Entrepreneur

This Month in Social Good

Posted on by Case Foundation

February may be the shortest month of the year, but this February was packed with news in the world of social innovation. In particular, we saw new data, stories and perspectives brought forward in the world of Inclusive Entrepreneurship that we’d like to reflect on and use to power the movement. I spent some time rereading our weekly Case Foundation Breaking Good newsletter to gauge some of the conversation around supporting diverse entrepreneurs this month. Here are some of the articles and trends that stood out to me: 

Black History Month is a reminder to uplift Black entrepreneurs—past and present

Every day is a great day to celebrate the achievements of groundbreaking innovators in history and the people who are carrying on their legacies and building their own. But as Black History Month comes to a close, we’re given a renewed commitment to uplift the stories of Black entrepreneurs—sharing both the contributions they bring and the unique challenges they face. 

With that in mind, we were inspired by reflections from successful Black entrepreneurs on how they succeeded in a world filled with barriers designed to stifle their progress. One of the Be Fearless quotes that stood out came from Urban One founder, Cathy Hughes: 

“[Don’t] let anyone convince you that your dream, your vision to be an entrepreneur, is something that you shouldn’t do. What often happens is that people who are well meaning, who really care for us, are afraid for us and talk us out of it.” 

There’s a glaring gap for women entrepreneurs

As reports highlighting data on entrepreneurship from 2017 begin to come out, the statistics on women entrepreneurs are disheartening, to say the least. According to Pitchbook, businesses with all-women founding teams received just 2.2 percent of all venture capital in 2017. Teams with a mix of genders received just 12 percent, and a whopping 79 percent of venture capital went to all-male teams (the remaining 7 percent was unreported). 

To change these numbers, there isn’t an easy fix. We know where we can start—more women launching businesses, more women in venture capital, fewer cases of bias at the hands of investors—but none of these alone will solve the problem. Partners are stepping up across industries to build solutions together that will collectively challenge the systemic biases that affect how opportunity is distributed in our culture. Data and storytelling can play major role in that, which brings us to our next trend. 

We need to support data and storytelling on underrepresented innovators

Sherrell Dorsey is doing just that. Dorsey founded a daily newsletter called ThePLUG to report on founders, investors and innovators of color. This month, she talked to Vice about the need for more data on Black entrepreneurs. This is one of the many great points she made: 

“A lot of times, especially in the black community, when you look at entrepreneurship, there’s been very little data collection—like, the kind of businesses we’re creating, the kind of problems that we’re solving. (…) A lot of times investors are looking for patterns in data, so when that information is not shared in public, you get a knowledge gap.” 

To extrapolate out from what Sherrell is saying, if investors don’t have the data they are used to having when making investment decisions, they are less likely to fund initiatives. Therefore, having a more robust dataset on Black entrepreneurship could help spark solutions across the board. That’s something we’re working towards as we champion inspiration capital as a core part of our Inclusive Entrepreneurship work. By uplifting the stories of underrepresented entrepreneurs—stories that share both their challenges and their unique insights—we’re hoping to change widespread assumptions about who is and can be a talented entrepreneur. 

Entrepreneurship can flourish across in all communities across the U.S.

Another widespread assumption about entrepreneurship we’re working to challenge is the notion that Silicon Valley is the only great place to launch a company. Fortunately, that idea is being challenged by entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem builders across the country. We loved hearing about how Kela Ivonye, founder of connected delivery storage service, MailHaven found Louisville Kentucky, not Silicon Valley to be the best place to build the company.  

On the ecosystem side, we’ve been inspired by news about places like Raleigh, where a program is helping formerly incarcerated individuals pursue entrepreneurship. In the Midwest, a variety of organizations are working to support the region’s female entrepreneurs. And in New York, three of the city’s major banks announced plans to give a combined $40 million to programs supporting women and entrepreneurs of color there.  

