Fergal Byrne - Podcast Details

Shows

GAA Minor MomentsEmma O'Byrne: Teamwork, Tenacity, and a Dublin DreamOur guest for Season 4 Episode 3 of the GAA Minor Moments podcast with Electric Ireland is Dublin Camogie player Emma O'Byrne.Throughout the episode, Emma shares her unique journey into camogie, from its unlikely beginnings to the lessons learned during her minor years and beyond.Emma explores the importance of team spirit, the influence of diverse sporting experiences, and the pride of representing Dublin, offering valuable advice to aspiring young players. She emphasises playing with freedom and cherishing the friendships forged on the pitch.Every Tuesday, well known...2025-04-2931 min

The Sustainability AgendaEpisode 200: Exploring the Austin Edgelands: Christopher Brown discusses his latest book, A Natural History of Empty Lots. In this thought-provoking episode, Christopher Brown—lawyer, novelist, and urban naturalist— takes us on a journey through the landscape around his home in Austin, Texas, the edgelands where the city meets the wild. Drawing from his latest book, A Natural History of Empty Lots, Christopher explores the resilience of urban ecosystems, the unexpected biodiversity thriving in neglected spaces, and the connections between land, politics, and justice in an era of climate disruption. This is a compelling dialogue about the uneasy balance between human civilization and the natural world—and how rethinking our relationship with wil...2025-02-1750 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 114: Lessons from Nedjip Tozun on scaling d.light to 180 million people through innovation, strategy, and mission-driven growthIn this episode of Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs, Fergal Byrne speaks once again with Nedjip Tozun, co-founder of d.light, about the strategic, operational, and financial challenges of scaling social enterprises. Since its inception, d.light has reached nearly 180 million people in emerging markets with off-grid solar solutions.Nedjip shares key decisions that enabled d.light’s growth, the challenges of distribution and financing, and the trade-offs required to balance efficiency with mission alignment. This conversation offers valuable insights for social entrepreneurs aiming to scale sustainably.As co-founder of d.light, Nedjip has led the company’s ex...2025-02-101h 13

The Sustainability AgendaEpisode 199: : Author Manda Scott on Conscious Evolution, Systemic Change, and the Power of StorytellingIn this thought-provoking episode of The Sustainability Agenda, Fergal Byrne speaks with Manda Scott—award-winning novelist, podcaster, and shamanic practitioner—about the profound challenges of our time and the transformative possibilities of conscious evolution. Manda discusses the "polycrisis" of climate breakdown, systemic inequities, and the existential threat of predatory capitalism, offering a deep perspective on the spiritual and systemic changes needed to navigate this pivotal moment.Manda sees humanity’s crises as rooted in a centuries-old belief in separability, which has fueled destructive systems like capitalism and undermined our connection to the natural world. She emphasizes the need f...2025-01-161h 01

Travel Tales with FergalSky Amade Hochkonig and Gastein, Austria with Cian ByrneAs the 2025 Austria Alpine ski season begins, I interview travel ski journalist Cian Byrne about our recent December trip to the towns of Maria Alm in the Hochkonig region and Bad Gastein in the Gastein region, which are both part of the huge 760km ski area of Ski Amade near Salzburg. Visit https://www.skiamade.com/en for tips, trips and deals.If you haven’t already, I'd ask you to give me a follow on whichever platform you listen to your podcasts and you will be the first to get a new episode. Fergal O’Keef...2024-12-2438 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 112: Unlocking AI for Social Good-- Insights from Ashoka’s AI LabIn this fascinating episode, Fergal Byrne sits down with Odin Mühlenbein, co-leader of Ashoka’s AI Lab, for a deep dive into the transformative role and potential of AI for social entrepreneurs. With a background spanning philosophy, social venture development, and an early passion for programming, Odin brings a unique perspective to the possibilities AI offers for social impact, deepened by his experience at Ashoka’s AI lab. Here he discusses the journey from experimenting with machine learning to building meaningful AI applications tailored for nonprofits and social enterprises.Odin explores the huge potential of AI to re...2024-11-071h 09

The Sustainability AgendaEpisode 189: Interview with Irish rewilding pioneer Eoghan Daltun in the Beara peninsula of Co. Cork, Ireland.In this fascinating interview, conducted with my daughter, Catherine Byrne, we delve into the world of Eoghan Daltun, an Irish farmer and advocate for rewilding. Eoghan's journey is a testament to the power of nature and the importance of ecological balance. He shares his experiences running a farm and rewilding project on the Beara peninsula of Co. Cork, Ireland. His work is not just about farming, but about restoring and preserving the natural environment. His book, 'An Irish Atlantic Rainforest: A Personal Journey Into the Magic of Rewilding', is a testament to his commitment and passion for this cause...2024-03-141h 17

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 102: Interview with Narayan Dhakal, Executive Director of Nepalese NGO, EcoHimal NepalEcoHimal Nepal is non-government organization (NGO) founded in 2009 with the goal of achieving sustainable development through community empowerment in Nepal’s mountain areas. It has almost two decades of experience in livelihoods enhancement through sustainable development and community capacity-building, having worked in the region since 1992 as the Asian Regional Office of Eco Himal, an international non-government organization (INGO) based in Salzburg, Austria. As a national NGO, EcoHimal Nepal will support the Nepal Government’s policy and work as a development partner in building the nation. EcoHimal’s mission is a prosperous, empowered and self-sustained Nepali society free of povert...2020-06-1750 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 101: Interview with Sue Riddlestone, OBE, Founder of BioregionalSue is Founder of Bioregional, a UK social entreprise that, works with partners to create better, more sustainable places to live, work and do business. Bioregional developed BedZED eco-village the first of its kind in the UK and out of this the One Planet Living approach, ten interconnected and holistic principles to show people how to make sustainable living actionable and desirable. Sue was also instrumental in designing SDG12, focused on sustainable consumption and production – essential to One Planet Living. Sue is an Ashoka fellow.2020-04-2752 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 100: Interview with Nadina Galle, CEO and Co-Founder at Green City Watch, an Amsterdam-based geoAI company empowering urban foresters to manage their tree inventory in real-time.In this inspiring interview, Nadina Galle, CEO & Co-Founder at Green City Watch, speaks to the growing trend of urbanization, and the key role that that urban forests play in greening cities. She explains how Green City Watch uses powerful AI and machine learning technologies to provide a cost-effective solution to oversee and manage urban green spaces and talks about the company’s first product focused on urban forests.Nadina Galle is an ecologist whose practice spans the fields of sustainability, technology, and urbanism. She is CEO & Co-Founder at Green City Watch in Amsterdam, a global, award-winning geospatial AI...2020-01-1741 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 99: Interview with Dr Morgan Phillips, Co-director, The Glacier TrustDr Morgan Phillips joined The Glacier Trust in December 2016. He is responsible for the day-to-day running of the charity, with specific focus on project development, partnerships, strategy and fundraising. Morgan holds a BSc in Geography, an MSc in Environmental Science, Policy and Planning and a PhD in Environmental Education. He worked at Keep Britain Tidy for five years, spending two years as a Team Leader in Community Engagement and three years as Education Manager. Previously, Morgan ran a small intercultural understanding charity, Global Footsteps and lectured on the politics of climate change at Brunel University. Alongside his role as...2019-12-1253 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 98: Interview with Jordan Kassalow and Jennifer Krause on their inspiring new book, Dare to Matter: Your Path to Making a Difference NowIn this interview, social entrepreneur Jordan Kassalow, and rabbi and author, Jennifer Krausediscuss Dare to Matter, their inspiring new bookwhich brings together Jordan’s experience as a successful social entrepreneur and Jennifer’s deep insights into inherited Jewish traditions. They set the context clearly from the outset—an economic model that does not work for many, and intense and growing societal pressure on young people and people in the workplace. Against this background, a growing number of individuals are yearning to find a deep meaning in life beyond the material –Jordan cites recent research on the limited impact that material...2019-09-2654 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 97: Interview with Rebecca Masisak, CEO of TechSoup, a non-profit international network of NGOs that provide technical support and technological tools to other nonprofits and social benefit organisationsRebecca Masisak is CEO of TechSoup–she sets the strategic direction and provides executive oversight