Its great to see someone doing something that is not just for the love of money and greed. I applaud you and wish you and your friends there in Africa the very best and hope that eshopafrica.com succeeds in all that it set out to do.
Showing posts with label Website. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Website. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Gallery: Website: Global Social Benefit Incubator @ Santa Clara Week 2
GSBI Class of 2005 Joint Elevator Pitch
"To give disadvantaged and handicapped youth in low lying coastal areas access to community tele centres run on wave generated power where they can learn from global educational material in local languages and low cost books. They will also have access to human rights information, IT and entrepreneurial training. Following this they will attend self sustaining agricultural colleges with on site child care where they will learn sustainable bee keeping and high quality wool production from sheep and llamas fed on frost protected crops. The wool from the llamas and sheep will be woven by traditional artisans into products that will be sold by mobile phone on online markets. "
The Big Day
On Friday 12th August were all set to make our pitches. The day was split into two sessions with two separate panels of venture capitalists and entrepreneurs listening to and then critiquing the entrepreneurs pitches.
Cordelia Salter pitching for eShopAfrica
The morning panel:
Steve Eglash, Worldview Technology
Jeff Miller, Documentum/Venture Partners/Redpoint Ventures
Ted Moser, Mercer Management/Opportunity International-USA
Claudio Pinkus, Entrepreneur
The eShopAfrica pitched outlined the current situation of African artisans, our business model which is based on a concept of quality, customisation and connectedness within a framework of fair trade. Also it outlined our trading history and experience of online trading as well as our needs to scale up. It also highlighted our major challenge which is marketing.
The eShopAfrica pitch received favourable comments from the panel. They liked the business model both from a business and from a social point of view. They had further questions about our marketing efforts which is our biggest challenge. If you would like more details of the eShopAfrica pitch and our requirements to scale up, please contact us.
The afternoon panel
Dennis Barsema, BlueLane Technologies
Tony Blakey, Ambata
Jim Frutcherman, The Benetech Initiative
James Robbins, Business Cluster Development
Joy Olivier of Ikamva Youth pitching to the morning panel.
Tunde Fabunmi of the Bee Conservation Project, Nigeria
The panels gave realistic and sometimes hard nosed evaluations of the social ventures. It was so interesting for all the entrepreneurs to see what points were chosen as important and what points were challenged. All of us would like to thank the panelists for their valuable input.
The Celebration Dinner
After the day of pitching, a celebration dinner was hosted by the GSBI. The past two weeks had been intense culminating in us all getting the opportunity to find out what it was like to make a real pitch. But now it was time to relax... The GSBI presented each entrepreneur with a photograph in a commemorative glass frame, a certificate of participation in the Incubator and some other goodies. eShopAfrica gave commemorative kente strips woven with SCU GSBI CLASS OF 2005 as a memento of the two week incubator.
Jim Koch, founding director of the Center for Science, Technology and Society in the foreground. In the background are Al, Pat and Fred
Father Michael Petty thinking of all the things he has to tell the sheep and llama farmers when he gets back to Patagonia!
Pedro Mastroangelo - not worrying about about frost protection tonight!
Cordelia with Fred De Worken-Eley who kept all the IT equipment
in working order throughout the Incubator. Thanks Fred!
Once again on behalf of all the entrepreneurs we would like to thank our hosts Al Bruno, Pat Guerra, Sherrill Dale and Fred De Worken-Eley who put in so much hard work and so many long hours to make the Incubator such a success.
The GSBI Class of 2005 at the end of the celebration dinner (photo by Tunde)
On Saturday we were given a day off and the GSBI team arranged a wonderful outing. First we were taken to Pat and Rebecca Guerra's beautiful house which is located in the middle of picturesque vineyards. He has a lovely garden full of flowers which leads down to a lake. Soon after arrival Tunde from the Nigerian Bee Conservation Project introduced himself to the bees in Pat's garden and tried to persuade Pat to be more inclusive of bees...
The social entrepreneurs with Rebecca and Pat Guerra
Tunde introduces Pat to one of the bees from his garden...