This month, Engine also interviewed an ecosystem builder in Colorado as part of an ongoing series we love, #StartupsEverywhere, where the outlet talks to the people building entrepreneurial ecosystems across the country. And this week’s Kauffman Foundation newsletter poses important questions on how we can build inclusive ecosystems, including a powerful video by Melissa Bradley on her experiences as an entrepreneur, investor and ecosystem builder. 

From celebrating past and present Black entrepreneurs and leaders, to building solutions for female founders, to tackling the data gap, to highlighting innovation everywhere—leaders in the world of Inclusive Entrepreneurship are getting to work. The stories we’ve seen this month inspire us and we can’t wait to read and share even more of these informative and inspirational stories. To learn more, sign up for our newsletter, Breaking Good. 

Is there anything we missed this month? Tell us about your favorite social good story you saw in February! 

A Month of Entrepreneurial Stories

Posted on by Case Foundation

Our Inclusive Entrepreneurship work at the Case Foundation is built upon the core value that we must change the way we all talk about entrepreneurship, expanding who we lift up as success stories and busting myths that hold entrepreneurs back. National Entrepreneurship Month gave us a great opportunity to dive into the subject again and to celebrate entrepreneurs from a wide variety of backgrounds. It also gave us a chance to provide an honest look at some of the challenges of entrepreneurship.

We focus our work in Inclusive Entrepreneurship on challenges across race, place and gender, driven by the stark statistics that show the disparities faced by diverse entrepreneurs. Just looking at venture capital distribution reveals that only 10 percent of venture-backed companies have a female founder and only one percent have an African American founder. And just 75 percent of all venture capital is being distributed to just three states; California, New York and Massachusetts. Talent is everywhere; opportunity is not. And many of these elements are central to the stories that were at the core of our National Entrepreneurship Month blogs.

November 1st was both the first day of National Entrepreneurship Month and National Stress Awareness Day, so we kicked off our series with an examination of the role stamina and support plays in becoming an entrepreneur. We asked our #FacesofFounders entrepreneurs how they manage the stress of launching and running a business. See what they said in Confronting the Dark Side of Entrepreneurship.

On Veteran’s Day, we shined a spotlight on veterans in entrepreneurship and ways to support them. Our friends at Bunker Labs took to #FacesofFounders to share how the organization is working to build an ecosystem to support veteran entrepreneurs. Read what CEO Todd Connor had to say in How Bunker Labs Is Building an Inclusive Ecosystem for Veteran Entrepreneurs.

Then we looked back at the Essence Festival panel our senior vice president, Sheila Herrling, moderated with a group of entrepreneurial changemakers. Herrling shares some of the top takeaways from the informative and action-inspiring conversation in Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship.

Finally, to celebrate Small Business Saturday and #Giving Tuesday we focused on some of the many ways individuals can support entrepreneurs running businesses of all sizes. Not every entrepreneur has the same financial and social resources, and in Keeping Entrepreneurship at the Heart of the American Experience, we highlighted the many ways that individuals can support entrepreneurs in their daily lives and with the purchasing decisions they make.

We hope these stories has given you a chance to learn more about entrepreneurs, their valuable contributions and how you can support them. To learn more and to access a list of resources on these subjects, visit our website, follow our Medium publication #FacesofFounders and subscribe to Breaking Good, the Case Foundation’s weekly newsletter, to see more from us on entrepreneurship, race, place and gender.

There is much more work to be done and while Entrepreneurship Month may be over, we will continue to champion building onramps to entrepreneurship for all with the goal of everyone having an equal chance at unlocking the American Dream. We hope you will join us.

Changing the Face of Entrepreneurship

Posted on by Case Foundation

At the core of the Case Foundation’s Inclusive Entrepreneurship work is finding solutions that allow all innovators, specifically women and people of color, to explore and participate in the entrepreneurship arena and all it has to offer.

