The Social Impression Accomplice Highlight collection highlights numerous Cisco non-profit group companions which might be serving to rework the lives of people and communities. This weblog options Cisco’s partnership with Agora Partnerships, Bridge Worldwide, CARE Peru, Centro Group Companions, Defy Ventures, and Hand in Hand Worldwide, highlighting the transformative work every of those organizations are doing within the entrepreneurial and financial empowerment house, particularly for underserved communities.
World Entrepreneurs Day 2024, noticed on August 21, celebrates the ingenuity and perseverance of entrepreneurs who’re the driving power behind innovation and financial development worldwide. This 12 months’s theme, “Empowering Entrepreneurs for a Sustainable Future,” underscores the important function that entrepreneurs play in creating options to international challenges and advancing sustainable growth. Learn the way a few of Cisco’s non-profit companion organizations are enabling the transformative influence of entrepreneurs and fostering environments the place their concepts can thrive and result in a brighter, extra sustainable future.
Agora Partnerships
“Participating in the Eco challenge has been an opportunity to see my enterprise with another perspective, not just in search of innovation opportunities, but of a social and environmental legacy, that can transcend other generations and even other geographies.”
—Feminine entrepreneur chief of knowledgeable audio providers firm
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute virtually 25% of Latin America’s Gross Home Product and make use of over 60% of the entire inhabitants. On the similar time, SMEs throughout the area face stagnating productiveness development and growing vulnerabilities to local weather variability and pure useful resource degradations throughout the area face stagnating productiveness development and growing vulnerabilities to local weather variability and pure useful resource degradation.
The significance of SMEs for each financial prosperity and environmental preservation means an funding within the greening and modernization of their enterprise fashions can have an outsized influence on the area’s general sustainability.
And but women-led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs) face technological, financial, cultural, and institutional boundaries to enhancing the environmental footprint of their fashions – impeding sustainable and inclusive financial growth.
Agora Partnerships strives for a world wherein social and environmental sustainability turns into the true enterprise engine for SME development. With instrumental early-stage ideation and planning funding from Cisco Basis, Agora designed the content material, methodology, structure, and prototype for an eco-innovation (environmentally optimistic practices) repository geared toward facilitating the combination of eco improvements within the enterprise operations of conventional WSMEs in Latin America.
The method entailed a number of levels. First, they built-in in Agora’s enterprise coaching a product that enabled firms to ideate, choose, and plan the implementation of eco improvements immediately linked to enhancements of their backside line. They then moved on to pilot the content material with precise enterprises to validate assumptions, similar to cross sectoral applicability and relevance throughout totally different enterprise growth levels. From there, they created an Ecochallenge fund deciding on awardees to fund their plans for testing and studying. Lastly, they translated the primary two levels right into a digital and self-guided format which can enable Agora to create influence at scale by making the content material out there to audiences past Agora’s present program contributors – permitting them to proceed to assist feminine entrepreneurs all through Latin America to make their companies greener – and extra profitable.
How Agora Partnerships is making a distinction:
- 19% had mapped the destructive impacts of their companies and had no less than one technique to mitigate them
- 08% reported that the Eco-challenge contributed considerably to their development and the event of environmental data of their enterprise
- 97% reported implementing social or environmental actions
Agora Partnerships has many alternatives to assist with their efforts. Particularly, the group wants:
- Consultants in gamification to enhance the present person expertise of the eco improvements repository.
- Environmental consultants that may overview piloted eco improvements to establish doable enhancements, potential factors of problem, and analysis methodologies/practices.
- Practitioners or entrepreneurial assist organizations who want to pilot eco improvements with their very own entrepreneurs to proceed constructing the eco innovation knowledgebase.
- Suggestions of databases or experiences highlighting confirmed environmental practices that reap financial returns in SMEs.
Study extra about Agora Partnerships (en español video)
Bridge Worldwide
“We provide capacity-building consultations and training to create innovative and catalytic approaches to entrepreneurs. We also provide crowdfunding opportunities to increase access to financial resources and public visibility for the social businesses that we support all over the region of Asia.”
