Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

It's all about scale.  Inevitably, any dialogue about operationalizing 'development through enterprise' strategies will confront this issue.  Why?  Because a fundamental axiom of 'economics for the greater good' is that one should strive to maximize social benefit whenever possible---help more people more efficiently and effectively at a lower cost.  Unfortunately, that nut has yet to be cracked in a meaningful way.  Fortunately for us, there are a few intrepid souls who are confronting this challenge. 

Enter Melissa Richer, founder of a new social enterprise called Ayllu (pronounced eye-yoo).  Melissa's journey began with two simple questions.  First, what would happen if several social enterprises were located in the same community?  Secondly, how can they be brought to scale?  As you'll soon discover, Ayllu is tackling this problem head on.  With no further ado, Ayllu!

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net:  What inspired you to launch Ayllu and how did it get started?

Melissa Richer, Ayllu:  It came from traveling in high school and college. Through my travels to places like Ecuador and Costa Rica I noticed that my peers were unable to find jobs and that they had a strong passion for solving problems in their communities.  This made me think: what if they could get jobs that solved some of these problems?  At the time I didn't know what social enterprise was, but I thought that two issues could be resolved at once---unemployment and making a difference.

Continue reading this story...

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

As many of you know, today is the 2009 Africa Social Enterprise Forum in New York City, organized by Co-Chairs JerryAnne Heath and Magogodi Makhene.  ASEC boldly confronts the notion that all the best thinking (and doing) in social enterprise comes from the West, and I applaud the organizers for contradicting this notion.  The line-up features heavy hitters such as Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, Andrew Zolli, PopTech! Curator, and Bill Carter, the Vice President for Africa Programs at Ashoka. 

The panels focus on the nuts and bolts of social enterprise-how one becomes a social entrepreneur, and how social enterprises are financed, structured, and scaled. 

In essence, these are the key 'stops' on the pipeline of enterprise creation.  As an attendee, one could imagine starting off as a budding entrepreneur and working to build a properly structured, adequately financed, scalable social enterprise. 
Certainly not a bad day's work.

But what happens 'the day after tomorrow?'  That is, let's assume our intrepid social entrepreneur successfully creates an innovative, fully-functioning organization.  Who's to say it will stay that way?  What are the critical factors that will help the social enterprise to maintain its efficiency, effectiveness, and edge?  How will the organization develop a learning culture that will adapt as the world around it changes?  How will its social impact be measured?  Perhaps this inquiry leads us too far down the rabbit hole; after all getting one of these organizations up and running is a mighty task. Nonetheless, I'd like to believe that discussing the sustainability and impact of these organizations might be worth the air time.

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

Last spring when my teammates and I were working on a renewable energy project in southern Africa, we thought carefully about how we could integrate a BoP perspective into our work.  Our client planned to situate its plant in a rural community, so we knew the impact would be dramatic.  We also knew that the company could influence the nature of its footprint, particularly if it treated the community as an active partner. 

Consequently, we engaged the company in a dialogue about how a 'community-inclusive' strategy could be mutually beneficial in terms of financial and social returns.  To our surprise, we found rich literature that informed our insights, including the International Council on Mining and Metals' Community Development Toolkit  and The Role of the Extractives Industry in Expanding Economic Opportunity by Holly Wise and Sokol Shtylla of the Kennedy School of Government.  In fact,  SEAT, Anglo American's community engagement and socioeconomic assessment toolbox has been hailed as an industry best practice.

Not surprisingly, we learned a lot about how extractive companies can incorporate communities into their supply chains, build infrastructure, invest in human capital, and support local suppliers and entrepreneurs.  Clearly, there are numerous ways to cultivate local economic development that complement, but also evolve independently of, an extractives company. 

However, we also recognized that an inherent contradiction existed in our work.  BoP business development by definition-if you accept co-creation as a key tenet-should engage the community in the process from the outset.  However, extractives projects can be scoped, planned, funded and largely executed before the community is involved in a meaningful way.  That begs the question of whether BoP business development and the extractives industry are compatible.

