HIVE MAGAZINE THREE ISSUES

of Peter Doig

The Potential APPS for Social Good

Building Teams in a Social Enterprise

Speed Dating for Mentors

Words of Wisdom Sometimes ideas fail because entrepreneurs make assumptions that their idea will work. Sometimes there is no infrastructure to support an idea, and sometimes banks are not always willing to support an idea.

– Miles Abraham, Simply Intense Media Being an entrepreneur is not necessarily about being a risk taker. Many entrepreneurs spend a long time thinking about an idea and deciding if it’s the best way to go – Kerwyn Valley, CEO KCL Brokers I always tell people to be honest with what you love. You need to put everything into it and believe in it.

– Isabel Brash, Director, Cocobel Give your heart and soul. Let your idea stick to exactly what you want it to be. That is the only way to be consistent.

– Alison Mair-Pascal, Owner, Chaud Café and Wine Bar

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t is not the fact that earlier in March 2015, one of Doig’s painting fetched 26m at a US auction! What caught my eye was that he boasts Trinidad as a home base and the artwork causing a stir in the global art world was inspired by thoughts of an escaped prisoner adrift with Carrera prison as a backdrop.

Doig has been a teacher of fine arts at Dusseldorf Academy of Arts for the last ten years. Teaching as you know is the only profession that touches the future. And it is a very rare thing to find a revered artist living Maslow’s highest hierarchy of needs: Self Transcendence i.e. helping others to self-actualize.

Doig is originally from Edinburgh but his family moved to Trinidad when he was a child. He then moved to Canada with sojourns in Montreal and the UK before coming back Trinidad with his wife and children (he has five of them) in 2002. Doig’s studio in Trinidad is in a corner spot in an abandoned rum factory. It is said he listens to anything from Bach to Trinidad soca to inspire his work.

Doig obviously has a “positive ” fascination with Carerra Island.

In his exhibition at the Fondation Beyelerwhere, Doig with seven of his students created an extensive 105 sq. meters mural with a motif showing a view from a beach onto the island of Carrera.

So imagine the fireworks combining Doig, a global artist colony, a troubled youth reform program, Carrera island and art? Carl Jung [founder of psychology] used to try to get his patients to color in mandalas at the turn of the

last century, as a way of getting people to focus and allow the subconscious to let go. In fact this month, 6 of the top 20 selling books on Amazon are adult coloring books with many psychologists stating that coloring is the best alternative to meditation. Art based therapy to rehabilitate and heal one’s soul holds the key, I believe, to solving deep hurt. For this to happen in a global art and healing focused, nurturing, nature based environment away from negative influences = jackpot.

Yes I know some of you skeptics might be saying his art have been selling for tens of millions for years now so he must be rich and retired. What many of you fail to realize is when Doig’s works like The Architect’s Home In The Ravine was sold by Christie’s for £6.8 million (more than $10m US), these enormous sums do not come to the painter but goes to the collectors who sell them. This is not to say Doig is a poor man living under an umbrella on the beach drinking a stag (his drink of choice)!

So just maybe,….Doig may like my idea and exclaim “Oh my God, now I am in real trouble!” And just so the Universe may conspire and make this socially driven entrepreneurial enterprise happen…. like magic!

Peter Doig one of the world’s most revered living artists in our backyard

what if carrera island became an artists' colony?

A piece from our Editor

USING A PODCAST TO TELL YOUR BUSINESS STORY

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n a country where we have the highest smart phone penetration rates in the region, it’s remarkable that podcasting (basically online radio), largely distributed through smartphones, has yet to really hit the Caribbean. Storytelling is in our blood, but the current public narrative of the Caribbean is empty of human stories. Rather, the narrative we present or permit presentation of is fraught with politically charged news, violence, or superficial nonsense.

Beautifully curated, audio is a powerful means of storytelling because all you have to go off of is sound: it fires the imagination. It’s no wonder that podcasts the world over exceeded 1 billion subscriptions last year.

Here’s our interview with Hebah Fisher from the Middle East who recently started her own Podcast sharing stories of Arab startups:

Hebah. tell us how it all got started?

A: In February of this year, I began experimenting with starting a podcast as a medium to present a more complete narrative of the Middle East: stories of entrepreneurship, arts, history, philosophy, and culture.

Do you have a background in radio or media?

I have no formal background in media or journalism or anything close. The learning curve is steep. Moreover, I’ve never really dabbled in creative work like this before: it takes entrepreneurship to a whole new level of vulnerability and exposure. The first time I shared an episode with someone for feedback, I was so nervous I destroyed the plastic of my water bottle and forced a friend to keep speaking with me as a distraction. After a month of cutting, editing, and re-recording audio, it was like exposing an intimate part of myself, the likes of which I had never experienced before.

So you have someone advising you?

Yes, I have a mentor who cautioned, that this kind of public work would come with harsh criticism as well as the praise – and you better have the skin for it.

Give us a play by play how ones goes about starting a podcast….

On the logistics side, podcasting involves rather simple mechanics to get up and running, hence why so many people are self-proclaimed podcasters. It’s much like blogging.

All you need for the basics: 1. Record audio ◊ Most of our devices come equipped with basic recording software like Voice Recorders on mobile phones or Garage Band on Macs. Audacity is a free recording and editing software you can download that is compatible with both PCs and Macs, and Audio Hijack is an inexpensive one-time payment for user-friendly recording of any audio coming through your computer (great for Skype calls). For higher quality audio, a basic staple in the industry is the Zoom series handheld recorders.

2. Edit and ‘mix’ audio ◊ Once you upload your audio files to your computer, you can edit the audio in programs like Audacity or Garage Band. I use the paid software Adobe Audition because I find it has a higher range of functionality and edits. Depending on your desired quality of production and in-house talent, consider recruiting an audio producer to whom you can send the raw audio files and let him or her ‘mix’ the episodes to your standard. Because audio is significantly lighter as files than other forms of media (i.e., video), it’s practical to work with someone remotely and just transfer files via the web back and forth.

3. Upload ◊ Once your episodes are ready to go, upload them to your website, Soundcloud (targets Android phone

users), and/or create an iTunes channel (targets iPhone users who can access podcasts through the iPhone app).

4. Analytics ◊ Be sure to embed podcast analytics into your website and link it to your other distribution channels in order to track progress and interest. Blubrry is an inexpensive and industry standard software that gives you detailed reports based on users, demographics, and even statistics like at what minute mark listeners stopped listening.

5. Rinse and repeat And you’re set!

Your Failure “If you ask our daughters, I’m not sure they will say that I’ve been a good mom.” explained Pepisco CEO, Indra Nooyi, at the 2014 Aspen Ideas Festival. She then further went on to say “The person who hurts the most through this whole thing is your spouse. There’s no question about it.” Nooyi is listed at Number 15 in the Forbes 2015 Most Powerful List of Women.

Nooyi’s vulnerability when she made these statements about her family having to pay the price for her rise as a great leader were raw, culturally unusual for an Indian woman and plain candid. She dared and openly talked about the challenges that many corporate leaders, both male and female, face in their personal lives today.

Yet Nooyi learned to cope and manage her guilt by creating a support system with her staff and extended family to ensure her family unit could function efficiently. And yes that involved the infamous story of her Secretary having a list of questions she had to ask Nooyi’s young daughter before she could give her permission to play Nintendo while her mother was in meetings. Pepsico, under Nooyi’s watch, saw a 4% organic growth in 2014. ******** In 2001, The US Supreme Court issued an order disbarring former president Bill Clinton from practicing law before the high court. The ruling is seen as marking the official end of the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Fast forward to 2015. As former President Clinton’s wife, Hilary Rodham Clinton, prepares to run for the US Presidency, nobody can speak about leadership and people making a true dent in the Universe without mentioning the work of the Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Foundation and the commitment of it’s spokesperson Bill Clinton to it’s purpose? Why? Bill Clinton is one of those rare great leaders who did not let us finish his story. In his moment of great despair after the Monica Lewinski scandal, he took out a clean piece of paper and courageously re-invented his story becoming the most powerful version of himself after his Presidency.

Other well know failures that turned into triumphs include: Evan Williams: Before he became Twitter’s cofounder, Williams founded Odeo, a podcasting platform. Right after he did so, Apple created

WHAT IS SO UNIQUE ABOUT

YOU?

iTunes which had a podcasting platform. Odeo was dead before it even began.

J.K. Rowling: Author of the Harry Potter series.

Rowling thought of herself as "the biggest failure". She was divorced, on welfare and in her 30’s writing her book Harry Potter which got rejected by 12 publishers.

Nelson Mandela: Mandela spent 27 years in prison before becoming the first President of South Africa. In jail, Mandela kept a scrap of paper in his cell that contained the words of a poem by William Ernest Henley, entitled “Invictus.” It ends with the famous lines, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.”

Leaders fail more than the average person.

And very often it happens publicly so we notice. However, it is the great leaders who grab our attention with their come back and/ or their ability to transparently own up to their shortcomings. They captivate us and we stay glued watching their next moves as they try to fix things or re-invent themselves.

Why do we allow Failure to carry so much weight

when in fact failure, when we learn from it, allows us the following benefits: • the freedom to try new things and not be attached to the outcomes (particularly important for Innovators), • the ability to start over again more intelligently, • the courage to face our fears, • teaches us humility, • allows us to U-turn in the right direction, • forces us to focus on what really matters • ensures we live in gratitude because of second chances It is fact that our greatest victories come from fixing our mistakes, overcoming great battles and addressing our weaknesses over and over again. This is why it is so intricately tied to who we become as leaders since it sets our direction.

Failure is simply unique tests designed for us to unleash the authenticity of our leadership.

We are all guilty of living small when we are built to fulfill larger purposes. Failure forces us to occupy our bigness. Its scars bear evidence to the world on our outsides and insides of our journey to greatness...so wear them proudly as evidence you are thriving!

EDITOR’S NOTE Dear Readers, We almost did not make this issue‌.but then we did;-) So much has happened in the Social Enterprise space in the last 6 months, it has been a whirlwind. Our pages are packed covering the UNDP Enviromind Fair which focused on Social Innovation, Start-Up Weekend and IADB's "Weekend for Change", the Luminary Challenge announcing their finalists and our Speed Dating for a Mentor events. Further, just this past few weeks, the Lok Jack Business Graduate School of Business announced the opening of their Social Innovation Lab. Given it was only in December 2013 we started this movement with nobody really paying attention to us, we are so enthusiastic that in less than 2 years we are seeing the fruits of our work i.e. to educate and open everyone's eyes so we, as a country, can get out of the charity mentality when it comes to social issues.

As you know we pride ourselves on constantly evolving and being ahead of the curve so stay tuned for some exciting new adventures we will take you on in 2016.

Sallyann Della Casa Editor Contributors Tena Pick Dixie-Ann Belle Alexander Ngaira Designer Printed by: Guardian Media Limited

Hebah Fisher

Communities Changing the World A look at some of the organizations featured at UNDP Envirominds Knowledge Fair “Information sharing”, “environmental management” and “sustainable development” were some of the watch words during the GEF SGP Knowledge Fair on May 28 and 29. The event was organized by the Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) and implemented through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Aptly the day’s theme was “Igniting Global Envirominds, Transforming Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”,

and it lived up to the theme with thoughtful seminars and spirited discussion on how to make lasting change.

Many representatives from the organizations who have received grants from GEF SGP were present and gave some insightful looks into their work, their achievements and future plans.

Feature speaker on day 1, Emily Stone, Co-founder & Global Director, Maya Mountain

Cacao held the deep interest of participants with her presentation on her amazing organization which has bloomed through the hard work of their team which includes Managing Director, Maya Granit and Co-Founder and Field Director, Gabriel Pop. Maya Mountain Cacao sources premium organic cacao from smallholder farmers in Belize for what their website describes as “responsible and ultra-premium chocolate makers, improving farmer livelihoods and preventing

deforestation by providing a highquality, consistent product that fetches a high price and catalyzes sustainable growth of the local cacao growing industry”.

The company pays farmers a premium rate for eco-friendly cacao. They then sell their high quality merchandise to more than 15 buyers who supply almost half of the “bean-to-bar” chocolate makers in the United States.

Sustainability is of course an important aspect of the company’s

objectives as it is a major concern of the small grants programme. Ms. Stone’s organization works with the cacao farmers to teach organic, sustainable growth and harvesting techniques. Working with a partner, the company also offers micro-loans to help them finance equipment and training. Since Maya Mountain buys whole cacao fruit from farmers and processes it in its own facilities, the farmers can direct all of their time and labour resources to producing more and even better cacao to sell, improving their earning potential.

Part of the sustainability of the enterprise comes from the huge involvement of the local farmers in the organization. During her presentation, Ms. Stone explained how her team had reached the point that they can now manage the company in her absence. “I am very proud of the leaders who have stepped up over the years to run the Uncommon Cocoa Group enterprises in Belize and Guatemala,” she says. “The fact that

I am not involved in the day-to-day of either operation is important to me and is a clear demonstration of our commitment to leadership development.”

The continued success of Maya Mountain seems inevitable, and the team has great hopes for its progress. “I see the Uncommon Cocoa Group catalyzing real change in the chocolate supply chain by setting new standards around what it means to produce high-quality cacao,” expounds Ms. Stone. “We’ll be working in more origins and more markets, and we’ll see real livelihood improvements in cacao farming communities.”

With such a successful business model, it is no wonder that participants in the Envirominds fair were eager to listen to Emily Stone’s presentation and learn how her company, Maya Mountain Cacao, was able to achieve success.

Her work was recognized by Ashoka Innovators for the Public, an organization which works to support the leading ideas for social

change by helping to develop and sustain them. Stone was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in 2014 after she and her team had been running the company for a few years.

When asked why she was chosen from amongst other worthy applicants, Stone explains, “During the selection process, I was surprised to learn that there are not that many for-profit social entrepreneurs in the Ashoka network - most run non-profit organizations. I believe I was chosen because my company has a clear and proven commitment to an inclusive supply chain that empowers smallholder farmers, and Ashoka understood the impact potential of our model.”

In order to promote social change, Ashoka provides support on three levels to the individual, to the group and to the sector.

They identify and invest in leading social entrepreneurs like Stone to help them achieve maximum social impact. They also engage communities of change makers and develop patterns of effective collaborations that transform different fields.

Ashoka also works at building much needed infrastructure by providing access to social financing and connections to business and academic sectors. They create the frameworks necessary for partnerships that deliver social and financial value.

The significance of becoming a

fellow has already had an impact on Stone’s work. She explains that she has been able to establish connections “with a number of incredibly visionary and effective entrepreneurs”. She adds that the experience “helped me think further outside the box in terms of the impact my business could have in farming communities and in the chocolate industry.”

She believes in the value Ashoka can bring to other people striving to make a change in their communities. “Ashoka is an amazing network of social entrepreneurs and other change makers that inspire. They offer many different programs that add value for many different types of leaders.”

Dennis Sammy, Founding Member/ Managing Director, Nature Seekers “What adventure do we go on next? Time will tell.” This Facebook post from the Nature Seekers organization in Matura, Trinidad seems to aptly embody the work of this environmental organization that has been on an adventurous journey since it was established in 1990 to help protect the endangered leatherback sea turtles in the area. What followed was a period full of challenges, achievements and perseverance which has made them a continuing success story today.

Cont’d on page 28 and 29.

A Look at the UNDP Knowledge Fair

Finding the Right Mix Building Teams as a Social Enterprise

F

inding the right team members with the right kind of skills and a lot of chemistry to boot is not easy for any organization, but it can be particularly stressful for a social enterprise and for startups. Social enterprises compete against forprofit companies for top talent and usually cannot offer the same sized paycheck, but in a lot of ways they demand even more from their teams than the big

corporates. To be a valuable team member in a social enterprise you need to bring a lot of passion to the table combined with highlevel business skills. Experience has shown that finding the right mix of professionalism, social consciousness and drive is very difficult to find. So how do you make sure you not only get the best possible people on your team, but that they will also be able to work together efficiently?

The answer to that question lies in training. Social entrepreneurs often need to make a trade-off between business skills and the socially driven individuals and need to fill in the gaps with extensive training. Depending on the stage the company is in and what the immediate need is, companies may decide to hire a non for profit expert and train him or her on the basic business skills they need or vice versa. Most social enterprises

find it easier to train their teams on topics such as finance and computer skills than to move someone from a purely for-profit way of thinking towards a more socially oriented mindset. However, that is not to say that business minds have no place in social enterprises; quite the contrary.

We all like to surround ourselves with people who are either like us or have qualities we would like to possess ourselves. In the case of a social enterprise startup – or any other kind of startup for that matter – that often means the founder surrounds him or herself with people who have a similar skill set and way of thinking about the world and, consequently, the problems they are facing. While there is nothing wrong with that approach, a mindful leader will recognize the gaps in its team and go beyond the team comfort zone to find people with complementary skills, but completely different perspectives. Some of the most amazing breakthroughs on ground happened when a team of social experts asked the finance department for their opinion and vice versa.

One of the easiest ways to develop that kind of rapport between different team members and gain a valuable insight into different perspectives is brainstorming. While almost all companies brainstorm, not a lot of them do it right. Brainstorming only works well when you involve a variety of departments with different backgrounds to avoid group think i.e. everyone thinks alike.

Building an efficient team is never easy, but making sure all of the team members not only tolerate but also respect and value each other’s point of view is a good start.

In the life of a startup there is no one else you spend as much time with as your team. It is well worth investing time and money into your social enterprise family.

Pivoting and Iterating….. do you Know what this means?

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ivoting is when you change your business direction and model to capitalize on a different market opportunity. Iterating is the process of trial and error you go through prototyping your product or service based on feedback from the market and your customers. It is a minor change in your business. Many argue that Pivoting is simply a much more drastic form of iterating. Think about it, is Facebook or Google ever a finished product? Think about all the new features and changes you have encountered in the last few years on both platforms. This tells you that the most successful businesses are in a constant state of iteration. And yes something things simply does not work out and they change course.

Here’s a look at some famous Business Pivots: Twitter Twitter started out as Odeo, an online streaming music platform. The came I-tines and that killed Odeo. So the company gave the employees two weeks to come up with new ideas and voila Twitter was born.

Starbucks Starbucks started off in 1971 selling espresso makers and coffee beans. After Howard Schultz visited Italy in 1983, he became determined to actually brew and sell Starbucks coffee in a European-style coffeehouse, and transformed Starbucks into the nationwide java sensation it has become today.

Flickr Flickr actually began as an online roleplaying game called Game Neverending, where users would travel around a digital map, interact with other users and buy, sell and build items. The game also included a photo-sharing tool, which turned out to be one of the most popular aspects of the game. The company decided to leverage this photo popularity and pivot to Flickr.

PIVOTING DOES NOT EQUAL FAILURE BUT IT DOES SUGGEST YOU ARE HEADING DOWN THE WRONG ROAD!

Instagram Instagram began as Burbn, a check-in app

that included gaming elements from Mafia Wars, and a photo element as well.

The creators worried Burbn had too much clutter and potential actions, and would never gain traction. So they stripped all the features but one: photos. They rebuilt a version of the app that focused solely on photography—voila Instagram.

Fab.com Fab is a fashion site that pulls hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue annually. It began as Fabulis, a social network for gay men. The site tanked but the co-founders had a knack for selecting products that customers liked, so they decided to take a totally new direction with Fab selling hand-picked home goods, clothing and accessories. Their sense of taste paid off, as Fab now has over 10 million loyal users.

Pinterest This incredibly popular “pinning” social network started as “Tote”. It allowed people to browse and shop their favorite retailers, and sent them updates when their favorite items were available and on sale. The creators realized that the users of Tote were mostly interested in building “collections” of their favorite items, and sharing these collections with friends- voila modern day Pinterest.

ADVICE FOR YOUR START-UP FROM GUY KAWASAKI

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umor has it (we might be starting this rumor) that Jackie Chan always gets asked if he is Guy Kawasaki;-) If you are a start-up and have not read his book the ART of the Start, you need to stop reading and go buy it now. It is really that great and can help you avoid silly mistakes typical of start-ups.

It’s is Guy’s no nonsense practical approach that has us giving him attention. And trust me the attention can be good and bad. Back in August, we sent him a Linkedin message when Canva servers went down due to overload. It went back up in hours so just maybe he/they heard how pissed off we were. Now we want to give him some love that might just make you fall in lose him also!

1.“I think what you’re doing is interesting, but it’s not something for us.“ The first half of this statement is the lie; the second is the rock-solid truth. I tell this lie when I’m presented with an idea that I don’t think can succeed. I use it because I am chicken shiitake/soft-hearted. The good influence of my wife prevents me from being a total orifice and crushing people by saying, “You have a stupid idea.”

2. “You need me more than I need you.” In order to become a venture capitalist, one has to swear that you believe this. It’s called the Hypocrite’s Oath. We may never actually utter this lie, but it permeates

every aspect of our existence: what we drive, where we eat, how we dress, where our kids go to school, and especially how we communicate with entrepreneurs.

It’s total bull shiitake. We need entrepreneurs as much, or more, as entrepreneurs need us. We need you to help us raise our next fund; we need you to pay for our lifestyles; and we need you to reinforce our delusions that we add value to companies and “make” kings.

3. “I can help you partner with Apple.” If I ever tell you this, just kick me in the nuts. I’ve been out of Apple for nine years, so I have few connections there. When Apple comes out with new stuff, I stand in line and pay full retail just like anyone else. When my computers break, I wait in line at the Genius Bar. 4. “It’s not the money.” While we’re on the topic of money, I tell this lie when asked to write, speak, or consult for low fees. But it is the money. I have four children and a wife, and I hate to travel away from them. If a for-profit organization wants me, it has to pay. I don’t care how prestigious the event is or what beautiful resort it’s in (all I’m going to do is answer email from my room and speak anyway), I simply won’t do it. I’m more of a pushover for not-for-profits; the test in these cases is whether the organization is changing the world, and I believe I have a moral obligation to help out.

As of now Canva has no direct competitors in the market.

guy’s TIPS 1.The best way to start a company is to make meaning. If you focus on making meaning, you will make money. There are three ways to make meaning. i) Increase the quality of life. ii) Right a wrong iii) Prevent the end of

something good 2.Make a Mantra. A mantra is a 3 of 4 word code for your employees to live by. Here are some good examples: i) Wendy’s: “Healthy fast food” ii) FedEx: “Peace of mind” iii) Target: “Democratize Design” 3.Hire infected people! i) They should love your

product and not just have

education and experience ii) Hire better than yourself, A

players hire A+ players

4.Niche Thyself. Make sure you have the ability to create a product or service that is unique and that it offers a value to your customers.