of all aspects of the organization and its global operations. Ms. Masisak joined TechSoup in 2001 to launch its e-commerce donation platform, moving the organization from a local San Francisco Bay Area focus to a national reach. In 2006, she founded the TechSoup Global Network to scale the program’s impact globally. Ms. Masisak became CEO of the organization in 2012, after having served the prior six years as co-CEO. She previously worked as a strategy consultant with Coopers & Lybrand and in leadership roles at several Internet busi...2019-02-2646 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 96: Interview with Jed Emerson author of The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows, and Natural BeingIn this inspiring and thought-provoking interview, Jed describes his decades long work in the field of impact investment and the motivation behind his most recent book The Purpose of Capital: Elements of Impact, Financial Flows, and Natural Being. Jed explores the historic roots of our understanding of capital—and goes on to suggest that the idea that there is this gap between philanthropic capital and market rate capital is not correct-that all investments should be considered impactful. Rather than seeing progress as linear, Jed argues we should consider it as a spiral, where we can search for both a de...2018-11-2339 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 95: Interview with Ann Mei Chang, author of Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social GoodAs the former Chief Innovation Officer at USAID, Ann Mei served as the first Executive Director of the US Global Development Lab. In this role, Ann Mei was responsible for identifying breakthrough innovations and transforming the way development was done in order to accelerate our pace of progress. Her firsthand knowledge in both tech and nonprofit startups have provided her with keen insight into the many challenges inhibiting the growth of new ideas. Ann Mei describes in this interview the difference between the traditional Lean Startup Model and the Lean Impact model she proposes in her new book, Lean Imp...2018-10-3036 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 94: Interview with Randy Paynter, founder of Care2With a natural philanthropic spirit, Randy Paynter founded the online advocacy website, Care2, in 1998 with the hope of making the world a kinder, more inclusive, and sustainable space. The business works by focusing on two aspects in which to generate support for social and environmental causes around the world. First, they empower individuals to take collective action through the petition of their own campaigns. Second, they work directly with non-profits to craft campaigns in an effort to generate/ recruit more donor prospects. Their scale and expertise allows them to effectively navigate shifts in the online market to maximize connections...2018-09-1938 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 93: Interview with Harish Hande, co-founder SELCO INDIAHarish Hande is an Indian social entrepreneur who co-founded SELCO India in 1995 to eradicate poverty by promoting sustainable technologies in rural India. SELCO India is a social enterprise that provides sustainable energy services to the poor in India, sustainable energy solutions and services to under-served households and businesses. SELCO empowers its customer by providing a complete package of product, service and consumer financing through grameena banks, cooperative societies, commercial banks and micro-finance institutions. Harish has won numerous award including the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, for “his pragmatic efforts to put solar power technology in the hands of the poor.” Hande...2018-07-1845 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 92: Interview with Odin Mühlenbein, Partner at Ashoka Germany and Lead of Advisory at Ashoka GlobalizerOdin Mühlenbein is Partner at Ashoka Germany and Lead of Advisory at Ashoka Globalizer–an accelerator program that helps advanced social entrepreneurs from around the world develop strategies for social system change. Odin takes the learnings from Ashoka Globalizer to spread the word about system change and systems thinking, both within Ashoka and the field of social entrepreneurship. Previously, Odin worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Company and co-founded two social ventures. In this interview, Odin talks the growth and importance of systems entrepreneurs — and the ways in which Ashoka Globalizer promotes insights and learnings about social...2018-05-1042 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 91: Interview with Dr. Charly Kleissner, co-founder KL Felicitas FoundationDr. Charly Kleissner is a pioneer in the field of impact investment. He believes that the deeper meaning of wealth is to make a positive contribution to humanity and the planet. Dr. Kleissner co-founded KL Felicitas Foundation (www.klfelicitasfoundation.org), and Social-Impact International (www.social-impact.org), which help social entrepreneurs worldwide to accelerate and increase their impact. Dr. Kleissner co-founded Toniic and the 100% Impact Network, global networks for impact investors. Dr. Kleissner serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Global Hub Company (www.the-hub.net), and as Board Director and Chairman of the Investment Committee of ImpactAssets.2018-04-261h 20

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 90: Jonah Sachs, co-founder of Free Range Studios and viral marketing innovatorJonah Sachs is an internationally recognized storyteller, author, and designer. He is the co-founder and chief storytelling officer of Free Range Studios, an advertising and marketing firm that specializes in nonprofits and socially responsible businesses. Jonah has helped hundreds of social brands and causes break through the media din with campaigns built on sound storytelling strategies. Jonah’s latest book, Unsafe Thinking, explores latest research into creativity and performance to present effective strategies to achieve higher performance and creativity and deliver successful innovation. In this interview, Jonah talks about the key ideas underlying his new book, and the importance of...2018-03-2125 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 89: Interview with Tim Freundlich, President of ImpactAssetsTim Freundlich is President of ImpactAssets, a boutique donor advised fund that specialises in socially responsible and impact investment options to mobilise human and financial capital towards a sustainable world. Tim is a long-term innovator in new financial instruments in the social enterprise sectors and was instrumental in establishing the precursor to ImpactAssets, the Calvert Giving Fund. Tim is also co-author of the ImpactAssets Handbook, an introductory text on how to become best positioned to engage in impact investing as an asset owner.In this interview, Tim gives us an overview of ImpactAssets activities and the role...2018-02-2858 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 88: Interview with Harvey Koh, Managing Director at FSGHarvey Koh is Managing Director at the global social change consulting firm FSG. Based in FSG’s Mumbai, India office, Harvey directs research and advocacy in the area of Inclusive Markets, advancing thinking about inclusive business and market-based solutions in development, with a global perspective. His primary focus is working with donors and companies to develop and scale inclusive business models that benefit the poor, across the housing, water and the healthcare sector.In this interview, Harvey discusses FSG’s recent report Shaping Inclusive Markets: How Funders and Intermediaries can Help Markets Move Towards Greater Economic Inclusion. The...2018-01-3043 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 87: Interview with Anh Bui, Vice President Benetech LabsBenetech Labs is the innovation engine of Benetech, a leading nonprofit that empowers communities through software for social good with a focus on education, human rights, poverty, and the environment. Benetech Labs works with communities and partners to identify needs and prototype software for social solutions and support solutions that deliver the greatest impact in the communities it serves. Benetech Labs uses a model very much like traditional venture capitalists use when evaluating projects with the key difference that Benetech Labs focuses on delivering maximum social good, not profit.Anh is a seasoned nonprofit leader with expertise...2017-12-0546 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 86: Interview with Joel Solomon, Chairman of Renewal Funds, co-author of the Clean Money RevolutionJoel Solomon is a highly experience social investor who has invested in over 100 early-growth stage companies in North America. Joel was instrumental in the development the Endswell Foundation, the largest, BC-based, charitable foundation in British Columbia funding environmental issues in the 1990s. Joel is currently Chair of Renewal Funds, Canada’s largest mission venture capital firm, with $98m assets under management. Joel is a Senior Advisor with RSF Social Finance, founding member of Social Venture Network, Business for Social Responsibility, the Tides Canada Foundation, and Board Chair of Hollyhock. He is co-author of the Clean Money Revolution, which will ha...2017-11-1342 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 85: Interview with Kevin Barenblat, founder of the Fast Forward acceleratorKevin Barenblat is a highly experienced software entrepreneur with a passion for applying technology for good. He is a big believer that talented people can leverage technology to create scalable solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems. Kevin is the founder of the Fast Forward accelerator that helps tech nonprofits by investing money, providing training and mentoring, and helping scale them to impact using what he calls a “well-established Silicon Valley playbook.” (An edited version of this podcast was posted on the Financing Social Entrepreneurs podcast).2017-10-2749 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 84: Interview with Ned Breslin, CEO at the Tennyson Center for ChildrenNed Breslin is the CEO at the Tennyson Center for Children, a 112 year non-profit based in Denver, Colorado, dedicated to helping children who have experienced severe abuse, neglect and/or trauma so they can bravely, and safely, change their life’s story. Ned previously worked in international water and sanitation for close to 30 years and is a 2011 winner of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. In this inspiring interview, Ned talks about his ongoing journey as a social entrepreneur, the challenges and motivation of working in the child welfare sector, after 30 years working in water and sanitation. Ned...2017-10-1031 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 83: Interview with Jonathan Lewis social justice activist, social entrepreneur, author and educatorJonathan Lewis has had a long and varied career and vocation as a social justice activist and social entrepreneur. He is Founder of MCE Social Capital, an innovative social venture that finances small business loans to deeply impoverished people in 33 countries around the world. He is also Founder and President of the Opportunity Collaboration, an annual global strategic business retreat for anti-poverty leaders, and also co-founder of Copia Global, an Amazon-like consumer catalog. Jonathan has taught social entrepreneurship and lectured at universities around the world and is the author of the newly published The Unfinished Social Entrepreneur, a candid...2017-09-2156 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 82: Interview with Ron Cordes, founder of the Cordes foundationRon Cordes is a veteran of more than 30 years in the investment industry – he co-founded and then sold AssetMark Investment Services. In 2006, together with his wife Marty, Ron set up the Cordes Foundation — a family foundation focused on social entrepreneurship, impact investing and creating economic opportunities for women, later broadening its focus to include ethical fashion brands, sustainable manufacturing and engaging millennials in impact investing. The Cordes Foundation was one of the first foundations to commit itself to aligning 100% of assets to mission. Ron also chairs the Executive Committee for ImpactAssets, an initiative to catalyze capital for impact investments, form...2017-09-0345 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 81: Interview with Isaac Holeman, co-founder Medic MobileIsaac is a designer-researcher focused on global health equity and creating complex health systems that are beneficial to healthcare staff working with poor and marginalised patient populations. He is the cofounder of Medic Mobile, a non-profit technology company specializing in mHealth. Medic Mobile is guided by a mission to support community health workers and families using mobile and web tools to help register pregnancies, track disease outbreaks faster, and keep stock of essential medicines.Medic Mobile started small, but found ways to expand access to medical care by equipping over 18,000 healthcare workers providing healthcare for over 8 million...2017-08-1551 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 80: Interview with Kevin Starr, CEO of the Mulago Foundation: The state of impact investing and funding for social entrepreneurs todayKevin Starr has been supporting social entrepreneurs since before we used the term. He built the current incarnation of Mulago Foundation, a private foundation that funds early-stage social entrepreneurs devoted to maximum impact at scale in the lives of the poorest people in developing countries. In 2003, Kevin set up Rainer Arnhold Fellows Programme to apply Mulago’s principles and tools to help social entrepreneurs turn good ideas into lasting change at scale. The Mulago Foundation is currently funding fifty or so social ventures including Last Mile Health, One Acre Fund, Blue Ventures, Komaza, and The Boma Project. In...2017-07-2838 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 79: interview with Toby Norman, cofounder & CEO of simprintsSimprints is a nonprofit tech company from the University of Cambridge that is building an affordable, secure, rugged, open-source fingerprint system that works in the world’s toughest settings. According to the World Bank, an estimated 1.1 billion people, the majority of them living in Asia and Africa, struggle to access basic services and rights due to an inability to prove their identity – Simprints is developing open source software and biometric hardware to break this identification bottleneck and empower mobile tools used by researchers, NGOs, and governments fighting poverty around the world.In this interview, Toby sets the scen...2017-06-3044 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 78: Interview with KJ Erickson, Founder and CEO of SimbiKJ Erickson is Founder and CEO of Simbi, an innovative technology platform that allows people around the world to exchange or barter services. Users can do exchanges directly, or for credits that can be spent in the Simbi network. Prior to Simbi, KJ spent 9 years as the Founder and Executive Director of FORGE, a nonprofit that provides education, skills training, and entrepreneurial resources to more than 70,000 refugees in war-torn Africa.KJ has won many awards include the Skoll Scholarship for Social Entrepreneurship, the Do Something Award for public service, and the Stanford Haas Public Service Fellowship.2017-06-0834 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 77: Interview with Biplab Ketan Paul, founder of Naireeta ServicesBiplab Ketan Paul is founder of Naireeta Services, an Indian social enterprise that has developed an innovative water management solution, the Bhungroo system, a unique irrigation system based on rainwater harvesting for farmers facing both drought and flooding situations Paul, together with his wife Trupti Jain, has spent some 17 years developing and improving the Bhungroo system which now benefits some 100,000 farmers in India. Paul has won multiple awards for his work including the Millennium Alliance Award for Global impact and India Innovation Growth Award-he is also an Ashoka fellow.2017-05-1754 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 76: Interview with Gregg Treinish, founder of Adventure ScientistsGregg is founder of Adventure Scientists, a US non profit that partners with various conservation groups around the world to collect data from the outdoors that are crucial to unlocking solutions to the world’s environmental challenges. Since its founding in 2011, it has sent thousands of volunteers on missions to collect data from remote, difficult-to-access locations for conservation groups. This has led to the discovery of more than three dozen new species, provided key information to guide climate change decision-making, and helped protect threatened wildlife habitat around the world.2017-04-2646 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 75: Interview with Eric Nee, managing editor of Stanford Social Innovation ReviewEric Nee is managing editor of Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), which has been serving global leaders of social change for almost 15 years- via its quarterly magazine, online articles, podcasts, videos, webinars, and conferences. Eric has some 30 years experience in the publishing industry; before joining Fortune, Eric launched Forbes’s Silicon Valley bureau, where he was bureau manager.In this interview, Eric gives a fascinating overview of the state of social innovation today — and talks about some of the most exciting trends that he sees. From his unique vantage point at the intersection of the government, non-profit, and...2017-04-1259 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 74: Interview Ben Powell founder of Agora PartnershipsBen is founder of Agora Parternships an organisation that provides early stage social entrepreneurs in Latin America with the resources they need to grow-primarily through the Agora Accelerator, a four month program designed to provide entrepreneurs access to the knowledge, networks, and capital they need to succeed. Since 2011, Agora has supported some 125 companies that have raised $52 million and created 5000 jobs, ninety per cent of which are still operating.2017-04-0355 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 73: Interview with Amit Saraogi and Clementine Chambon founders of Oorja SolutionsOorja is a social enterprise that enables underserved rural communities in India to transform their crop waste crop waste into clean energy and biochar using hybrid solar and biomass-powered microgrids. Some 450 million people in rural India do not have access to reliable electricity — Oorja’s mission is to provide clean energy access to these people with a particular focus on local communities whilst promoting sustainable local economic development.2017-03-2436 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 72: Interview with Chuck Slaughter, Founder and CEO of Living GoodsChuck Slaughter is Founder and CEO of Living Goods, a social enterprise building a sustainable distribution platform for products designed to fight poverty and disease in the developing world. Living Goods operates networks of independent entrepreneurs (currently in