The answer is probably 'no' given the way that extractives projects (and most businesses generally) are structured.  Investors and the management team ultimately control how the business is built while co-creation assumes that all relevant stakeholders are involved from day one.  However, to the extent that companies prioritize entrepreneurship support and investment as key elements of their community engagement strategies, there's hope.

It's conceivable that a company could work with local entrepreneurs to co-create new businesses, or in the spirit of the BoP Protocol 2.0, engage in new market creation.  After all, most responsible companies endeavor to leave the communities they inhabit as thriving, self-sustaining entities.  For example, Anglo Zemele in South Africa actively supports local enterprise capacity-building and supply chain integration.  However, perhaps over time companies can develop a more explicit 'blank-slate' approach if and when it makes sense to do so.

It's also worthwhile to consider another, potentially more compatible business model-distributed renewable energy.  As you may recall, the extent to which clean technology, renewable energy, and the like should be produced at and for the BoP was explored at the Cornell Global Forum. Assuming that it should, then it's more likely that co-creation norms would be embedded from the beginning.  Okay, so maybe clean technology and renewable energy aren't necessarily extractive (or at least they shouldn't be).  

Nonetheless, it's important to explore the possibility of producing energy in a way that 'expands economic opportunity' while engaging the BoP 'before the fact.  Of course, one could argue that business development at the BoP need not involve co-creation from inception as long as lives improve at the conclusion.  Personally, I believe there's more than enough room for context-specific interpretation. What do you think?

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

When the subject of successful, scalable BoP models comes up, two will inevitably be cited: mobile telecommunications and microfinance (ala Grameen).  While the reach of cell phones at the BoP is indeed widespread and impressive, one still has to consider what the barriers to access are for this technology and its ancillary, the internet.  Is it cost, cultural context, infrastructure, or language?  My guess is that it's all of the above.  That's why the work of ICT pioneers like Appfrica Labs is so critical.  Having collaborated with Grameen, Google, and MTN to roll out a suite of SMS applications including QuestionBox, the company is poised to address these challenges and many more.  Needless to say, I was pleased to have the opportunity to chat with Jon Gosier, founder of Appfrica Labs and 2009 TEDGlobal Fellow.  Let's learn more about Appfrica Labs...

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: How did the idea for Appfrica Labs emerge?

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: There's a lot of talent here in Uganda but an extreme lack of opportunity.  At Appfrica Labs, we incubate and mentor software entrepreneurs while offering them a productive environment in which to work and learn from their peers. 

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: How does Appfrica Labs work? 

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: We have a two part model-we're a software company that does contract work and we're also an incubator that provides seed capital.   We don't have external funding so we cover our own costs doing software development for short term cash, and the returns on investment provide long term cash flow.

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: We've also heard about your partnership with Grameen and Google.  How did that evolve?

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: The opportunity came from Grameen as it was developing SMS applications in partnership with Google.  They were looking for something different, another way to reach people.  It was by chance that QuestionBox entered Uganda around the same time, and they decided to roll out our service as part of their pilot. It added a human element to all of the high tech stuff they were offering to people who were used to low-tech solutions.

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: So what's the nature of your relationship with Question Box?

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: If we were to display our relationship on Facebook it would read "It's complicated." First and foremost, I'm Question Box's Chief Technology Officer.  I started Appfrica Labs, which incubates several projects and QuestionBox is a project we're incubating.  Eventually, it'll leave the incubator and be its own thing, but for now it's all under the same umbrella.

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: Remind us what Question Box does?  What problem does it solve?

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: Question Box aims to democratize the acquisition of information, especially here where literacy rates are very low.  We want to provide disenfranchised populations with the information they want to know.  However, there are two challenges.  First, many of the people that we reach can't read, or are otherwise uncomfortable with English.  QuestionBox allows them to talk to operators who speak and understand their language.  Second, some of the people that we reach are too poor to own their own mobile phones, much less send SMS's.  For people who can afford mobiles, they can just call into the service.  For the extremely poor, there are physical boxes placed in their villages (Question Boxes) that they can use to make calls for free.