5.Follow the 10/20/30 Rule i) Your presentations should

have 10 slides ii) Title, problem, solution,

business model, underlying

magic, marketing and sales,

competition, team,

projections, status

and time-line iii) Those 10 slides should be

given in 20 minutes iv) The smallest font size you

should use is a 30 point 6.Don’t let the bozos grind you down. Ignore the naysayers and don’t let anyone dishearten you.

To learn more about GUY and get his awesome blogs, go to guykawasaki.com/

WHY CANVA CHANGES THE GAME FOR YOUR BUSINESS DEsign NEEDS! Something you need to know about CANVA, one of the hottest design start-ups boasting Guy Kawasaki as it’s Chief Evangelist …..it is run by a woman. YAY Melanie Perkins!

If you have not heard of CANVA yet or used it, you have to be living under a rock.

Canva is an online design tool that allows anyone to become a designer with no training whatsoever ( unlike Adobe InDesign and Photoshop) CANVA is basically free, except for the $1 fee if ou use their gallery of images. CANVA for Work, their newest platform has a fee but is allows you to do the following that is like winning the lottery for many companies: • Save your brand colors, logos and fonts • Resize your designs so they do not look distorted • Save and create your own brand templates accessible to your team • Organize your images into folders and share with your teams Canva has unlimited uses but it is great for creating a document, presentation, blog graphic, Facebook cover, social media image, card, photo collage, poster, invitation, or business card.

APPS FOR SOCIAL GOOD ARE WE READY FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS?

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hat would happen if international computer science professors, entrepreneurs technology professionals, and venture capitalists lead teams of talented computer science and business students/start-ups from the Caribbean in developing innovative mobile and web applications relevant to diverse fields to solve social issues in health and disaster response, education gamification, culture preservation, government transparency etc?

This is happening all over the world for a few years now through structured private and public sector supporter Hackathons, but why not in the Caribbean?

Think about it, next year, there will be over 1.91 billion smartphone users across the globe, a figure that will increase another 12.6% to near 2.16 billion in 2016. And in the Caribbean region, local provider Digicel says the number of its subscribers who use

smartphones surpassed one million last December, reflecting a 20 per cent growth during the last three months of 2014 alone. What are we waiting for one has to wonder?

Even Google has started penalizing our traditional businesses. They explained earlier this year: “Starting April 21, 2015, we will be expanding our use of mobilefriendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices. If your site isn't fully optimized for mobile devices, you will likely see a hit to your ranking on mobile searches.�

Social media and technology hold a unique position when it comes to shaping sustainable solutions for the future or our planet. As mobile continues its rapid run toward global adoption, more people will

HACKATHON THAT RECENTLY TOOK PLACE IN JAMAICA

access the internet solely through mobile devices. In fact as of 2015 more people did access the internet via their phones vs. their desktops.

Mobile phones are even replacing paper money. A plan to cut cash out of shopping could see Denmark become the first country to ditch notes and coins altogether. The Danish government has proposed that most stores could dump their cash registers from January 2016.

In the region we continue to talk about Innovation as we spend millions on dollars to go up a point or two on the Innovation Index.

However if you take a closer look, there is virtually no focused activity happening in the mobile APP sector in the region and this is where the rest of the world is operating.

So one has to wonder, what exactly are we waiting on? And if Moore’s Law i.e. everything speeds up faster with every passing year, is correct, would we ever really be able to catch up?

Be specific. What is the problem you are solving and who is your audience? You cannot build a solution to a problem you do not understand. Focus is king!

And remember if your solution is everything to everybody, you are nothing to nobody!

Spend as little as possible up front.

Think rapid prototyping. Don’t spend too much time waiting to build the perfect solution. You need to get thing in the hands of users fast to test and iterate before you can spend money on a relevant solutions. Your users work out the kinks for use but you have to get something in their hands fast.

Money is never the issue. If you need lots of funding top get a prototype together, it is a warning sign your solution is probably overly complex. The more design, coding, building, testing and outreach you can do yourself, the

YOUr CHECKLIST FOR DEVELOPING APPS FOR SOCIAL GOOD

better. And if you only have an idea, go make friends with people who code and bring them on board as co-founders.

easier to equip them with tools to do the job than it will ever be for you to learn everything they know.

Make it affordable. Social mobile solutions need to be affordable, ideally free.

Promote your solution like crazy.

Reach out to people working in the same technology circles as you, post messages on relevant blogs, blog about it yourself, build a project website, try and brand your solution, and make use of social networking tools such as Twitter and Facebook. Although your target users may not be present, many are likely to be fairly resourceful, and the more people talking about your solution the more likely news is to filter down to them.

Go grassroots. Local NGOs (or users) are the best at what they do.

They already have local knowledge, local context, local language and local trust among local communities. Remember that it’s unlikely you will ever understand the problem as much as they do, and that it’s always going to be

Build Community. Encourage users to join and share experiences, and to help each other. Don’t be afraid to reach out for additional information, and work hard to keep it active, engaging and growing.

Communities are notoriously hard to build, but when they work they’re worth it

Do not get attached to the outcomes. Make sure you allow for changing circumstances based on feedback. Don’t set out with too many fixed parameters if you can help it. Build an application that is flexible enough to allow users, whoever and wherever they may be, to plant their own personalities on it.

A

ccording to the Lumination challenge website, a luminary is someone who inspires others. Backed by the challenge’s grants ranging from $75,000.00 to $200,000 and many additional resources, these change makers will undoubtedly be making their name felt in this country in the near future.

The challenge was developed by the Council for Competitiveness and Innovation (CCI), an advisory board of the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development.

It was created with the aim of bringing together inspired, passionate dreamers and thinkers and encouraging them to push boundaries, to think beyond accepted norms and find solutions to some of our society’s most pressing issues.

The response to the initiative reaped 11 successful grant awardees from the 144 completed applications.

This first line up of awardees is an impressive example of the ideas which our society’s change makers can produce such as: Eco-Aware TT Developed by Quinten Questel and Kaydine Bissoon’s, this mobile application is meant to act as a forum for citizens to connect on ideas of bio-diversity and conservation.

Kode Developed by Kervon Ryan’s, Kode teaches young people web development and challenges their acquired skills through a tournament.

Safe Jewelry Developed by Christian Chandler’s, Safe Jewelry combines different mediums with his wearable accessories that work in conjunction with a mobile application which helps detect if a person has had too much to drink or is under the influence of certain drugs.

Tradition Net Technologies (TNT) Developed by Krishendaye Rampersad, TnT was devised to bring youths to closer understanding and interactions with their families and communities by using methods to promote understanding and networking through their family, their communities and society in general.

TNT’S FIRST SOCIAL INNOVATION COMPETITION

A Space of Her/His Own (SOHO) Developed by Leslie-Ann Toney’s taps into our culture by creating an accessible, community-based support system that emphasizes emotional wellness strategies combined with investment in our country’s integral art form, mas. Toney believes that partaking in the challenge has positively impacted her work. “The Lumination Challenge helped me with fine tuning my existing plans for combining mas making with emotional health and when funding is granted, will help provide crucial funds to get the project off the ground,” she says.

The Blind Way Froward Marlon Parieaho’s project The Blind Way Forward is a great example of testing limits. Parieaho has been blind for several years, and he has not let that slow him down. “There’s a lot going for you even though you are blind,” he says explaining how he enjoys many activities like surfing the internet, parasailing, zip lining, movies and other pursuits which people often think is not an option for blind people. Parieaho is not content with living his own life fully; he wants to help others realize that being blind is not a “diagnosis of doom”.

Parieaho’s project involves developing a kit to help blind people adjust to their lives and recognize their potential. He is working with his group on a DVD with audio description which will have information which can serve as a kind of orientation to the life of the vision impaired for those

who are blind and their families.

Parieaho hopes to cut the average time for learning to cope with blindness from three to four years to three to four months.

With such inventive programmes like these in the works, it is no wonder the council is very proud of this year’s crop of awardees.

THE ART OF GIVING

FEEDBACK

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eedback can be very uncomfortable for the person giving it and also for the person receiving it. However a business leader or management cannot

properly lead without an open flow of feedback that is “real”.

Feedback hurts feelings, it can be taken the wrong way and very often it only involves “ what you are doing wrong”. The worst part about feedback is you never know how the person receiving it would respond. Many of us have come across the “yes” bosses who only surround themselves with people who give them positive feedback or else and each of us known the person in our company who gets defensive and argumentative the minute you try to give them some constructive feedback.

Feedback however is essential to growth. It is critical for having deep successful relationship in life and work. So is there a way to do it

right?

Here are some questions as a Leader of an organization to keep asking your teams in order to get true feedback you can use: 1.Where are you going? – Explain where the company is going and then ask the person you are seeking feedback from the same question. It aligns behaviors and mindsets or it shows you if they are not aligned.

2.What is going well? – Most of us are guilty of only providing feedback when things go wrong so this is a great way for your teams to brag and tell you what is going well and get praised.

3.Where can we improve?- Most of the times someone in your company has a better idea how to solve issues than you. You just never asked for help. So get in the habit of asking “If you were your own coach, what would you suggest for yourself?” The ideas will amaze you.

4.How can I help you? – Offering help nudges people to ask for help when they need it. This only adds value to the company.

5.How can I be more effective?This position of vulnerability is not easy for a leader. But by asking for feedback as a leader and focusing on your own improvement, encourages everyone to do the same.

OUR TOP 5 BOOKS FOR IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Win US$1,000,000 L

ast October, 2014, the Hult Prize sent a representative to Trinidad at the Lok Jack Graduate Business School, during our Hive workshops, to educate local University students about participating in the Hult Prize.

There are very few applicants coming out of Caribbean Universities not only in the Hult Prize competition but all major global competitions in the social innovation area. Why is this?

Sadly after interviewing several Universities and talking to hundreds of students their answers ranged from “ We did not know!” to “ We do not have time given all the work we have to do to enter competition!” to “ We would never win something like that!” The educators themselves responded “ We do not have resources for things like this” to “We are already doing so much” to “ I had no clue there were these competitions we could enter!”

Will our Caribbean youths, ever be able to catch up with the ingenuity and innovation

coming from youth around the world in the world we live in today?

According to the law of averages, we can only ever be the average of the people we surround ourselves with. Based on this and the fact our youth are not on anyone’s radar as being out there presenting their ideas and businesses on global platforms, getting exposed to new experiences, being influenced by the game changers of tomorrow, embracing the possibilities of partnership with other youth all over the world, how do we truly move ahead?

There is tremendous benefit in entering global student competitions. With the Hult prize students spend six weeks at the Cambridge campus of the Hult International Business School honing their business models and pitches for the final round, which will he held in New York next month during the Clinton global initiative. A panel of judges led by former President Bill Clinton always selects the winner.

while solving the world’s toughest challenges

STEP BY STEP GUIDE FOR COMPETING IN THE HULT PRIZE At the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting every September, President Bill Clinton asks college and university teams to build sustainable and scalable social enterprises to address a topic he releases. The topic he will be choosing a winner on this month is: early childhood education in urban slums and beyond.

1

Form a team of 3-5 students from your university and submit an application to participate at any of the five regional finals locations held in: Boston, San Francisco, London, Dubai and Shanghai. The timelines are on the website and it outlines submission deadlines, finalist announcements and key event dates. Your campus may also be hosting a local edition of the Hult Prize, where each winning team has the opportunity to bypass the application round.

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Regional Finals are normally held around March of the following year ( so in this case March 2016) . Approximately 50-60 teams per region, will move on to present their innovative start-up ideas to an executive jury made up of regional

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CEOs, Non-Profit leaders and Social Entrepreneurs. A regional champion will be selected live at the conclusion of the event and will receive a one year membership into the Clinton Global Initiative and an opportunity to spend the summer at the Hult Prize Accelerator - an innovative incubator for social enterprise.

Following the conclusion of your time working in the Hult Prize Accelerator, you will attend CGI's annual meeting in September. Within the meeting agenda, President Bill Clinton will host the Hult Prize Global Finals where regional champions will pitch their start-ups in-front of a world-class audience, including Mohammad Yunus, who along with other notable global leaders will select and award the winning team the Hult Prize, along with USD1 million in start-up

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capital.

Another similar competition to win $1,000,000 is The Venture developed by Chivas Regal. Yes a global player in the alcohol industry commissioned a report exploring the growing relevance of social entrepreneurship around the world and then acted on it.

Surprised?

Why should you be. We all know for years now companies have been throwing away millions of dollars in corporate social marketing and not solving any pressing issues in their own communities much less globally. Yet many do the same thing expecting a different result. Chivas Regal decided to so something different.

Christine Souffrant one of the Venture finalists (and our favorite to win) , developed an Etsy type platform for street vendors.

Chrstine came to Trinidad to talk to

budding Social Entrepreneurs two times in the last year alone.

Even though Christine did not win, the Venture experience exposed her start-up to a worldwide audience, allowed her to make connections she would have never dreamed off and gave her access to training and mentorship from the best of the best.

Here’s a look at the other Venture Finalists: Arthesis creates beautiful prosthetic covers for leg amputees who want to express themselves boldly and creatively. It allows users to change their cover as easily as changing clothes and depending on their situation they are in.

Diamond Cab is the first ever barrier-free taxi service in Hong Kong. Previously, elderly and

disabled people with limited mobility had little choice but to take a potentially unsafe illegal van as a ‘taxi’.

Conuco Solar builds and operates a solar farm in the e Dominican Republic. Many people don’t have the space at their home or place of business to have their own solar panels installed. Their service will ensure that anyone can still have access to clean, renewable energy by essentially renting space at our solar farm, rather than having to set up their panels at home or their place of business where space may be limited. Users pay a simple monthly fee for the maintenance of their panels and the rental of the land.

Some Tips on hiring virtually

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Hiring virtually your business needs

his is the first issue of Hive magazine being done by a designer out of Nairobi, Kenya.

What do you think? A designer we are working with for the first time did the entire thing in one week. Pretty cool right!

Let’s get real, finding reliable talented and cost effective labor is not easy in the Caribbean.

Particularly if you are looking to only work with folks who autograph their work with excellence.

I think this is hard anywhere in the world so accessing the best who take pride in their work in one click is key.

We use the platform “people-per-hour” to build our websites (which are really complicated with back end courses you can take on-line etc.).

Our developer out of Pakistan is amazing. We have a University student out of Italy right now translating a book for us. Our video animation earlier this year also came out of Pakistan.

Virtual staffers and subcontractors are not for everyone but it is important to know they are out there and try them. You are in for a real surprise if you do it right.

The best thing we found about PeoplePerHour compared to other freelancing sites is quality leads. We’re talking about a UK-based business with a large following of online workers in the digital, media and creative industries that are willing to charge higher prices because their customers demand higher quality. The other big plus of PeoplePerHour is that payment for all contracts is held in Escrow – an important feature if you’re familiar with the pitfalls of making contracts online.

Some other great “for hire” platforms out there are Weworkremotely, Problogger, Flexjobs, Workingnomads, Odesk, Elance, Guru, Freelancer and GeeksPerHr.com. We encourage you to do your homework and find the one that works for you. We certainly found ours!!!

1. Always look at customer reviews and only hire the ones who have recent reviews and their rating is high. This does not mea they cost more. It just means they are accountable and get the job done.

2. Do not be afraid to ask for custom samples.

We did in selection our Hive designer. A portfolio is not always representative of their work so do not be afraid to be reasonable and ask for samples especially when it comes to design work.

3. Use sites that hold funds in escrow. You literally have a safety net since they will not release funds until you are happy with the work.

4. Be very specific in your job postings about what you expect and deadline delivery.

5. If you see a job is not going well, stop and find someone else immediately.

6. Do not hesitate to get on a skype call if you are having issues communicating 7. Do not hire and/or make payments outside the platform. The platform monitors that everyone is in their rightful places performing.

8. Use cloud storage to store all your work 9. Ask for suggestions when you are not sure what you want.

10. Set up a schedule where you check in with each other on the status of the work.

AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD FAILURE

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recently met up with Rahul D’Souza of Zaya as a Judge for the World Youth Summit Awards for APPS for Social Good. Zaya was a worthy finalist coming out of India. What this social enterprise is doing impressed me given the solution it can provide to developing countries, which are still stuck in the failed one laptop per child syndrome. While gifting a computer to a child who does not have one has it’s merits, provided they also are given internet access and proper training in basic programs, these gifts of computer are often un-monitored, not integrated in classroom learning and is being used primarily to play games.

Something different needs to be done and Zaya may just be a solution. Here is my interview with Zaya.

Q. What would you say are the three problems Zaya solves in integrating technology into traditional classroom learning?

A. Zaya solves the problem of Access, Efficacy and Cost in bringing world class technology

ZAYA: A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE BRINGING TECHNOLOGY TO CLASSROOMS THE RIGHT WAY A piece from the Editor enabled learning to a classroom.

Access :We solve the access bit by providing the ClassCloud device which is the portable, battery operated WiFi device - "Apple TV" for Classrooms and allows users with "any" device to connect to it over wiFi and start learning. In a more developed world classroom, we call this managed WiFi but zaya offers a Plug-n-play solution for this which anybody can operate and use without training.

Efficacy: Build into the ClassCloud and online,

we provide an adaptive learning platform for students through which they can learn from different types of digital content, tests, practices and games. Since the platform is constantly tracking their progress, it also provides the right piece of content at the right time to the student and hence giving them a 1-1 tutoring experience. This makes the system very effective in schools around the world where there are shortages of teachers or good quality teachers.

Cost: The cost of the entire zaya system roughly comes down to $1/child/month which includes, infrastructure, WiFi, content and platform. This is very cost effective and saves schools a lot of setup time and costs.

Q. Share with me a success story with real impacts/outcomes coming out of a classroom so far A: We have detailed case studies, which shares the successes. We can provide them to anyone. (I was provided with a long case study that basically shows overall enhanced grades as a result of the Zaya e-learning. It also documented carefully all the issues the school faced in getting the system running) Q. How is Zaya bridging the gap between teacher lack of training in technology and students keen interest to have technology in their classroom learning experience.

A: Well our model is based on a "facilitator driven student centric classroom" where students walk in, pick up technology and start learning at their own pace and the teacher has to work with students to finish their tasks on technology. The students who are weak get special attention only for those topics from the teacher. This allows us to reduce the amount the teacher training required for teachers and focus more on students, while teachers use the technology for collecting data on student progress and taking necessary action on it.

Q. How was being a finalist in WSA helped Zaya and what other awards have you won that has been helpful?

A: Zaya won the Social Venture Challenge Asia Award in 2014 as the top education startup. This gave us both seed money to build out our product and test it out.

Q. Why would Zaya be chosen for

classroom/youth jail etc. learning vs. an open internet system?

A: At Zaya we love the fact that everyone can access the open internet. However there are certain use-cases of digital learning where the open internet is not needed as most of the content is curated. In such cases, Zaya's system in jails would allow youth and adults to learn from resources that they would not have access to fostering professional growth.

PROFILE OF AN ARTIST “ACHING TO BE” ANDREW FITT Andrew J Fitt’s pieces are not typical Caribbean art according to the experts. To my untrained eye, some of the works on his website contain some familiar images within abstract backgrounds in limited but vibrant colours. Some of his pieces have a futuristic feel to them, and with themes like ice

skating, geishas and archery, his work is not what might immediately come to mind when you think of Caribbean art. This is perfectly in keeping with Andrew himself who is certainly not the typical Caribbean artist.

As stated in his biography, “Aching To Be” Andrew barely managed to survive his entrance into this world. He was born with cerebral palsy and clung to life because of the perseverance of his parents in his early years in St. Lucia. After a time of great anxiety, he was out of danger and free to make his mark on the world. He discovered his passion for art and worked at his craft, studying at the International Fine Arts College (IFAC) in Miami. He has gone on to produce compositions which have clearly impressed the art community. He has been exhibiting in Trinidad since 2001, and his work has appeared at the Art Fusion Gallery in Miami.

As we sit down for an interview at Dr!nk, Lounge Bistro, I ask him about his choice of subjects. “I don’t set out to have a theme or an ulterior motive,” he informs me. “I’m not saying I’ll always be like that. That’s what I’m like now.” Andrew explains that he does not want to be pigeon holed or categorized. “I don’t like to be confined,” he says. His work truly reflects that with the diversity of images in his portfolio.

Andrew’s methods don’t fit with the stereotypical picture of the artist with paint and paint brush either. He studied 3D Animation in Miami but realized that he was drawn to graphic and visual art.

“I discovered Corel Painter while at IFAC,” he says in the biography on his website. “It enabled me to create my artwork on my terms and allowed me to work with a diverse array of traditional media through digital means. It is an application that has infinite possibilities that have let me grow as an artist and given me the opportunity to

develop my skill over the years.”

When this dedicated artist told his life story to a publisher, she suggested he share his account with others, and the result is his biography which details his incredible story of being near death and achieving life instead. Andrew’s life has continued to mirror his situation shortly after his birth: several amazing achievements made in the face of difficult obstacles.

From his own experience and the experiences of those around him, he is very aware of the difficult challenges that exist for people with disabilities in the Caribbean. The graphic design and art class Andrew taught for a year at the Princess Elizabeth home ended because of issues.

He tried to encourage one of the most promising students to keep working, but the student lived too far away to take advantage of the available resources.

Andrew’s recently released book Andrew observes that he believes that it is almost impossible for someone to live on the current disability grant in Trinidad.

Explaining that people with disabilities need a career, he points out that just employing the disabled is not enough. “As long as they can prove themselves,” he explains, “let them move up if they can. Don’t let them stick at one level forever or at one salary a month forever.”

When I ask him for advice for artists of all kinds in Trinidad, he states, “You have to practice your art all the time.” He himself has put many hours into his creations, often working far into the night. His wish for artists in this country is that they should collaborate more with other artists. He envisions a forum where different artists can meet on a regular basis and talk about art.

With artists like Andrew to inspire them, clearly this would have a very positive affect on artists in this country.

SOCIAL MARKETING IS NOT SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

S Getting to the Heart of Changing Behaviors for Good

ocial marketing started in the 70’s and has been one of the most popular tools for creating positive social change ever since.