Uganda, Kenya, and Myanmar) who make a living by selling medicines and products to poor people that can help improve their health, wealth, and productivity. It uses a successful direct selling model like Avon Products. A recent university study shows that Living Goods’ Community Health Agents are reducing child deaths by 25% for less than $2 a year per person. Living Goods aims to...2017-03-1249 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 71: Interview Dr. Alex Dehgan, CEO and co-founder of Conservation X LabsAlex is the CEO and co-founder of Conservation X Labs, a startup for tech innovation for conservation and development. Prior to founding Conservation X Labs Alex served as the Chief Scientist at USAID and founded the Global Development Lab. Conservation X Labs aims to harness exponential technologies, open innovation, and entrepreneurship to dramatically improve the efficacy, scale and sustainability of conservation efforts to end human induced extinction.2017-02-1748 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 70: Interview with Echoing Green’s President, Cheryl Dorsey, celebrating 30-year’s pioneering support for social entrepreneursEchoing Green is a leading global non-profit that provides seed funding and technical assistance to emerging social entrepreneurs with ideas for social change. The organisation is celebrating its 30 anniversary in 2017. Over that time it has forged a community of global pioneers, now over 700 strong, and played a pioneering role helping accelerate these leaders to impact the world. Cheryl Dorsey has been at the helm since 2002 and has overseen Echoing Green’s development into a leading global non-profit.In this interview, posted jointly with Financing Social Entrepreneurs (www.financingsocialentrepreneurs.com) Cheryl takes us back in time to the fou...2017-02-1040 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 69: Interview with Jordan Kassalow, founder of VisionSpringJordan Kassalow is founder of VisionSpring, a US social enterprise whose mission is to expand affordable access to eyewear, everywhere. To date, VisionSpring has distributed over 3.5 million eyeglasses to their target customers, who typically earns below $4 per day. They estimate their total economic impact to be over $756 million.The World Health Organization estimates that more than 600 million people could have their vision restored with access to eyeglasses. With the goal of increasing impact, Jordan recently set up EYElliance–a multi-stakeholder initiative to radically scale provision of eyeglasses to people with refractive error who do not have access to...2017-01-2337 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 68: Interview with Christian Seelos, co-author of the newly published Innovation and Scaling for Impact: How Effective Social Enterprises Do ItChristian is a scholar of social innovation –he is the Leo Tindemans Chair for Business Model Innovation at KU Leuven — a visiting scholar at the Stanford University Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society and an academic visitor at the Said Business School, University of Oxford. Christian, together with Johanna Mair are co-authors of the recently published Innovation and Scaling for Impact: How Effective Social Enterprises Do It.2017-01-1534 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 67: Interview with Willy Oppenheim, founder of Omprakash Foundation, a US-based international non-profitWilly Oppenheim is an educator, a researcher, and the founder of Omprakash a social enterprise working to make international volunteering more ethical and impactful. Willy founded Omprakash (www.omprakash.org) in 2004 with the goal of creating a platform to connect volunteers with social impact opportunities around the world. Omprakash is a free online platform that connects grassroots health, education, and environmental organizations in over 30 countries with a global audience of volunteers, donors, and classrooms that can learn from and support their work. Willy studied anthropology and religion as an undergraduate and went on to earn his doctorate in...2017-01-0434 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 66: Interview with Dr Marc Ventresca, Saïd Business School, University of OxfordMarc is on faculty at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and a Fellow of Wolfson College. His research and teaching focus on innovation, institutions and infrastructure, with particular empirical projects at the intersection of organizational strategy and economic sociology in nascent markets. Current work explores early moments approaches in markets for UK impact investment, ecosystems services in Amazon Peru, climate change adaption, and Cascadia ‘conscious capitalism’. Marc has a distinctive, ‘organisation-rich’view on the role of social entrepreneurs as system builders, creating and strengthening nascent markets, where institutional rules and conventions have not yet settled ambiguity.Marc i...2016-12-1057 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 65: Interview with Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder of Seventh Generation and Hollender Sustainable BrandsJeffrey Hollender is a social entrepreneur, author and activist. After a wide ranging entrepreneurial career, Jeffrey co-founded Seventh Generation and built it over 25 years into a leading natural product company recognised for its authenticity, transparency, and progressive business practices. Jeffrey recently co-founded Hollender Sustainable Brands, which sells Sustain Natural sexual wellness products; he is CEO and Chief Inspired Protagonist. Jeffrey is Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Greenpeace USA and has also served on the board of Verite, a leading labor rights organization, as well as Health Care Without Harm, and Practically Green. He has written six books...2016-11-2549 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 64: Interview with Katy Ashe, Edith Elliott and Shahed Alam, co-founders of Noora HealthNoora Health is an innovative non-profit that provides health training to help patients transition between hospital and home -one of the most precarious and rushed times in healthcare delivery. Noora provides training and information to caregivers and patients after surgery to ensure that patients are well taken of during their recovery process –to improve health outcomes and save lives.To date, Noora has trained and certified more than 25,000 caregivers representing over 18,000 patients—and has demonstrated dramatic improvement in patient health outcomes. Outcomes recorded include a 36% decrease in 30-day complication rates and a 23% decrease in 30-day readmission rates, in t...2016-11-0538 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 63: Interview with Ron Bills, CEO of Envirofit, a US based social entreprise with a mission to create products that reduce pollution and energy dependencyEnvirofit is a global social enterprise that develops innovative smart cookstoves designed to reduce smoke and CO2 emissions and enable families to live healthier lives, while reducing climate change and increasing clean energy initiatives. Since the company was set up in 2003 it has grown into a global company serving over five million people, with over a dozen products and regional headquarters in East Africa, West Africa, Asia, and Latin America. In this interview, Ron talks about: how a clean technology cookstove can be a life changing eventThe power of executionBill’s philosophy of getting and s...2016-10-2129 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 62: Interview Taylor Downs, Co founder Vera Solutions and OpenFnTaylor has spent almost a decade designing data systems for leading international development organizations. He co-founded Vera Solutions—an organization that works with social impact organizations to create affordable, powerful and flexible technology solutions that put real-time information in the hands of the people who need it. Vera has now served more than 175 organisations around the world.Taylor also set up OpenFn.org, a platform that helps organizations connect their technologies to create complete information systems, from program monitoring and evaluation to community health worker tools in the field. OpenFn automates the flow of data between existing to...2016-10-0844 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 61: Interview with Professor Mariana Christen Jakob, CEO & Founder of SEIF, the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative & Foundation, based in SwitzerlandMariana is CEO & Founder of SEIF, the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative & Foundation, based in Switzerland. SEIF was established in 2010 to develop a wide variety of business creation and growth workshops, and support social businesses looking for funding – it has catalysed the development of a more professional community of social entrepreneurs and innovators in Switzerland.The SEIF Awards for Social Entrepreneurship is the largest business plan competition in German-speaking Europe. SEIF has also recently developed the Impact Investors Circle comprising business angels, family offices and other investors interested in funding social businesses to deliver a financial return and social imp...2016-09-3026 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 60: Interview with John Rendel, the Founder and CEO of PEAS, (Promoting Equality in African Schools)John is the Founder and CEO of PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools), a rapidly growing and multiple award-winning social enterprise that widens access to secondary education in Africa. Ten years ago John began working full time on setting up PEAS –the aim was to