Tunde decided to try out an American bee sting... the verdict: "Very weak"
Rebecca saying goodbye to Father Michael Petty at the door of their house
Apart from being a world class aquarium The Monterey Bay Aquarium is also an example of a very successful non-profit business model. As well as enjoying the stunning fish displays we were also shown the wall where those who made sizable donations had their names recorded - a way of giving value back to those who help.
What was impressive was that the volunteers working at the aquarium were so knowledgable and friendly. Several times whilst we were near the tanks they came up and, without being asked, gave us interesting information which really added value to the experience. Visit their website at MontereyBayAquarium.org
From the left, Father Michael Petty, Al Guerra, Soraiya Haque and Cordelia Salter at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Following the Aquarium we drove down the scenic Californian coast to a picnic spot. There were otters bobbing up and down amongst the sea weed looking almost as interested in us as we were in them.
The social entrepreneurs enjoying the Californian coast
If Tunde can talk to the bees... Father Michael Petty tries to get friendly with a seagull
Fun Stuff - Dinner at Al's
Late in the afternoon we arrived at Al Bruno and his wife's lovely house that has a spectacular view of the sea. There was a lavish spread of great food that was being watched keenly by Al's two dogs
The entrepreneurs and GSBI team on the veranda at Al's house
One of Al's dogs
The other dog making friends with Soraiya
And with Al his owner
Ken Owens, Michael Petty, Tunnde Fabunmi and Al Bruno
Colder than expected
Our hosts for the day - Pat with Rebecca and Al with Colette
Visit the GSBI web page at the Center For Science Technology and Society, Santa Clara University, California.
Gallery: Website: Global Social Benefit Incubator @ Santa Clara Week 1
Santa Clara University, Global Social Benefit Incubator, Class of 2005
For the third year running the Santa Clara University's Center for Science and Technology and Society has hosted a Global Social Benefit Incubator Class inviting entrepreneurs from all around the world who are working for a better world. The aim of the class is to give them a firm grounding in business skills so they can scale up their ventures efficiently and sustainably. Many of these skills have evolved from the Silicon Valley environment. The incubator takes these best practices from a wide variety of experts in their field and shows how social ventures can benefit by using them.
eShopAfrica.com was invited to attend and was represented by Cordelia Salter, the Founer. All the entrepreneurs in the class would like to thank our hosts Al Bruno, Pat Guerra, Sherrill Dale and Fred De Worken-Eley who put in so much hard work and so many long hours to make the Incubator such a success.
One of our first tasks was to come up with our "Elevator Pitch". This exercise makes you focus your thinking on exactly what message you can get across quickly and effectively. The concept is that you are in an elevator with a potential investor. You have to get your message across before the elevator arrives at the 15th floor.
The Incubator gave us many chances to practice our Elevator pitches. There was a important message in this exercise: many people in the social venture environment have multiple goals all of which are of great value to them. However, in order to be effective you should concentrate on one or two of them and the rest will follow... So the elevator pitch can be used as a guideline…. If you can't get across what you're trying to by the time you get to the 15th floor then you're doing too much!
Some participants challenged this exercise on the grounds of practicality... some said their countries didn't have any elevators (they had lifts); some countries had elevators but no 15 storey buildings; some countries had elevators but unreliable electricity so you and the potential investor may be stuck together for hours. One participant thought it was "elevating pitch" and should be spiritually uplifting. Detractors aside, we all came up with our succinct pitches!
This year the sixteen invited social entrepreners were:
Joy Olivier, Ikamva Youth, South Africa
www.ikamva.kabissa.org A by youth for youth project working with disadvantaged township youth to increase their access to higher education and employment.
Michael Petty SJ, Aguada Guzmán, Argentina
Develops markets and enhances revenue opportunities for sheep and llama farmers in remote areas of Argentina.
Cordelia Salter, eShopAfrica, Ghana
www.eShopAfrica.com
Using an ecommerce website to create sustainable businesses for traditional African artisans.
Tunde Fabunmi
Bee Conservation Project, Nigeria
www.beeconservation.org
BCP preserves honeybees as an ecological resource in Nigeria and as a source of livelihood for the urban and rural poor.
Suraiya Haque, Phulki, Bangladesh
www.phulki.org
Provides low cost day care facilities in Bangladesh to enable women to achieve economic emancipation without sacrificing the well-being of their children.