The most successful campaigns are forever part of our collective vocabulary, such as “This is Your Brain on Drugs.� The simplicity of the campaigns combined with their innovative approach to long-term problems in society is what makes them so impactful and meaningful.

Social marketing is not to be confused with social media marketing. Social marketing can use social media as one of its tools, and indeed most campaign these days do, but not all social media marketing is social marketing.

Social marketing is defined as marketing that seeks to develop and integrate marketing concepts with other approaches to influence behaviors that benefit individuals and communities for the greater social good. This kind of marketing is arguably more important today than it ever was, being facilitated greatly by the ubiquity of social

media and high rates of Internet penetration. Companies are increasingly including social marketing strategies into their communications scheme, educating the end market not only on their product but also on the social issues the company is trying to address. Patagonia focuses on environmental friendliness of its products; at the same time educating the consumer about the processes that go into the production of their garments, encouraging them to conserve energy in all walks of life. Toms shoes are not just the staple of an urban hippy, they also educate the general public about the health implications of not having adequate footwear.

Social media is one of the easiest, most accessible tools companies have on their disposal to create successful social marketing campaigns. Very soon the Caribbean consumer will increasingly insist that the companies go beyond their

core business operations and play a meaningful role in their communities and social marketing is a very efficient, inexpensive and honest way to connect with that consumer. Companies should foster their culture and their values and build on that to ensure that their communication is seen as genuine and straightforward, contributing to the fabric of society by creating positive behavior patterns.

Creating a corporate culture that is conducive of such efforts is a top-to-bottom priority, with every level of the company having to understand and work towards the same goal. For companies working in the Caribbean, some of the most obvious areas for social marketing activates could be crime reduction, alcoholism, domestic violence and youth empowerment.

Changing the behaviors of end consumers is not just a pleasant thing to do; it also makes business sense. It allows social enterprise and for-purpose businesses reach more and more consumers who are now looking for socially responsible products. Those consumers are usually more than ready to pay a premium price for a product that matches their high expectations. Reports how that consumers are willing to pay more for a product or a service that tackles one of the issues they feel strongly about or is environmentally friendly.

The modern consumer is on line and not shy about sharing his or her experiences with their peers.

For every bad review your company gets, you will need 12 positive ones to minimize the negative effects.

Making sure your social marketing is trustworthy and relevant minimizes the need for damage control when it might be too late.

As of today we cannot think off a for profit socially conscious company in Trinidad and Tobago doing business unusual but we hoe to see that change in the near future.

CONT’S FROM PAGE 10

S

ince the group began its journey, their impact on their environment has been felt.

The reduction of the slaughter of the leather back turtles in the area has dramatically decreased. They also gather valuable, accurate and consistent data on the numbers of the turtles nesting on the beach.

The organization has also brought sustainable employment to the area. For example, tours are offered and visitors can experience turtle watching and turtle tagging.

They can also go kayaking on the Salybia River or experience the waterfalls and gorges of Mermaid Pool. A natural craft and jewelry programme allows residents to produce beautiful pieces from materials found in the area. The skills participants learn help them with maintainable livelihoods while also encouraging people to keep the area clean as they pick up useful materials.

The efforts of the community are a huge and vital component to the progress and development of this organization. The programme is run by residents, and their trained and experienced tour guides come from the area. Recently on their Facebook page, they announced that community members were going to clean up the Sargassum seaweed that has unexpectedly been piling up on Trinidad’s shores, an example of their commitment to their environment and their dedicated, hands-on approach.

“The community has a vested interest in protecting its unique natural resource - the leatherback turtle,” they posted. “As such, this

activity is aimed at providing adult turtles with easier access to nests.

Additionally it will increase the chances of hatchlings making it out to sea safely.”

Clearly, the perseverance and devotion of this amazing community is truly vital for the success of this project. As Founding Member and Managing Director of Nature Seekers, Dennis Sammy explains, “The issue of empowerment of community is what makes community develop.

Any project that doesn’t include empowerment is never going to get anywhere.”

As with any such group, there have been challenges. “I think the biggest challenge for this organization is the ability to change with the opportunities,” said Sammy. Despite this difficulty, they have been able to facilitate change, and they will continue to do this with each other’s

support and some assistance from others. For example, GEF SGP has contributed toward Nature Seekers’ development. “GEF really brings to the forefront among the stakeholders we use and interact with,” Sammy explains. He adds that their involvement with GEF helps to build the awareness of the organization’s work. “It’s opening up other opportunities for other projects. Livelihood opportunities.

These livelihood opportunities can be explored like micro financing and further grant projects.”

Besides the outside support, it is the determination of the community members which continues to propel them forward.

Sammy believes, “The growth of the organization is growth of people.” Progress is happening, despite the difficulties that come with change, and there are plans in the works for more. “We are trying to initiate a wider sea turtle

Communities Changing the World

A look at some of the organizations featured at UNDP Envirominds Knowledge Fair

Ivy Gordon, Company Secretary and Financial Controller, Jeffrey Town Farmers, Jamaica

project, reducing the incidental cache of turtles in nets. We are working toward getting it.” As with every good adventure, they also have a goal in mind. “We want to be the most impactful organization in the Caribbean region,” says Sammy. “Conservation. Meaningful conservation impact. You have to grow nationally.”

If you want to find an example of a true community, you would not be too wrong in taking a closer look at Jeffrey Town in the North Eastern side of Jamaica in St. Mary. Founded in 1991, the Jeffrey Town Farmers Association was first established to help develop the quality of life of the community, starting with efforts to ensure that all residents had access to water and to work at minimizing the destruction that is caused by severe weather.

Since then they have grown into a model of a populace working as a unit to better the lives of the residents through careful planning and sustainable development. The

group is run solely by volunteers and their work is characterized by self-reliance and resilience Some of the projects which the group has implemented include the Jeffrey Town Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction Project funded by the Caribbean Development Bank. This involved fitting several homes with rain water harvesting equipment, planting trees on the road side, building 10 check dams to slow down the flow of rain water, and six environmental radio programmes to be commissioned and aired on the community radio station Jet FM. The Canada Caribbean Disaster Risk Management Fund sponsored the Mitigation of the Adverse Effects of the Extreme Hydro-metrological Events project. The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme has helped the programme with funding twice. In 2008, they helped with the cost of land degradation reduction measures. In 2011, they

helped finance alternative energy solutions.

The association continues to move forward and make plans for the future, always striving to garner financial resources for their developmental activities. “We are at the implementation stage of a $650,000 USD project funded by the Caribbean Development Bank: The Jeffrey Town Integrated Disaster Risk Reduction Project.

This is replication and scaling up of all activities previously supported by the small grants programme,” says Ivy Gordon, Company Secretary and Financial Controller. Despite the financial challenges, the group continues to strive to push the limits of what a community can achieve.

They have received many accolades so far as the world recognizes their achievements.

They have won the Michael Manley Award for Community Self Reliance twice for example. Recently, they were given the United Nations

Development Programme (UNDP) Equator Prize which recognizes best practice in community-based environmental conservation and sustainable livelihoods. They have been featured in the UNDP Equator Initiative Case Study Series so their work can be highlighted and serve as a successful model that might be duplicated by other community groups. Jeffrey Town is showing the world what a small populace can achieve and will continue to achieve.

“We have the ideas, the talent and the initiative,” observes Gordon. They also have the courage to think big. “Our wish list is long, a tractor for our farmers and a chilled storage facility for our Irish potato seeds and the potatoes post-harvest, a new basic and primary school facility with suitable community recreational spaces too.” Considering how much this community has accomplished so far, there is a good chance that they will fulfill their dreams.

Making it PersonaL An Evening of Speed Dating at Chaud

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rom the moment Gerard Thomas of Rockit Events handed everyone in his audience a dollar, it was clear another exciting and remarkable Growing Leaders Foundation Speed Dating for Mentors event had begun.

Gerard gave the assembled group of mentors and mentees gathered at Chaud Café and Wine Bar in One Wood Brook Place a spirited pep talk on how to pitch ideas. He reminded everyone to have energy; to make their pitches personal and to tell a story. He told them that they needed to indicate what problem their idea is trying to solve

and explained that the “pitchers” would have to expand on their research, be clear on what they would define as success and clarify what they wanted to develop their plans. Some enthusiastic mentees were then invited to come forward and pitch their ideas and get some hands-on critique. The audience members were told to invest their dollars if they liked the pitch.

After this exciting beginning, the thirty mentees scattered among the tables of Chaud Café to get a chance to benefit from the wisdom of the assembled mentors one on one. The keen mentees had the opportunity to

pitch to several successful and experienced business owners in a variety of industries like Kerwyn Valley, CEO KCL Brokers, who is actively looking to invest in startups; Robert Tang Yuk, Managing Director and majority shareholder of TYE Manufacturing Co. Ltd; Miles Abraham, Digital Strategist and Executive Producer, Simply Intense and Allison Mair-Pascal who spent years in the advertising industry and who was also one of the hosts of the evening as she is the owner of Chaud Café and Wine Bar. The interactions throughout the evening were passionate and supportive, and many of the mentees expressed their approval of the experience. “I am glad to get back and support this initiative,” said Nigel Hernandez who attended the last speed dating event earlier this year. He observed that these sessions attract “a lot of talented people” and “a lot of brilliant people”. Andrew Julien, founder of Blue Earth Technology, who has been featured in a past issue of this magazine, saw the potential for opportunity before he even came to the event. “I felt like I was supposed to meet somebody,” he explained. Part of Andrew’s work with Blue Earth is to collect and recycle bottles. “I saw bottles on the wall,” he said pointing at the ones all around Chaud and divulged his revelation. Here was a prime opportunity to talk to the owners about buying any bottles they discarded. “The energy of the sessions was really high. The session on pitching really set the tone for the event,” observed Cara Singh of Zaboca who had come to do some networking.

Each of the mentees got to sit down with two different mentors and present on their ideas for a limited period of time. No doubt with such a wide variety of concepts to choose from the mentors had some tough choices to make, but in the end two finalists were chosen: Kenyan Champion and Ade Iniss-

King. The two finalists then had to compete with one final pitch before all assembled. Kenyan talked about his plan to start an ATV business. Off-road TT, he predicted, would provide a new form of entertainment in Trinidad. Trails would be built up in Chaguaramas which would allow participants to ride ATV vehicles much like they do on trails in Tobago. Ade presented on an application he is developing called HOOP. Reminding everyone how stressful it can be trying to get to a place like a restaurant in time and finding it closed, he revealed that HOOP would provide opening and closing times for a variety of local venues. The app could also be used to make announcements to users – information like if a vendor finds they need to change their closing time at short notice and wants to keep their customers informed.

Both Ade and Kenyan gave informative and animated pitches in the short time allotted. Once more the mentors were called upon to make a difficult decision, but in the end Ade emerged the winner.

When asked about their opinions on the sessions, the mentors were all very animated by the energy of the group and enthused by the passion of the burgeoning entrepreneurs. One of the mentors, Isabel Brash, Director, Cocobel described them as “really fresh, young and exciting”. Alison Mair-Pascal described the whole experience as fascinating and enlightening. She noted that the way to make money these days is to be an entrepreneur and not just through corporations. Kerwyn Valley noted, “People need to invest in themselves.” He advised change makers to have passion and focus.

The next Speed Dating for Mentos happens the last week of October. Be sure to check out the Growing Leaders Foundation’s website to register : growingleadersfoundation.com

Speed Dating for Mentors take 2

oPPorTUNiTY KNoCKs oN a disCarded door

Hive 2013 FlasH Forward

How a little local company is opening up global doors

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local company of three from Maracas has found a magical key that is currently opening up some rather mighty doors. That key is a profitable, ethical, award-winning ability to think outside the box.

Soular – a natural foods company is two years into creating a line of unique, local, 100% organic products, including: Sun Dried Bananas (Sucrier, Silk Fig, Gros Michel), Sun Dried Cacao Nibs (first locally produced in T&T), Cacique Brewing Cacao, Sun Dried Gluten Free Flour and Chocolate Bars. These attractively packaged products are engaging local and diaspora consumer bases with impressive frequency and then there’s the deal with Machel and the chocolate… little keys, mighty doors.

Michael Parris began Soular as Mr. Tallyman’s Sun Dried Bananas (top marks for an original name!). Inspired by his international travels, he returned home in September 2012 with the grand idea of sun-drying local fruits, beginning with bananas.

“I had also learned many new skills while travelling, one of which was the art of sun drying fruits, vegetables and fish, learned in Polynesia. I was excited to do the same home since we have an abundance of fruit that is seasonal, sun for most of the year, and it required very little to start. Besides the drying of mango for kutchela, I was not familiar with any other local techniques that did not rely on artificial inputs...”

The first process, utilizing discarded doors and windows as sun-drying equipment, produced a dried yet moist chewy bite-sized banana similar in texture and taste to a raisin or a date, but with its own sunny-sweet banana flavour. Parris then reached out to Gillian Goddard and Lasse Brodnicke – environmentalists and activists with substantial organic knowledge and retail experience. This collaboration streamlined production and inspired the trio to expand their product line to include cocoa and plantain. Thus Mr.Talleyman’s bananas became Soular – and the ground began breaking in many ways.

Way number one – unlike many imported fruit products, no illegal child labour is involved in the sourcing and packaging of any of these locally grown fruits. Utilising 100% organic local, produce provides ongoing work for local organic farmers, specifically for banana produce that may be discarded as not suitable for market, but is eminently suitable for sun-drying– way number two. This in turn facilitates the availability of

local organic produce to a local consumer base which is more aware than ever, of the negative physical and environmental impact of pesticides and chemicals – way number three. Way number four is really ground breaking for a contemporary company – adopting the ancient indigenous method of sun-drying. This utilization of solar power significantly reduces the company’s carbon footprint. But we’re not done yet. Way number five – the equipment is made from recycled materials and reclaimed lumber.

Ethical – check, organic – check, sustainable – check, environmentally responsible, check – profitable – big cheque!

It’s the perfect storm of ethical meets profitable as evidenced by notable industry accolades and awards including; Best Social Entrepreneurship Award in the Caribbean Innovation Challenge (Barbados2013), the Caribbean Eco Challenge- Environmental Innovation Award in the Hemispherical Talent & Innovation Challenge of the Americas (Guatemala 2013) and Ideas 2 Innovation (i2i) award, Trinidad and Tobago (2013).

In December 2013, Michael Parris, representing Soular participated in the inaugural pioneering social enterprise - HIVE. HIVE brings together Social Entrepreneurs from various sectors of society, facilitating a vital exchanging of global and local ideas, as well as delivering publicity and media coverage to projects that positively impact society.

“A lot more people became familiar with the brand,

the interest sort of shot up after that”” Parris was on the panel for Food Sustain-

ability and this brought him into contact with other innovative entrepreneurs, including Gourmet Chocolatier Isabel Brash creator of the highly successful line of Cocobel chocolates. It would prove to be the catalyst that would eventually result in Soular’s famous line of ‘Machel’ chocolates.

“Isabel was key in terms of us being able to make chocolate because she had opened up her workshop to us, invited us in, showed us the techniques…”

Those chocolates caught the eye of Lorraine O’ Connor, Management Consultant for the band Xtatic (among other titles) who gave Soca Star Machel Montano one of the Soular gift bags for Christmas. Elizabeth Montano, Machel’s Manager and mother, sampled one of the bars and knew that great things could happen. The happiest food alive met the happiest man alive and the rest, as they say is history. #HappyNation, otherwise known as the ‘Machel’ chocolates were presented to excited consumers at Machel Monday.

Made from organic award-winning Trinitario cacao beans sourced from the La Reunion Cocoa Estate, the bars are dairy-free (vegan). According to the label they are 60% dark chocolate, 100 per cent happiness.

“Since the chocolate was such a big hit and people loved the idea of having this gourmet bar sort of infused with the music, we decided to take the relationship further… we would work closely with communities, with farmers, building the industry to what it should be...”

As of June 2014, Soular has re-structured to support the ongoing expansion of the product line.

Goddard and Lasse, operating under the name Sun-Eaters handle the dark chocolate, cocoa powder and gluten free pancake mix. They will be ex-

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3

perimenting with new chocolate flavours and chocolate/ fruit combinations.

Soular continues the production of sundried bananas, cacao nibs, brewing cacao with new product lines in the works.

Parris is also exploring how to best use the sun-drying equipment in the rainy season, utilizing the Soular’s Ideas2 Innovation grant for research and development.

“I want Soular to be the name Trinidadian and Caribbean people automatically think of, when they think sustainable food…We didn’t do this with angel Investors or anything, we started with discarded windows and doors…”

Discarded doors not with-standing, for Soular, it is clear that the sky’s the limit…

Soular’s products are available at Malabar Farms Gourmet Shop, Happy Gourmet, Vanilla Bean, New Earth Organics, Gourmet Life, Shore Things, Artie’s Meats, and the M Store at the Piarco Airport. Select items can be found on the Chaud menu. _____________________________ For product and contact information, find soular on facebook https://www.facebook.com/eatsoular/info.

soCial imPaCT measUremeNT: wHy does it matter?

S

ocial entrepreneurs around the globe are united by their desire to do good. We are motivated by the desire to create a dent in this world, challenge the status quo and make a difference. But at one point, sooner or later, we all ask our selves one question: Am I really making a difference and if yes, how much of it?

Social enterprises are usually started by people with great ideas and even better intentions, but not necessarily by people with business skills and business mindsets. The purpose of social enterprises is to bridge the gap between the efficiency of the corporate sector and the intentions of the non-profit sector, but we as social entrepreneurs often times fail to deliver the “efficiency” part. Every business, big or small, will be able to tell you exactly how much they are selling, how may costumers they have and what their outreach it. While the challenges we face in the social enterprise field are a bit different, the principle remains the same: measuring matters and just because it is hard (and it is, trust me), does not mean you can or should avoid it.

The first step in conducting a social impact measurement is deciding the why. Why are you doing it? What is the purpose of the final report? Are you trying to attract investors or are you doing it to ensure you as an entrepreneur know what you are doing right and what could use some improvement. The difference between an internal and an external use of the social impact measurement report determines the level of rigor necessary to conduct the research and the analysis.

Once you have determined the why, you need to decide on the who. Who are your main stakeholders, what is their importance and what are the inputs they have in your project? Are they giving their time, money or something else to you? What are the outputs and the outcomes that follow?

Now comes the fun part. You might believe you have a great effect on the self-esteem of people you are working

with. You might be empowering the women in the community or reducing the level of loneliness of senior citizens. But how do you put a numeric value on those things?

Your potential investors might care about those things on a personal level, but chances are they will need more to give you money. There are various tools and frameworks out there that can help you do the analysis and find the most appropriate way for your case to quantify your impact.

There is a lot of truth in the statement “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it” and it is time that we as social entrepreneurs take on the challenge of measuring our social impact. It will give us the legitimacy and advance the efforts in making this world a better place.

The Sustainability Platform, a social impact consultancy based in Dubai, is happy to be a part of the Social Enterprise Hive. We will be giving workshops on social impact measurement and reviewing case studies of Social Enterprises applicable to the Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago at Hive 2014 in October.

ediTor’s note Let’s Go! Social Enterprise Hive, the Magazine, is something I dreamed up, with Melvina Hazard providing me some context, right after our Hive events last year.

So what will it be?

The Magazine will function as a virtual hive of connectivity among Caribbean practitioners, aspirants and beneficiaries of social enterprise; and organizations/companies around the world who share similar objectives and practices.

It will be a digital online magazine updated monthly and a published quarterly magazine (10 x 10) that will be released at our 2014 Hive in October. The next published issue will be released January 2015.

Through this exploration and exchange of experiences and information on ethical business practices the Magazine aims to: 1. Transform the traditional corporate worldview from focusing purely on dollar value towards one that fosters social value; while remaining successful and profitable.

2. Disrupt the donor dependent NGO sector to ensure they become sustainable.

Conversely, the Magazine aims to educate, inspire and guide. So join us, become a Pollinator and let’s create some BUZZ together!

Aadel Chin-Albert Art Director/Designer

Printed by: Guardian Media Limited

_________________________________ SallyAnn Della Casa Interim Editor

CoNTribUTors patti-aNNe ali has worked iN the arts aNd advertisiNg iNdustries for over tweNty years. she has edited aNd writteN for several puBlicatioNs iNcludiNg: c. ali’s stories aNd recipes from the egg lady, the great NatioNals of triNidad aNd toBago series (iaN ali 2011) aNd the gold Book, puBlished By haNsiB 2012.

dixie-aNN Belle is a writer with years of experieNce. she has a Bachelor’s degree iN commuNicatioNs with a focus oN advertisiNg aNd a master’s degree iN eNglish literature.

teNa pick is a social impact coNsultaNt passioNate aBout applyiNg her skills to help start ups iN the developiNg world. geNNy ghaNimeh pi slice Founder & ceo

followiNg her passioNs for the microfiNaNce & the oNliNe iNdustries, aNd after a lifealteriNg trek iN kilimaNjaro, geNNy fouNded pi slice iN march 2012 aNd Negotiated a partNership agreemeNt with microworld from the group plaNetfiNaNce to Build aNd admiNister the first microleNdiNg oNliNe platform iN the middle east aNd North africa (meNa).

Neala BhagwaNsiNgh is a diverse BusiNess maNager, freelaNce writer, photographer aNd voluNteer. she aspires to devote her time, eNergy aNd skills to orgaNisatioNs committed to improviNg commuNicatioN, productivity aNd quality of life By makiNg positive coNtriButioNs to the world.

iF YoU are iNTeresTed iN FraNCHisiNg, liCeNsiNg, adverTisiNg or wriTiNg, Please CoNTaCT:

info@socialenterprisehive.com

CaribbeaN arTisTs iN TraNsiT

I

magine a Caribbean region where creative people – artists, writers, performers etc. - have the freedom to develop and expand their areas of expertise. Envision them fostering their ideas into rewarding businesses and projects which are supported locally, regionally and internationally. Visualize Caribbean parents encouraging their children to enter creative fields and to explore their full potential. This is the kind of future which could arise from the efforts of Marielle Barrow and her team of creative thinkers who are working to help people be creative and reach their creative potential.

During a Skype conversation with me, this former Bishop Anstey High School student, who is currently pursuing a PhD in Cultural Studies, chatted with me about the great potential of Caribbean people in creative industries because of our enormous pool of talent. “We believe that a lot of the youth can be positive contributors to society and can lead our society in a different direction, but we have to give them that opportunity,” she explains.