As a part of the 2017 Summer Essence Festival, I had the pleasure to host an engaging panel discussion with Kristen Sonday, Co-Founder of Paladin (and a #FacesofFounders winner!), Kathryn Finney, Founder of digitalundivided and Brian Brackeen, CEO and Founder of Kairos. These changemakers are disrupting the image of who is and can be an entrepreneur and are part of a movement to seize the opportunity that inclusive entrepreneurship provides and dramatically change the distribution of capital required to make that happen.

On the Essence Festival stage, we had thoughtful and action-oriented conversation trying to unbundle what’s at play behind the following set of stats: If women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, particularly black women, women-led businesses are outperforming their male peers in many VC portfolios and racially-diverse companies are outperforming industry norms by 35 percent, why does so little capital go their way? For context, less than 10 percent of venture-backed companies have a female founder; less than one percent have a black founder; less than one percent have a Latinx founder, and; a mere 0.2 percent have a black female founder.

These statistics make up the backdrop to the great conversation we had on stage. Key themes we covered are:

  • Talent is equally distributed, opportunity is not.
  • It’s not just about the financial capital; social capital is hugely important.
  • He (because it’s largely men) who make the decisions matters
  • Media plays a big role in setting default narrative and images of who is an can be an entrepreneur.

I hope you’ll watch and share your feedback on social media using  #FacesofFounders!

Confronting the Dark Side of Entrepreneurship

Posted on by Case Foundation

November is National Entrepreneurship Month, and the irony that the month kicks off with National Stress Awareness Day will not be lost on any entrepreneur.

Throughout the month, we at the Case Foundation will be celebrating entrepreneurs and all of the contributions they bring. When we talk about putting our Be Fearless principles into practice, it’s not surprising that we often turn to startup founders for inspiration. For “Make big bets” you can’t help but think of Sara Blakely and Jeff Bezos; “Let Urgency Conquer Fear” evokes the story of Daymond John; “Make Failure Matter” conjures images of Oprah who was told she wasn’t made for TV, Elon Musk, or Thomas Edison who famously declared, “I haven’t failed, I’ve just found ten thousand ways that won’t work.”

But the story of many entrepreneurs, because they can be so inspirational, can also become over-glamorized. What we don’t talk about enough, however, is the stamina — mental and physical — required to be an entrepreneur. It’s an essential part of the narrative of who is and can be an entrepreneur. And since that very notion was the premise of our recent #FacesofFounders campaign, we reached back out to some of those featured founders to take on the topic of stress management.

Head to Faces of Founders on Medium to see what they said.

To Get Past our Blind Spots, We Need to Be Fearless

Posted on by Case Foundation

At the Case Foundation, we are excited about a new book that’s hitting the stands this week: The Innovation Blind Spot, written by my friend, and long-time Case Foundation partner, Ross Baird. True to its title, the book portrays the current state of entrepreneurship, investment and innovation in the United States today, and does so through a prism of “blind spots” that currently inhibit growth and opportunity. But rather than simply laying out the challenges, Ross lays out a “playbook” of how to overcome these blind spots.

The book kicks off with some pretty worrying statistics. While entrepreneurship is—and always has been—at the core of our DNA in America, and many believe it is what sets us apart as a nation, it turns out that entrepreneurial activity is actually at 40-year low in the US—more businesses are dying each day than starting.

Sure, there are sectors that are thriving in our “innovation nation”—particularly big companies, elites on the coasts and those who have historically had access to capital and networks. At the same time, others across the country are literally being left behind in the innovation economy—particularly women, people of color, those in the middle of the country, and those who come from less familiar places and backgrounds. Indeed, the data makes this clear: Less than 10 percent of venture capital goes to women; less than 1 percent to African American founders. An overwhelmingly disproportionate share goes to a limited few: last year a whopping 75 percent of all venture capital went to just three states—California, New York and Massachusetts and 10 percent of all startup financing went to graduates from just six universities. Ross, who has joined every one of my husband Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest road trips, intimately understands the hurdles this poses for innovators who come from diverse backgrounds. Indeed, the Innovation Blind Spot in many respects seems almost like a companion to books like Adam Grant’s Originals or The Third Wave, authored by Steve in 2015.