My personal passion is using technology in ways that allows the billions of people living at the base of the pyramid to share their perspectives. Things like the real-time web (Twitter) and mobile applications (apps for the iphone) are literally changing the way the world works for  a very small segment of the human population (the Global North), but there are more ways that these technologies can be applied than are currently being  explored.

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: What types of questions are people asking?  What are you learning?

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: The information we were collecting was fascinating and I thought it would be interesting to share it with the world.  I built the site World Wants to Know to make that information public.  Anyone can go there to see a real-time feed of the questions as they come in to our call center.  You can also subscribe to the questions via RSS. 

Some callers are kids using the service to ask about homework.  Women ask health-related questions because there is very little local medical facilitation.  Men overwhelmingly call to ask about agriculture and sports.  They ask these questions because they're patriarchs in the farming villages.  The questions about Manchester United and Arsenal indicate that people everywhere, despite their status in life, enjoy entertainment.  Every question teaches us something new about the areas we're in and the people who live there.

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: What drives this question-answering power? 

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: Appfrica Labs built a localized database that stores information relevant to a particular subject or location.  It's essentially a search engine that works offline on servers that can run even when the power is cut (using generators).  The Question Box operators take calls in the languages that the callers speak.  They search the database in real-time, often finding answers while the person on the other end is still talking.  If the answer can't be found in the local database, the software searches the web. Over time the search engine gets 'smarter' because it's indexing the answers and the questions. Thus, we get better at answering questions the more often people call us.

The information we're searching comes from very specialized sources.  For instance, Grameen gave us massive amounts of data related to Ugandan agriculture, market pricing, the local government, health and more.  This is information that doesn't exist online.  It's information that traditionally only researchers and development organizations have had access to because they were collecting it for their own purposes.  In some cases the database has more information than even the local government has!

A few weeks ago there was a discussion on the website Slashdot about QuestionBox.  People criticized the service for being the same as searching Google.  Actually, searching the web is a last resort because there are no algorithms for making the search more accurate over time.  We also collect a large amount of demographic information about the callers, the type that other organizations have expended significant resources trying to collect.

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: The QB operator job sounds challenging.  How do you train people to do it? 

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: The operators undergo a lengthy training process so that they don't answer questions with opinions or provide information that can't be verified.  They're timed, so if a call takes longer than three minutes, they ask the person to call back.  Additionally, we needed the operators to speak multiple languages, so each of the women we've hired is conversant in up to five of the regional dialects. We're also working on a rather sophisticated voicemail system to allow people to call back to retrieve answers.

Tayo Akinyemi, NextBillion.net: It seems like your work has implications for telecom providers at the BoP.  How well do you think they're doing at reaching customers and meeting their needs? 

Jon Gosier, Appfrica Labs: Everyone is looking for new customers.  Many people can't afford to be customers nor can they read.  QuestionBox bridges that gap.  During a recent focus group, the overwhelming message from callers was that they enjoy the service because of the human element.  All the tech heavy stuff goes on behind the scenes.  Good technology is like that, it's like your car engine.  Most people don't know how an engine works, but they find a lot of utility in what a car does.  People find a great deal of utility in this service as well.

To answer your question, SMS is the way to reach the urban poor, but I'm not so convinced it's the way to reach the rural poor.  I don't think that telecom providers are doing a good job of that. There are between 7 and 8 million mobile subscribers in Uganda out of 30 million people.  Most mobile owners are the wealthy, the middle class and the urban poor.  However, the rest of the country, the 'market' that the telecoms want to reach, suffers from poverty, poor education and a lack of technical literacy.  I think the 'human-ness' of services like QuestionBox is a big draw, and it also gets back to the basics.