She noted that often when young people’s talents do not fit into the more traditional molds society imposes, they do not have many other options. “If kids do not have linguistic or mathematical intelligence, they often don’t have much of a leg to stand on after that because there is nothing else provided for them.” Of course some people do find an outlet for their talents, but even then it is not often enough to make a viable living. “Even if they become a pannist or something like that,” says Marielle, “it’s not necessarily lucrative. It’s about creating an industry” Marielle’s projects are geared toward helping people to realize their creativity and to open the doors to discussion about how these talents can be developed. The concepts for these slowly evolved she says. Herself an artist and the child of an artist, she is familiar with the industry and its challenges. One day she took the place of a friend who couldn’t make it to a conference in Puerto Rico. She found herself doing interviews on “Location and ‘Caribbeanness’ ”, and the conversations she had proved to be fodder for the latest iteration of her entrepreneurial endeavours, “Caribbean in Transit”, a journal which provides a creative “meeting place” for Caribbean artists, scholars and audiences to share their thought provoking ideas and works within a community of cultural producers, students, scholars, activists and entrepreneurs. Four issues have already been published, each one brought to life by a team comprised of people across several countries.

Art based workshops are another format which Marielle and her team have put together. The festivals

they have organized have already been in more than one country and involve partnering with local groups to put on performances and have panel discussions which contribute to discussion on the development of Caribbean culture and the arts. The inaugural festival was held in conjunction with the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago. Another will take place in Washington D.C. in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank. The dialogue covers crucial topics like arts empowerment, HIV/Aids and bridging the gaps across communities as well as the Creative Industries.

Marielle hopes that the discussions generated through her projects will help develop “changemakers” in our Caribbean communities and that prospective artists will realize their talents. She mentions people who say things like, “I never thought I could do this.” “People told me I wasn’t good at art.” Marielle hopes that people will learn how to promote their talents and make them profitable.

She wants artists to also realize that they do not have to just confine themselves to the markets within their home countries. “They have a future outside of Trinidad and Tobago, but they have to create it,” she says.

The future editions of “Caribbean in Transit” and more festivals in more countries are part of the near future for Marielle’s group. When asked about their medium term goals, she explains that they hope to have a satellite school of entrepreneurship and the environment and three multi city festivals, not only across the region but further abroad as well. Their long term goal?

“We see ourselves as the CARICOM of the arts,” she explains. When I exclaim at her grand objective she affirms, “You got to be ambitious right? Who’s going to do it, if we don’t do it? You have to have a vision. You may not make the stars, but we’ll drop on trees.” With such dedicated and far sighted hopes for the creative future of the Caribbean, it seems very likely that this group will fly very high indeed and really make an impact in changing our Caribbean constellations.

loCal CloTHes For liTTle oNes iNsTill love oF CUlTUre “made in trinidad and tobago”

T

hink hard and try to remember the last time you sought out a product made on our native shores. “Our culture is inundated with imported products,” observes Jeunanne Alkins, creative director of Everything Slight Pepper. “I find that Trinidadians are historically more inclined to choose foreign goods over local, perhaps due to disappointment with quality in the past and/or lack of products that they find appealing.”

As an advocate of local creativity and local talent, Alkins has proven her commitment to investing in both of these with her award winning design studio. Unexpectedly she found another market which she felt needed a touch of local flair. “I worked on a client's children's storybook in 2009 which peaked my interest in design for children,” she explains. “In 2011, I became a new ‘aunty’. In searching for gifts for him, I noticed a lack of local-themed products for children, particularly ones that were educational but still as fun or engaging looking as the foreign counterparts.”

Alkins set about filling the gap she had discovered by creating whimsical locally inspired designs for children’s clothing and products. The images are simple and playful and call to mind familiar figures of childhood and the environment in Trinidad and Tobago: a dancing snow cone, a pair of happy coconut friends and little leatherback turtles adorn onesies and t-shirts for little ones.

Alkins believes that the designs foster a love of the culture and the environment in children, and she is already getting an increasingly favourable response for the line which is on sale online and at selected outlets. “The first audience to pay

particular attention to the brand was largely the expat market and people taking gifts overseas,” says Alkins.

“However more recurrently working cently, the buzz on the production amongst parents has of an animated been growing. In parfilm project set in ticular, we are excited to the Caribbean see growth in the numcalled ‘Bim & Bam: ber of local purchases The Adventure for baby showers and series’,” she birthdays. This is very explains. “Each encouraging for me as jeuNaNNe aNd her mom season revolves my core mission is to get around distinct themes locals wearing our designs and that have a broad scope for playing with our products.” adventure and fun and will appeal In true visionary fashion, Alkins is to the 3 to 6-year-old target market. not limiting herself to the children’s line.

This original series puts viewers right in She is exploring and planning for a larger the middle of the invigorating and fearbody of work which will positively influless kid action and promises to be fun, ence her young consumers. Like all good entertaining (even for adults!) and leaders, she has gathered together a talclever: a universal story with a vibrant, ented team to support her. She explains, colourful Caribbean feel.”

“The initial characters were done by me, Alkins is working to expand her projbut I have since brought on board work ect to achieve her larger goal of exwith professional illustrators, animators panding the minds of her young and writers.” consumers, and it looks like she has a Alkins believes she has the resources good chance at success. The ESPjr to achieve her ultimate goal: creating a child-safe Caribbean centric multimedia brand continues to receive recognition.

The American Chamber of Commerce brand. Already the website for the brand selected it for its 2014 T&T entreprewww.espjrisland.com allows parents to neur incubator programme. “We are shop and also offers a “playground” merging art, storytelling, and environwhere they can download fun activities mental awareness to make learning a like colouring pages for their children. more natural process. The ultimate goal Alkins explains, “I intend to continue is to lead to them contributing to a betbuilding the ESPjr content playground ter Caribbean,” explains Alkins. Hopefor parents and children to have a space fully with the help of thinkers and to shop, play, and download educational creatives like her, more and more peoCaribbean-themed activities together.” ple will respond to the phrase “Made in In addition, a book set and an animaTrinidad” with acceptance and pride. tion series are in the works. “I am also

gloBal coNtext

one woman who has proved social enterprises can be successful is Zeina abou chaaban – founder and owner of fashion label palestyle. the company’s main line is luxury handbags which are sold in high-end bouZeina and her brother who overseas designs. tiques in the uae and elsewhere in the region, employing palestinian refugees to help produce the items, and investing five per cent of its total sales into development projects in refugee camps.

Based in dubai’s motor city, the company has empowered more than 400 refugee women by using their traditional embroidery which is distributed with each and every one of the company’s bags. to read more go to: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bags-of-talentpalestyle-interview-544724.html

social eNterprise week team: teNa peck, fereshteh amarsy, rama chakaki aNd medea NoceNti

THe iNsPiraTioN beHiNd soCial eNTerPrise Hive a pow-wow with Fereshteh amarsy, the Founder of social enterprise week what is the story behind the creation of social enterprise week that kicked off in 2013?

Social Enterprise Week was created out of a need for likeminded people to meet and discuss existing opportunities and efforts in the sector.We originally wanted to host a film screening on a weeknight,as I was leading Community Cinema at the time,and gather the community around a dynamic conversation.This idea then ballooned into a weeklong event!

making use of existing resources is essential,we operate on these same principles.The team is a great group of equally-driven and skilled individuals who are keen to give back and I am very fortunate to have them on board.

what specific skills or experiences in your life up until that point prepared you to be able to host it?

In all honesty,I think the diverse experience I had before starting my own ventures was quite helpful.I worked in film and news production,at the UN,in an art gallery and I have been fortunate to have travelled quite a bit too.Of course,you’re never fully prepared and have to learn as you progress,so having lived in Dubai for some time before launching really helped in shaping the concept.

assuming you began with the end in mind, what was the "end" or "walkaway" you envisioned after hosting the first social enterprise week versus the second one this year?

The “end” was not and end of course as we wanted the event to live on.The aim was and continues to be to gather the community.This community already existed but was fragmented,so we achieved that mission in our first edition.Social Enterprise Week held in 2014 was meant to be a follow up event,to take stock of our progress,our gains and losses and most importantly where there was room for progress.This year we brought in speakers from around the world to weigh in on their experiences,which was an opportunity to learn but also to gauge our own efforts,etc.

what skill set did you look for in the team that worked with you and why?

Collaboration is at the core of what we do,without it we wouldn’t exist.Much like in the social enterprise sector,collaboration and

How do you choose your panel discussion topics?

I really take my time,discuss certain ideas with the team and colleagues I can trust.Of course,I look at the “hot trends” that we read about or see online.The goal is to

always make sure it is a locally relevant topic. what are the three biggest mistakes you have made so far hosting social enterprise week?

We could do a better job of reaching out beyond our own circles,to really shift the mindset around “business as usual”. what are your three "aHa" moments in hosting social enterprise week in 2013?

AHA 1 - yes,there is a need for such a gathering AHA 2 - there has to be something beyond the event (what that could be is a different question all together) AHA 3 - work on better presence (we did a rebrand!)

How are you measuring the impact of social enterprise week held in 2013?

That depends on what the goal is - we may want to know the quantity and diversity of attendees or the feedback on each day / activity. what will socent week look like 5 years down the road?

A global network of locally hosted events,each of which is a reference for individuals keen to set out into the sector.

what will be the legacy of social enterprise week if we had to do a look back in 2017?

To have inspired generations to think about: the role and impact of businesses, how to have a positive impact on communities and how to infuse locally relevant values into business in a practical way. why Feresteh to champion social enterprise and social enterprise week? ( any personal reasons this is so important to you? is it part of some bigger picture? etc. ) There is a very long version of the answer, but if I may summarize it into a lesson I have learnt: You’re never getting this time back, so make it count. And for me, this is one way that I can give back and grow along the way.

You know the experiences of social enterprise week in 2013 is what inspired Hive in TnT, how does that make you feel?

It feels great of course! We need to streamline our efforts now :)

the paNelists this year iNcluded Zeina abu Chabaan of palestyle aNd Garett awad, former director of retail marketiNg for toms.

social eNterprise week 2013 where social eNteprise hive fouNder Sallyann moderated oNe of the paNels.

bUzziNg I

f you spend a few minutes browsing through the galleries of Vended International’s website, you are immediately struck by the vivid artistic representations which glide before your eyes. Vibrant colors are everywhere as well as eye catching images which often capture Caribbean scenes and stories. Carefully crafted, handmade wooden ornaments are everywhere as well, and it is easy to imagine that an art enthusiast would find a lot to purchase on the site.

If you decide to buy something, not only will you be acquiring a unique and amazing piece of art, you will also be making a contribution to a growing social entrepreneurship programme which has a unique approach to reducing poverty in poor communities around the world.

cHristine souFFrant

Award winning Haitian-American dreamer and doer Christine Souffrant conceived of the project in its present form, but she allocates the genesis of the idea to her mother, a native of Haiti, Guelma Emile. “On December 11, 1998, my mother woke me up and told me that we were no longer going to sell Haitian artwork at the Sunrise High Way Flea Market,” Souffrant remembers. “Later on that day, she opened up for business at the Jamaica Coliseum Mall, on the first floor under booth number 137.” What followed was the development of a successful model which Souffrant was involved in for twelve years.

Guelma Emile had started her business by buying handcrafts from a poor street vendor in Port au Prince, Haiti.

Back in Manhattan, she laid out the items on a blanket and

sold out within a couple of hours. She spent the next ten years selling Haitian street art in local flea markets until she opened up the boutique shop. “Like the women before her, she was supporting her whole family on the sales of her street sales,” says Souffrant. “The only difference between Guelma and the pioneers before her was that her success supported her family and the families of eight other street vendors back in Port-au-Prince Haiti. By selling their crafts in New York, she provided a new market platform for their work and as such a sustained income stream.” The devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti unfortunately put a halt to the initiative at that point, but Souffrant was too deeply invested in the idea to let it be shaken apart by the debilitating national disaster.

“While packing my mother’s remaining merchandise in May of 2010,” she explains, “I reevaluated my goals and aspirations and realized that it was impossible to walk away from a dream that consumed me for the past 12 years.” Souffrant decided to re-work the idea. “So I went back to the drawing board and laid out my plans once again on paper. It was like previous work charts experiences before it, inspiring, and I spent the remaining part of my college years putting together business drafts for these ideas.” Vended International was the result of all this effort.

Souffrant bravely left her banking career behind to study for a master’s degree in Dubai and since then she has gathered together an impressive amount of awards and accolades. She has participated in internships in several countries and had experiences which helped her develop and mould her idea into an initiative that has the potential to transform the lives of millions of disadvantaged people around the world. She explains, “Over three billion people live in poverty or live on less than $2.50 a day, and over 80% of the world lives on less than $10 a day. For decades, global players have initiated projects to decrease the rate of poverty with no enduring success. We need practical solutions that incorporate the input of those in destitute poverty to see transformational progress.” Considering the fact that over two billion people use street vending to support themselves, Souffrant’s initiative has a unique opportunity to touch the lives of many people.

The amount of creative talent that can be found in so many impoverished areas ensures that Souffrant’s enterprise has a wealth of resources to access. The project is not the first to sell the work of artists in disadvantaged areas, but it is distinctive in that they are working to create a direct link between the artists and potential buyers.

The vendors are provided with an application that allows them to directly upload their items onto an online platform for global consumers to access. The goal is to support the vendors and offer assistance in rising above poverty with sales from a global consumer base and to assist them by providing mentorship and training in financial literacy. Souffrant explains, “Many of our female targets come from destitute environments that prohibits economic mobility and limit access to education. By providing both platforms, women can now alleviate themselves out of poverty and enhance the standard of living for their families.”

haitiaN street art Souffrant has clearly articulated goals for the social enterprise. She measures their success on how many women gain increased purchasing power and have the discretionary income to increase the standard of living for them and their families. Women have been proven to reinvest as much as 90% of their income back to their families which multiplies the potential impact of the project.

The next step is already being pushed into motion. World Cup football enthusiasts won’t be the only ones walking the streets of Brazil this year. A team from Vended International will also be bringing its business model to a street vending population of 2.5 million – one of the largest in the world. The pilot will run from June 1st to July 7th 2014 in Sao Paulo, Rio and will target 20 female street vendors. It will involve interacting with over 500 street vendors, selecting the 20 possible candidates and providing them with development seminars in subjects like math, reading and basic business. The group will also purchase their merchandise to take back for sale.

With such an ambitious, far reaching

christiNe iN BraZil oN a receNt scoutiNg trip/2014 project to her credit, it is easy to view Souffrant as a model social entrepreneur.

“I didn’t grow up saying that one day ‘I will become a social entrepreneur’ ”, observes Souffrant. “This title is a buzz phrase of recent years. Though I was unaware of the title, I was sure that I wanted to do something meaningful that supported marginalized women since it was dear to my heart.” Souffrant is

focused on being passionately engaged in her work, and the rest can take care of itself. “Leave a legacy and earn the title,” she proclaims.

To find out more about Vended International and to get involved, you can check out their site http://vendedinternational.wordpress.com/

emma forster-hiscock

welCome To T&T’s FasHioN FUTUre I

If you mention the Trinidad and Tobago fashion industry, several wellknown names immediately spring to mind. Names like Meiling, Claudia Pegus and Peter Elias for instance. In the near future though, it looks like the industry will soon be experiencing a new influx of fresh, innovative new designers - at least that’s what the team behind Racked – The Fashion Market is aiming to do, and fashion fans should keep a close eye on this group as they aim to showcase local talent, creativity and potential.

Racked is already making a name for itself in the industry. The inaugural event was recently held at The Verandah on Rust Street in St. Clair, giving local designers an opportunity to display and sell their works to the general public. The response from the participating entrepreneurs and their customers was tremendous. “The first event was incredible! Better than we could have imagined,” says Emma Hiscock, one of the co-founders behind this venture. “We're all incredibly passionate about products 100% designed and made in T&T and wanted to host the best of the best under one roof,” explains Ain Earle, one of the other co-founders. “There is so much talent in the growing Trinbagonian fashion industry, but it is often difficult for designers, retailers and customers to connect in a profitable and exciting way. There are very successful craft and food markets but nothing that is pure fashion! We wanted that to change.”

Earle of DISThink Management, Hiscock and Stephanie Rydle of Creative 25 organized the first Racked event. All three are creative people with a passion for the arts and confidence in the potential of the talent of

local designers. Earle was born in Trinidad and has been immersed in the local creative culture from an early age, and she is eager to support and promote it. Hiscock, a former wholesale manager for ethical fashion company People Tree, moved to Trinidad from London two years ago. She now works for Nature Seekers in the beach community of Matura as the coordinator of their craft programme, turning waste glass bottles into beads and jewellery.

Rydle - who created the branding and marketing material for Racked - does web design, graphic design and food photography projects through her digital marketing company.

The group drew on the fact that many potential consumers had expressed interest in learning about the emerging names in local fashion and were enthusiastic about supporting their work. Many designers responded to the call with keen interest. At the Racked event, several expressed delight in the fervent response from the public. The passionate interest of the consumers is not surprising as they had a wide array to choose from. The event featured jewellery designers who created wire work, leather and chain pieces, hand crafted bead work, recycled cloth and precious stones. Clothing designers showcased their swimwear, resort wear, tie dyed and hand painted pieces and afro centric work as well as floral designs and hand dyed silk fabric. The public was clearly very impressed. Some designers almost completed sold out their works.

Several familiar and emerging names headlined the event, among them Meiling’s Team M and Adrian Foster, who recently showed his resort wear at New Fashion Week in America. Event participants also got a taste

of Kaj Designs, a company which has recently opened their own flagship boutique at the Buccoo Integrated Facility in Tobago.

Consumers also got a firsthand look at work by Koko Karibi Designs, which like Kaj Designs, has been at Color Revolution, in St Maarten, an important event for Caribbean and international fashion.

With such a successful beginning, it is no wonder that these three entrepreneurs are excited about what comes next. Already the next Racked event has been announced and will be held at The Verandah on November 9, and that won’t be the only initiative which will come out of Racked. Emma Hiscock explains that their initial mission was to provide a marketing and retail platform for designers to connect with buyers for a profitable exchange, but clearly they don’t plan to stop there. She adds, “We’ve already discussed the idea of workshops for designers in finishing, marketing and business skills as well as a ‘design link’ concept, linking designers to local artisans and crafts people to aid in the design and marketability of locally produced craft.”

With such inventive ideas behind Racked, it looks like fashion buffs everywhere need to stay alert for their next steps, so they can be some of the first to glimpse the fashionable future of Trinidad and Tobago.

THe JamaiCaNs wHo are breaKiNg New groUNd For Us all "Not one of my seeds, shall sit in the sidewalk, and beg bread.”

-so jah seh, Bob marley

by Patti-anne ali

W

hen Marley’s So Jah Seh song was released off the legendary Natty Dread album in 1974, the four young Jamaican Entrepreneurs behind the Caribbean’s first digital Agricultural clearing house AgroCentral, were not even born yet. But like Marley’s shattering shake-up of the status quo, AgroCentral, is already causing seismic shifts locally, regionally and internationally.

Just what is a digital Agricultural clearing house anyway? Bob might view this as a Babylonian construct, given his adherence to all things natural and of the earth. But being a visionary himself, he might just have approved of an invention whose ultimate goal is to ensure that ‘no seed shall sit in the sidewalk and beg’ – human or plant.

The AgroCentral App digitally connects the dots, so those with produce, such as Farmers and Co-ops, and those in need of that produce, such as Restaurants etc., can find each other. It also provides crop-related information to Farmers, such as weather conditions and pest control. Essentially this App represents the very real potential for better job security and stronger food stability for the Agricultural and Food-related Industries and the thousands dependent on those Industries throughout the Caribbean and beyond – that’s music to everyone’s ears.

The story begins at Startup Weekend Jamaica (SWJA), in October 2013, where a team of young Jamaican entrepreneurs Jermaine Henry, Janice Mc Leod, and Adrian Thompson conceived of the ground-breaking App that would claim the top SWJA prize. The AgroCentral Company was formed in January of 2014 with Henry as CEO, McCleod as CMO, Adrian Thompson as Lead Developer, and Phillip Clarke as UX Engineer.

Since inception, the business has received notable recognition, including being

showcased at Kingston Beta (Jamaica's largest startup events), winning the InfoDev Investment Readiness Bootcamp, and being selected to be showcased at the Fin4AG conference in Nairobi Kenya Plug and Play Day (July 2014). The AgroCentral App is their first product. The App utilizes Web to SMS/SMS to Web technology. The two way SMS portal allows for efficient communication of market information between Farmer and Business. One of the capabilities of the platform, is the ability to synchronize with modules developed on this platform using APIs. Users can find the locations of Farmers, buyers, prevailing crop prices and data on diseases and weather conditions - all available in one place, in real time. Talk about shaking up the status quo – Bob might indeed have approved.

This kind of sophisticated technology may seem unusual in an Agricultural context, but Apps such as these are already being utilised successfully by Colombian and Rwandan coffee growers and Kenyan farmers.

In 2012, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia in collaboration with the global software company SAP, created a “coffee portal” application, using a SAP database backend, available on mobile. Additionally, the Federation bought tablets for the growers to use, so they could check information such as coffee prices and product sales in real time. Rwandan coffee growers are also benefitting from similar technology with a mobile App developed by WeatherSafe, a company out of the UK. With database technology based on European Space Agency tools, the App, comes in grower, co-op, and government versions. Kenyan Farmers are currently utilising an App that delivers information on crop pest control. The App known as Plantwise Factsheets Library, is run by Plantwise, CABI ― a worldwide not-forprofit organisation - in partnership with

White October, a UK-based web and mobile app organisation.

All three Apps provide cultivation and marketing information that is enabling Farmers and Businesses to make informed decisions, quicker and more effectively.

As a direct link between crop producers and Food Business in need of crops, the AgroCentral App eliminates the middle man thereby facilitating a happy economic medium for all, well… except for the middle man. No middle man means, no purchasing low and selling high, so Farmers do not have to undersell to sell and Businesses can escape the high profit margins. In addition to having direct access to produce, Buyers can also enjoy direct delivery, guaranteed consistency and prioritised delivery even during a shortage. Sellers can showcase produce to a wide market using the online marketplace, yield a higher profit margin on wholesale produce, minimise the amount of produce wastage and receive information on pests, diseases and disaster preparedness directly in their inbox.