—Ahlim Kim, Program Director
The Bridge Worldwide helps underserved social innovators and rising entrepreneurs in South Korea and throughout the globe. Via its on-line crowdfunding platform which merges the ideas of “donation” and “investment” into one, The Bridge Worldwide created a revolving donation mannequin that sustains and builds financial resilience for program beneficiaries and donors.
With Cisco’s Regional Resolution Grant, The Bridge Worldwide was in a position to reestablish its on-line platform. The platform goals to create a sustainable ecosystem of influence donations and extra sources which might be essential for enterprise sustainability of people’ dream to change into economically impartial and have the ability to give again to others in want. Not too long ago, The Bridge Worldwide has enhanced the ‘Birthday Donation Campaign’ characteristic, which allows people to launch their very own campaigns utilizing their birthdays. They will invite family and friends to donate in the direction of social causes they care about to have fun. This enchancment has efficiently inspired extra folks, each domestically and internationally, to take part in these campaigns. The influence of the grant is promising for beneficiaries, together with undertaking VietHarvest in Vietnam, Ritma Inexperienced in Indonesia, and Jumpaa Comics in Laos.
How Bridge Worldwide is making a distinction:
- Variety of entrepreneurs served (North Korean Defectors and Creating Nations in Asia): 53
- Proportion enhance in funds raised: 26%
- Price enhance in financial independence (re-donation price): 11%
Bridge Worldwide welcomes neighborhood assist via donations and volunteer involvement:
- Host a donation marketing campaign: Try fundraisers just like the “Birthday/Event Donation”, designate a undertaking, and assist celebrating particular events similar to birthdays, graduations, wedding ceremony anniversaries, and others.
- Join for mentoring and enterprise partnership constructing.
CARE Peru
“CARE has advocated for women entrepreneurship at a national scale. We aim to contribute to a resilient and inclusive economy by unleashing the power of growth-oriented women entrepreneurs. We support women entrepreneurs to feel confident, resilient, in control, and equipped to grow their businesses, so they gain economic power in their households, communities, and economies.”
—Marilu Martens, Nationwide Director at CARE Peru
CARE established a everlasting presence in Peru in 1970 following the devastating earthquake within the Ancash area, and in 2012, it was constituted as a Peruvian NGO. For over 50 years, it has carried out over 1000 initiatives targeted on the nation’s social growth, which have modified the lives of probably the most weak folks. Within the final 5 years, CARE Peru has positively impacted the lives of over 7 million folks.
CARE Peru’s Ladies with Alternatives (GWO) program creates an academic ecosystem that fosters the well-being and academic continuity of adolescent ladies, igniting their curiosity to be taught and potential to change into the perfect they are often to beat poverty. This system implements numerous instructional initiatives focusing on stakeholders, similar to college students, academics, faculty directors, households, native authorities, and neighborhood leaders. CARE Peru gives a supportive surroundings, participating establishments and neighborhood leaders to again this system’s implementation. Academics and college directors bear capacity-building applications to combine the GWO curriculum into faculty administration devices, guaranteeing sustainability. College students take part in asynchronous and synchronous studying periods, growing abilities and competencies via initiatives just like the “Idea y Emprende” contest, which inspires entrepreneurship and STEAM training.
With Cisco’s Regional Grant assist, CARE Peru developed its STEAM initiative which included a pilot of the Cisco Networking Academy course on “Get Connected, ” instructional directions and expertise coaching to equip college students with important digital abilities and assist their creativity for studying and put together a pathway for a optimistic future in for underserved ladies in rural areas of Peru. Program success contains elevated scholar engagement, data switch of data to academics, and program sustainability inside collaborating public/authorities faculties.
How CARE is making a distinction:
- 16 secondary faculties’ contributors of the GWO Program collaborating within the methodological switch
- 60 instructional actors from secondary faculties, Native Training Unites (UGEL) and Regional Directorate/Unit of Training (DRE/GRE) from numerous areas together with of Cajamarca, Bambamarca, Lambayeque, and Amazonas that take part within the methodological switch course of from GWO Program
- 50 academics who enhance data in thematic areas from GWO Program
- 50 academics with certificates/recognition achieved for collaborating in GWO Program signed by UGEL/DRE/GRE
Be a part of CARE Peru’s trigger and make a distinction. Your assist will allow over a thousand college students from the Ladies with Alternatives undertaking to proceed their instructional journey and obtain objectives they by no means thought doable. To donate, go to their web site or give by way of PayPal.