Lisa Jobson, iEARN-USA, New York
www.iearn.org
Enables students to interact with individuals from different cultures (each other) over the internet to address environmental, cultural, and social issues including racism, intolerance, conflict, and human rights.
Martin Burt, Fundacion Paraguaya, Paraguay
www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py
Provides economic literacy, entrepreneurship training, and access to micro-loans to empower rural areas in the potential for sustainable livelihoods.
Pedro Mastrangelo, Frost Protection Corporation, Uruguay
www.frostprotection.com
Provides environmentally and economically superior solutions for the global problem of frost damage for fruit growing producers.
Ken Owens, Cognisense Labs, Inc., California
www.cognisenselabs.com
Enables land resources to be reclaimed for safe use through an integrated application of sensing and GPS software to locate and remove land mines from farmland.
Felipe Oliveira, Comitê para Democratizacão da Informática de Brasília (CDI-DF), Brazil
www.cdi-df.org.br
CDI-DF provides free computers, software, community-based training and technical maintenance through Information Technology Citizenship Schools.
Adrienne Schatz, Book Trust, Colorado
www.book-trust.org
Book Trust addresses low academic achievement in low-income youth through giving them the power to choose and purchase books throughout their elementary school.
Andy Lieberman, Asociación Abj'atz' Enlace Quiché, Guatemala
www.enlacequiche.org.gt
Enables indigenous peoples to reach their full potential through the innovative use of information and communication technologies.
Jon Rodrigues, XayanIT, Bangladesh
XayanIT engages, develops, and retains Bangladeshi university students and graduates by providing local employment opportunities in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Estela Villareal, Unidos, Mexico
www.unidos.com.mx
Enables communities to overcome the biased stigmas of disability by offering new models of hope and empowerment.
Dipak Basu, NetHope, California
www.nethope.org
Provides and integrated information and communications platform to enable international and non-governmental organizations to more effectively and efficiently coordinate global relief efforts as well as education, environment, and other ongoing humanitarian services.
Helen Wang, e-Mobilizer, California
www.emobilizer.com
Uses the existing cellular infrastructure and mobile technology to connect micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses to the online marketplace.
Sherrill Dale the ever-smiling organiser of the GSBI (photo by Tunde)
The Mentor System Each entrepreneur was assigned mentors who were chosen from leaders in the field of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. These mentors worked intensively with the social entrepreneurs to help prepare their "pitch" for a panel of venture capitalists on the last day of the incubator
For many entrepreneurs this was a challenging exercise. Many of us have goals that we aspire to that do not necessarily relate to money... but money is needed in order to achieve these goals. Preparing such a pitch made us all think about the whole concept of what we wanted to do and then focusing on the nuts and bolts about how we are going to achieve it.
eShopAfrica's mentors were Ann Perlman and Bob MacDonald. A big thank you to them for their help in preparing the eShopAfrica pitch. They were generous both with their time and experience and helped in numerous ways to make the eShopAfrica pitch credible.
Cordelia with eShopAfrica Mentors Ann Perlman...
...and Bob MacDonald
Sessions the first week
The sessions of the GSBI were taken by the GSBI team and leaders from a wide range of experts. They were designed to broaden the thinking of the GSBI social entrepreneurs and to give them a good grounding in successful business practices.