As all of these books make clear, great innovations come from unexpected people and places, and we need to go the extra mile to identify and support them. “The simple truth,” Ross says, “is that the current model for venture capital—for backing new ideas—is bad for all founders who don’t fit the pattern. It’s bad for investors, too, because the biggest venture capital firms, concentrated in the biggest cities, aren’t necessarily set up to invest in the most innovative ideas.”

The first step in overcoming this blind spot? Understand that every investment decision has bias: embrace and mitigate it, Ross says. People invest in and support people they know and understand. The Innovation Blind Spot goes into enlightening detail on how cognitive bias, not the quality of idea, affects whether someone gets funding.

Add to this, the blind spot that Ross calls “two pocket thinking”: how we artificially separate our jobs and our careers from our values. Walking through the modern history of business, philanthropy and investing, Ross challenges the traditional idea that business and investing need to be separate from the interest of building a better world. “If we live in a two-pocket world, where business has no responsibility for what happens in society, we’re fighting a losing battle,” says Ross. While we’ve had 100 years of “make your money, then give it away” as the way things have been done, Ross provides a compelling mix of data and storytelling that challenges this approach, and lays out ideas for how best to spotlight cities and companies on the rise and to blend business, social good and investing, much as he has done through his own venture capital firm, Village Capital.

I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Innovation Blind Spot today, and more importantly, I encourage you to be fearless with the ideas you look for, support, and invest in.

*Disclosure: Jean and Steve Case are investors in Village Capital.

Immigrants, We Create Jobs

Posted on by Case Foundation

The Broadway musical Hamilton has a line that elicits thunderous applause every night—“Immigrants, we get the job done.” Recent research shows us that the line could just as accurately state, “Immigrants, we create jobs.” One recent study shows that immigrant-founded and owned companies employ nearly 6 million people. And even Mary Meeker’s 2017 report, which analyzes and predicts the latest Internet and technology trends, emphasizes the importance of immigrants in the tech sector and as entrepreneurs.

One of the most astounding graphics in this report shows how influential immigrants’ innovation has been in Americans’ everyday lives; 60 percent of the most highly valued tech companies were co-founded by first or second generation immigrants. These include Steve Jobs, a second generation Syrian immigrant, and Sergey Brin, the Russian immigrant who co-founded Google.

The expanded immigrant report also shows that as of 2007, 25 percent of all companies are founded by immigrants and Entrepreneur reports that more than 40 percent of businesses on the U.S. Fortune 500 List are launched by immigrants or children of immigrants. This is especially remarkable given that the overall percentage of immigrants in the US is only about 13 percent.

We have seen firsthand the power of immigrant experiences through #FacesofFounders. Entrepreneurs like Shazi Visram of Happy Family, Markos Moulitsas Zuniga of Daily Kos, Felicity Conrad of Paladin and Annie Liao Jones of Rock Candy Media all took their immigrant and first generation experiences, their drive to build a life here and their entrepreneurial spark to build something important and meaningful. For entrepreneurs—like Jean Sim of Fresh Monster, for example—who not only immigrated with their parents but also followed in their entrepreneurial footsteps, having immigrant role models significantly impacted the goals they set for themselves. As Jean says, “I saw firsthand how being an entrepreneur was the best possible way to shape my own future, and how much effort it took to succeed.”

But the compelling case for inclusive entrepreneurship isn’t just the personal stories and life experiences of immigrants and diverse communities. What makes inclusive entrepreneurship vital is the economic and financial impact that investing in diversity can have. Not only have we seen that investing in women can provide outsized returns and that diverse teams outperform industry averages, but the National Venture Capital Association offers more insight into the vast contributions immigrants make in the startup world in their publication “ Why Immigrant Entrepreneurs are Crucial for America’s Future.” In it, they quote Bill Draper, one of the first venture capitalists, emphasizing, “Immigrants are such a key part of the entrepreneurial spirit in America. Immigration has been at the root of this country since the beginning, and we need to hold on to it and encourage it.”

