Here’s a link to an interview with Brian in the current issue of the Social Enterprise Reporter. Because the transaction costs of running loan programs are high in rural Africa, Lehnen aggressively promotes the role of micro-grants in bringing people to the first rung of the economic ladder.

Of related interest is an article in […]

I’ve recently seen a number of job listings so here they are. I’m thinking about how to create financial incentives for xigi community members to help fill these jobs. In the meantime, if you have a posting feel free to put it up yourself on xigi. Note “Job” in the title, and […]

Lucy Bernholz points to Participle, a new social enterprise that wants to use design to tackle big problems:like : “transformational projects: ‘proof of concept’ solutions that work at scale; you will be able to see and measure the difference we have made at the neighborhood level, in cities and rural communities nationally; transformational ideas: world […]

Fortune writes about a shareholder vote coming up this week that could signal something new in the capital markets. “On April 26, when the shareholders of French food giant Danone congregate in Paris for their annual meeting, they will have a unique proposal to consider: setting up a mutual fund to channel investment into Danone’s […]

After all… it’s at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel! Where we can reflect on the words of the inspired literati of the capitalist renaissance… quaff organic elixirs as we discuss our favorite ideas, as we hobnob- with each other, overlooking the city from the Penthouse Bar. Meanwhile, we’re hanging out with […]

The winners of the NetSquared competition are out. We at xigi didn’t make it, but some great project did. I’m glad to have participated and next year we will be more involved more early I think something new and really good is happening with this competition, as my friend Sean Stannard Stockton writes here.

The […]

I’m sitting in the basement ballroom of the Longbeach Hyatt at the 8th SEA Gathering with 600+ social enterprisers, mostly north america, but also europe, and a few other places. He’s talking about his book on blind people, Seeing Beyond Sight, a passion project of his 15 years in the making. Powerfully he teed it […]

Reposted with permission. Originally posted 15. April 2007 at Microclesia by John La Grou http://www.microclesia.com/?p=16#more-16

Yesterday, Cynthia and I enjoyed a day in Berkeley at 2007 Global Social Venture Symposium – an exploration of business enterprise that drives meaningful social change. The discussions focused on a diverse collection of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists successfully leveraging capital […]

I got to judge the Global Social Venture Competition the past few days, and it was really pretty exciting. There was one clear winner, Revolution Foods a women-led team that in 10 months has launched a nutritious school lunch program that churns out 1,000 lunches a day and has raised $600,000 from investors. The only […]

Curiously, some accounts of the brain science research I cited didn’t mention the fact that  giving works  in the same brain centers as drugs, but only cited the link to food and sex. Curious, I purchased the actual report and in fact, giving activates the same brain centers as sex, drugs, food and greed. Even […]