Centro Group Companions
“At Centro, we believe entrepreneurship is a powerful catalyst for economic transformation and social mobility. By equipping underserved entrepreneurs with tailored technical assistance, access to capital, and dedicated coaching, we empower them to turn their visions into sustainable businesses. Our commitment lies in nurturing their bold ideas into thriving enterprises that not only benefit the entrepreneurs themselves but also enrich their communities.”
—Arturo Noriega, Founder and CEO
As we have fun World Entrepreneurs Day, it’s important to focus on the transformative initiatives which might be making important impacts on the entrepreneurial panorama, particularly for the underserved. Cisco has been a pivotal companion in Centro’s journey to empower underserved entrepreneurs globally. Via their beneficiant assist, Centro has expanded its capabilities and attain, touching the lives of over 1,000 entrepreneurs yearly.
Cisco’s investments in Centro’s expertise and capacity-building initiatives have been game-changers. With Cisco’s backing, Centro has invested within the Centro App, a complete device that has revolutionized how entrepreneurs entry sources, teaching, and capital and helps observe influence. One other important milestone within the partnership has been the adoption of Salesforce because the centralized database administration system. This transfer has streamlined Centro’s operations and knowledge administration practices, guaranteeing that each resolution the group makes is knowledgeable. The inception of Centro Labs, additionally funded by Cisco, served as an incubator the place the groundbreaking concept for the Centro CEO App was conceived. As an AI-driven platform, the Centro CEO App guarantees to be a cornerstone in Centro’s technique to equip entrepreneurs with sensible instruments they should succeed.
Cisco’s assist extends past monetary help—it’s a partnership that embraces imaginative and prescient, innovation, and the relentless pursuit of empowering those that aspire to make a distinction via entrepreneurship. As Centro appears in the direction of the longer term, the group is grateful for Cisco’s unwavering assist and excited concerning the limitless prospects that lie forward. On World Entrepreneurs Day, Centro celebrates not simply the spirit of entrepreneurship but in addition the partnerships that amplify this spirit. Because of Cisco, Centro isn’t solely dreaming of a extra inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem however actively constructing it.
Since 2021, the assist from Cisco has been instrumental in serving to Centro leverage expertise and construct modern options to develop its applications and providers to succeed in underserved entrepreneurs. The next are some key highlights of Centro’s influence over the previous three years:
- Assisted 2,500+ underserved low-income ladies and entrepreneurs of shade with its applications and providers.
- Facilitated entry to $4.7M++ in capital, serving to entrepreneurs begin or develop small companies to realize monetary independence.
- Supplied 1,400+ hours of one-on-one enterprise teaching providers to assist entrepreneurs overcome enterprise challenges and join them with native small companies sources.
Centro believes in trust-based philanthropy and provides quite a lot of alternatives for assist and engagement:
- Suggest Centro to Entrepreneurs: Join entrepreneurs to Centro’s applications and providers to assist them begin and develop their small companies.
- Take part in Graduations: Centro welcomes visitors to take part in Centro program graduations to offer suggestions to entrepreneurs on their enterprise fashions/pitches.
- Assist Entrepreneurs Entry Capital: With as little as $25, folks might help a neighborhood entrepreneur entry an interest-free Kiva mortgage of as much as $15,000.
Defy Ventures
“I have never felt quite so complete, empowered, knowledgeable, secure, and confident about opening my very own business. I was previously incarcerated, and a former drug addict and my business ideas were just that— ideas and dreams. . . until I came into Defy Ventures’ entrepreneur program!”
—Carol Anne Madonia, Founder and CEO of That Meatball Collective
Defy Ventures is a nationwide nonprofit whose mission is to shift mindsets to present folks with legal histories their greatest shot at a second probability via entrepreneurship, profession readiness, well-being, and private growth coaching applications delivered each in jail and locally.