Groups like Unshackled Ventures see this opportunity and have created support systems and investment funds to accelerate immigrant businesses. In addition to pre-seed capital and network support typical of most accelerators, Unshackled Ventures specializes in what its entrepreneur cohorts need most—employment and immigration support to legally work and build a company in the U.S. Specialized accelerators like this, alongside substantial support from investors and companies for smart immigration policies and start-up visas, are critical to democratizing access and opportunity to America’s next big idea and next set of jobs.

So why do so many of those who were born in a different country have such a large share of entrepreneurial spirit and success? We believe it is because a diversity of backgrounds leads to a diversity of innovation which, in turn, drives a greater expansion of the creative force and job opportunity in America. This kind of smart business decision is why we push for inclusive entrepreneurship so strongly. Inclusive entrepreneurship is not limited to acknowledging the contributions of women and minorities. It means enabling people from all demographics to get in the arena and let their ideas, from a kids’ shampoo to a behemoth search engine, change the world. And particularly in this time of division, turmoil and violence against communities of color, it is our responsibility to stand up for opportunity, stand up for justice and stand next to those fighting every day for an equal chance at the American Dream.

50 Entrepreneurial Influencers You Should Be Following On Twitter

Posted on by Case Foundation

At the Case Foundation, we celebrate the power of entrepreneurship—as a means to help changemakers tackle global challenges, transform communities, create jobs, spur economic growth and close the opportunity gap—every day of the year.

This week however is special, as we join with millions of others in the world’s largest celebration of entrepreneurs, innovators and job creators during Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW). Now in its ninth year, GEW “inspires people everywhere through local, national and global activities designed to help them explore their potential as self-starters and innovators.” It has become a “platform for connection and collaboration—engaging all players along the entrepreneurship spectrum in strengthening ecosystems around the world.”

To forge a stronger, more dynamic and increasingly diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem, we have curated a list of 50 influencers in the entrepreneurial space—with a focus on social entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of color, impact investors and ecosystem builders—who we encourage you to follow and engage with on Twitter. We recognize that there are thousands of others who are actively engaging in this conversation on Twitter… so if you want to shine a spotlight on others supporting this ecosystem, please let us know on Twitter using @CaseFoundation and the hashtag #Ent4All.

And don’t forget to keep in touch with the Case Foundation and our team!
@CaseFoundation   @JeanCase   @SteveCase   Full Team List

Entrepreneurial Influencers*:
Easily follow every Twitter handle on this list through our Entrepreneurship Twitter List.

Halcyon Incubator

@HalcyonIncubate

Supporting intrepid social entrepreneurs with transformative ideas to solve 21st century challenges.

PowerMoves

@PowerMovesNOLA

PowerMoves.NOLA is about creating power through opportunity – the opportunity of high growth minority Traditional & Tech Entrepreneurship.

1776

@1776

Global incubator & seed fund helping startups transform industries that impact millions—education, energy & sustainability, health, transportation & cities.

FundGoodJobs

@FundGoodJobs

We bet on good job creators.

Propeller

@GoPropeller

Propeller is a New Orleans nonprofit that works to solve local problems through social innovation. #PropelForward #PropelChange

Scott Case

@tscottcase

@MainStGenome Co-Founder *** Up Global http://www.UP.co *** @MalariaNoMore to end malaria deaths in Africa by 2015.

Entrepreneur Magazine

@EntMagazine

Premier business magazine for entrepreneurs. Our main account is @Entrepreneur. Follow this account for all print-related content and material.

Penny Pritzker

@PennyPritzker

The official Twitter feed of the United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker

TechStars

@TechStars

Techstars is a global ecosystem that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies to market wherever they choose to build their business.

Catalyst

@CatalystInc

Working globally to build inclusive workplaces and expand opportunities for women and business. Terms of use: http://catalyst.org/node/683

Tory Burch Foundation

@ToryBurchFdn

The official Tory Burch Foundation tweets.