Speakers
Al Bruno
GSBI Academic Dean
Pat Guerra
GSBI Program Director & Entrepreneur in Residence
Jim Koch
Founding Director
Center for Science Technology and Society
Tyzoon Tyebjee
Professor of Marketing
Santa Clara University
Nick Gleason
CEO Citysoft
Tony Blakey
CEO
Ambata
David Green
Executive Director
Project Impact
Cynthia Typaldos
Typaldos Consulting
Dave Caldwell
Stephen & Patricia Schott Professor of Business
Senior Associate Dean
Leavey School of Business
Terri Griffith
Breetwor Fellow
Leavey School of Business
Ruth Norris
Senior Program Office
Skoll Foundation
Margaret McCarthy
Associate Director
Foundation Relations
Santa Clara University
Jennifer Morris
Fund Manager
Verde Ventures
Nature Conservancy
Dena Jones
Manager
Omidyar Network
Jerry Weissman
Founder of Power Presentations Ltd
Wilson Winner
Business Manager
Michelle Garcia Winner Consultancy
Heather Hiles
National Director Foundation Division
IFF Advisors
David M Sacarelos
Seiler & Co
John Heath
Executive Vice President
The Brenner Group
Russ Hall
Legacy Ventures
Ted Moser
Managing Director
Mercer Management Consulting
Narendra Agrawal
Associate Professor
Operations and Management Information Systems
Mark Nicolson
Ventura Group
Gordon Bloom
Social Entrepreuneurship Collabatory
Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
John F Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Cynthia Gair
Portfolio Director
SROI
Margaret McCarthy
Associate Director
Foundation Relations
Santa Clara University
Ken Virnig
Executive Search Consultant
Devine and Virnig Inc
Pat Wolfe
Director Pathways Hospice
Arjun Batra
Director Business Development and US Operations
Intel Corporation
Karen Coppock
Stanford/Reuters Digitial Vision Program
Bill Behrman
Consulting Assitant Professor
School of Engineering
Santa Clara University
Jeff Miller
Venture Partner
Redpoint Ventures
Aaron Slettehaugh
Silver Genie Inc
Akhtar Badshah
Senior Director Community Affairs
Microsoft
Jim Fruchterman
President and CEO
The Benetech Initiative
Ronni Goldfarb
Founder and Executive Director
Equal Access
Regis McKenna
Chairman
Center for Science, Technology and Society Advisory Board
Find out about Week 2 and see more photo in the next post.
Visit the GSBI web page at the Center For Science Technology and Society, Santa Clara University, California.
For the third year running the Santa Clara University's Center for Science and Technology and Society has hosted a Global Social Benefit Incubator Class inviting entrepreneurs from all around the world who are working for a better world. The aim of the class is to give them a firm grounding in business skills so they can scale up their ventures efficiently and sustainably. Many of these skills have evolved from the Silicon Valley environment. The incubator takes these best practices from a wide variety of experts in their field and shows how social ventures can benefit by using them.
eShopAfrica.com was invited to attend and was represented by Cordelia Salter, the Founer. All the entrepreneurs in the class would like to thank our hosts Al Bruno, Pat Guerra, Sherrill Dale and Fred De Worken-Eley who put in so much hard work and so many long hours to make the Incubator such a success.
The Elevator Pitch
How many entrepreneurs can you fit in an elevator?
GSBI Class of 2005
One of our first tasks was to come up with our "Elevator Pitch". This exercise makes you focus your thinking on exactly what message you can get across quickly and effectively. The concept is that you are in an elevator with a potential investor. You have to get your message across before the elevator arrives at the 15th floor.
The Incubator gave us many chances to practice our Elevator pitches. There was a important message in this exercise: many people in the social venture environment have multiple goals all of which are of great value to them. However, in order to be effective you should concentrate on one or two of them and the rest will follow... So the elevator pitch can be used as a guideline…. If you can't get across what you're trying to by the time you get to the 15th floor then you're doing too much!
Some participants challenged this exercise on the grounds of practicality... some said their countries didn't have any elevators (they had lifts); some countries had elevators but no 15 storey buildings; some countries had elevators but unreliable electricity so you and the potential investor may be stuck together for hours. One participant thought it was "elevating pitch" and should be spiritually uplifting. Detractors aside, we all came up with our succinct pitches!
This year the sixteen invited social entrepreners were:
Joy Olivier, Ikamva Youth, South Africa
www.ikamva.kabissa.org A by youth for youth project working with disadvantaged township youth to increase their access to higher education and employment.
Michael Petty SJ, Aguada Guzmán, Argentina
Develops markets and enhances revenue opportunities for sheep and llama farmers in remote areas of Argentina.
Cordelia Salter, eShopAfrica, Ghana
www.eShopAfrica.com
Using an ecommerce website to create sustainable businesses for traditional African artisans.
Tunde Fabunmi
Bee Conservation Project, Nigeria
www.beeconservation.org
BCP preserves honeybees as an ecological resource in Nigeria and as a source of livelihood for the urban and rural poor.
