Author: john

Socially Responsible Business Models

Another excellent piece for this weekend’s reading– Venturebeat, a blog about new technology ventures, publishes a piece on social capitalism, its two basic models, and why some companies are likely to succeed while others are not. The post is written by Jay Parkhill, who is an attorney that works in the technology sector. Keep in… Continue reading Socially Responsible Business Models

A U.N. initiative to promote business ethics could change the way B-schools operate

This week’s reading comes from Business Week and is about social responsibility— the article discusses a U.N. initiative that was launched in 2000, called UN Global Impact, to promote socially responsibly business practices in the world. The program looked at social responsibility from a financial perspective and adopted principles for responsible investment. It currently has… Continue reading A U.N. initiative to promote business ethics could change the way B-schools operate

How Social Entrepreneurs Innovate

Colin Stewart, who writes for the Orange County Register blogs about the innovation styles of Mohammad Yunus, who recently won the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering microfinance, and Michael Young, a British social activist. The blog covers a talk given by David Galenson at the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University last… Continue reading How Social Entrepreneurs Innovate

$100 Laptop (OLPC) Updates- Will Be Sold By Manufacturer In Developed Countries As Well

Latest update on the $100 Laptop– Quanta, which is the Asian manufacturer making the $100 Laptops, has announced that it will be selling commercial versions of these $100 laptops for around $200 dollars in some parts of the developed world. They are going after the underprivileged markets in the developing world but I’m not sure… Continue reading $100 Laptop (OLPC) Updates- Will Be Sold By Manufacturer In Developed Countries As Well

Zaadz- Social Networking for Spiritual Changemakers

Zaadz, a social network for conscious capitalists , just received funding from John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods. I have to admit that I’ve never heard of Zaadz until now but it looks like a promising community of like minded folks wanting to “change the world” Our Mission. We’re gonna change the world. Our math… Continue reading Zaadz- Social Networking for Spiritual Changemakers

Closing The Digital Divide With Portable Wifi

Here’s an innovative way that some people in India, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Paraguay are crossing the digital divide– by gaining online access through buses equipped with wifi which drive through several hard to reach villages a few times a day.. The buses and a fleet of motorcycles update their pages in cities before visiting the… Continue reading Closing The Digital Divide With Portable Wifi

Microfinance Startups On The Rise

Busy week but I just quickly wanted to link to two microfinance startups, both based in Germany. Smava One2Money Not sure what their angles are but it’s probably pretty similar to Zopa Related posts: Microfinance- Making A Big Difference In The Developing World- A Plug For Kiva Microfinance Venture Zopa Raises Another Round of Venture… Continue reading Microfinance Startups On The Rise

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Everyclick.com – A UK-based Charity Search Engine

I’ve written extensively about charity affinity search engines. These are search engines that attract users because they give a portion of their revenues to charity. Another one just landed on my radar– Everyclick.com is a search engine that is powered by Ask.com for both their paid listings (advertisements) and normal search listings. everyclick allocates 50%… Continue reading Everyclick.com – A UK-based Charity Search Engine

Microfinance Venture Zopa Raises Another Round of Venture Capital Financing

I’ve written about Zopa before on this blog— it’s a microfinance venture based out of London that enables person-to-person lending. Zopa just announced today that they have raised $12.9 million dollars from several VC firms, including Bessemer, Benchmark, and Wellington Management. The extra money will be used to enter the US market. Zopa isn’t focusing… Continue reading Microfinance Venture Zopa Raises Another Round of Venture Capital Financing