create a sustainable and self-sufficient network of schools, which can thrive with government support. The charity now has a network of 28 schools in Uganda and 2 in Zambia.PEAS students tend to come from poorer backgrounds than government or private schools in Uganda. Even though many of the schools are in har...2016-09-2631 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 59: Interview with Deep Joshi, co-founder of Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN)Deep is an Indian social worker and NGO activist He co-founded the pioneering Indian non-profit organisation, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN), of which he was the Executive Director till 2007.PRADAN is involved in building self-help groups, developing land and water resource, natural resource management, forest-based livelihood, horticulture and agriculture.Deep was awarded the 2009 Magsaysay award for Community Leadership for his work for “development of rural communities.” He is also a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri.In this interview, Deep discusses: PRADAN’s growth and successPRADAN’s vision to improve p...2016-09-0440 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 58: Interview with Anushka Ratnayake, Founder and Executive Director of myAgroMyAgro is an award-winning social business which allows farmers in West Africa to buy fertilizer and seed by a series of small payments via a mobile phone platform and a network of local village vendorsMyagro’s helps farmers move out of poverty and has led a doubling of farm income. It has grown almost five fold the last year, and aims to grow to 75,000 farmers over the next five years.Anushka was an early employee at both One Acre Fund, where she served as the Director of Innovation and Core Programs, and Kiva.org, whe...2016-08-1831 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 57: Interview with James Perry, Co- Chair and Co-founder of B Lab UKJames Perry is Co- Chair and Co-founder of B Lab UK-a UK registered charity, which exists to support a community of UK-based B Corps; he was also instrumental in managing the launch of B Corps in the UKJames is currently Chief Executive of Panahpur, where he has led the transition from a traditional grant making charitable trust into a sustainable social impact investor.James chaired the UK Mission Alignment Working Group for the UK Advisory Board of the G8 Social Impact Investment Taskforce and has been Deputy Chairman of the Social Stock Exchange.2016-08-0527 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 56: Interview with Michael Norton, OBE, serial social entrepreneurMichael Norton has had a prolific career in the world of social change. In 1975, Michael set up Directory of Social Change, the UK’s leading provider of information and training to the non-profit sector. Twenty years later, he set up the Centre for Innovation in Voluntary Action. In 2000, he co-founded UnLtd, which supports social entrepreneurs.Michael also co-founded the International Centre for Social Franchising and is also co-founder of Buzzbnk, an internet platform to enable the crowd-funding of social ventures. He is currently establishing a social investment find in the UK to invest at an early stage in...2016-07-1940 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 55: Interview with Rodney Schwartz, Founder of ClearlySoRodney is Founder of ClearlySo which works with high-impact businesses, charities and funds in the UK to raise capital, and introduces them to institutional and individual investors. ClearlySo is Europe’s leading impact investment bank, and has helped nearly 100 clients raise more than £108 million in investment capital by leveraging its extensive network of high-net-worth individual and institutional investors.Rodney held senior management posts at Lehman Brothers and Paribas, before founding the fintech venture capital firm Catalyst. A pioneer in this impact investment marketplace Rodney teaches impact investment at the Said Business School (Oxford) to MBAs and in the...2016-06-3041 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 54: Interview with Stephen Dawson, OBE, co-founder of Impetus Trust- now Impetus-PEF- and Jacana Venture PartnershipStephen Dawson is a pioneer in the field of venture philanthropy in the UK. A former venture capitalist, he was involved for 25 years with ECI, where he was until recently non-executive chairman. Stephen was a co-founder of Impetus Trust- now Impetus-PEF- the first British venture philanthropy organisation, investing in charities and social enterprises that fight economic disadvantage; he was also a founder trustee of the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA). Stephen was co-founder and chairman of Jacana Partners which was established to tackle poverty in Africa by helping build a venture capital industry. He has rec...2016-06-1635 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 53: Interview with Nithya Ramanathan, President and Co-Founder of Nexleaf AnalyticsNithya is the President and Co-Founder of Nexleaf Analytics, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles, California. Nexleaf’s mission is to build, scale, and support wireless technologies and data analytics tools to measure the impact of public health and environmental interventions in the field.Nexleaf’s is current focussing on key projects in supporting vaccine delivery in developing countries (ColdTrace) and evaluating the impact of improved cookstoves (StoveTrace).In this interview, Nithya talks about: Nexleaf’s work helping customers deliver impactThe big, neglected, question in social innovation: how do you fix things?The importance of deve...2016-05-2939 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 52: Interview with Ned Tozun, cofounder of d.lightNed is the cofounder of d.light, a for-profit social enterprise that designs, manufactures and distributes solar lights and power products to the developing world; the company provides high quality light and cost savings to households, farms and small businesses.d.light has developed a wide range of solar lighting products at different prices, from desk lights and portable solar lanterns to solar home systems that power radios and mobile phones; the d.light A1 is the world’s most affordable high-quality solar light.To date, d.light has sold 13 million solar light and power pr...2016-05-2032 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 51: Interview with Alasdair Harris, cofounder of Blue VenturesAlasdair is Executive Director and cofounder of Blue Ventures, an innovative social enterprise that works with coastal communities to rebuild tropical fisheries.Blue Ventures work with some of the the world’s poorest coastal communities, developing transformational approaches to marine protection by creating incentives for small-scale fishing communities to support fisheries management and marine conservation efforts. Among other successes, Blue Ventures’ models have inspired the largest locally-managed marine protected areas in the Indian Ocean and been replicated in coastal states in Africa, the Indian Ocean and southeast Asia.Over the last decade, Blue Ventures’ innovative approa...2016-05-0735 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 50: Interview with Marc Koska the inventor of the non-reusable K1 auto-disable syringe and founder of the SafePoint charityMarc Koska has been on an amazing 30 year mission to eliminate dirty syringes responsible for more than a million deaths a year. Marc invented the non-reusable K1 syringe – thus preventing the medical transmission of blood-borne diseases. Since the first K1 syringe was sold, more than five billon K1 syringes have been sold worldwide.Marc is also the founder of the SafePoint charity -which educates people on the dangers of reusing syringes. Marc has been intensely involved in advocacy –including years of lobbying the World Health Organisation (WHO) to introduce guidelines promoting single use syringes. (The WHO began a gl...2016-04-2821 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 49: Interview with Kathleen Colson co-founder / CEO of the BOMA ProjectThe BOMA Project is a U.S. nonprofit and Kenyan NGO committed to building resiliency and ending extreme poverty in the drylands of Africa by focusing on enrolling ultra-poor women in a two-year poverty graduation program.BOMA’s Rural Entrepreneur Access Project helps women to “graduate” from extreme poverty through a sequence of interventions that include a cash grant to start a business, financial and life skills training, mentoring, and the formation of formal savings accounts so that mothers can feed their families, pay for school fees and medical care and accumulate savings so they can survive shocks...2016-04-1536 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 48: Interview with Xavier Helgesen, Co-Founder and CEO of distributed renewable energy company Off.Grid:ElectricXavier is the Co-Founder and CEO of Off.Grid:Electric, a distributed renewable energy company operating in Arusha, Tanzania.Off.Grid:Electric radically reduces the cost and risk of adopting solar energy for off-grid households worldwide, allowing them to replace kerosene with solar for as little as $2.50 per month.Xavier is a serial social entrepreneur. Prior to setting up Off.Grid:Electric he co- founded Better World Books, a $60 Million triple bottom line online bookstore that has raised over $11 Million for literacy around the world.In this interview, Xavier discusses: The potential p...2016-03-2027 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 47: Interview with Pascal Finette, Head of entrepreneurship at Singularity UniversityPascal is a technology enthusiast with a wide ranging