Defy’s imaginative and prescient is to chop recidivism charges in half by leveraging entrepreneurship to extend financial alternative and rework lives. This 12 months, Defy will work with greater than 1,000 presently and previously incarcerated women and men to defy the chances in 9 states.
They accomplish this via entrepreneurship and profession readiness coaching applications facilitated each in jail and locally, with the aim of supporting profitable reentry and financial alternative. Their community-based entrepreneurship applications embody enterprise coaching, govt mentorship, planning grants, and seed capital to assist previously incarcerated people obtain their goals of launching a small enterprise.
Their cornerstone CEO of Your New Life (CEO YNL) jail program gives contributors, (known as Entrepreneurs in Coaching or EITs), with entrepreneurship abilities, private growth, profession readiness, and reentry preparation via a five-volume, 2000-page set of printed textbooks and the submission of assignments by way of assortment of paper copies.
With assist from Cisco Basis, Defy is remodeling this curriculum right into a tablet-based program, which can allow a major leap ahead. With the power to ship studying by way of tablets, they may have the ability to enhance their program with wealthy content material (similar to supplementary movies), digital knowledge assortment, and elevated communication with program contributors each throughout and after this system. Tablets will even allow them to develop their attain to serve extra folks and in additional areas – that means extra justice-impacted women and men will now have a good probability.
Since inception, Defy has achieved the next influence:
- 7,900+ EITs served
- 200+ companies launched
How one can get entangled:
Hand in Hand Worldwide
“The women we work with face a host of restrictive norms and attitudes that keep them from earning their own incomes, and so are more likely to be digitally excluded. Thanks to our partnership with Cisco, we will be able to unlock the power of technology to equip even more women entrepreneurs with the skills and resources they need to launch thriving businesses, lifting more families out of poverty.”
—Amalia Johnsson, Deputy CEO, Hand in Hand Worldwide
Worldwide, round 10% of ladies – 400 million – reside trapped beneath the poverty line of simply $2.15 a day. Within the locations Hand in Hand works, similar to Kenya, Tanzania, India, and Afghanistan, there are few alternatives for formal employment. For these ladies, entrepreneurship is the one route out of poverty. Nonetheless, in lots of of those communities, over 60% of ladies can’t make on a regular basis choices with out their husband’s permission. Others yearn to start out small companies however lack entry to the coaching, loans and sources wanted to start.
When ladies lose, everybody loses. Households, communities and even nations change into trapped in a cycle of poverty. However given the chance, ladies can break these cycles and form the longer term they need.
Hand in Hand equips under-served ladies with abilities and sources to earn extra money and ignite native economies, lifting nations out of poverty. Via a confirmed mannequin targeted on abilities acquisition, credit score entry and market connections, Hand in Hand has reached 9 million ladies entrepreneurs by way of its international community. Nonetheless, till now the talents acquisition element of Hand in Hand’s mannequin has targeted completely on in-person coaching. In rural areas particularly, native enterprise trainers spend an enormous period of time on the street – limiting the variety of ladies the NGO can attain.
How Hand in Hand is making a distinction:
This 12 months, Hand in Hand has partnered with CISCO to develop and take a look at a focused, inclusive e-learning platform in Kenya – to enrich its in-person enterprise coaching.
- Thus far, Hand in Hand has reached 9 million ladies 20 million members of the family.
- Usually, ladies entrepreneurs double their incomes.
- 84% of ladies at the moment are in a position to make resolution concerning the issues that have an effect on their lives.
- The brand new e-learning system will assist Hand in Hand to fulfill its aim of reaching 265,000 Kenyan entrepreneurs by 2027.
- Hand in Hand’s entrepreneurship coaching delivers a mean ROI of 475%.
How one can get entangled with Hand in Hand:
- Donate as we speak: An everyday reward of £35 a month might equip three ladies with the talents and sources to launch their very own companies.
- Accomplice with Hand in Hand: In case your group is seeking to enhance its influence and rework the lives of ladies entrepreneurs, please contact Anna Davies, Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships.
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