Suraiya Haque, Phulki, Bangladesh
www.phulki.org
Provides low cost day care facilities in Bangladesh to enable women to achieve economic emancipation without sacrificing the well-being of their children.
Lisa Jobson, iEARN-USA, New York
www.iearn.org
Enables students to interact with individuals from different cultures (each other) over the internet to address environmental, cultural, and social issues including racism, intolerance, conflict, and human rights.
Martin Burt, Fundacion Paraguaya, Paraguay
www.fundacionparaguaya.org.py
Provides economic literacy, entrepreneurship training, and access to micro-loans to empower rural areas in the potential for sustainable livelihoods.
Pedro Mastrangelo, Frost Protection Corporation, Uruguay
www.frostprotection.com
Provides environmentally and economically superior solutions for the global problem of frost damage for fruit growing producers.
Ken Owens, Cognisense Labs, Inc., California
www.cognisenselabs.com
Enables land resources to be reclaimed for safe use through an integrated application of sensing and GPS software to locate and remove land mines from farmland.
Felipe Oliveira, Comitê para Democratizacão da Informática de Brasília (CDI-DF), Brazil
www.cdi-df.org.br
CDI-DF provides free computers, software, community-based training and technical maintenance through Information Technology Citizenship Schools.
Adrienne Schatz, Book Trust, Colorado
www.book-trust.org
Book Trust addresses low academic achievement in low-income youth through giving them the power to choose and purchase books throughout their elementary school.
Andy Lieberman, Asociación Abj'atz' Enlace Quiché, Guatemala
www.enlacequiche.org.gt
Enables indigenous peoples to reach their full potential through the innovative use of information and communication technologies.
Jon Rodrigues, XayanIT, Bangladesh
XayanIT engages, develops, and retains Bangladeshi university students and graduates by providing local employment opportunities in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Estela Villareal, Unidos, Mexico
www.unidos.com.mx
Enables communities to overcome the biased stigmas of disability by offering new models of hope and empowerment.
Dipak Basu, NetHope, California
www.nethope.org
Provides and integrated information and communications platform to enable international and non-governmental organizations to more effectively and efficiently coordinate global relief efforts as well as education, environment, and other ongoing humanitarian services.
Helen Wang, e-Mobilizer, California
www.emobilizer.com
Uses the existing cellular infrastructure and mobile technology to connect micro-entrepreneurs and small businesses to the online marketplace.
Sherrill Dale the ever-smiling organiser of the GSBI (photo by Tunde)
The Mentor System Each entrepreneur was assigned mentors who were chosen from leaders in the field of entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. These mentors worked intensively with the social entrepreneurs to help prepare their "pitch" for a panel of venture capitalists on the last day of the incubator
For many entrepreneurs this was a challenging exercise. Many of us have goals that we aspire to that do not necessarily relate to money... but money is needed in order to achieve these goals. Preparing such a pitch made us all think about the whole concept of what we wanted to do and then focusing on the nuts and bolts about how we are going to achieve it.
eShopAfrica's mentors were Ann Perlman and Bob MacDonald. A big thank you to them for their help in preparing the eShopAfrica pitch. They were generous both with their time and experience and helped in numerous ways to make the eShopAfrica pitch credible.
Cordelia with eShopAfrica Mentors Ann Perlman...
...and Bob MacDonald
Sessions the first week
The sessions of the GSBI were taken by the GSBI team and leaders from a wide range of experts. They were designed to broaden the thinking of the GSBI social entrepreneurs and to give them a good grounding in successful business practices.