career which includes setting up a couple of technology companies, working at eBay, Mozilla Labs, as well as a stint at Google.org investing into social impact organizations around the world.Pascal now heads up the startup initiatives at Singularity University- whose aim is to grow startups solving the most intractable problems in the world, Pascal is the entrepreneurship chair and responsible for the Startup Accelerator and Venture Fund.Pascal publishes his opinionated newsletter, ‘The Heretic’, which is read by tens of thousands of entrepreneurs around the g...2016-03-1034 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 46: Interview with Sharath Jeevan, Founder and CEO of STIR EducationSharath Jeevan is Founder and CEO of STIR Education, a social entreprise that is building a teacher-led movement in India and Uganda. to address the learning crisis in developing countries.STIR aims to build a movement of teachers, motivated to improve their teaching quality and influence the system. The aim is to reignite the spark in teachers and empower them to become committed, skilled and influential teachers.STIR is currently working with about 12,000 teachers in India and Uganda with an impact on 500,000 children. STIR’s ultimate goal is improve learning levels for 40 million children in de...2016-02-2930 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 45: Interview with Jagdeesh Rao, Chief Executive of the Foundation for Ecological Security, IndiaJagdeesh Rao is the Chief Executive of the Foundation for Ecological Security, India (FES). FES is working towards the ecological restoration and conservation of land and water resources in ecologically fragile, degraded and marginalised regions of India, primarily through the concentrated and collective efforts of village communities.FES works with almost 9,000 village communities across eight Indian states, helping protect more than 4 million acres of common lands. FES helps villagers secure community rights to publicly-owned land and support regulations tomanage it in a more sustainable and productive way.In this interview, Jagdeesh discusses: How FES w...2016-02-1545 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 44: Interview with Kate Otto, founder and CEO of Everyday Ambassador, an organisation helping schools and organizations create lasting, positive social change.Kate Otto is founder and CEO of Everyday Ambassador, an organisation helping schools and organizations create lasting, positive social change. She is also author of “Everyday Ambassador: Make a Difference by Connecting in a Disconnected World.” Kate is also health consultant and has worked for The World Bank, USAID, and various grassroots organizations. She is currently is a Reynolds Scholar in Social Entrepreneurship, member of the Academy of Achievement, Luce Scholar, and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.In this interview Kate discusses: What it means to be an “everyday ambassador”How to create “person to person chan...2016-02-0833 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 43: Interview with Paul Polak, co-founder and CEO of Windhorse InternationalPaul Polak is the co-founder and CEO of Windhorse International, a for-profit social venture that designs radically affordable, life-saving or income-generating technology to serve the poorest people in the world. In 2008, Polak founded D-Rev, a non-profit with the aim of designing and delivering medical products to people living on less than $4 a dayPolak was born in the Czech Republic and raised in Canada. He holds an M.D. degree from the University of Western Ontario.In addition to his social ventures, he has practiced psychiatry in Colorado for 23 years. Paul is also the author of“Out of...2016-01-2234 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 42: Interview with Paul Matteucci, founder of Feeding 10 BillionPaul Matteucci is founder of Feeding 10 Billion, a non-profit resource centre for food system entrepreneurs-its mission is to help food and agriculture entrepreneurs build sustainable companies that make an impact, create jobs and generate returns for investors. Paul is also a general partner of U.S. Venture Partners.In this interview, Paul discusses: The three “wicked problems” facing the food and agricultural sectorThe importance of a centralised information portal for the food industryWhy Paul believes in companies with “double sustainability”The promise of “precision agriculture”Paul’s vision for Feeding 10 Billion 2016-01-1224 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 41: Interview with Eric Ries, author The Lean StartupEric Ries is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author known for pioneering the lean startup movement. He is the author of the 2011 New York Times bestseller, The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Business.Eric serves on the advisory board of a number of technology start-ups, is currently an IDEO Fellow and entrepreneur in residence at Harvard Business School. He writes the popular entrepreneurship blog Startup Lessons Learned.In this interview, Eric discusses: The crucial importance of experimentationWhy social entrepreneurs should build organisations for continued learningHow failure vit...2015-12-0921 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 40: Interview with Pamela Hartigan, Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, University of OxfordPamela is the Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.Pamela’s work at Skoll is focused on advancing social entrepreneurship byleveraging top academic research, developing leadership talent and engaging with social innovators around the world to drive large scale impact on the world’s most pressing problems.Pamela is also is the founding partner of Volans Ventures an organisation she co-founded in 2008, focused on scaling entrepreneurial solutions to the world’s biggest problems.In this interview, Pamela talks shares her views on: What soc...2015-11-2522 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 39: Interview with Suzi Sosa, cofounder and CEO at VerbSuzi is cofounder and CEO at Verb., a social enterprise that produces, innovative competitions for social entrepreneurs who are working toward bringing bring disruptive innovation to the world’s most wicked problems.Suzi started Verb to serve foundations, Fortune 500 companies, and governments. Verb’s clients include Dell Inc., The Livestrong Foundation, IBM, and MetLife Foundation.Sosa has been a social entrepreneur for 12 years. She studied economic development at Harvard University. Prior to starting Verb, Sosa created and led the social entrepreneurship program at the University of Texas at Austin.In this interview, Suzi talks...2015-11-171h 05

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 38: Interview with Alex Osterwalder, author of Business Model Generation, a global bestseller about business model innovationAlex Osterwalder is an entrepreneur, speaker and business model innovator known for his work on the Business Model Canvas, a tool to visualize, challenge and (re-) invent business models. The Canvas is used by many large organizations around the world, like GE, P&G, Ericsson, and 3M.Together with Professor Yves Pigneur, Alex co-authored Business Model Generation, a global bestseller on the topic of business model innovation that has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.Alex’ current business, Strategyzer, is building strategic tools for innovators. Alex is also a founding member of The Constellation, a glo...2015-10-3036 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 37: Interview with Dr Jason Bradford Managing Partner of Farmland LPFarmland LP acquires conventional farmland and converts it to organic, sustainable farmland, in a structure similar to a private farmland REITJason leads farmland management for Farmland LP, including crop rotation planning, organic certification, sustainability planning, operations management, and working with farmer tenant/partners.He is a highly-regarded scientist and expert in sustainability who applied his understanding of ecology to become an organic farmer and then the integrated pastured-livestock and crop rotation model used on land managed by FarmlandIn this interview, Jason talks about:Farmland’s approach to sustainabilityThe pressures on co...2015-10-0833 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 36: Interview with Jonah Sachs, co-founder and creative director of Free Range Studios, author of Winning the Story WarsJonah Sachs is an internationally recognized storyteller, author, and designer. He is the co-founder and chief storytelling officer of Free Range Studios, an advertising and marketing firm that specializes in nonprofits and socially responsible businessesJonah has helped hundreds of social brands and causes break through the media din with campaigns built on sound storytelling strategies. Jonah’s book Winning the Story Wars uses case studies to show values-driven stories that Jonah believes is changing the face of marketing.In this interview, Jonah talks about: Inadequacy marketing” and its shortcomingsThe importance of speaking to your...2015-09-2429 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 35: Interview with Chris Ategeka, founder CEO of Rides for LivesChris Ategeka, is an engineer, inventor, and founder CEO of Rides for Lives. Motivated by his experience growing up in rural Uganda, Chris Ategeka started Rides for Lives an innovative, award winning social enterprise that addresses the lack of healthcare access and youth employment opportunities for populations in Uganda/East Africa.Rides for Lives has developed many mobile health innovations including mobile