AgroCentral also paves the way for new farmers, with the potential to make a tangible difference between survival and success. Considering the vast numbers of young, unemployed individuals in the Caribbean, this App shines a new light on the Agricultural sector as a technologically exciting and possibly profitable career choice. Thus the AgroCentral App is both an Agricultural communications portal and a social enterprise – the first of its kind in the Caribbean.

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Inherent in the sustainability of the Agricultural Industry, is the implication of stronger Food Security. The term Food Security may seem relevant only to those in the Agricultural and Food Industries, but really, it is relevant to anyone who eats – which would mean everyone. Basically, if we do not figure out how to secure a sustainable food supply, we face dire consequences. It literally becomes a matter of life and death.

The issue of Food Security took centre stage at the Food Panel Discussions at The Social Enterprise Hive 2013. The Hive brings together Social Entrepreneurs locally, regionally and internationally, facilitating the exchange and fertilisation of ideas for positive social impact.

Moderator, Lead Tree Shaker and Dreamer in Chief of Founding Leaders, the organistaion that gave birth to Hive, Sallyann DellaCasa, initiated discussions with some disturbing facts. Since 2008, Trinidad and Tobago’s food importation bill has been over 4billion dollars and it is increasing annually. What are the main items of import? Sugar, fruit juices, eggs and vegetables…

Oh how the mighty have fallen… From one of the most prosperous sugar producers in the region, we are now one of the

biggest importers of sugar. As for fruit juices, eggs and vegetables… all can and are produced right here at home. Why do we need to import them then? Clearly this is a complex issue with many variables, but the fact is - if our Agricultural sector were operating at its optimum level, our food import bill would be much lower and its contribution to the national GDP, much higher than its current .5%.

Hive 2013 Food Security Panellist Darrelyn Smart – co-owner of Smart Nuts, Tobago and Chairwoman of Tobago Agro-Processors highlighted the existence of a gap between Farmers, Agro-Processors and Hotels. She stated that there are Hotels that require a certain variety of tomatoes, but would prefer to purchase from half way round the world rather than make an agreement with a Farmer to grow those tomatoes. The Farmer does not know what the Agro-Processor wants or what the Hotel wants, so he just grows what he feels. She makes the point that with collaboration, this problem can be solved.

This would be an ideal use for the AgroCentral App, digitally bridging a critical communications gap. This Hotel/Local Farmer partner-

ship is successfully happening in The Bahamas right now with the Hotel Melia and local Andros farmers.

“a local farm operation is getting a major boost after the melia Nassau Beach hotel took the decision to source Bahamian grown produce from the company.” andros farm benefits from melia hotel partnership the nassau guardian, July 21st 2014 How many of our own local Hotels have such agreements with our own local Farmers? How many more agreements could there be, if there

was an awareness of demand and an ability to answer with supply, in real time? The implications of such agreements are far reaching for the Agricultural sector and for national food security.

“we think agrocentral can affect food security positively in a number of ways. 1) increased access to local produce for all businesses 2) we plan to utilize our digital record of transactions to allow farmers access to financing which can have a huge effect on the agricultural sustainability. 3) agrocentral plans to help farmers increase production and prepare for disasters through our information portal which utilizes sms technologies to send relative information on diseases, best practices and natural disaster preparedness directly to farmers. jermaine henry ceo, agrocentral How has the App been working out in the real world? Are Farmers adapting to this new technology? According to AgroCentral, every effort is being made to ensure that this technology is as easy and accessible as possible, but there are other factors involved in its successful utilisation, as a data driven agricultural solution. One of the biggest problems encountered thus far, is the ability to get consistent end supply from small farmers. This too is a complex issue with several contributing factors, so for the present time, AgroCentral is working with Co-ops and Associations.

As they seek to streamline the App, and plot the best way forward, the four young Jamaicans at the helm of AgroCentral are determined to find the best possible solutions for all concerned. Their vision includes creating the premier marketing platform for Farmers, allowing Businesses to source not only in Jamaica but all over the Caribbean, South America and Africa.

The road ahead may be challenging, but the effort to chart such a visionary, ground-breaking course will bring its own rewards, for generations to come. Just ask Bob.

THe Power oF ProTesT aNimaTioN utt animation student challenge “Animation is a very powerful medium and it is my way of getting my voice out there to inspire change. Animation used to be seen as only having entertainment value but nowadays the opportunity is there to use animation to deliver a serious socially conscious message.” – Andy Berahazar Jr. UTT student.

Andy and his teammate Jessica Yaw Ching, currently pursuing Diplomas in Animation Studies, have taken up the “Design Thinking: The Power of Protest Animation” challenge posed to them by Hive.

The students were challenged to design and create a one minute animated short about a current social issue affecting them as young people, not only from a T&T perspective but also from a global perspective.

Camille Selvon-Abrahams, lead lecturer in animation in the Digital Media Department at The University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), described the challenge as an extension of what the DMD aims to achieve. Students were encouraged to examine their projects critically and see their animated short as a powerful tool.

Through the use of non-specific animated characters serious social issues can be addressed without pointing fingers at any one specific ethnicity, gender or age group.

Selvon-Abrahams is also the founder of the Full Circle Production Animation Studio, a state-of-the-art production and training facility for young animators, and creative director of the Caribbean’s first animation and new media festival– Animae Caribe Animation and New Media Festival. Over the years there has been a growth in interest in the Festival, not only from stakeholders of the industry but also from partners in the private and public sector. Several strides have been made to expand the Festival across the region to other islands such as Jamaica and soon Suriname.

Today, Animae Caribe is a vibrant part of our yearly festivals celebrated

in the Caribbean. The popularity of the Animae Caribe Festival has made an impact and created growth in many parts in the industry and there has been an increase in applications to the UTT’s Diploma in Animation Studies.

Young people are attracted to the seven year old program because it is a new language which speaks to them and they are also attracted to the groundbreaking open and collaborative interactive aspects of digital media.

Storytelling has always been a medium for social change and animation has become a new method of telling a story with a message. Topics such as social justice, diversity issues, inclusion, minority issues, community development, the environment, sustainability, and issues associated to personal development, consciousness, spirituality (body, mind and spirit) are varied and limited only by the animator’s imagination and his ability to tell his story well. Stories which engage people on all levels, sensory, intellectually, emotionally, and connect with their values and imaginations become the drivers of social change.

Andy Berahazar and Jessica Yaw Ching are tackling cyber-bullying, (provocation and attacking via online social media applications and email) for their “Design Thinking: The Power of Protest Animation” short and selected 3D animation because that is Andy’s strength. They are looking forward to their short being showcased at the Hive Power of Protest Animation feature of the Animae Caribe Festival at the end of October.

a looK baCK aT

2013

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awakening tHe social investment giant by warren Cassell Jr. Can wealth be created by investing in making the world a better place?

T

he sole reason people invest is to create wealth. Everyday money is put into the real estate, stock, bond and commodities market with the hope of it growing. Investing allows us to live in the manner we please. It also ensures that our loved ones are protected in the event of a crisis. But what if it was possible to achieve good financial returns while creating positive social outcomes?

Social Impact Investing is a new venture capital method. The idea is simple: There are countless social issues plaguing the world. Some of these issues include, lack of waste removal services and lack of access to education. With social impact investing, private businesses address these issues rather than the government.

Impact investors tend to focus on investing in sectors such as SME development, cultural industries, tourism, agriculture and agri business etc. that are large contributors to the development of the Caribbean. This suggests that our region stands to make enormous gains from social impact investing.

Although the size of impact investing in the region is relatively low compared to other regions, it would be misleading to say that social impact investing is not happening in the Caribbean. A number of private investors have begun to actively pursue opportunities within the region. These investors include Leopard Capital and Portland Private Equity which was founded by Jamaican-billionaire, Michael Lee-Chin.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is the oldest and largest multilateral lender in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IADB group alone has aided in awarding over US$27299.25 million in the social investment sector alone.

In Haiti, IDB has provided US$14 million for the modernization of Agricultural

Health Public Services, and in Barbados US$35 million has been awarded for enhanced access to credit for productivity project.

Although it would be ideal to have locals invest in the local community, we cannot limit ourselves just to local and regional investors. It is absolutely vital to search for international investors as well. Some governments around the world have begun exploring the potential for social impact bonds. These will be financial instruments that will pay an investor if the cost or incidence of something is reduced, literacy or foster care for example, with comparable or better results than a government program. Social Impact mutual funds could also be created to pool capital from Caribbean residents and members of the Caribbean Diaspora to deploy in viable sectors. This will alleviate the large amount of taxpayers dollars that are being spent in sectors that can be run by private persons.

Like any investment, social impact investing has its risk. Social impact investing can be considered as a type of venture capital investing and thus there are a high number of investments that produce under-average returns or fail. This is the number one reason why most investors do not explore socially-conscious investments.

Although the number of impact investments that tank are high, the number is decreasing. In recent years, social impact investments funds have been generating decent returns to investors. The Haas Socially Responsible Investment Fund is one success story. From 2011-2014, the fund beat the market by almost 5%. It has achieved over 50% return on investment since its inception.

The key here is to encourage more investors to pool their money with others to invest in socially focused funds and investments. This will allow more capital to be put in a larger number of deals, and there-

fore risk can be spread. I believe that the reason for the general under-average returns that most social impact investments returned is because of the limited amount of capital being placed in these ventures.

A common trait among persons in the Caribbean is that they are stuck with a handout mentality. Yes, the role of any government is to provide public goods to its citizens. However, a government cannot be the largest investor in the majority of a country’s sectors. This will only drain resources and create market failure.

One way to change this mentality is to establish educational programs that share a series of success stories or narratives.

Case studies on countries that are successfully using capital from impact investing can be used to show policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors and residents of the Caribbean what can be done.

Education is a huge part of the impact investment sector and can be easily broken into. By education I do not mean to imply school houses, although that is needed in some areas, but in some cases all there needs to be is a non-governmental organization, or a non-for profit that educates locals on good financial habits or finds them good lines of credit so they can open their own businesses. Education is a very broad and easily applicable title for a section and it can readily be remade under the umbrella of another sector. For example; if you educated people on issues concerning agriculture or agribusiness then that could potentially fall under two sectors and may have more potential grants or loans available. Overall, it is vital that Caribbean countries begin to look more at the private

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sector to solve their social and economic issues. Countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa have been benefiting from impact investing and it is about time we look to benefit from it as well. There is a limit to how much capital the government can deploy in the economy without increasing taxes, however the amount of capital that private investors have to offer is almost limitless.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Warren Cassell Jr. is only 15. Like most adolescents, Warren balances his time between schoolwork and extracurricular activities, but that’s probably the most he has in common with his peers. Warren is a published author and an award-winning entrepreneur living in the Caribbean. His work is highly focused on the connection between business and nature. When he’s not at school or writing articles he can be found looking for great investment opportunities.

TUrNiNg PoTeNTial into iNFiNiTe PoTeNTial

Hive 2013 FlasH Forward

“i think if you are fortunate enough to have succeeded in life, it’s important to share ideas with other people.”

- Sir Richard Branson british business magnate/investor/ Founder of the virgin group

R

obert Tang Yuk has acquired a plethora of titles and accomplishments over multiple decades. The current Chairman of exporTT Limited, Tang Yuk is the Managing Director of TYE Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and also holds the position of Founding Director and Chairman of Sitek (Solar Industry Technologies).

There is no question that Tang Yuk has succeeded as a businessman, an entrepreneur and a captain of industry.

So what now? Like Sir Richard Branson, world renowned entrepreneur, and founder of the Branson School of Entrepreneurship in South Africa, Tang Yuk has decided to focus on the encouragement of local entrepreneurs, guiding them to realise their greatest potential.

This focus has manifested in the creation

of ‘Infinite Potential’ or iP. iP is a social enterprise created by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs aimed at fostering relationships at opposite ends of the business life cycle, with the intention of engendering sustainable national economic growth.

The gap between theory and practice can often mean the difference between success and failure. iP seeks to bridge that gap, by addressing the needs of entrepreneurs at a critical stage of their development. This is not at the very beginning, as is with other national mentorship programmes such as Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago (YBTT) YBTT and the National Integrated Business Incubation System (IBIS)IBIS. While these programmes provide much needed guidance for the initial set-up and ongoing support throughout business

development, iP targets businesses already in existence for 2-5 years, preparing to advance to the next level. According to Tang Yuk, there isn’t much support for a business after its incubation and before SME (Small Medium Enterprise) stabilisation. This is a critical stage - where you either pack it in, settle for the status quo, or you evolve into your greatest potential. iP stands poised to be the catalyst for that evolution.

Twelve fortunate entrepreneurs will be selected from a nationwide call for applicants, to attend the iP Academy. The eighteen month programme kicks off with a twelve week educational component which will cover topics such as financials, marketing and strategic planning. Participants will have access to an Advisory Council as well as Support Services in such disciplines as Human Resources, Accounting, Marketing and Governance. These are services that many entrepreneurs are often unable to outsource.

Tang Yuk has put together an impressive leadership team of experienced captains of industry, local business leaders working in the various Diasporas, as well as up and coming young, local entrepreneurs.

The iP system combines business academics with personal leadership participation, affording entrepreneurs the invaluable opportunity to learn from and connect with the Caribbean’s most influential entrepreneurs. The program is structured to provide support mechanisms that can be used to navigate the unpredictable waters of the business world, such as accessing to capital, building the optimum team and clarifying the unique needs of a business.

After the twelve weeks of theoretical and practical work, graduates are then appointed a ‘shadow board’ who will meet them regularly for the next twelve to eighteen months. This consistency deepens the understanding of the experienced entre-

3

robert tanG yuk at hive 2013 oN the ethical BusiNess paNel

preneurs, enabling them to offer truly relevant guidance to the participating entrepreneurs. At the end of the period, iP will be considering equity positions in some of the organisations – that’s a potentially huge boost for a small business.

It was at last year’s gathering of global, regional and local entrepreneurs for the launch of the social enterprise HIVE, that Tang Yuk connected with individuals whose business ideas were geared towards making a positive and sustainable difference in society. Inspired by the range of unique and socially conscious small businesses, Tang Yuk realised that proper infrastructure and experienced guidance could make a tangible difference.

“If they thought of themselves as a commercial enterprise first and then think about how they are going to apply that to their cause, then changing that paradigm will build sustainability and allow them to scale.”

In fact, plans are in the works to add a component to iP that will address the specific business needs of NGO’s and charitable organisations, ushering them into self-sufficiency, commercial stability and sustainability. Tang Yuk is also liasing with the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship, talking possible joint ventures. “iP is about the symbiosis of new and the experienced. iP is about the creation of a new generation of socially conscious entrepreneurs.”

That’s a win-win situation for everybody – in other words –infinite potential for all.

HUb dUbai

maKes aN imPaCT are we ready for a Hub in tnt?

I

f you’re a social entrepreneur, an innovator or a thinker, close your eyes for a moment and imagine a place designed especially for collaborating with others or working on your own, a place which gives you the resources to meet with your team, give lectures or share information - an environment where you can socialize with like-minded people and generally let your

ideas grow. Many of you would undoubtedly welcome this type of shared lab space tailored to your specific needs and allowing you to work and develop your projects, so it is no wonder many of these spaces exist and are thriving across the globe. Impact Hub Dubai is one such space. It has only been open for eight months, and it is already attracting many entrepreneurs with ideas they wish to cultivate. The Dubai chapter of Impact Hub is the first in the Arab world and is one of 55 such hubs across the globe which incorporates 7,000 entrepreneurs in six countries.

As the community manager of the incubator, Hebah Fisher has unique insight into the workings of the Hub. She observes, “As in most

small teamed startups, my job entails a little bit of everything!” Besides providing the resources for Hubsters, for example, the staff hosts informal lunches – a recent one doubled as an improv comedy workshop and organizes educational seminars. For instance in September, Hubsters had the opportunity to attend a forum on mobile and social media trends in education and a session intriguingly titled “Choice, Happiness and Spaghetti Sauce”. “There's a little something for everyone,” explains Fisher, “and regardless of the size of the audience we make sure to host the experience specifically to foster the community.”

Fisher and the founders of the Hub, Habib H.H. Al-Assaad, Founding Co-Director, AmanMerchant, CEO and CoFounder and Marwan Chaar and Wissam Otaky, Co-Founders, are passionate about social entrepreneurship, and they have worked hard to create a space where ideas can be nurtured. Fisher explains, “The founders have been working on this concept for some time -- they very much trailblazed to open our doors, as social enterprises are quite new in Dubai and the regulatory framework, investor knowledge and community understanding all had to be cultivated.”

Hubsters find themselves in an inspiring community with others who are also working to make a difference in the world, and this motivates them to achieve their goals.

Fisher observes, “Entrepreneurship is quite lonely; it's important to have the support and community you need along the way to ensure the best possible success.” Since the Hub opened, they have gotten a good sense of what these communities can stimulate.

“We have Hubsters who didn't previously know each other starting companies together: a venture debt financing platform and a mechanism to matchmake artists with skills to communities in need,” says Fisher. She talks of Hubsters hiring each other for videography and website design work and mentions one Hubster who offered to invest in another's biomedical devicing company. “We also endeavour to create opportunities for the broader community to benefit,” she adds, “in June we hosted the first live crowd funded pitch competition in the region, and the winning team raised AED 10,000 from the audience towards their skill-sharing platform.” If all this can be achieved in less than a year, imagine what Hub Dubai will accomplish next!

Like all true innovators, the team is already thinking ahead about the possibilities and making plans. Fisher talks of making the Hub a more “formalized incubator” and adding structured workshop series and a mentoring network. They are also seeking creative ways to connect entrepreneurs with the resources they require. Some of these ideas include investor pitch sessions and freelancer seed dating events! As the Hub’s website states, “This is the place to get things done, alongside and with the people who can inspire and help you. This is the place for you to help shape our world.” It will be truly amazing to see what develops out of Hub Dubai in the coming years.

Hive’s goals for 2015 is to create a HUB community and experience in TnT. Anyone interested in partnering with us, email: info@socialenterprisehive.com

3

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THe Csr oF Tomorrow Corporate Social Responsibility is a hard-edged business decision.

Not because it is a nice thing to do or because people are forcing us to do it but because it is good for our business.

– Niall Fitzerald, Former ceo, unilever

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n a world of growing complexity, challenges facing corporations are naturally mounting further.

To address today’s challenges, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is now a core part of future business models. Yet engaging in CSR is just half the battle. How will we measure impact that can scale?

In this paper, we highlight measurements metrics applied by “global corporations” via a stakeholderbased approach and the adoption of these metrics in MENA based companies.

The importance of CSR metrics The social impact of a CSR initiative can only be acknowledged with a robust impact measurement process. How would one know if a company’s education program is actually helping youth in the com-

dla piper, the largest law firm oN the gloBe, partNered iN duBai with the growiNg leaders fouNdatioN to deliver leadership aNd soft skills to the commuNity thru their staff. munity if there is nothing to quantify the results? Results are a key factor to engage stakeholders and ensure community endorsement.

Once stakeholders are identified and a goal is set to improve their current condition, the second element of impact measurement is to record and measure impact based on indicators. The table (left) highlights an example of Stakeholders Metrics: What is happening with CSR in TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO? While companies in developed markets have an obligation to an established network of regulators, stakeholders and the general public, companies within developing markets like that of TNT are left with their own accountability when measuring CSR. And sadly

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CSR is being wildly abused as a marketing and publicity campaign.

Many TNT companies are selecting their CSR spend by throwing darts on a board of projects annually without any consideration of their shared value i.e. what is it of value intrinsic to your company do you have to share with the community in which you operate.

An example would be a bank initiating a focused financial literacy program that can be measured over 3-5 years. Thus the key question to ask is what are the objectives of CSR initiatives within TNT companies, and how do they measure their impact despite an “unestablished” accountability ecosystem OR DO THEY?

The Future of CSR Measurement GLOBALLY While the movement is already underway to embed CSR into core business models of the future in many corporations, stakeholders will ultimately recognize companies that are true models for social good based on measurable results. In the end, the purpose of Social Responsibility along the impact created is inspiring others to be socially responsible and accountable on all levels from the individual to the corporate. And when we start as a collective acknowledging the efforts that some model companies are leading, maybe a chain reaction can start happening inspiring individuals, small companies and big enterprises to lead the way in their own social good efforts.

iF YoUre PlaNNiNg To laUNCH a soCial veNTUre, oH lord! youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in For a rougH ride!

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f youre planning to launch a social venture, oh Lord! Youre in for a rough ride! NGOs and charity organizations are no longer the only options for alleviating the social ills of the world. In todays interconnected universe, we face complex issues that require more innovative and sustainable solutions. This has led to the rapid rise of social entrepreneurship where socially conscious entrepreneurs tackle global challenges while generating profits. It is said that Social ventures have at their core a strategy to deliver explicit social impact in combination with sustainable business growth, recognizing the power of business in tackling social issues around the world (John Green).

In theory, the concept of social entrepreneurship is amazing in its own right but the practical process in progressing from idea solution to business operation has its most critical challenges during the start up financing stage This is where the initial challenge for social ventures resides: how to get the initial financing? Startups typically turn to the following channels of capital: network investments, banking, equity debt, convertible debt, crowd funding etc. amazing- so there are revenue options available. However, social ventures do not have the same flexibility in their identity structure on leveraging capital the same way as regular startup ventures do. First, equity or VC financing usually expects an exit strategy that does not automatically exist in social ven-

Revenue Sharing Partnerships: Candidly, sometimes the best value one can get is not in the form of capital but in the form of a partnership. In recognizing this scarcity of capital, entrepreneurs subsequently identify partnerships that offer direct economic benefits to both parties. It is equivalent to having capital without having to struggle through valuation and expected returns. Both parties would share the upside.

tures that plan on generating impact for the long haul. Second, the risk appetite for investors adjust with the existence of proof of concept models, however, social ventures, exacerbate the challenge of assessing risk, given the unique nature of cultural and business resource issues and investor networks..

Thirdly, and most importantly, investors usually depend upon comparable investment activity that helps validate and support an investment thesis around market opportunity and valuation levels. That backup and peer justification doesnt exist in many social venture markets, where activity is far more sporadic and those markets have yet to demonstrate clear trends in delivering investor returns. All of this limits the availability of capital in social ventures.