Speakers
Al Bruno
GSBI Academic Dean
Pat Guerra
GSBI Program Director & Entrepreneur in Residence
Jim Koch
Founding Director
Center for Science Technology and Society
Tyzoon Tyebjee
Professor of Marketing
Santa Clara University
Nick Gleason
CEO Citysoft
Tony Blakey
CEO
Ambata
David Green
Executive Director
Project Impact
Cynthia Typaldos
Typaldos Consulting
Dave Caldwell
Stephen & Patricia Schott Professor of Business
Senior Associate Dean
Leavey School of Business
Terri Griffith
Breetwor Fellow
Leavey School of Business
Ruth Norris
Senior Program Office
Skoll Foundation
Margaret McCarthy
Associate Director
Foundation Relations
Santa Clara University
Jennifer Morris
Fund Manager
Verde Ventures
Nature Conservancy
Dena Jones
Manager
Omidyar Network
Jerry Weissman
Founder of Power Presentations Ltd
Wilson Winner
Business Manager
Michelle Garcia Winner Consultancy
Heather Hiles
National Director Foundation Division
IFF Advisors
David M Sacarelos
Seiler & Co
John Heath
Executive Vice President
The Brenner Group
Russ Hall
Legacy Ventures
Ted Moser
Managing Director
Mercer Management Consulting
Narendra Agrawal
Associate Professor
Operations and Management Information Systems
Mark Nicolson
Ventura Group
Gordon Bloom
Social Entrepreuneurship Collabatory
Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations
John F Kennedy School of Government
Harvard University
Cynthia Gair
Portfolio Director
SROI
Margaret McCarthy
Associate Director
Foundation Relations
Santa Clara University
Ken Virnig
Executive Search Consultant
Devine and Virnig Inc
Pat Wolfe
Director Pathways Hospice
Arjun Batra
Director Business Development and US Operations
Intel Corporation
Karen Coppock
Stanford/Reuters Digitial Vision Program
Bill Behrman
Consulting Assitant Professor
School of Engineering
Santa Clara University
Jeff Miller
Venture Partner
Redpoint Ventures
Aaron Slettehaugh
Silver Genie Inc
Akhtar Badshah
Senior Director Community Affairs
Microsoft
Jim Fruchterman
President and CEO
The Benetech Initiative
Ronni Goldfarb
Founder and Executive Director
Equal Access
Regis McKenna
Chairman
Center for Science, Technology and Society Advisory Board
Find out about Week 2 and see more photo in the next post.
Visit the GSBI web page at the Center For Science Technology and Society, Santa Clara University, California.
Friday, February 28, 2003
Feedback: Website: Milton Chikere Ezeh, UK
I read about your site on the BBC web site, and I am writing to congratulate you on a great effort and also wish you well in your operations. Thank you.
Feedback: Website: Brian Kuzdas, South Africa
I'm very happy I have found your web site. I see that eshopAfrica sells a number of high quality items made in the traditional fashion. I'm happy to see this. Thank you so much.
Feedback: Website: John Arnold, Finland
I read about your website in the BBC site. Great idea, I wish you good luck and God's blessing. Regards.
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
Feedback: Website: Farah Eshetu, US
I just read an article about eshopafrica and I just wanted to let you know that it makes me so very happy to see someone doing the right thing! I live in Los Angeles, Ca and I am going to email the link to all my friends and colleagues! You have an advertiser on your side here! Thanks for the inspiration
Feedback: Website: Uche Onyema
Congratulations! I would like to say well done for starting this project. Africa needs all the help we can give. Well done!
Feedback: Website: Aleta Armstrong, Finland
Great idea! I just read the article on your idea and saw the site...it looks wonderful!
Feedback: Website: Per Thomson, Denmark
Great to finally see the www being used to the benefit of those unfortunate.
Feedback: Website: John Grierson
Great site. I especially liked the red pepper chest (simple, unique, compact, dramatic).
Feedback: Website: Tim Crilly
Congratulations on the web site. It may not be as flashy as some sites in the west but it is easy to browse and informative.
Feedback: Website: James Nickson, US
Regarding your effort to get crafts to people without middlemen, WELL DONE!
Friday, February 21, 2003
Feedback: Website: Christine Compton, UK
Just wanted so say good luck! I have just read about you on the BBC News website and I just wanted to say I applaud what you are doing and wish you all the luck in the world, now and in the future. There IS hope for a better world, and people like you bring it closer, quicker.
Feedback: Website: Harriet D Peters, UK
I am a West African living abroad and I read about this eshop on BBC online news. I have looked at the site and I must say thumbs up. May God continue to bless you all as you strive to make things better for the poor Africans.
Feedback: Website: Patricia Thomas
I plan to email everyone I know about your web site. What a great resource!
Feedback: Website: Kwesi Folson, US
I wish to commend you on your effort after reading the piece on BBC. This is practical and has meaningful targets.
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