UBS

@UBS

Follow us for news about UBS, our events and opinions from around the world.

Startup Weekend

@StartupWeekend

Create communities & build companies in a weekend! No Talk. All Action. Part of @techstars and powered by @GoogleForEntrep

Kauffman Foundation

@KauffmanFDN

Fostering economic independence by advancing education & entrepreneurship. RTs ≠ endorsements. House Rules http://kff.mn/110LS6x

Global Entrepreneurship Network

@unleashingideas

#GEW has given rise to a Global Entrepreneurship Network of entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers and other startup champions in 160+ countries.

Branson Centre

@bransoncentre

The Branson Centre was established by Richard Branson and Virgin Unite to identify promising entrepreneurs and equip them to launch successful businesses.

Inc

@Inc

Everything you need to know to start and grow your business now.

Conscious Company

@ConsciousCoMag

Print and digital publication about innovative, sustainable businesses that are doing good in the world.

Forbes

@Forbes

Official Twitter account of http://Forbes.com , homepage for the world’s business leaders.

FastCompany

@FastCompany

Official Twitter feed for the Fast Company business media brand; inspiring readers to think beyond traditional boundaries & create the future of business.

Skoll Foundation

@SkollFoundation

Driving large-scale change by investing in, connecting, & celebrating social entrepreneurs & innovators dedicated to solving the world’s most pressing problems

Forward Cities

@ForwardCities

A national learning collaborative between cities of innovation. Focus: inclusive innovation; shared learning; social impact; entrepreneurship.

New Economy Initiaitve

@NEIMichigan

New Economy Initiative for SE Michigan is accelerating the transition to an innovation-based economy that expands opportunities for all.

Christopher Gergen

@cgergen

Focus on urban innovation & developing next generation high-impact leaders. Author, teacher, father, entrepreneur.

Arlan Hamilton

@ArlanWasHere

Investor/Managing Director at @Backstage_Cap 

Earl Robinson

@pmnolaearl

CEO, New Orleans Startup Fund & PowerMoves.NOLA: Providing underrepresented, early-stage treps with access to capital, guidance and a national ecosystem.

Idea Villages

@IdeaVillage

For entrepreneurs and those who believe in them.

Jess Knox

@jknox78251

Movement maker; growth consultant; father; Maine Startup & Create Week, @startupportland @olympicostrat

Blackstone Launch Pad

@BxLaunchPad

Blackstone LaunchPad is a campus entrepreneurship program offering coaching, ideation and venture creation support.

Kapor Center

@KaporCenter

The Kapor Center is relentlessly pursuing creative strategies to leverage tech for positive, progressive change.

SBA

@SBAgov

The official Twitter account of the U.S. Small Business Administration. News, tips, and resources for the small biz community.

JumpStart Inc

@JumpStartInc

JumpStart is a nationally recognized nonprofit accelerating the success of diverse entrepreneurs, their high growth companies and the ecosystems supporting them

The Pew Trusts

@pewtrusts

Driven by knowledge to solve today’s challenging problems, improve public policy, inform the public, and invigorate civic life. RT does not imply endorsement.

Ross Baird

@rossbaird

Executive Director of @villagecapital; also teach at @UVA. Enable entrepreneurs to solve major global problems. Big fan of @UVa basketball, @braves.

CityLab

@CityLab

All things urban, from The Atlantic.

Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation

@AspenInstitute

Exploring ideas. Inspiring conversations on issues that matter.

National Urban League

@NatUrbanLeague

Established in 1910, National Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans.

Small Business Majority

@SmlBizMajority

We are a national small business organization founded and run by small business owners.

Opportunity Hub

@ohubatl

Opportunity Hub is the largest minority owned multi-campus coworking space, entrepreneurship school, pre-accelerator and incubator.

John Hope Bryant

@johnhopebryant

Thought leader, founder, chairman and CEO, Bryant Group Ventures & Operation HOPE, bestselling author of How The Poor Can Save Capitalism & LOVE LEADERSHIP

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship

@NFTE

Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is a global nonprofit that unlocks potential in young people by teaching them how to think entrepreneurially.