hospitals- solar-powered buses, converted into hospitals on wheels, and motorized scooter wheelchairs: an adaptive motorcycle geared towards giving the disabled their mobility, dignity, freedom back by providing a means to support themselves through entrepreneurship.2015-09-1035 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 34: Interview with Sean Mayberry, CEO of Strong MindsSean Mayberry is the CEO of Strong Minds an organisation that provide access to mental health services for impoverished Africans by helping people suffering from major depression return to becoming productive members of their communities.Previously Sean was the CEO for FXB International (2011-2013) and before that was also the Chief Operating Officer for VisionSpring (2009-2011), a social enterprise which provides affordable eyeglasses to low-income populations.In this interview Sean talks about:Strong Minds innovative approach to improving mental health in AfricaHow Strong Minds aims to grow through viral self replicationHarsh fundraising lessonsStrong Minds...2015-08-1740 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 33: Interview with Liam Black, co-founder of Wavelength Companies LtdLiam Black is a UK based social entrepreneur, impact investor and writer. He is co-founder and the Chief Encouragement Officer of Wavelength a company with the mission of ‘changing the world for the better through business’.Wavelength brings together leaders from a wide range of sectors and industries and his clients, members and partners include Rolls Royce, the BBC, Dyson, Lego, IKEA as well a global range of social businesses including Grameen, Aravind, and many community based organisations engaged in finding solutions to some of our societies toughest problems.Liam has helped create and...2015-08-0538 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 32: Interview with Larry English, CEO of Reall – or Real Equity for AllLarry is CEO of Reall –Real Equity for All – formerly known as Homeless International, a UK-based international development organisation that is dedicated to alleviating housing conditions in informal settlements across the developing world.Reall focusses on building organisations that build houses. It identifies and partners with existing organisations that are focussed on providing land, securing tenure, housing and basic services for the urban poor. The aim is to equip partner organisations with the political, technical and financial tools necessary to delivery housing and services at scale and in perpetuity.Since 2010, Reall’s annual budget to accele...2015-07-221h 19

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 31: Interview with Joe Pulizzi, founder of the Content Marketing InstituteJoe Pulizzi is the founder of the Content Marketing Institute and one of the world’s leading experts on content marketing-a term he started to started to use back in 2001 –to describe an approach to marketing focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content. The Content Marketing InstituteJoe is the author several books on content marketing including Epic Content Marketing: How To Tell a Different Story, Break Through the Clutter, and Win More Customers by Marketing Less.In this interview, Joe discusses:The origins of the term content marketingHow cont...2015-06-2527 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 30: Interview with June Sugiyama, Director of the Vodafone Americas FoundationJune Sugiyama is Director of the Vodafone Americas Foundation, a role which she has played for more than 10 years. June has led the Foundation’s transition towards impact through technology related programs.June also developed the Vodafone Americas Foundation Wireless Innovation Project, a competition designed to seek the best wireless technology solutions to address critical social issues around the world.Over the last 7 years, the Wireless Innovation Project has awarded nearly $3 million to not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations and universities supporting a spectrum of high potential mobile and wireless technology solutions.In this interview, June dis...2015-06-1626 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 29: Interview with Scott Harrison, founder charity: watercharity: water is a non-profit organization based in the US that provides clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations. It was founded in 2006 by Scott Harrison and has helped fund 13,641 projects in 22 countries, benefiting over 4.6 million people.charity: water has raised over $170 million and funded over 13,000 water projects in 22 countries ; it has more than 700,000 donors worldwide. It has pioneered new standards of transparency and has developed a funding model where 100% of “public donations” goes directly to programs on the ground.In this interview, Scott talks about: What donors wantHow charity: water uses...2015-05-3134 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 28: Interview with Seth Goldman, Co-founder Honest TeaSeth Goldman is President and TeaEO of Honest Tea, a company he co-founded out of his home in 1998, with Barry Nalebuff of the Yale School of Management. The company’s mission was to create and promote great-tasting, truly healthy, organic beverages.In 1999, Honest Tea introduced the world’s first organic bottled tea, First Nation Peppermint, and later was the first company to introduce a Fair Trade Certified bottled tea. It soon become the best-selling bottled tea brand in the natural foods industry in the US and, reportedly, Barack Obama’s favourite tea.In 2008, Coca Cola bought...2015-04-1527 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 27: Interview with Sophi Tranchell, MD Divine UKSophi Tranchell is MD of Divine UK, the Fairtrade chocolate company that is 45% owned by cocoa farmers. Sophi is a Social Enterprise Ambassador, Chair of Fairtrade London, and a London Food Board member. She has led Divine for the past 15 years and has overseen the company’s continuing growth and expansion.In this interview, Sophi talks about: Divine’s ambition to change the way the chocolate market worksWhy you need a great product to succeedThe importance of passion and persistenceDivine’s goal to inspire consumers as well as producersHow Divine builds partnerships 2015-02-0730 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 26: Interview with Mark Hand, Venture Partner at UnLtd USAMark Hand is a Venture Partner at UnLtd USA and teaches Social Entrepreneurship at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. Before completing an MBA at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School as a Skoll Scholar and Rotary Scholar, Mark served as an Investment Associate at First Light Ventures, the seed fund of impact investment fund Gray Ghost Ventures; and co-founded the Ecuador site of Manna Project International, a community development nonprofit operating in Latin America.In this interview, Mark talks about: The current climate for funding for social entrepreneurs in the...2015-02-0231 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 25: Interview with Huggy Rao, Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Stanford Graduate School of BusinessHuggy Rao is Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Stanford Graduate School of Business. His teaching specialties include leading organizational change, building customer focused cultures, and organization design.Huggy has worked as a consultant for many large US companies and he also worked with nonprofit organizations such as the American Cancer Society.Together with Robert Sutton, Huggy is co-author of Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More Without Settling for Less, which was published earlier this year.In this interview, Huggy talks about:The importance of testing-and being willing to change...2015-01-1625 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 24: Interview with Aishwarya Ratan, Director of the Global Financial Inclusion Initiative at Yale UniversityAishwarya is the Director of the Global Financial Inclusion Initiative at Yale University. The Global Financial Inclusion Initiative focuses on the design and delivery of effective financial services for the poor. It tests and replicates different policies and approaches to help the poor manage and grow their money and to ensure that the financial services available are affordable, efficient, and secure. Prior to joining the Global Financial Inclusion Initiative, Aishwarya was at the Microsoft Research Lab in Bangalore, India.In this interview, Aishwarya discusses:The importance of households savings for the poorThe scale of...2014-12-2345 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 23: Interview with Akshay Saxena, cofounder and President of Avanti Learning CentersAvanti provides low-income high-school students a world-class science and mathematics education in India. It has a radical approach to teaching: with no trained teachers and very little conventional lecturing and yet students perform at par with some of the most expensive after-school programs in India. Avanti runs stand-alone centers in Mumbai, Delhi and Kanpur and in-school centers at the Chennai Corporation Schools-where the focus is on teaching students how to learn from books and their peers Prior to his work at Avanti, Akshay served on the founding team of HeartFlow a venture-backed medical diagnostics company. For his work at...2014-12-0447 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 22: Interview with Michael Thornton, CEO of Carbon AnalyticsMichael Thornton is an engineer with a background in sustainable infrastructure design. He is Chief Executive Officer of Carbon Analytics – a company that wants to make it easier for companies