah-nold the Governator launches GEW in America

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published November 19, 2008 @ 06:55AM PST

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger formally launched Global Entrepreneurship Week in the United States yesterday, saying:

I am honored to launch Global Entrepreneurship Week from California, bringing together more than 75 countries in a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit that is so strong here in our great state. California’s pivotal role in the global economy is made possible by our state’s innovation and ingenuity – and Global Entrepreneurship Week is an important part of recognizing the individuals and businesses who will help lead our economy into the future.

Interestingly, the short speaker list was packed the internet-based business leaders (Google and Facebook, for example). It's probably not a huge suprise, considering Silicon Valley's continued leadership in web innovation, but its worth noting that these are the leading voices on a host of regulatory issues. You can view the webcast here.

Simultaneously, Ah-nold was launching the Governer's Global Climate Summit, an attempt to create a framework for United Nations' negotiators to use when they begin workin on a new climate change agreement in Poland this winter. President-elect Barack Obama wasn't there, but sent this message, making clear that even with the ecnomic crisis, we couldn't afford to let climate change fall off the top of our agenda ($15 billion in private investment for green technology included...)

GEW: Social Finance Forum

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published November 18, 2008 @ 01:49PM PST

Yesterday I wrote about the MaRS Social Entrepreneurship Summit. Today they're holding the related Social Finance Forum, which takes a closer look at the new funding ecosystem growing up around social enterprises that blend social and economic value.

The content looks really interesting, particularly if you were interested in the Social Capital Markets conference coverage from last month. I'm particularly interested in the "The Rise of the Social Finance Asset Class" conversation which looks at the emergence of a distinct type of financial asset, with its own unique risk/reward calculus.

To learn more, follow their official twitter account: @sff2008

The event is held in conjunction with Entrepreneurship Week Canada 2008 - Canada's official connector to the Global Entrepreneurship Week. Check out their official video below:

GEW: France aiming for 1 million participants for Global Entrepreneurship Week

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published November 18, 2008 @ 01:36PM PST

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Week website, France is aiming to have 1 million people attend the more than 1,000 events taking place across the country.

Coinciding with the week, the French government has annouced a new department and program called "Self-Entrepreneur" which will support any citizen of France who attempts to supplement their income by building a business, consultancy or other enterprise coinciding with their work. From what I can tell (which is limited by a Google website translation) the program is aimed at folks like students who aren't full-time self-employed but who do commercial and service activities on the side that could benefit from a level of government recognition and support.

Read more here. Any French speakers who could check out the site and better explain it in the comments section? Seems really interesting as an example of government support for entrepreneurship.

Celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week

by Nathaniel Whittemore

Published November 18, 2008 @ 10:46AM PST

This week is the first Global Entrepreneurship Week, a celebration of creativity, innovation, and inspiration designed to connect young people around the world and spark fires of entrepreneurship to solve big problems and create new opportunities.

Launched by Make Your Mark and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurs, the week brings together literally thousands of organizations holding events around the world. In the United Kingdom, for example, more than 600 partner organizations are hosting more than 3,000 activities.

The week is particularly focused on introducing the Millennial generation to the idea of entrepreneurship and enterprise. For example, events held yesterday included:

• a debate called "In the Current Economic Climate, Can Entrepreneurs Change the World," as a part of ChainReaction,
• a video conference about entrepreneurship and the Millennium Development Goals between Ghanian university students and California Polytech State University,
• a debate about entrepreneurship and the local environment in Porto Alegre in Brazil

I'll be posting videos and commentary all week. You can follow along here or check out some of the main sites aggregating content from around the world:

• Unleashingideas.org - the main site for Global Entrepreneurship Week, where you can see the full variety of activities happening around the world
• the Kauffman Foundation's page for GEW, which includes "Daily Dispatches" with some of the most interesting happenings
• the official Youtube Channel