Opportunity Finance Network

@OppFinance

OFN is a national network of CDFIs (community lending institutions) that invest in opportunities to benefit low-income and low-wealth people in the U.S.

Ellevate Network

@EllevateNtwk

A global women’s network. The essential resource for professional women who create, inspire and lead. Together we #InvestInWomen.

Sallie Krawcheck

@SallieKrawcheck

Ellevest, Ellevate Network…past head of Merrill Lynch & Smith Barney ….past research analyst…..mom….crazed UNC basketball fan

Lesa Mitchell

@lesamitchell

Supporting networks that enable inventors and startups to scale.

Craig Shapiro

@cshapiro

Founder and managing partner @collabfund. Student of history.

Jacqueline Novogratz

@jnovogratz

Founder/CEO of @acumen, dedicated to changing the way the world tackles poverty. Author of The Blue Sweater

Linda Rottenberg

@lindarottenberg

Endeavor CEO and Co-Founder, high-impact entrepreneurship promoter, mom of identical twins. Author of Crazy Is A Compliment

Omidyar Network

@OmidyarNetwork

A philanthropic investment firm harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. #PositiveReturns

Google for Entrepreneurs

@GoogleForEntrep

News and updates from Google for Entrepreneurs.

*This list is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Inclusion on this list does not include endorsement by the Foundation.

Women’s Venture Xchange-Africa: Expanding Women-led Businesses in Africa

Posted on by Case Foundation

Global Entrepreneurship Network is now accepting applications for Women’s Venture Xchange-Africa!

This year’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Nairobi, Kenya put a spotlight on the rising stars of entrepreneurship and the burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa. The summit showed how the people and companies of Africa are ripe for real financial investment to grow their businesses, strengthen their communities and provide solutions for some of the world’s most pressing problems. The Case Foundation was honored to join GES and get a first hand look at the individuals, communities, policies and programs driving competitive and novel business ideas to scale. And we were particularly honored to pivot the main spotlight to shine on women entrepreneurs and the economic and business case for investing in their success.

Part of that spotlight includes a new partnership with the Women’s Venture Xchange-Africa (WVXA), a pilot launched at the Summit with Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN), the Mara Foundation and U.S. Department of State, WVXA will provide four African women entrepreneurs the opportunity to scale their business through access to strong mentorship and capital networks in Nairobi. The program is designed to help established women-owned businesses expand beyond the borders of their own countries—gaining access to new regional markets, research and insights into best practices.

The entrepreneurs will be selected based on their company’s likelihood of successful regional expansion, the business’s growth stage, the uniqueness of the concept and their professional ambitions for their time in Nairobi. WVXA will be focused on drawing entrepreneurs who have established their businesses locally and are poised for cross-border expansion within East Africa.

We look forward to seeing the results of the first cohort of entrepreneurs and building upon the evidence base from our own work in driving more inclusive entrepreneurship – entrepreneurship that is more inclusive of under-represented groups, more inclusive of under-leveraged places and more inclusive of businesses that shoot for financial AND social impact returns. We are thrilled to see the belief in the power of entrepreneurship continue to thrive in every corner of the world, and look forward to seeing how WVXA unlocks the huge potential in the four women entrepreneurs selected to participate this year.

For more information or to apply to the WVXA program visit the Global Entrepreneurship Week website. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until October 23, 2015. Stay tuned for more updates as the application and selection process develop!

Will David Chen of Equilibrium Capital Pioneer “The Next Stage” of Impact Investing?

Posted on by Case Foundation

The challenge of climate change is not new in the U.S., and recent political dialogue on the subject suggests a renewed urgency to address it.

This week, the focus of our spotlight on social enterprise with Entrepreneur.com, in partnership with ImpactAlpha, is on a West Coast company, Equilibrium Capital. Led by former venture capitalist and tech executive David Chen, this asset management firm is putting big dollars into play to demonstrate that sustainable resource management is essential for long-term, high-return investing.