Philanthropy Money: In the past, donating ones money was the way to engage with causes you care about. Today, social enterprises question this handout model and challenge the global pubic to focus on a more robust sustainable business model. As such, today, people and organizations want to invest instead donate their money. For entrepreneurs, this source of capital is advantageous in that it requires lower than market rate interest or return targets and for the foundation, a principle attraction in that the returned capital can be recycled into other charitable activities. It must be noted that the concept of impact investing is still evolving and as such needs more time to expand to accommodate for the growing number social enterprises.

How do social ventures get over the financing challenge globally?

To address these concerns, social ventures can do several things including intensive market research to prove need and execution capabilities to access the previous capital streams mentioned before. If capital roadblocks still exist then they can do the following three options: leveraging partnerships, philanthropy organizations and social cause competitions and funds.

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Competitions, Accelerators, Angel Investors and Impact Funds: This goes without saying, but business competitions are always a go to option since it not only provides capital, but also exposure and mentorship that indirectly leads to more capital investment. Numerous sources of start-up capital do exist, from business school competitions, to accelerators, to impact investors to Global Social Venture Competition. Since most of these initiatives exist so far on committed and passionate donors, the challenge would be to yet identify sustainable models.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s happening in regions such as the Caribbean?

Sadly very little if anything right now specifically targeted at Social Entrepreneurs.

However, lets be realistic, the region needs jobs and we can create them today through small start-ups. The problem is that startups struggle with access to talent, markets and of course capital. The landscape is slowly fostering positive trends and even though the region is still not there yet in terms of global standards and networks for social ventures, the societal issues and the will and commitment to solve them are definitely there and sometimes this is all it takes for a movement to be in motion and for the change to leapfrog.

aN arT TeaCHer For CHaNge S

eon Thompson, an art teacher and professional graphic designer, is the man behind our creative Hive magazine covers.

Seon’s 50 Proud Project highlights and celebrates men and women who contributed to the development of our beautiful twin islands. He strongly believes in the old saying, “You have to know where you came from in order to know where you are going.” Knowing our identity forms an integral part of understanding who we are as a nation and gives us a strong sense of self-worth.

“I have been inspired by several leaders at various stages of my life but they all had one thing in common, which was to motivate me past my limits. When you look at the life of people like Dr. Eric Williams and Uriah “Buzz” Butler and realize that they literally worked to shape a better future for this generation, and you listen to musical storytellers like Lord Kitchener and Sparrow, who documented our reality and provided us

with a vivid snapshot of the past, you can’t help but be grateful.”

There are many types of leaders in Trinidad and Tobago and all possess a zest for change and vision that allows them to set their sights on the "things" that truly merit attention.

Thought leaders like Sunity Maharaj, who has been leading in innovative thinking and national analysis, harness the power of ideas to actualize change. Courageous leaders, like the late Dana Seetahal, Wayne Kublalsingh and Merle Hodge, bravely pursue a vision in the face of considerable opposition and risks.

They have strong convictions about their mission, vision and values.

They speak up for their core beliefs and fight for their values, even when their stand is unpopular.

Dedicated human rights advocates like Diana Mahabir-Wyatt and Verna St. Rose Greaves promote change by

the power of their passionate commitment to ideas and ideals and lift our eyes from present practicalities to future possibilities. Leaders like Sister Paul D'Ornellas, who has committed her life to education and is a pioneer in spiritual and psychological work, care deeply about people and motivate them to change by helping to remove obstacles that are in the way of their growth and development.

Scientific leaders guide and inspire by influencing knowledge with their thinking and ideas. Leaders like Hazel Brown, Jill Lian Goddard, and the men and women of the Cropper Foundation can be found developing technologies geared toward sustainability and ecosystem understanding.

There are leaders in the world of animal and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation like Detta Van-Aardt Buch and Veronika La Fortune and environ-

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mental conservation like Marc De Verteuil and Tacuma & Akilah Jaramogi Karen Stollmeyer, Troy Hadeed and Karen Blackman are leaders in health and wellness. Khalid Mohammed, and 3 Canal are among artistic leaders who inspire by influencing perceptions. They help us see, hear, taste, smell and touch new things or the same things in new ways.

We all have the potential to be leaders in some area of life, personal or professional. As Seon says, today’s leaders are those who are doing their part, no matter how small, to ensure a brighter future: parents who take an active role in the development of their children; teachers who go the extra mile to help a struggling student; the boy who makes a stand against littering; the girl who values herself and doesn't allow society’s view of beauty to determine how she sees herself.

TriNidad aNd Tobago geTs loCal CoUrse ambassadors “Story Telling for Change” is the first Acumen course offered this month with local group meet-ups in Trinidad and Tobago.

We had a chance to speak to Acumen’s Jian Li-Zheng from the Acumen New York offices and here is what she had to say about their entry into the Trinidad and Tobago market.

1. What has been some of the greatest challenges in building a literally virtual community taking your courses?

Our courses are designed to be a blended-learning approach, which makes us very unique and different from other MOOC providers. The content is accessible online for anyone globally, but we encourage each learner to build a community of practice by forming study groups with others.

These "lab groups", as we call them, meet on a weekly basis to debate different topics, do hands on problem solving, and even build social enterprises together. We feel there's tremendous value in learning from your peers and building a network to support your leadership journey. A challenge for us is how to best link these individuals together. To solve this issue, for each course we have virtual communities on Google+ or the NovoEd platform where people can look for group members.

Another challenge is also the questionwhat do you do after taking a course?

acumeN's fouNder aNd ceo, jacqueliNe NovogratZ, for BeiNg Named oN of the 50 most iNflueNtial people iN gloBal fiNaNce

We are continuously looking for other ways to engage our learners, and one of the key ways to do this is thorough providing them volunteer and networking opportunities with our 26 chapters around the world. Going forward, the +Acumen team will continue to increase for real-world opportunities for learners to take action in their communities and apply what they learn from the courses.

2. Tell us about some of the projects around the globe you have been able to help scale as a result of your capacity building courses?

We have a course called Lean for Social Change, which is perfect for any aspiring or very early stage social entrepreneur/founding team member that is building a social enterprise to tackle a specific issue in their local community.

In this course they learn how to interview customers, build a business model, and come up with a minimum viable product. We've had over 30 teams who have gone through the Lean course and are working to launch their social enterprises. One of the past teams, Kidogo, recently won a 50,000 grant from the OpenIDEO challenge for their innovation solution to earlychildhood care and education.

dor for your courses, what are the main duties of being a Course Ambassador?

Our volunteer Ambassadors are passionate about +Acumen courses and want to help us spread the word and get others excited about signing up. Ambassadors are expected to host at least 4 events per year where they invite friends, colleagues, and others to share with them the mission of Acumen and +Acumen courses. They are our biggest fans and on-the ground supporters, and they are growing communities around the world for others who are passionate about social change.

panies, leaders, and ideas that will fundamentally change the way the world tackles poverty. Through +Acumen courses, we are sharing our insights with anyone who wants to be a change-agent.

We believe that the world truly needs you to lead, and our courses help equip emerging leaders with the moral imagination, operational and financial skills they need to successfully create change.

4. How does the Acumen office support it's Course Ambassadors and those signing up for their courses overall?

The +Acumen team provides training and resources for every Ambassador.

You receive guidelines and a video on how to host events, and you also have marketing materials to help promote courses. Also, our team hosts monthly calls with Ambassadors worldwide to help answer your questions and brainstorm on best ways to plan events and engage learners.

7. Who exactly should be taking +Acumen courses? or Why should someone take a +Acumen course?

Anyone who is interested in social change. Anyone who wants to learn the skillsets that you need to be a leader for change. Anyone who wants to be a part of a global community of like-minded individuals and form real connections in their community.

5. Could you give me some specific examples of how the courses help the mission of Acumen?

Acumen's mission is to invest in com-

3. The Growing Leaders Foundation recently became a course Ambassa-

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6. Who designs the courses?

The +Acumen team designs the courses, and oftentimes we bring in content partners such as IDEO.org or Accion who have expertise in a certain area.

8. If someone wants to get involved, what should they do?

Sign up for a course at http://plusacumen.org/courses! After you've taken a course, I highly encourage you to learn more about the Ambassador role and apply: http://plusacumen.org/become-ambassador/

Hive meeT-UPs HaPPeN moNTHlY To FUel aCUmeN CoUrse groUPiNgs

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marK YoUr CaleNdar:

sTarT: oCTober 8, 2014 eNd: November 18, 2014 TRUTH, TRUST, TRIBES & TRIAL:

marKeTiNg wiTH digNiTY aT THe base oF THe PYramid At Acumen, we have more than a decade of experience investing in social enterprises that are serving customers at the base of the pyramid (BoP) in South Asia, East and West Africa.

When it comes to marketing new social innovations to BoP customers, we have made every mistake in the book and learned many valuable lessons along the way. We have taken a first step toward distilling our lessons into a framework that we will be sharing through this course.

Our framework for this course may work in

any environment that you launch your business in, but it is acutely important if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re working in markets with people who live on less than $3 a day.

We will not provide answers, but rather we will provide a framework for critical thinking around the Four Ts â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Truth Trust Tribes & Trials.

They transform your chances for making change, and the 4Ts must be incorporated into your operations long before you execute the traditional 4Ps of marketing.

marK YoUr CaleNdar:

sTarT: oCTober 14, 2014 eNd: deCember 9, 2014

HUmaN-CeNTered desigN Human-Centered Design is a seven-week course that will introduce you to the concepts of human-centered design and help you use the design process to create innovative, effective, and sustainable solutions for social change. This course is best for those NEW to human-centered design so NO prior design experience necessary. Acumen believes in the importance of

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incorporating the principles of human-centered design when creating solutions to problems of poverty so that low-income customers are provided with choice, not just charity.

to access a local tNt group, please call: giselle roberts at 734-3352.

a looK baCK aT

2013

Business of the Labass

Most Trinidadians are familiar with the Beetham landfill and, as might be expected, the name doesn’t usually trigger pleasant associations. The words “bleak”, “nasty” and “dangerous” might come to mind. As Andrew Julien, founder of Blue Earth Recycling Technology says, “People will say all kinds of things.”

While speaking to Andrew, I discover that some much more positive terms probably occur to him when he looks at the landfill.

Words like “opportunity”, “future” and “endless possibilities”.

Unlike those who might dismiss the area as a literal wasteland, Andrew recognized the business potential in the place. For three years now, he has been scouting the landfill, gathering items and selling them to companies that recycle the materials.

He and a part-time worker gather metal, aluminum, copper, brass and scrap iron. He then turns around and sells this “junk” to companies like Trinidad Recyclers and Carib Glassworks.

While there are often people scavenging around among the hills of the junkyard and selling their finds, Andrew’s business stands out at once from the habits of the casual forager.

“We deal with volume,” he explains. Companies like Carib need as much glass as possible for their large quantity of products.

While others might bring small amounts to the buyers, Andrew and his co-worker gather as much as they can in bulk, store it at his home in Mt. Hope and then sell their finds to their buyers.

Organization is probably another way Andrew contrasts with his rivals. He explains that he has a ranch in the landfill, a sort of

holding bay where all the items are held. Dedication is another trait of his work. He does all this with limited assistance, yet his company will be celebrating its three year anniversary in February, a very positive sign.

Vision is another way Andrew differs from the everyday scavenger. The name Blue Earth Recycling Technology embodies this. While considering the name, he recalls looking at the world around him and deciding, “I wanted something that would give me unlimited access. The sky is the limit.” He chose Blue Earth and focused on the blue of the sky which can go on forever, representing the wide range of possibilities he embraces. No doubt the positive impact recycling has on the environment was another determining factor. Andrew observes for example that recycling glass saves beaches and the coast line as bottles are made out of sand.

This unlikely calling has a much wider scope than Andrew’s previous occupations. He explains that he spent a lot of time at first bouncing from job to job. He worked in the hotel industry for awhile and in other places, but he prefers running his own business.

“It’s a better job for me,” he says, noting that he has control of his own image.

True to the boundless options the words “Blue Earth” suggest, Andrew does not plan to keep working out of his junkyard ranch and his home forever. “I envision at least twelve other people,” he says.

With the added staff, eventually he will move out and expand his business on the outside, and one day he predicts that he will be building a recycling plant in Trinidad and Tobago, the very first one in the Caribbean.

The casual determination inherent in this young entrepreneur is clear as he discusses how he has moved to create his own business and how clearly he imagines where it is going. It is not surprising at all that when people look at Andrew Julien, some of the words that might spring up are “inspired”, “enterprising” and “great potential”.

Mentorship For the Entrepreneurial Spirit It seems like every story of success highlights the advantages of having a mentor.

Career professionals today have a buffet selection of articles that outline the importance of mentorship and where to find it. Yet what roadmaps for mentorship does an entrepreneur have? Unlike professional career paths, entrepreneurship does not have a defined avenue to success. An entrepreneur wears so many hats that the profile of the mentor needed to support their efforts is hard to define. Which if you put it in perspective is a great thing because bold entrepreneurs require bold advice. So here are 5 ways to find and foster amazing mentorships for your entrepreneurial journey.

1.

“Glocal” Participation: As an entrepreneur, the best way to reach out to successful leaders in the startup space whether they be entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, or speakers are via events in the local and global scene. Attend as many summits, conferences and events that are both relevant to the start up space and in your area of focus. At these events connect with people via conversation before sharing contact information. The individual who just collects and gives out their cards like raffle tickets are seldom remembered. Try to ask thought provoking questions during Q/A to get noticed and reach out to panelists and event organizers with poise. Note that synergy between you and particular players wont happen on the first try. It takes complete immersion into different events within your community to form real relationships. Take it a step further than passive participation and offer to volunteer at event registration. This will further your access to mentors that participate in event topics that matter to you.

2.

Virtual Outreach: Do not randomly add people on LinkedIn to find mentors for your start up. Know your target, find the people who contribute to that space and see what value you can provide.

For example, if you are an entrepreneur leveraging mobile technology in developing markets, your target should be individuals currently operating in that spaceparticularly ones within your academic or professional networks. Read through their profiles and see if you can help them with a project or two. Are they about to host an event? Ask if you can help coordinate it for them. Are they working on expanding into a new market? Well if it’s a market that you have relevant contacts or expertise, reach out and make valuable introductions. LinkedIn is just one tool of many. Meetup.com is anther place to find profiles that you can reach out to as well. It is important that you stay on top of these virtual relationships because in today’s fast past environment, many of the people you will meet virtually will not reside in your backyard. Don’t loose access to a valuable mentorship due to distance. Cultivate it by leveraging the tech tools we have today such as skype, email, and google hangout.

3.

Academic Advantage: Whether you graduated from high school, college or graduate school- you have an alma mater. Many forget that the best mentors can come from your academic circles. Reach out to former professors and see if they can provide feedback and advice on your idea,

business plan or strategy. Take it a step further and go through the current roster of professors to find the ones most relevant to entrepreneurship or business development.

Reach out to them and see if they can mentor or connect you with someone who can provide insight and perspective. The upside to this approach is not only you will yield sound advice, but if your startup fits their curriculum, you can be invited back to speak to their students, share your story and attain perspectives from inquiring students. Never estimate the power of speaking at events close to home. Questions and concerns will be raised that can help perfect your strategy or business.

4.

Project Based Value: Another way to find and sustain valuable mentors is by volunteering your time to support other entrepreneurs- no matter how basic the task. The most valuable development experience you can have is shadowing an entrepreneur.

In my experience, blogging, pitching and conducting business development projects during my spare time with entrepreneurs in my community was the best way to develop my strategy for my startup. I not only learned from their successes but also from their failures. Hearing their frustrations and excitement points prepared me for the emotional rollercoaster I would experience during my entrepreneurial journey.

5.

Ecosystem Mentorship: Finally, the best way to find mentors is to find people who are well connected that can make introductions for you. Referrals today is highly coveted because reputations are always at risk when you reach out to people on behalf of others. Make sure you take introductions whether they are done virtually or in person very seriously.

It goes without saying that you need no formal announcements when you find the right mentor. When your acquaintance becomes a best friend you don’t state it because it happened naturally. The same goes with building relationships with people who can provide invaluable advice, feedback and expertise. Be sincere and always keep in mind that the best mentorship relationships come when there is a mutual benefit to both parties.

The choice to take the road of entrepreneurship yields no direct path, so embrace the journey and the people who support you through it.

www.socialenterprisehive.com

Creating Connections in Co-Working Spaces

It’s rare to hear someone say they had a meaningful conversation with another. So imagine the skepticism involved in creating a shared space / incubator towards the possibility of a better world through a meaningful entrepreneurial community. As all things worth waiting for, Impact HUB Dubai took precisely four and a half years to breathe life into the dream and fully launch. As we look back over our first year of operations, we’re pleased to say that Impact HUB Dubai has managed to create our own microcosm of a better world.

Since we opened doors in January 2014, we have brought thousands of community members together, some for monthly events like our Disruptive CEO series featuring top-level CEOs for the kinds of candid conversations you don’t typically have access to; to our weekly Hub Lunches where the core Hubster community of entrepreneurs gathers together to break bread and get to know each other; or for incubation trainings like our 3-month Entrepreneur Rising series for startups to meet weekly towards rigorous building of their businesses.

We believe in a balance of work and play, a balance often difficult to prioritise in a fast-paced city like ours. Hence, often on any given day, you’ll hear a shout from the top of the Main Lab encouraging everyone to join us outside in the Courtyard to learn how to hula hoop or stretch into meditative yoga, led by Hubsters for Hubsters. What’s brilliant is that these exercises are both an opportunity for the Hubsters in their early stages of turning such passions into profitable businesses to prototype teaching a ready and constructive audience, as well as that they are much-welcomed and healthy distractions for the group from a day seated at their laptops.

Across the global network of Impact Hubs, some 70+ cities worldwide and 9,000 entrepreneurs strong, we call this ‘hosting’. Taught as an art, hosting refers to the intentional facilitation of conversations, bringing people together to matchmake partnerships and collaboration, and setting the tone for a community-led culture that, eventually, operates independently of any single ‘host’: each community member becomes a contributing host of others. In the end, despite different cultures, people are fundamentally people everywhere. It is human to want to connect. And, there is a methodology to bring people together in a meaningful way.

This phenomenon can happen anywhere, under any circumstances. Infusions of new thinking, successful yet accessible role models to aspire to, and short but impactful bursts of provocation and movement inspire the minds and create an environment for shared learning and growth. And, in the Impact HUB school of thought, a physical space plays a crucial role. People need to gather; a physical location you can return to ties the community and our cultures together, it allows us grow together, it gives us support to celebrate our triumphs and tribulations in our shared entrepreneurial journeys and most importantly feel a part of something greater than ourselves.

To give you a clearer idea, here is a typical week of activity at Impact HUB Dubai:

Startup Weekend

THE PLAYSHEET

What is a Startup Weekend?

Startup Weekend can be hard to accurately conceptualise without experiencing it firsthand, much like the Matrix. Put simply, it’s a 54 hour long event in which mostly strangers share ideas with the intention of launching startups at the end of the process. The 54 hours were spread over three days.

The first day allowed willing attendees to pitch their ideas in just 60 seconds and from those, the top seven moved on to form teams. The second day was used to refine business ideas and create website mock-ups in some cases. The third day was used to condense all the material generated into a single five minute pitch which was presented to a panel of judges.

The top three teams gained entry to the Championship Track at this year’s Global Startup Battle.

Who does this sort of event attract?

Not necessarily who you would expect. The age range was

fairly wide with the youngest attendees being in their late teens and still attending secondary school while at the other end of the spectrum were more ‘mature’ participants with established careers and even one or two serial entrepreneurs.

The following profiles represent a sample of the attendees.

Primilla Dial-Seepaul, age 50 is an Executive agent at Guardian Life, one of the event’s sponsors. Although she attended in response to her company’s request, she enthusiastically got involved at the team formation stage.

She’s interested in charities involved in poverty eradication.

Melissa Jimenez, age 27 is an Event Planning and Marketing Professional who works with a non-profit organisation.

She has a passion for singing, interior design and baking.

This was her first Startup Weekend and her main reason for attending was to get some information about the startup process to help her in bringing her own ideas into reality. She decided not to pitch just yet.

What kinds of ideas come out of this process?

Blaine Thomas, age 24 had attended one other Startup weekend before this one and decided to return because of the networking opportunities that it provides. He’s currently in the process of developing an app with a few other previous Startup Weekend participants.

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With people of such different back grounds and skill-sets, the ideas that come out of Startup weekend tend to run the full gamut. One team came up with Let’s Hobbify, an app that gamifies the process of trading hobbies with others so that people can easily team up and learn or experience something new. DIY Designs proposed a website that would allow people to easily design their own couture then have it assembled by professionals and sent to them. The group called Marché proposed an online version of the artisan fairs that have recently become popular locally.

What about social enterprises?

Some of the ideas presented definitely seemed more focused on tackling social problems than creating profit. Whether or not they evolve into social enterprises will be determined by their business models as they begin operating in earnest. Among these were: • Talk Down, an app that links people who are contemplating suicide with an international network of support to help ‘talk them down’ from they edge when they feel like they can’t make it through the day • The People’s Holdings, an alternative financial institution determined to give its clients greater control over the profits their savings generate as well as specific advice on wealth generation • Alt-Ed, a website that would provide students with access to simplified materials for CAPE subjects to help more of them successfully transition from lower level exams

What differentiates who goes to second rounds?

Moving from the first round of pitching to the second round depends on a person’s ability to sell their idea to the other attendees through a 60 second pitch. In essence, this requires them to concisely, convincingly and passionately appeal to the group for support. With each attendee allowed three votes, the support can be spread to more than one idea if several look promising. First time pitchers or those with a fear of public speaking should probably try this a few times at home to get the hang of it. Once the time is up, the crowd is instructed to applaud which effectively drowns out whatever last point you were attempting to make.

How does team design contribute to success?

Successful team leaders carefully analyze their own skill-sets and those needed for the project.

Members should ideally be selected based on any inadequacies revealed by that analysis. A team that lacks project management skills, for instance, may find it difficult to navigate through the sleep deprivation and almost instantaneous deadlines common at a Startup Weekend. A team working on website prototypes without the necessary technical skills may manage its time beautifully but end up lacking concrete evidence that their website will ever work. Either of these mistakes can undermine the strength of the concept in the judges’ eyes.

So who won?