Rose Shuman (the founder of QuestionBox) always says, "You can get people to take one step, maybe two, but after that you lose them." (You may recall that fellow NextBillion blogger Francisco Noguera profiled Rose and QuestionBox in an earlier post.)

To learn more about Appfrica Labs and its work with Question Box, read PCWorld's feature, visit the company's site check out the QuestionBox blog, or view Jon's TED talk.

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

Three years ago I took part in my first Nollywood marathon.  It was a bit of a reunion actually; one of my friends was in town from Nigeria while I was visiting another friend in DC.  One of the movies, called Dangerous Twins, struck a chord.  The story is about two businessmen; one lives in the UK and the other in Nigeria.  Eventually a plan is hatched to switch places.  Drama quickly ensues as the UK-based brother destroys his twin's business and personal life by insisting on "proper" protocol irrespective of the local (and sometimes harsh) reality.  Meanwhile, things go swimmingly for brother #2 as he boosts business and woos his twin's wife.  The plotline becomes increasingly labyrinthine, but you get the gist. 

Why bring this up in a post about the BoP?  Because the movie raises interesting questions about who "belongs" where and under what circumstances, a consideration that is central to business development at the BoP.  The assumption is that embedded community knowledge is essential for BoP ventures specifically, and for development generally.  Who better to provide this context than locals?  Unfortunately, the question of who is local can be extremely complex. 

For example, what does local mean in a country as large and diverse as Nigeria? 
If someone of Yoruba descent (Yorubas are primarily from the Westen part of the country) visits Ibo-land in the East, he is hardly a local.  (Sometimes this applies even if he was born and raised there).  However, even an Ibo-man in Ibo-land may not be considered a local if he's from another state.  None of this is surprising; the dynamic is similar (although perhaps less contentious and painful) in the US.  However, I've been told that Nigerians often identify with their villages first, ethnic origins second, and national identities last, particularly when football is involved.  If that's the case, then what are the practical implications for members of the Diaspora- those who are born, educated, or work outside of their country of origin?  Can they ever be truly 'local'?  Should they be?  If not, what roles can they play in their countries' economic development?

While I don't have definitive conclusions, I have witnessed the answers that a few of my counterparts have created for themselves.  When I was in Nigeria, I encountered a cadre of young, well-educated, upwardly mobile women who had been educated in the US, but had decided to return "home" to make positive change.  One started an organization-she's actually on her third now-called LEAP Africa, a Lagos-based NGO that focuses on promoting leadership development and entrepreneurship.  Another launched Friends of the Global Fund Africa, which aims to "mobilize strategic political and financial support for the fight against AIDS, TB and Malaria through education, multisectoral advocacy and documentation."  These women are prime examples of the power of reverse brain drain, particularly when the links to the country of origin remain strong.  These success stories teach us that Africans of the Diaspora can act as connectors between two worlds. 

Nonetheless, the road home can be long and bumpy, fueling the genesis of organizations like the Move-Back Club (MBC).   I have certainly heard my fair share of third party accounts detailing the challenges of acclimatization and have told several of my own.  It's funny how easy it is to take language, cultural norms, style of dress, food, and transportation for granted until you're required to adjust to a new set.  Trust is also a big issue.  Being an honest broker to multiple parties is a very difficult task to do well.  Inevitably, both sides will question where one's loyalty lies and each might feel betrayed and disappointed.  However, there is no good substitute for the first-hand acquisition of local context, as confusing and painful as it can be, because it garners a more reality-tinged perspective. 

Case in point-a friend, a returned Peace Corps volunteer and fellow business school classmate, remarked that one of her Kenyan colleagues had the uncanny ability to frame local problems meaningfully, an ability that far surpassed her own.  Why?  Because she'd lived them; her insight was not the result of high-minded, theoretical exploration.  (Of course it's not that simple; living an experience does not guarantee one's ability to extrapolate from it.  But it's certainly a start.)  So perhaps the next best thing to being local is finding people like this woman, and bringing their voices to the fore, both literally and figuratively.  As with anything, people need to do the work to which they are best suited. 