of all sizes to reap the rewards of managing their environmental impact. He is also involved with Odyssey Sensors, which is developing low-cost environmental technology aimed at bottom-of-the-pyramid producers in developing world agriculture and aquaculture markets, and Terra Recovery a startup working on developing a technology that identifies land-fills which can be economically mined for resources.Michael was a Skoll Scholar for Social Entrepreneurship at the University of...2014-11-0734 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 21: Interview with Sandra Bates, author of The Social Innovation ImperativeSandra is an innovation entrepreneur and author who has worked in innovation and marketing strategy for more than fifteen years. She has coached and led more than a hundred innovation initiatives with dozens of companies with a rich history of innovation.Sandra has recently turned her focus to the needs of the social sector and founded The Innovation Partners, a group focused on generating social impact through innovation. Her book The Social Innovation Imperative provides social entrepreneurs with a step–by-step approach to developing breakthrough products, programs, and services to meet society’s needs.In this...2014-10-3043 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 20: Interview with Mike Marriner, founder of Roadtrip NationMike set up Roadtrip Nation to helping students “define their own roads in life,”The initial aim was to expose students to myriad careers and life paths they would not otherwise know about and to help equip them with tools and skills they need to achieve their ambitionsIt all began in 1991 when Mike and some friends set off in an RV to interview leaders across America and learn how they found their roads in life. To date, in partnership with the California Department of Education, the curriculum has guided over 80,000 low-income students in building their own Road...2014-10-1034 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 19: Interview with Martin Fisher, co-founder of KickStart InternationalKickStart is a nonprofit social enterprise that designs, promotes and markets simple money-making tools that small-holder farmers buy and use to create profitable family enterprises.KickStart believes that self-motivated private entrepreneurs managing small-scale enterprises play a key role in poverty alleviation. Since 1991, 160,000 successful new businesses have been started in Africa using their tools – with more than 800 new businesses are being created each month. In addition, KickStart’s technologies and expertise are used throughout Africa to support programs in agriculture, shelter, water, sanitation, health, and relief.In this interview, Martin talks about: What the poor needW...2014-09-201h 04

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 18: Interview Yves Moury Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fundación CapitalFundación Capital is an international social enterprise, a pioneer in inclusive finance innovation helping the poor save, build, accumulate, enhance, invest their assets, insure their families and their endeavors against risk, and chart a permanent path out of poverty.Fundación Capital is committed to working to end poverty by playing a central role in the drive to achieve full financial inclusion of the poor, and by supporting families in lifting themselves out of extreme poverty. It currently reaches three million people, and aims to reach an additional 10 million families by 2020.Yves Moury is th...2014-09-0549 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 17: Interview with Steve Blank, US serial-entrepreneur and academic, developer of the Customer Development methodologySteve Blank is a US serial-entrepreneur and academic. He has spent over thirty years working within the high technology industry and has founded or worked within eight startup companies, four of which have gone public.Steve developed the Customer Development methodology, which is a cornerstone of the Lean Startup Movement- and is a consulting associate professor of entrepreneurship at Stanford University. He has published three books including most recently, The Startup Owner’s Manual.You can find out more about Steve, and access a ton of excellent entrepreneurship resources, at www.steveblank.comIn...2014-08-1535 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 16: Interview Jane Chen co-founder of EmbraceJane Chen is co-founder of Embrace, a US social enterprise which has developed a low-cost infant warmer -and aims to help the 20 million premature and low birth-weight babies born every year.The Embrace infant warmer costs about 1% of a traditional incubator and is currently being distributed across clinics in India, with pilots being conducted in 10 countries. It is credited with having helped more than 60,000 babies worldwide.Jane was CEO for five years building of Embrace from an idea to a life-saving innovation- she now works as Chief Business Officer for Embrace Innovations, a for-profit spin...2014-08-0835 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 15: Interview with Christian Busch Associate Director and Research Fellow at Innovation and Co-Creation Lab, London School of EconomicsChristian Busch is Associate Director and Research Fellow at Innovation and Co-Creation Lab, London School of Economics (LSE) where he works with governments, enterprises, and social enterprises to develop scalable inclusive business models. Christian’s research focusses on entrepreneurship, social innovation, social networks, and business model innovation.In this interview, Christian talks about Changing expectation about corporate behaviour amongst millennium generationWhy social entrepreneurs need to develop financially sustainable modelsThe importance of innovative finance models that allow social businesses to scaleLessons from the success of RLabs South Africa 2014-07-2448 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 14: Interview with Kevin Starr, Director of Mulago FoundationKevin Starr directs the Mulago Foundation, a private foundation that invests in charities and philanthropic opportunities that have the highest possible impact. Indeed, the foundation has a single-minded focus on impact: how to build high impact organisations for social change, how to measure and invest in impact, how to take impact to scale. The Mulago Foundation’s portfolio includes notable organizations such as the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), the One Acre Fund, Conservation International, and Kick Start.In 2003. Kevin established the Rainer Arnhold Fellows Program to apply Mulago’s id...2014-07-1530 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 13: Interview with Tom Szaky, founder of TerracycleTom is the founder of TerraCycle, an American company that makes consumer products from waste. It all begain in 2001 with a simple idea to make an organic fertilizer from worm poo;today TerraCycle has grown into a company with annual revenues in excess of $25 million, providing free waste collection programs for hard to recycle materials-and then turning that waste into affordable green products. TerraCycle now operates in 26 countries.TerraCycle has developed a range of volunteer-led recycling systems that enables individuals, families, schools, or community groups to establish “Brigades” to collect a specific waste stream such as coffee caps...2014-07-0631 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 12: Interview with Fermin Reygadas, Co-founder of Fundacion Cantaro AzulFermin Reygadas is Executive Director and Co-founder of Fundacion Cantaro Azul, an organization based in Mexico that works with rural communities to develop and implement safe water services.Berkeley, Cantaro Azul developed the first ultraviolet water disinfection system specifically design for rural households. Cantaro Azul has also developed safe water solutions for schools and communities, including a hybrid franchise called Nuestra Agua. The franchise uses a kiosk-based technology operated by local entrepreneurs under an economically sustainable model to offer an affordable and reliable safe water service.Fermin’s ultimate goal is to enable widespread and co...2014-06-2434 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 11: Interview with Sangu Delle, co-founder cleanacwaSangu Delle is the co-founder of cleanacwa, formerly known as the African Development Initiative (founded in 2007). cleanacwa is a non-profit organization working to help provide access to clean water and sanitation in underdeveloped regions in Ghana. cleanacwa is currently working to bring clean water and sanitation to 60,000 people in 120 villages in the Ayensuano and Suhum districts in Ghana.cleanacwa aims to combine academic research and business to create social change and development. it is investing in water and sanitation as a means of reducing poverty and improving healthcare outcomes and works with academics, non-profits, businesses, and local...2014-06-1751 min

Inspiring Social Entrepreneurs PodcastEpisode 10: Interview with Bedriye Hulya, founder of B-fitBedriye Hulya is the founder of B-fit, Turkey’s first national chain of women-only gyms. Bedriye is a serial entrepreneur, prior to setting up B-fit she set up a popular restaurant, two boutique hotels and an importing company. Bedriye opened the first branch of B-fit in February 2006 based on an idea she had come across when living in America.B-fit now has more than 250 gyms in a variety of socio-economic and geographic locations throughout Turkey-with more than a hundred and sixty thousand members-the majority of whichare run by women as franchisees. Bedriye has created B-fit as a me...2014-06-0926 min