The winning team was “Smarthook” led by Kirt Hills. The idea presented was for a device that allows loads to be attached to cranes without direct human intervention. This decreases the risk of death and dismemberment that operators often face in the field. Costs are also reduced significantly because many loads that are heavy require multiple

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workers to attach them. The Smarthook would only need one worker with a smartphone to operate it using a simple app. The idea was born out of Kirt’s own experience of witnessing the devastation that on-site injuries can cause. The team contained engineers, marketing professionals and IT professionals and within that mix was a talented artist who created sketches of the device for inclusion in the final pitch.

What do you get out of start-up weekend?

Startup Weekend can be grueling at times but it’s worth it in so may ways. While no cash prizes were offered, all registered attendees got access to a suite of freebies that can propel the budding entrepreneur from thought to action. These included a free .co domain name, free Twitter advertising and Google Cloud credits. The act of pitching on the spot to a live audience of strangers in just one minute also forces people to think critically about their own ideas and face critiques from others. Combined with access to several experienced coaches, this helps to refine and strengthen those ideas so that they have a better chance of securing funding from other institutions.

Perhaps the most important benefit of Startup Weekend participation is the opportunity to network with others who are just as passionate about entrepreneurship. Many people walked out of the event on Sunday night with new friends and cofounders. And of course, there’s constant food.

The event was well catered and frankly, there’s nothing quite like talking over several meals to get people to bond and solve problems.

If you’re feeling like you missed out now, you’re in luck for two major reasons. The first is that the Launchrockit team has several entrepreneurship themed events planned for 2015, at least two of which are Startup Weekends. The second is that if you’re up to the challenge of hosting a Startup weekend, you can reach out to them on their website, launchrockit.org and they’ll help you with the process. Dust off the ideas you keep putting aside. If you can spare 54 hours to make something worthwhile out of them, find yourself at the next Startup Weekend and be ready to pitch.

Branson Centre Nutures Social Enterprise Social entrepreneurs in the Caribbean now have far more resources to draw on than they might have done years ago. Nowadays more entities are striving to encourage and promote change makers, probably realizing the amazing potential of many of these dreamers. The Caribbean branch of the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship is an example of an organization fostering encouragement and community for many hopeful social entrepreneurs with an innovative programme designed to help them succeed.

As Melissa von Frankenberg, the centre’s Partnerships and Communications Manager observes, more and more entrepreneurs seem to have the key to developing the solutions to our communities’ problems. With this in mind, the centre was launched in Montego Bay in 2011

by Richard Branson, well known billionaire and investor. It is a hub which provides many dreamers with training in business skills as well as access to coaches, mentors and investment opportunities.

With a well-known brand behind it and many success stories in the last four years, it is not surprising that the centre receives 600 to 700 applications per year.

The resources the applicants access are extensive and valuable. Those who are shortlisted must go through an interview process and afterward they may qualify for the entrepreneur development programme. Then comes the mandatory practical training which prepares participants for the next important step: pitching their idea to a Branson Centre Official Entrepreneur.

Unsurprisingly, innovation is a big part of this programme. For example the latest cohort will be the first in the region - and among the first in the world to participate in training through an online platform that will allow them to access courses, resources and a forum to continue dialogues will fellow entrepreneurs over a course of 12 weeks. Previously entrepreneurs had to attend a training session one

day a week in Montego Bay, Jamaica, now a large part of the instruction will take place through live webinars and online tools that the applicants can access anywhere. Melissa points out that this will make training more flexible for applicants as well as more accessible to them while giving the centre the ability to more easily reach past the boundaries of that part of Jamaica. However all the training will not take place behind a computer screen. “We don’t want to lose that touch,” says Melisssa, explaining that past successful applicants often spoke enthusiastically about how much they appreciated the sense of community that developed among their peers. The centre recognizes the importance of continuing to develop this bond. The trainees are also invited to participate in group coaching sessions, high-impact workshops and entrepreneurial events.

By the end of the training, the entrepreneurs are ready to pitch their idea to investors. Melissa explains that by then they must be in a place where they know how to scale, how to think big and how to create jobs and revenue. Already the potential of the extended reach of the programme can be anticipated as the latest cohort caters for 48 entrepreneurs while only 20 participated in the past sessions.

Other exciting new developments are just around the corner for the centre. Melissa explains that they are always considering if they are meeting the needs of the entrepreneurs. A lot of the feedback they have received showed that funding was the challenge many of the budding projects need. Plans are in the works for a loan programme which will help them access funds. Like their applicants, the centre also pursues goals which embrace expansion, and they are already looking at how they can reach the rest of the Caribbean. By the end of year, they hope to have expanded into Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and St. Lucia. Soon the centre will be able to provide support and hope to more dreamers in the wider Caribbean. That’s really challenging perceived boundaries!

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Branson Centre Success Stories

While talking to Melissa von Frankenberg, Partnerships and Communications Manager, of the Branson Centre for Entrepreneurship, you get a good sense of what motivates the people who work there: the entrepreneurs they interact with every day. “We learn so much from them,” explains Melissa, expounding on their passion, determination and inspiring outlooks on what they can do to change the world.

With so many productive applicants going on to expand their businesses, the centre has a large diverse pool of enterprises which they have helped develop. Their success stories include companies providing financial assistance and advice, performance art, a tourism getaway and even a sorbet business. The variety of the projects ensures that the lives of many in different communities are touched and enriched. Read on to learn more about some of the interesting ideas that the Branson Centre has nurtured.

Joshua Chamberlain - The AlphaWearJA clothing line

With their Look Good, Do Good, Feel Good business philosophy, AlphaWEARJA combines fashion and the Jamaican music scene with providing opportunities and educational development for at-risk boys from the Alpha Boys School. The line began in 2013 when Joshua Chamberlain, the special projects manager, pitched the idea on behalf of the school to Richard Branson as part of the centre’s Pitch to Rich competition and won. Alpha Boys always had a history of enterprise, but the centre gave them the additional support to develop the clothing line.

The boys from the school learn screen painting and receive instruction in accounting, customer service, promotion and fulfillment. All proceeds go to the educational and vocational needs of the students.

The exclusive and cool graphic designs are featured on 100% cotton t-shirts made in Jamaica and on tote bags made in the school’s tailoring shop. They are available for purchase online, as well as at select retail outlets in Jamaica and other countries.

This pioneering system allows the school to sustain itself, to empower the boys of the school and to inspire others.

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Tamsyn Browne

Carol Lue - CaribShare Biogas

- Montego Bay Animal Haven

The Montego Bay Animal Haven is the first non-profit animal organization to earn a spot among the participants at the Branson Centre. This is not surprising because of the drive and determination which the team at the haven have shown. Since the centre opened in 2009, 300 animals have been re-homed, and through collaborations with local and international vets, 800 have been spayed or neutered. A trained veterinary nurse, Tamsyn Brown opened the shelter to alleviate the plight of unwanted and injured animals, mainly dogs, in North West Jamaica.

Rescued animals are nursed back to health and then offered up for adoption.

The team at the haven also works to educate the public by visiting schools to promote animal welfare and organizing group visits to the home to help spread the word. As a non-profit, they rely entirely on donations and the work of volunteers.

The haven team is currently working toward establishing a more suitable facility for their animal friends.

Carol Lue, Executive Director, CaribShare Biogas pitched the idea of a business that could provide a clean, profitable energy source for the people of Jamaica. The company is the only business in the country which produces the fuel which can be used to produce electricity and heat. Working in partnership with Ch4 Biogas, a leading Canadian biogas designengineering firm, CaribShare is planning the first biogas plant in Jamaica designed to generate electricity on a sustained basis. The company is working to develop partnerships with hotels and farms which will provide them with their waste. The waste products include food scraps, manure or solid paper products. The company will collect the products and put them through the process that will create valuable biogas. Participating companies receive a cash reward for providing their waste. The result is a process which promises to have a lot of potential for the future of Jamaica and a positive impact on the climate and the environment. It is no wonder that Carol is the 2012 winner of the International Development Bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ideas Energy Innovation Contest for her idea of pioneering biogas solutions in the Caribbean.

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Edward-Marshall Case - E3 Designs & Contruction

Edward-Marshall Case dreams of helping Jamaicans have more affordable homes through the business he founded at the age of 17. He created E3 Designs & Construction and hopes to make it the premier architectural drafting and design solution in Jamaica. Edward’s company provides residential building plans and construction services as well as photo realistic 3D rendering which gives a representation of exactly how a new home will look. They provide low cost services to people who cannot afford more expensive work, ensuring that they get safe, high quality homes. Edward explains that part of his philosophy for his business is “We believe that every Jamaican needs a proper home –to live comfortably”. He subsidizes his lower-cost services by providing rendering work to commercial and other high-end construction projects. With his innovative, socially responsible efforts to help his community, it is no wonder he was chosen for the Arthur Guinness Award for his contribution to social entrepreneurship and to be a participant at the Branson centre.

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5 Myths

about Building a Sustainable Business Myth #1: There is no clear definition of a sustainable business

Confession time. I have spent a lot of time giving painfully awkward answers when trying to explain what sustainability means. For example: The United Nations tells us that sustainability means meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.

But as an entrepreneur, this definition does not explain what I should get up and do tomorrow morning! So let me make this as simple as possible:

Sustainable means that something will last. Ideally forever.

Think of your business as a system. If it were to press the ON button and run your company as is (business as usual) from now on, would it be able to run forever? For many the answer is no, and thus the journey towards sustainable business begins.

Myth #2: Sustainable Businesses Don’t Make as Much Money

For donkeys years we have thought of the health of the economy as a separate function from the well being of society and what’s going with the environment. Make mo’ money has been the corporate mantra of pleasing shareholders.

News flash: Mo’ money aint gonna happen long term if you aren’t paying mad respect to your employees, the broader community and your environmental resource inputs.

The challenge for all types of businesses is to become more sustainable by tying success of core profit making functions to the societal and environmental success.

My neighborhood Car Wash A recently went waterless due to the rising cost of water as a result of its scarcity in the Middle East. Their employees were able to wash more cars per hour since they skipped the labor and electricity intensive drying stage. Good for the environment, good for the bottom line. The opportunity for creativity, innovation and profitability in the field of sustainable business is truly infinite.

Myth #3: It is Easy to Tell who is the Greenest

Green usually refers to environmentally friendly practices. However, there are companies out there claiming to be green when there isn’t anything significant to speak of. This is called green-washing. From a communications perspective, ‘green’ isn’t descriptor of sustainability since it is just a colour. Imagine Car Wash B decides to recycle paper waste at the company’s headquarters runs a whole campaign about how green they are. Good, yes but not great when we consider the innovative approach of Car Wash A.

Myth #4: Green is Good

Let’s go back to Car Wash A (last time I promise). Imagine that if after going waterless, they had their employees working 14-hour days and did not share any of the new profits with their hard working team. Motivation tanks and resignations start coming in.

There goes Car Wash A’s team. The sweet spot of sustainability includes the social well being of your employees

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along with environmental and financial factors. For this reason sustainable businesses are often measured by the triple bottom line: a set of financial, social and environmental indicators that guage performance.

Myth #5: If you build it (sustainable) they will come.

I hate to admit this, but a sustainable product or service offering is not a guaranteed competitive advantage. However, building an authentic brand and value offering that caters to the rapidly growing lifestyle of health and sustainability (LOHAS) market is a great space to be in right now. If your business is doing something that is innovative then tell your story! If your t-shirts are made from bamboo fabric (a rapidly renewable resource) than tell that story instead of saying it’s green!

Sheena is a Canadian-Trini who lives in Dubai. She has a graduate certificate in Sustainability from Harvard Extension and is working on her Masters in Responsible Tourism. In her spare time you can find her planning her next travel adventure, practicing yoga or hanging out with her hubby, who swears her Trini accent only comes out when she’s vex.

editor’s note “Happy 2015 to all of you. I hope for each and all of you a year filled of “things you do for the first time”.

So the great news... only after one year of our efforts pushing social entrepreneurship in TnT, the Ministry of Planning announced the Lumination Challenge offering grants to Social Entrepreneurs. We have absolutely nothing to do with this initiative. But is it not wonderful knowing we inspired others to pollinate and realize our goals as announced at Social Enterprise Hive 2014. In fact, if we can only get someone out there to develop open, accessible, creative and affordable co-working spaces (another one of our goals for 2015), we can continue to innovate vertically in this space with basic infrastructure in place to support a Social Enterprise eco-system.

This issue is a super exciting one featuring some of the most passionate and innovative Social Entrepreneurs, Educators and Systems out there.

Make sure you check out the piece on our latest innovation which is the Start-Up deck compiled by us brining the Pitch Deck, Design Thinking Methodologies, The Ten Types of Innovation and Business Wildcards all into the plan of the hands of any budding entrepreneur. We highly encourage you to get your hands on one. Every purchase support one youth in our BYOB (Building Youth Owned Businesses) program which we roll out after SEA focusing on 9-15 year old budding entrepreneurs.

And last but most important, keep your eye on our socialenterprisehive.com calendar. This year we are rolling out each quarter focused workshops and fun activities and moving away from the annual Hive event format. You have all been asking us for more in a all year round format and we are listening!

Design+Layout: Aadel Chin-Albert // Printed by Guardian Media Limited

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BEST MOBILE CONTENT AND INNOVATIVE APPLICATION IN THE WORLD

The wonderful Nora of the WSA core team with an attendee.

Mobile devices are without a doubt one of the most critical devices for people on this planet. Mobile penetration has outnumbered the earth’s population. Particularly in developing countries, mobile devices are just as important to one’s livelihood as is water and basic food.

The World Summit Awards (WSA) under the Direction of Prof. Dr. Peter A. Bruck every year allows 40 winners to present their mobile content on a global scale. In addition a Grand Jury selects winning mobile content in categories ranging from Media and News to Inclusion and Empowerment with global relevance.

WSA took place on Jan 31st to Feb 3 in Abu Dhabi and we were fortunate enough to be there live. In fact we were invited to be on the Grand Jury ( the first Caribbean person ever) along with 50 mobile app experts and business leaders from around the world.

A Coaching session to the winning teams.

The Winners Exhibition Room where one could test the functionality of their mobile content.

Throughout the 4 days, there are activities that range from presentations from global experts in the digital and mobile content arena, workshops for winning teams, speed dating sessions for new mobile content start-ups, coaching sessions to attendees, exhibitions of the competing mobile content winners etc.

The World Summit Award (WSA) is the global followup initiative of the United Nations World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) organised by the International Center for New Media (ICNM), Salzburg, Austria. It partners with the key UN organisations and agencies in the framework of the UN Geneva Agenda and the Tunis Action Plan and selects and promotes the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications; to date more than 160 countries are actively involved. WSA congress is held all over the world annually from Italy to Cairo to Mexico.

Peter Bruck, WSA Chairman next to Ralph Simon (known as the Founder of the Mobile Entertainment Industry) along with WSA attendees.

The Dubai Police representative who also won their category in Government Innovation.

One of the winning mobile content applicants from Brazil in the Empowerment category and his family.

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THE 2015 WSA WINNERS OF MOBILE APPS THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE

[Business & Commerce]

[Government & Participation]

WINNER: MOBIZY

WINNER: DUBAI POLICE APP

Product Title: MOBIZY Product Title original: MOBIZY Country: Portugal URL: http://www.mobizy.com/

Product Title: Dubai Police App Country: United Arab Emirates URL: available for iOS and Android

Description

Developed in response to the Smart Government initiative, the Dubai Police app provides content and services to UAE residents, including traffic, security and community services.

Available in Arabic and English, the app contains a comprehensive set of features categorized by frequency of use: traffic services; fine payment with driving license verification or vehicle impounding; traffic clearance certificate; traffic wallet allowing app users to save their vehicle details for easier inquiry, payment and notification; road status notification; security services for people in distress; good conduct certificate; police report inquiry; crime prevention (to report a crime or provide information); tourist security services; SOS services in life-threatening emergencies; police department managers on duty; links to social media, for instance, pharmacies on duty; critically ill patient service; police station location via GPS integration; Dubai police job vacancies. A feedback feature for suggestions or complaints appears in a fixed footer on all app screens. Public, government and private organizations can also verify or validate documents issued electronically by the Dubai police. The Dubai Police app aims to increase public satisfaction and to provide mobile services with secure data transfer that reduce effort, time and cost. Simple and easy to use, with gesture enabled features, any service can be accessed with just two taps or via voice commands. The look and feel of this app excels.

Description

MOBIZY is a simple, effective and functional virtual platform for mobile enterprise, powering solutions anywhere by using a mobile phone or tablet. MOBIZY solves real life business problems, making any company more productive to boot, by helping to sell more, deliver earlier, keep customers on file, manage field teams and spread knowledge throughout the organization. No need for new infrastructure, Mobizy works with all mobile operating systems.

From mom & pop stores to companies with hundreds of employees, all kinds of businesses can reap benefits. With Mobizy, managers can communicate in real time with employees and monitor hours and overall performance. MOBIZY dashboards and reports provide access to a companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entire history and export information via email using standard formats to any other system in use. MOBIZY Sales manages the entire company sales force, including customer info and product catalogue, handling new orders and expedition in a matter of minutes. MOBIZY Clients provides tools to manage accounts and to follow contacts, leads and opportunities until they become customers.

MOBIZY Field Services improve the operational efficiency of technical field forces. MOBIZY Time Clock improves worktime reporting with an absentee registry. MOBIZY lets users manage an entire organization with a few taps from everywhere. Anything is possible with MOBIZY.

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[Learning & Education]

WINNER: LIFESAVER Product Title: Lifesaver: A New Way To Learn CPR Product Title original: Lifesaver: A New Way To Learn CPR Country: United Kingdom URL: available for iOS and Android

Description

[Entertainment & Lifestyle]

WINNER: CREATERRIA

Lifesaver is a crisis simulating app created for the UK Resuscitation Council with the goal of teaching basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR to users through interactivity, gamification, and live-action film. CPR is one of those things that we know we should all learn, and pray that someone else knows how to perform it when we ourselves require assistance. But most of us never quite get round to it. This engaging mobile/web interactive training video/game is both accessible, compelling and makes an impact.

The teaching aspect of Lifesaver is most impressive and will save lives. In this clever and practical application of m-learning, users are presented with high-stress scenarios to test their speed and efficiency in administering CPR. The option to share these results on social platforms was added to the app to promote engagement among a younger audience.

Product Title: CREATERRIA Product Title original: CREATERRIA Country: Poland URL: http://www.createrria.com/

Description

Createrria is an easy- to-use platform for kids and their parents, to create, share and play games. Uniquely simple and impacting positively on children’s creativity, Createrria turns making games into a game.

Kick-starting the imagination, Createrria allows non-coders without any technical skills to tell a story, create an awesome action game or become a clever puzzler with Rube Goldberg style contraptions. Createrria offers several graphic styles to choose from, whether it is the Pixel Art Theme with retro look and feeling; a Fable Theme with dark colors, stage-like settings and decorations made of paper, cardboard and foil for a grim fairy tale with a twist; a Smooth Theme for fans of crazy Japanese cartoons. There is also a colorful Candy Theme for those who love cute looking games. Each graphic style comes with its own set of backgrounds, terrains, items and enemies. Users can choose their own amazing avatar, feel a bit Zombie or go for block pixels, ginger cookies and cowboys. There is something for everyone! Those ready to think outside the box can craft something new, mixing everything and using a 2d physics sandbox to invent a completely original game to become a Createrria legend. Createrria allows users to publish amazing stuff for friends – or simply play and rate all the great games created by other gamers around the world. With just one tap, the budding designer’s game will be published to the worldwide Createrria community and Facebook. Presto: friends will play, like and comment on games. It’s like youtube for games!

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[Tourism & Culture]

WINNER: ANCIENT AQUILEA 3D Product Title: Ancient Aquileia 3D App Product Title original: App Mobile Aquileia Virtuale Country: Italy URL: http://www.ikon.it/

Description

[Media & News]

WINNER: LIFENEWS

Ancient Aquileia 3D puts archaeologically interesting cultural content on a mobile platform with detailed augmented reality (AR+) reconstructions of main locations from the ancient Roman city of Aquileia, one of the most important in its time. An interactive map of the city makes it possible to dynamically overlay the plan of the modern city with that of the ancient Roman one. Recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1998 and visited by over 500,000 people annually, Aquileia is a small centre today where the ancient Roman buildings, with the exception of the majestic Basilica, are only partially excavated, with ruins of mosaic floors and traces of walled perimeters visible. Computer generated images and video sequences combine to make an impressively broad multimedia gallery of the city’s archaeological remains, allowing visitors to use their devices as peepholes in time and as interactive video guides. Bringing together GPS and accelerometer data, the AR+ mode allows for interactive exploration of by-gone city streets and virtually reconstructed buildings. Owing to its great immediacy and ease of use, the application is ideal for a younger public, yet thanks to the accuracy of the 3D reconstructions, it is also much appreciated among the scientific community. The Ancient Aquileia 3D concept is exemplary and easily applicable to other archaeological sites or locations of cultural-historical interest around the world.

Product Title: LIFENEWS Product Title original: LIFENEWS Country: Russian Federation

Description

The LIFENEWS application allows users to become reporters for the TV channel in real-time, using the app as a tool for civil journalism. One must simply be in the right location at the right time and press the «REC» button.

People tend to interact with events happening around them: they witness different disasters, accidents and even fun moments in everyday life, all the time. With the LIFENEWS app, people can record these events and start to earn real money, by sending videos and photos to LIFENEWS in just seconds via their mobile phone. LIFENEWS editors find and mark «hot spots» on an interactive map of the city and set the price for an exclusive video or photographic material. If a user appears to be somewhere near the sensational event, the location-based system notifies them and asks for material. Recorded and approved videos are delivered to the TV channel, whil the fee goes straight to the reporter’s personal account. It’s all about making the news as it happens.

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[Environment & Health]

[Inclusion & Empowerment]

WINNER: UNIVERSAL DOCTOR SPEAKER

WINNER: LIVOX

Product Title: Universal Doctor Speaker Product Title original: Universal Doctor Speaker Country: Spain URL: http://www.universaldoctor.com

Product Title: LIVOX Product Title original: LIVOX Country: Brazil

Description

Description

Universal Doctor Speaker Mobile is a medical translation app from Spain enabling patients and healthcare professionals to communicate when they do not speak the same language. It is one of the most robust medical translators in the mobile app marketplace, thanks to the 169 possible language combinations for doctor/patient interactions across thirteen languages. As people increasingly migrate for work or travel for pleasure, language barriers become an obstacle to health care. In the worst of cases, misunderstandings can lead to errors in treatment. Universal Doctor Speaker Mobile comes with over 500 basic phrases in each language to facilitate multilingual medical visits and medical history-taking. A search function finds exact or related phrases as needed, quickly and easily. The content and translations are drawn from the same database as Universal Doctor Speaker Web, the flagship product used by hospitals and governments to enable health care communication across more than thirty languages. Universal Doctor Speaker Web offers customized web applications for healthcare facilities and a mobile app providing access to medical translations offline. The mobile app content, including medical phrases, explanations, questions and answers with accompanying audios by native speakers, has been reviewed by medical professionals and professional linguists, as well as approved by various medical associations. Universal Doctor Speaker aims to improve the quality of medical care to underserved migrant populations, as well as foreign visitors.

