Archive for the ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ Category
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program – Apply now!
Business owners need to build deeper understanding, skills and knowledge in the environment where they operate to be able to successfully sustain their businesses. Hence, the need for capacity
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Legal Issues for the Social Entrepreneur II
Hosted by Charles (hipbone) Cameron and Mark Durham (January 2012)
For social entrepreneurs, the law can be exhilarating and exasperating, world-changing or mundane. It offers a space of innovation
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Financing Alternatives: Debt, Equity and Grants (Part 1)
The first of a series of three entries that will discuss the three key financing alternatives available to social entrepreneurs – debt, equity and grants.
The array of financing alternatives
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First Equity-based Crowdfunding Portal Opens its Doors to Businesses
“This is a really big deal for entrepreneurs and small businesses,” commented Peoples Venture Capital spokesman Noah Tier, “what this means is businesses can now move forward with getting themselves listed on a portal, and getting prepared now is critical,” added Mr. Tier.
PETERBOROUGH, N.H., May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire/ –PeoplesVC.com today announced it has opened the doors of its stock crowdfunding platform to small businesses seeking capital. Startups and existing businesses can raise up to $1,000,000 through equity-based Crowdfunding Portals, as a result of new legislation thatpassed recently on April 5th. The new law, which is part of the JOBS act, allows companies to sell stock directly to the public, and also authorizes general solicitation through social networks and other on-line avenues. PeoplesVC.com moved out of its Beta mode today and open edits doors to businesses so they can get listed on its Crowdfunding Portalwhile the SEC finalizes its guidelines.
“This is a really big deal for entrepreneurs and small businesses,”commented Peoples Venture Capital spokesman Noah Tier, “what this means is businesses can now move forward with getting themselves listed on a portal, and getting prepared now is critical,” added Mr. Tier.Companies that move quickly to get themselves listed will have acompetitive market advantage, and starting right away is important as the under writing process takes time. Like any initial offering of stock, there are required steps for preparation, and PeoplesVC.com has automated the process to make it easy for startups and existing businesses.
“Many small businesses are hurting for expansion capital right now, asbanks have not been lending much to small businesses since 2008, so weare excited to offer a new opportunity for entrepreneurs and small businesses to receive capital and also be able to set their own terms and stock price,” said Mr. Tier. Recent reports have predicted that the average American will invest 1% of their income in crowdfunded companies, which will create a sizeable capital market opportunity for entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses.
About PeoplesVC.com
Peoples Venture Capital was founded to enable individual investors toparticipate in Venture Capital investments and the growth and success of small companies, while helping entrepreneurs succeed throughgrassroots funding. Harnessing the power of the Internet, SocialNetworking, and recently passed U.S. laws, PeoplesVC.com is a catalystfor rapid change, jobs growth, and innovation. The company can be found online at http://www.PeoplesVC.com/
This article was first published by PRNewswire. It was culled from www.PeoplesVC.com
Social Capital Market Coming To Africa; The Reality of a New Africa
Femi Aderibigbe, ED, ImpactHouse International
Announcing $1 Million Fund for News Innovation
African News Innovation Challenge (ANIC) is looking for ideas that will transform the way that African media work. This means that your idea should offer significant and tangible improvements to existing tools or techniques, or should propose new ways for African journalists to gather news, tell stories, engage with audiences, or sustain media organisations.
Ideas that have the potential to be replicated or that could scale continentally will have an advantage.
$1m Up For Grabs in African News Innovation Challenge.
Africa’s first major contest designed to promote the development of digital media products and innovations is now accepting applications.
ANIC will provide grants from $12,500 to $100,000 for the best projects aimed at strengthening and transforming African news media. The contest is modeled on the highly successful Knight News Challenge in the United States. Grantees will also receive technical advice, startup support and one-on-one mentoring from the world’s top media experts.
Of particular interest are proposals that improve data-based investigative journalism, audience engagement, mobile news distribution, data visualization, new revenue models and workflow systems.
The African Media Initiative (AMI), Africa’s largest association of media owners and operators, announced the contest last November as part of a pan-African initiative to spur digital experimentation and technology-driven projects and startups.
“African media have a tremendous opportunity to leapfrog the business disruption faced by media in Europe and the U.S.,” says AMI chief executive Amadou Mahtar Ba. “The growing reach of mobile networks and improving Internet access is beginning to reshape the media landscape in Africa. We believe this competition will help African news organizations stay ahead of the curve.”
Contest partners include Omidyar Network, Google, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the U.S. State Department, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
“Omidyar Network is delighted to be supporting the African News Innovation Challenge,” said Stephen King, partner at Omidyar Network. “Across the continent we are seeing innovative ways in which technology is providing people with greater access to information. This challenge is a great opportunity for journalists, entrepreneurs and technologists to join forces and help enable the African media to hold their leaders to account.”
Digital strategist Justin Arenstein, a Knight International Journalism Fellow working with AMI, is leading the initiative. The International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C., administers the Knight Fellowships.
HOW TO APPLY:
Entries must be submitted to the ANIC website by midnight (Central African Time) on July 10, 2012.
WHO CAN APPLY:
Proposals may be submitted by news pioneers from anywhere in the world, but entries must have an African media partner who will help develop and test the innovation. Projects that are designed for Africa will stand a better chance of receiving support.
Read more here: http://africannewschallenge.org/
How NGOs can obtain Consultative Status with the United Nations’ ECOSOC
The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) provides NGOs the opportunity to obtain consultative status which benefits NGOs in attending international conferences and events, make written and oral statements at these events, organize side events, enter the United Nations premises and have opportunities to network and lobby.
Every year, prior to June 1st, ECOSOC seeks applications from NGOs by first asking them to get their profiles registered in their database and then submit their online application for consideration to obtain the consultative status. The NGO Branch at the United Nations receives, reviews and forwards the applications to the Committee on NGOS which meets twice a year to decide which NGOs applying for consultative status it will recommend to the ECOSOC Council.
As this process of obtaining consultative status is beneficial for both NGOs and the ECOSOC, many NGOs around the world fail to apply or get their applications rejected easily either because they have poor knowledge about the process involved in selection or they have less interest in it.
In order to increase awareness about the benefits of the consultative status, the United Nations has published a simple and useful guide outlining the meaning, benefits, process and selection of NGOs. The objectives of the guide are “to encourage relevant NGOs to apply for consultative status with the Council, as well as to help organizations already in consultative status to get the most of this relationship while increasing their contribution to the work of ECOSOC.”
Running to some 44 pages, the guide provides basic information about the way in which NGOs can interact with the United Nations in general and with ECOSOC in particular. It describes the different formal and informal mechanisms that civil society can utilize in order to work with the different ECOSOC Commissions.
The guide available in English and Portuguese versions can be downloaded from this link.
Source Link: http://www.fundsforngos.org/guides/ngos-obtain-consultative-status-united-nations-ecosoc/#ixzz1sOwsDCt3
Call For Nomination for Appointment into the NEITI NSWG
ollowing the outcome of the meeting of the 7-person Committee set up at the Civil Society Strategic Meeting on the NEITI held in Abuja on Wednesday, 18 April, 2012, you are hereby informed that the process for nominating civil society candidates for consideration and recommendation for appointment into the NEITI NSWG is now open.