Equilibrium Capital was formed in 2007 in response to new trends that Chen recognized as keys to reshaping major commodity sectors: rising middle class consumption and a new focus on water use. He started Equilibrium to capitalize on shifting values and new market opportunities born out of increasingly constrained natural resources and increasing demand for those same resources.

Chen founded the firm to be a sustainability-driven asset manager for institutional investors that delivers both a reliable financial return and intentional positive impact on communities and the environment. To do this, Equilibrium is providing innovative investment products, operating a portfolio of real assets, promoting transparency in the portfolio and scaling capital from diverse investors. Its portfolio currently includes opportunities in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, green real estate and water management.

Equilibrium’s work is not going unnoticed. Despite the focus on sustainability, its investors aren’t just “do-gooders” who are willing to trade profit for social gains. Equilibrium’s investors expect a market rate of return. The firm has even attracted some of the most risk-averse investors in the world—pension fund managers—who, by the way, control trillions of dollars.

So, is impact investing a tool to create the positive environmental outcomes needed to address climate change? Time will tell, but returns so far seem to show that Equilibrium’s real assets are lower-risk than might be expected. To read more about how Equilibrium is creating positive impact and hoping to pioneer the next stage of large-scale, high-return impact investing, visit Entrepreneur.com for the full story.

Sari Miller: An Angel Investor Proving the “Goodness Factor” is Good for Impact and Returns

Posted on by Case Foundation

As an early impact investor, Sari Miller’s strategies, experience and perspectives on angel investments offer others in the market a wealth of insight and guidance on investing with purpose in new markets. For this reason, Miller is the focus of our weekly series on social entrepreneurship with Entrepreneur.com, in partnership with ImpactAlpha.

Sari Miller, CEO of Sarjay, Inc., is ushering through some of the biggest impact investment deals currently in the market. Miller is translating the hands-on style that earned her great success during her previous career in real estate, to her approach as an early stage impact investor. She is working to drive enterprises and funds to scale in the widely untapped social benefit markets and low-income services industries. Her business acumen and commitment to the groups she funds and their social impact have helped pave the way for some early successes. Her most notable successes came from angel investments in Leapfrog Investments and Grassroots Business Fund (both organizations were profiled previously on the Entrepreneur.com Impact Investing Topic Hub).

Miller’s impact investments are not limited to a single geography, socio-economic climate or social issue. They cover a range of countries and encompass a multitude of services and sectors, including employment opportunities and job training, education, civil rights advocacy, agriculture and artisanal business development and micro-insurance. As with any pioneering investments, not all of her experiments have realized the kind of market scale and impact that Miller is seeking. She was a founding angel backer of Nexii, the first ever publicly regulated impact investing stock exchange based in South Africa. Unlike her other projects, this was not able to gain the traction it needed, and was later merged with a Singapore-based, social enterprise transaction platform, Asia IIX.

Despite this setback, Miller continues to make strides in the market. Most recently she helped Gigawatt Global’s management team get a $24 million solar field, containing more than 28,000 solar panels set in the shape of the African continent, up and running in record time. Miller supported this effort not only for the potential financial returns an under-tapped market like alternative energy can yield, but also for what she calls “the goodness factor.” As part of her due diligence, prior to investing any time or dollars, Miller confirms that the companies and founders are passionate about social impact, stating that the goodness factor is critical and without it, founders can stray from their mission.

Gigawatt Global’s solar project is going beyond clean energy benefits. To install the solar panels, Gigawatt Global is leasing land from Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV), a residential community in Rwanda for individuals who were orphaned during the Rwandan Genocide. Lease payments from this solar project will support the ASYV school while the local residents are also trained in solar technology. Gigawatt’s focus on sustainable, local impact provides the good factor that has resonated with Miller and other similarly driven investors.

For more on Africa’s solar energy project and the range of social impact investments on which Sari Miller is making big bets, read the full story at Entrepreneur.com.

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