At least fifteen million Brazilians have disabilities making them unable to speak. Livox is an alternative, augmentative communication software for people with motoric, cognitive and visual limitations, aiming to ensure that people with deficiencies do not encounter the same obstacles in the digital world as in the real world. The first application of its kind in Portuguese, Livox stands out in the alternative learning market due to its Intellitouch algorithms that understand where people with motoric limitations are trying to touch the tablet screen, based on how many fingers they use.

Created by Carlos Pereira, a dad trying to communicate with his daughter born with cerebral palsy, Livox enables people with disabilities to speak.

Due to its design simplicity combined with powerful algorithms, Livox also helps people to learn to read, write and to understand complex concepts like math. Through Livox, parents and teachers can create sets with similar meaning, breaking the complexity of language into smaller units which can be used by people with disabilities to play a video, to play music on a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;digitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; instrument, to take school tests and much more. Disability profiles can be created by teachers, adjusting Livox parameters to meet the visual, motor and cognitive possibilities and needs of the person with a specific disability.

Used by more than 10,000 people all over Brazil and thousands of schools, Livox has started a real revolution in alternative communication in Brazil and is getting ready to go worldwide!

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SOME AMAZING APPS BY BRILLIANT YOUNG PEOPLE BrailleBoard BrailleBoard is the first application that supports writing on touch screens using Arabic Braille language, developed by a very young female Palestinian, for the visually impaired people who are using smart phones or intended to do so. Blind people dont have to learn new typing technique since they already know the Braille language. The main advantages of the used approach are that it does not need any extra equipment to be connected to the smart phone and this makes BrailleBoard less expensive than any other solution, it is dynamic; the user can enter the six standard inputs (initial points) and the user will not stick to these points in any later entries. It is also simple to use, one entry for each character, supported by voice and respond promptly to the input.

iChemist Designed by a 22 year old from Sri Lanka, iChemist is a fully featured chemical titration simulator that has moved practical chemistry study to a digital platform creating a virtual laboratory on an iDevice. This application can be used internationally has much value for students who do not have the privilege of access to a chemical laboratory for their essential chemistry practical work.

Colab.re Colab.re is beautifully designed Civic Engagement app that is already being used by more than 10 city-halls around Brazil - for free! Colab.re analyzes how well the population is being served by public services in real time, and makes it possible for this data to guide public policy-making processes. The platform enables public management to be integrated with the social network through digital technology, allowing citizens to assess the quality of their cities. Social networks strengthen the power of citizens to help transform their city.

SnooCode SnooCode is a free mobile application that solves the problem of lack of addresses in developing countries like Ghana. It provides everyone in rural or urban areas with a unique, robust & easy to memorize address. It allows people to find tier private code using a GPS Enabled Phone avoiding any unnecessary or costly bureaucracy.

SnooCode is revolutionary as it is over 230 times more precise than the UK Post Code system. As a self-checking system, it is able to detect errors in the code before the user sets off & is very tolerant of human error & in some implementations has the ability to function accurately (e.g. after an earthquake) without either a mobile network or Internet connection.

3 Things

You Need to Achieve Absolutely Anything Ok, almost anything.

While wandering has value, if you actually want to get something done, you need to equip yourself with the three P’s (not peas, because 3 peas is just not enough for anything).

1- Purpose

Your purpose is your compass heading (if you’re on a journey) or your destination (if you’re that kind of girl). It’s your heart’s desire. Your purpose has to be something you can envision with crystal clarity. You don’t just want a pair of shoes, you want a pair of fauxsnakeskin turquoise heels exactly 6 inches high with charcoal grey soles.

2- Passion This is all about action. Passion is what drives you. If

there is no movement, then there is no passion, no matter how many times you tell yourself you’re passionate.

Passion is doing what it takes to get closer to your purpose, even if that means trolling the high streets in flip flops under the rain until you find what you want.

3- Possibility Possibility is all about what you believe can happen, and if you believe it can happen to you.

It feels so much safer to think in terms of black or white, 0 or 1, success or failure. Thinking in the what-if leaves entirely too many shades of grey (even more than 50) for us to be comfortable, but it’s the what-ifs that add that turbo boost of energy to our passion, and it’s

the possibility of realizing our vision that actually gets us there.

Going back to those shoes, if the possibility of them existing is there, then you will go out of your way to make them exist, even if it means making calls to faux-leather suppliers, hunting down cobblers that can make the exact thing you have in mind, and taking up sketching so that said cobbler knows exactly how to give birth to your vision.

Without possibility, there is still a chance that you can get where you want to go, but that chance will depend on someone else’s possibility, someone else’s vision (did they design your shoe already?).

“When you live in a world of possibility, the road ahead of you is constantly unfolding, bringing you that much closer to what you want to achieve”

SPOTLIGHT: SOCIALLY CONSCIOUS FASHION The love project is a collaborative, charitable line where a percentage of each piece sold will be donated to various charities.

Each piece is eco-friendly and socially conscious, made from bamboo (sustainable plant) and stainless steel (100% recyclable), and features the project’s 4 heart logo, each hand painted with a splash of color. Each eye-catching necklace comes with a 24” stainless steel ball chain that can easily be resized by cutting excess chain with pliers/cutter. An informational card is also included with each piece and is printed on FSC-Certified paper stock with soy ink.

Visit: http://www.melissalew.com

Who knew you could make a difference in the world with your undergarments. With PACT socially responsible underwear, you can. The founders of this forward-thinking apparel company wanted to create a brand that did more than just sell clothing, but that would also spark a movement for positive change in the world. Through their beautifully designed socially responsible underwear, PACT is partnering with and connecting consumers to social and environmental projects that are making a positive impact. Simply put, PACT believes that change starts with your underwear.

Pact is made from the finest organic materials, making them

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luxuriously soft and fabulously comfortable. Pact also sources all of their fabrics according to the highest environmental standards, and works to minimize their footprint throughout the manufacturing and distribution process.

PACT partners with a number of worthy environmental and social causes including Architecture for Humanity, EarthSpark, Oceana and Citizen Effect, just to name a few. Each purchase of socially responsible underwear results in participation in a number of different social movements, from the support of organic cotton farmers and responsible labor practices to ecofriendly packaging and sustainable production methods.

Enriching Communities With Spray Paint For those who believe that graffiti is an invention of the modern world, an illegal form of expression of recent generations, ponder on this epigram found on the walls of Pompeii, a city which existed in the early A.D. It states “I’m amazed, O wall, that you have not fallen in ruins, you who support the tediousness of so many writers.” Today’s graffiti artists are actually expressing themselves through a very ancient tradition. For example, Izia Lindsay, better known as Jap, brings his own twist to this ageless art with his bold, eye catching images and colours, and he has a strong belief in the power of graffiti in bringing communities together.

Jap was originally inspired by some of the most notorious and well known graffiti artists in the world. “I began graffiti after my visit to New York City at the age of thirteen,” he explains. “It was a new experience for me at such a tender age.

Seeing graffiti art sprayed throughout the city had me in awe…I knew this is what I wanted to do.”

His first art lessons came from drawing his favourite characters from Saturday morning cartoons. From then his ambition to keep creating art was supported by those around him. “My QRC experience molded me a lot,” he muses. “My art teacher Mr. Reyes always allowed me freedom to create on all of my projects. As an art teacher who never limited my medium, he has helped me explore avenues beyond the canvas. While my classmates were doing their CXC SBA on canvas, I was creating a mural with aerosol on a wall.” His parents also lent their support, encouraging him in his work. “The fact that they always showed approval for any of my artwork throughout my life gave me the confidence to be the artist I am today.”

Jap’s experience with graffiti also reflects the potential it has for the Caribbean, particularly Trinidad and Tobago, as a business, as innovative art and even in building community spirit. He explains, “My visits to other countries where graffiti is more prominent and appreciated have convinced me even more to bring this art form to the Caribbean. Having graffiti as a business is something new and clients see it as a fresh take on any upcoming project they have to present.”

The response he has received for his work is that of surprise and curiousity. ”People here are not

too familiar with graffiti art, so when they do see me work live, they are quite interested.” He believes that his work helps raise awareness and appreciation for this type of expression.

Murals and graffiti are literally becoming more visible as people begin to harness it in local communities. “I actually 100% support the idea and will do it in a heartbeat,” replies Jap when asked about his opinion on community murals. “I have done some art in schools where the students showed a keen interest in murals and were amazed by their creation. I don’t think people realize how influential things such as paintings which surround them can affect everyday lives. Having a positive mural in the heart of a community can have a positive impact on society,” he adds.

“I have done some murals/tutorials for schools and will be definitely working on communities and targeting the younger generation to help express their artistic side and use it as a medium to channel positivity in society and by extension the world.” Perhaps some of these young ones will be moved to express themselves positively with graffiti, just as a young Jap was inspired to do many years ago on the streets of New York.

Experience some of Jap’s work yourself at www.joiningallpeople.com

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The Becoming of a TEDxPort-of-Spain Speaker When did you find out you would be a speaker and what was your first reaction?

I found out about 4 months before and my first reaction was one of ‘not very surprised’. I was asked to be a speaker at the very first TEDx POS and ended up hosting the first two TEDx events. More importantly, my message was completely in sync with the Event’s theme of Doing, Undoing, Redoing.

How did you decide what to speak on and what did your creative process entail?

I actually give my wife, Jacqui full credit for my speaking at TEDx. She asked me, “why didn’t I consider speaking?” I told her that I was not ready and “I felt that I had not sufficiently accomplished enough to give the talk that I wanted”. Then she asked me the killer question, “Do I think I could give a talk that would make a difference for each person in the Audience”. I said, “But of course!!!”. At that point, she had me enroll myself. A master move. My creative process is completely organic, crazy, impromptu and not to be followed. My initial talk looked nothing like the final product.

What support does TEDX POS provide you to get your ready?

TEDx POS provided a great structure to ensure readiness. They had early deadlines to review drafts with your presentation coach. My coach, Robin Timothy was masterful in guiding me in a more original direction. I then had a major rehearsal with 20 volunteers and they were instrumental in highlighting which themes were crucial and where I should cut!

How and when did you know you were ready for your talk?

At one level I knew I was ready for my talk given the impact that I had in my major rehearsal with the volunteers. My main concern was to manage my emotions as I lost about two minutes sobbing. I had not realized how much unprocessed pain that I was carrying as a result of my perceived role in Christian’s death. It then became paramount to have closure on this prior to my talk so I set out to have a conversation with Christian’s mother who I never spoke to or confronted during that 34 year period. I also worked

with a dear Mentor, Colleen Palmer who prepared me to have this conversation. I was able to speak with Christian’s mom three days before the talk and gain closure. At that point, I was ready.

What has doing this TEDX talk meant to you?

This TEDx talk meant more to me than I could even imagine.

Firstly, it was cathartic – It felt as though I was healing part of my soul. I found a level of inner peace in paying tribute to my colleague after 34 years. Secondly it was surprisingly liberating. I felt quite vulnerable, publicly sharing my failures particularly among a most stringent peer group – fellow Harvard Business School Alumni. Once I got past that initial embarrassment of my peers knowing that I failed so late in my career, I was able to see that there might be whole other population that could be inspired by my message of persevering to find your unique expression, your unique mark, your M-spot. Finally, my talk revolved around my favorite quote by Oliver Holmes which is, “Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside of us”. I felt that my talk allowed to share my music with the world.

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Anything interesting happening in your life or work since your talk?

In my talk, I declared myself as a Greatness Detective. My talk advances the theory that if you are on your M-Path, the path toward your M-Spot, that the Universe conspires to work with you. Although this is very metaphysical, in a very practical way, you have no choice but to stand out when you own your unique expression. People notice. As a result, I have had a number of people and businesses requesting help in finding their M-Spot. This has made me confront at even a deeper level in my commitment helping people, what should I specifically do myself and what I should invite others to do for me?

What was it like watching yourself when the talks got released?

Actually, it was quite painful to watch as I was present to all my mistakes – my start was not as impactful as I rehearsed), my tempo was too slow and I did not nail my ending. In short, watching my talk was quite developmental as I am learning to see the beauty in ‘imperfection’. Unfortunately, I have to practice the same thing that I am preaching to my kids.

Capacity Building for Change...

One Community at a Time The Brasso Seco Chocolate Company “Fruity and earthy, with a smooth, creamy

texture.” Would you like to have a piece? It may be coming to a retailer near you soon but in the mean time, you would have to make a trip deep into the heart of Trinidad’s Northern Range to the village of Brasso Seco to enjoy this locally handcrafted bite of chocolate heaven.

Yes, you read that right. In hot, humid Trinidad, a team of villagers has formed the Brasso Seco Chocolate Company, which produces delicious 60% dark chocolate bars from the cacao grown in Brasso Seco. They credit the area’s soil type and microclimate combined with the use of traditional methods of fermentation and roasting to process the raw beans for the chocolate bar’s enhanced flavour profile and exquisite taste.

A little bit of history might be useful at this point.

Back in the days of European colonialism, long before it became an energy-dependent economy, cacao was one of the mainstays of Trinidad’s economy. The country’s humid climate was deemed unsuitable for chocolate making and estate owners and farmers were mandated to sell their cacao harvests to the government for export to Europe. The farmers and estate owners could only dream of the kinds of profits that the European chocolatiers made from the end result of their backbreaking toil in sweltering heat of the Caribbean sun. Nevertheless, this continued to be the accepted status quo well beyond the end of colonialism.

The Brasso Seco Chocolate Company began as a result of efforts by Trinidadian entrepreneur and chocolatier, Gillian Goddard to disrupt the status quo and enable cacao-rich communities to benefit from the greater earning potential of their hard labour. With the assistance of a grant from the Inter-American Institute of Agriculture (IICA), Goddard’s company, SunEaters Organics piloted the project to empower cacao-producing community of Lopinot. The company provided training in chocolate-making and developed a business incubator to help the participating community members develop the skills needed to develop and operate a business.

Brasso Seco is the second village in SunEaters Organics’ empowering initiative. A group of villagers was trained in the art of chocolate making. This group of villagers, comprising a smart mix of young adults with innovative ideas and the experience of more mature villagers formed the Brasso Seco Chocolate Company and joined the business incubator to learn the skills necessary to operate a successful enterprise. The founding members of the Brasso Seco Chocolate Company are Jinella De Ramos, Brandon Hernandez, Winston Maraj and Carl and Kelly Fitzjames. Their vision is to develop the company

into a viable venture that will transform the lives of the youth in the community.

The Company has only produced one small batch thus far but judging from the rave reviews received from those who have had the pleasure of sampling the company’s first batch of chocolates, these certified chocolatiers are definitely on the right track.

As a community-based social enterprise, the Company’s focus is on the village’s approximately 100 youth. Low literacy rates among the young men are a significant contributing factor to higher than average unemployment rates, although it is always possible to “find work” on a villager’s agricultural land. Many of the more educated youth, especially young women, seek greener pastures outside Brasso Seco. Desirous of alleviating these problems, the Company intends to train the village’s youth in the chocolate making process and agribusiness as a means of harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit and mitigating against unemployment.

Given Brasso Seco’s rural village vibe, it is no surprise that many community members have come together in support of the venture. A real social enterprise hive is in operation. Through their connections with SunEaters Organics, other organisations have also extended their support to the venture. Xtatic Ltd has provided financial assistance with equipment and Mode Alive assists with access to the raw cacao materials. The Brasso Seco Paria Tourism Action Committee provides logistical and marketing support.

The Brasso Seco Chocolate Company team is proud to have been able to reconnect with the village’s cultural history with cacao and to take it to a newer level. The challenges are many as the team members attempt to balance their other academic, professional, community and personal pursuits with the time required to nurture and develop their new venture. As with many young businesses, the learning curve is steep, expenses are high and capital is limited. Nevertheless, the team is facing the challenges that come its way head-on and with creativity, as they travel the road to achieving their vision to empower the village’s youth. For instance, despite the challenges of limited startup capital, the young company is learning to leverage its other resources in exchange for needed services from other organisations – the bartering of services, if you will.

The team is working feverishly to have its chocolate bars ready for retailers by Carnival. Soon, customers would be able to pick up a bar or two at the Brasso Seco Visitor Facility, at the duty free shops at the Piarco International Airport and at select gourmet shops along the East-West Corridor.

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If you are interested in partnering with the Brasso Seco Chocolate Company or retailing the delicious Brasso Seco Chocolate Bars, reach out to them at 497-6492 (Jinella) or 682-9124 (Brandon).

A Look Back at

Hive 2014

The 10 Things you learn working for a Startup

For those of you with college graduation looming and the imminent fear of real life, you may be having a quarter-life crisis right now. This involves a rollercoaster of emotions and a constant inner battle with self: to go corporate or work at a startup.

Family, friends and society will pull you in different directions but the biggest obstructer in making this decision will ultimately be self.

People say that ultimately your first job will not necessarily make or break your career and that in the grand scheme of things you can’t go that wrong.

However, in that moment, deciding your first job feels like the most arduous, potentially life-altering choice in this world.

Here are a few of the gems you will come to learn if you choose the startup life:

1.

2.

You start seeing the world in a different, but insanely crazy way.

Every label/billboard/ advertisement you see, you start thinking about how your startup can partner with that company in some capacity. After thinking about it for so long, you find intricate synergies you would never have imagined otherwise. It’s like an obsession! You learn that this is applicable to everyday life as well and you start automatically find connections between people, things, and places you would not have done before.

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You are not restricted by your position.

You do everything.

Your role may be Business Development Intern; however this was simply on paper. Developing business was a large part of the role, but you literally did everything from working on a fundraising campaign, ideation of social media strategies, representing the company at conferences, amongst thousands of other things. There will be times they you have so much responsibility that you will feel not ‘qualified enough’ to do the task. But if the team you work with supports you and has faith in you, you will step up to the challenge and develop accountability towards the work. You will also go beyond what you believed were your personal limitations.

3.

4.

5.

6.

You learn the art of persistence. No is never really no.

If you have a tendency to get discouraged quite easily this will be a hard lesson to learn. Corporates commonly tell us to ‘come back after we have proven your model’ which certainly gives way to a tricky chicken-or-egg situation.

However persistence can transform what initially seems like a bleak outlook from the start of a meeting to a “hey let’s do it”. People are reluctant to accept new ideas initially due to fear of the unknown, however if you take the effort to push them a little further, you may realize that the first no was often simply a product of their apprehension.

7.

You know literally everything about your colleagues.

Things get personal because your team will spend the large part of every working day together. You will connect on a much deeper level which certainly helps synthesize distinct working styles.

You can recite the company pitch in your sleep.

You will be able to say word-for-word the content of every single slide of your pitch. This is will be invaluable when trying to work with the corporate world, moving forward.

8.

You are never, ever at the “office”. The word office means many things: boss’ house, car, coffee shop, actual office, etc.

The beauty of it is that each day is so unique. Even if you are a person who hates uncertainty working this way breaks the potential monotony of a known routine. You also come out more adaptable to most situations and fear uncertainty a little bit less.

You have to be patient. Trying to explain to people new concepts like “crowdfunding” or “microfinance” or “social impact” requires patience.

Especially in the Caribbean, where CSR is a relatively not properly understood concept, the business landscape is very black and white; either you are a ‘traditional business’ that makes a profit or you are a non-profit which is largely understood and restricted here as a charity. So often, explaining to people that you are a social enterprise (forprofit with a core social mission) will take a large portion of many meetings. While perceptions are shifting, the process will take a while. However, taking the time to explain concepts and educate others goes a long way.

LinkedIn is your Bible.

9.

You hate bureaucracy even more.

Why can’t every corporate decision be like making a decision at a startup? All the key people you need to consult with are literally five feet away from you at all times. This allows you to focus on real discussions and be very efficient and impactful with your time.

10.

You will have to stalk LinkedIn profiles to get to the next level. The power of social selling is infinite and you must learn the importance of creating a personal brand to market yourself. People are much more accessible than they may appear and you will eventually find a way to connect with whoever you need.

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The amount you learn at one month here is like six elsewhere.

This is because of #1 to #9. Every day working at a startup is a new challenge in itself and this is how you gain such a wide range of skills in such a short period of time. Whichever path you decide – corporate, family business, education, startup, charity, government, to name a few – it should suit your personality yet challenge you in ways that help you learn the maximum amount possible. Either way, you can’t go too wrong. Just don’t go into a field simply because ‘everyone else is doing it’.

Kristle Gangadeen is on a mission to make a meaningful impact on her world. She hasn’t quite decided on the “how” yet but she’s not worried; she’ll figure it out. In the meantime, this enterprising Marketing and Communication Specialist is focused on developing her two startups, volunteering and brainstorming disruptive social enterprise ideas with other entrepreneurs.

Kristle Gangadeen legacy in progress.

Genny Ghanimeh Pi Slice Founder & CEO Following her passions for the MicroFinance & the Online industries, and after a life-altering trek in Kilimanjaro, Genny founded Pi Slice in March 2012 and negotiated a partnership agreement with MicroWorld from the Group PlanetFinance to build and administer the first microlending online platform in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Patti-Anne Ali has worked in the Arts and Advertising Industries for over twenty years. She has edited and written for several publications including: C. Ali’s Stories and Recipes from The Egg Lady, The Great Nationals of Trinidad and Tobago series (Ian Ali 2011) and The Gold Book, published by Hansib 2012.

Neala Bhagwansingh is a diverse business manager, freelance writer, photographer and volunteer. She aspires to devote her time, energy and skills to organisations committed to improving communication, productivity and quality of life by making positive contributions to the world.

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Dixie-Ann Belle is a writer with years of experience. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a focus on Advertising and a Master’s degree in English Literature.

Tena Pick is a social impact consultant passionate about applying her skills to help start ups in the developing world.