October 2023 Social Impact News Roundup: Breaking Down Barriers to Access

Enabling Access to Capital for Social Entrepreneurs

In order to raise capital successfully, entrepreneurs need to have clarity around what type of funding they are after, and how to ask for it in a compelling way. To make it easier for entrepreneurs to evaluate which type of funding makes the most sense for their businesses, our friends at Village Capital recently launched the new Capital Explorer tool, bringing reliable information about different options together all in one place. Then, to help entrepreneurs ask for that funding in a way that gets a “yes,” we teamed up with the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship to deliver a two-part workshop all about “The Art of the Ask.” Find the key takeaways about how to ask investors for money here, including a ‘justifiable ask’ template you can put into practice in your next pitch.

Navigating the Process of Corporate Social Procurement

Of course, raising capital isn’t the only pathway social enterprises can take to grow their revenues and impact. Tying into corporate supply chains is becoming an increasingly popular way for social businesses to grow on earned revenue, while at the same time helping the corporations advance their ESG, CSR, and DEI goals. To better understand the unique opportunities and challenges of corporate social procurement from both sides of the negotiating table, check out this recap in Impact Entrepreneur of Miller Center’s recent “Social Entrepreneurship & Corporate Supply Chain” Panel. Looking for tips to help your social enterprise close more sales with corporate clients? Check out this report from Supply Change, and consider beta testing Koru’s new platform that leverages AI technologies to connect organizations to corporate partners for effective and sustainable global impact!

The Applications (and Limitations) of AI for Good

By experimenting with AI tools in an ethical and human-centered way, social entrepreneurs have an opportunity to expand both their business and their impact — particularly in these four areas. That being said, context matters: in complex, high-stakes situations, AI can actually cause more harm than good. In this article, Thomson Reuters exposes the shortcomings of AI in the asylum process, where the move to AI translation is resulting in significant errors with real consequences for asylum seekers. As one of the experts interviewed shared, “There are cases for it, and those are more and more compelling all the time. But it’s still not ready in most cases to be used with the training wheels off and without a human involved.” The bottom line? Whether AI is used for good or not ultimately depends on the discretion of the humans choosing to apply it. 

Social Impact Job Openings

• 60 Decibels is hiring for a Research Manager (hybrid out of Nairobi, Kenya)
• BEMPU Health is hiring for an Embedded Systems Engineering Intern (based in Bangalore, India)
• Global Impact Investing Network is hiring for a Director, Impact Measurement & Management Engagement (based in New York, NY)
• Kaya Impacto is hiring for a LATAM Investment Manager (based in Colombia or Mexico)
• Mercy Corps Ventures is hiring for an Insights Manager (Remote)
• Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is hiring for a Sr. Manager, Impact Investing (based in Santa Clara, CA)
• On-Ramps is hiring for a Director, Impact & Innovation (based in Washington, D.C.)
• PepsiCo is hiring for a Senior Manager, Global Sustainable Portfolio Strategy (based in Purchase, NY)
• Social Finance is hiring for a Director, Impact Investments (based in Boston, MA)
• Stanford Impact Labs is hiring for an Impact & Learning Manager (based in Stanford, CA)
• Stay in the Game is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Financial Operations Specialist (Remote)
  • Inside Sales Representative (Remote)
  • Operations Assistant (Remote)
  • Digital Communications Specialist (Remote)
• The International Foundation for Valuing Impacts is hiring for an Associate, Capacity Building (Remote)
• Tides is hiring for a Data Architect (based in San Francisco, CA)

Upcoming Events & New Programs

• November 1 & November 30: Join us as we dive into Social Enterprise Fundamentals for Professionals. In this month-long learning journey you will be guided through the social enterprise space to help you identify social enterprises, understand how they differ from traditional businesses, and what is needed to help them grow to increase their impact. Learn more and register here.
• November 2: Join us for Part II of our “Strategic Scaling” webinar series with Spring Impact! In this session, you’ll learn how to quickly test your scale strategy so that you avoid wasting time and resources. Learn more and register here!
• November 7: Join Global Distributors Collective for a free webinar, “Innovation Trends in Last Mile Distribution: A Spotlight on e-Mobility.” Register here.
• November 8: Join Yunus Social Business for a free webinar, “Sector Spotlight: Plastic Waste” to delve into the issue of plastic waste & explore opportunities for partnerships between corporations & social enterprises in the Global South. Learn more and register here.
• November 8: Join Swiss Capacity Building Facility for a free webinar, “How to effectively financially include and empower low-income populations in Sub-Saharan Africa? A perspective on client-centric approaches applied in West Africa.” Register here.
• November 9: Join Social Enterprise Alliance for a free workshop, “Philanthropic Impact-First Investing” to discuss the evolution of funding philosophies & approaches with Cindy Willard, Director of Capital Activation at Impact Charitable. Register here.
• November 12: Deadline for young changemakers addressing biodiversity loss, the climate crisis, and pollution in Europe/MENA to apply to the Changmakers for the Planet Europe and MENA Program 2024.
• February 15: Deadline to apply for Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship’s globally recognized accelerator program kicking off in June 2024. See if you qualify and apply here.

Congratulations to….

• Black Mamba on earning a coveted spot on the Fast Company 2023 Brands That Matter list!
• Curuba Tech on successfully completing the Village Capital and Posner Foundation’s Reshaping Consumer Behavior acceleration program!
• Durian Nigeria on the launch of its new project to support the economic empowerment of women in rural communities, the Village Chicken Project! 
• elli on being awarded the Roddenberry Foundation’s Catalyst grant for early-stage businesses that address pressing global challenges!
• Global Distributors Collective on the first publication of its new innovation spotlight series, talking all things e-mobility!
• Hexas Biomass on being selected to participate in GCxN’s 6th cohort, operated by Shell and National Renewable Energy Laboratory!
• Kaya Impact on the release of another episode of its “Inversión con sentido” podcast!
• Kelp Forest Foundation on the release of its 3rd Quarter Progress Report, including a number of cross-sector partnerships established to advance its work mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss! 
• LandPrint on being selected into the SAIA Accelerator program in Dubai and to attend COP28!l
• Lex Mundi on being selected as a finalist in the Corporate Category for this year’s Catalyst 2030 Award!
• Stay in the Game Founder and CEO, Mona Andrews, on being shortlisted as a nominee for the 2023 LA Times B2B Publishing Inspirational Women Forum and Leadership Awards!
• SuperBetter on being selected to exhibit at the CASEL Social-Emotional Learning Exchange in Atlanta, and being featured in this World Economic Forum article about the importance of investing in children’s mental health!
• Proof on its new partnership with the Global Impact Investing Network to streamline impact measurement, reporting & analysis for investors and business leaders!

A Final Bit of Inspiration

“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

-Michael Jordan