Perhaps not all members of the Diaspora have truly local contexts, but they certainly have skills that can be wielded in service of the countries of their fathers.

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

Business Action for Africa's report From Crisis to Opportunity: Harnessing the Power of Business to Sustain Progress Towards the MDGs is hardly ground-breaking in its arguments.  It presents, through the voices of influential leaders in business, development, and academia, a series of strategic imperatives that will mitigate the damage caused by the financial crisis and steady African progress toward the MDGs.  What I appreciate about the report is the re-orientation of the MDG-driven development agenda in terms of the impact of the financial crisis on Africa.

Perhaps this is not entirely surprising because collectively, Africa was unlikely to reach these goals before the financial maelstrom emerged, as the Chairman of Anglo American Sir Mark Moody-Stuart points out.  However, it is useful to frame the dialogue in way that explicitly acknowledges the systemic link between the failure of global financial institutions and the economic progress made by African countries.  After all,Paul Collier, Oxford Professor notes that "Africa's growing integration into the global economy" pulled it into the mêlée, resulting in a reduction in FDI and trouble in the commodity markets.

Moody-Stuart goes on to assert a well-worn, but highly appropriate warning against protectionism in response to the disaster, a sentiment that is echoed throughout the report.  Instead, the challenge should be met by the re-doubling of efforts to address the long-standing agricultural, infrastructural, and regulatory challenges that the continent faces, as well as trade liberalization and resource extraction dependence.  The familiar call to action also includes pushing richer nations to assist poorer ones; encouraging the private sector to collaborate with government to create healthier investment climates and business linkages; and focusing on providing the basics, such as food security, healthcare, and education. Although the report reads a bit like an institutional showcase, highlighting the priorities, initiatives, and accomplishments of the organizations featured, there is some interesting commentary.  

My favorite bit of analysis, one that literally put a smile on my face, is offered by Richard Laing, Chief Executive of the CDC,"the biggest private equity investor in Africa." According to Mr. Laing:

Any simple prognosis for the continent's economic future ignores the fact that there are 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa with differing economies and at varying stages of development. It is action, not talk, that is required.  Of course, as the global financial crisis brings about falls in foreign aid, commodity prices and remittances, it is clear that no country will emerge unscathed. Some nations like South Africa are already in recession and those economies with a greater reliance on exports and trade with the West are undoubtedly bearing the brunt of the crisis. However, we should caution against too much doom-mongering. Many African countries are still growing on the back of strong domestic demand and consumer  markets, with Uganda, Ghana, Nigeria and Rwanda as prime examples.

Bravo, Mr. Laing.  He also contends that African businesses, especially those that serve local and regional markets, are sorely in need of capital.  Companies like these will serve as the engines of economic growth and contribute to the fight against poverty.  Another interesting excerpt by Gabriel Solomon, Senior Vice President, GSMA, highlights the tremendous impact of telecom on African development:Across Africa the mobile industry employs more than 3.5 million people today. It will generate  $71 billion in tax revenues between 2000-2012. And it is a substantial generator of economic  growth, responsible for around 6% of East Africa's GDP in 2008. A 10% increase in mobile penetration boosts GDP by 1.2% in a typical emerging market.
He also makes a rather cogent observation about the need for cross-sector cooperation with telecom, i.e. the development of supportive financial regulations and the co-location of telecom infrastructure with that of utilities.

Other notable initiatives include DFID's North South Corridor project, which aims to improve the efficiency of trading routes between Southern and Eastern Africa by improving ports, roads, railways, and customs processes, and efforts made by Diageo and SABMiller to source sorghum and barley locally.Although the report was quite informative, two questions lingered in my mind upon completing it.  First, "Why do new challenges still garner old solutions?"   While many of the concerns highlighted remain critical, new dilemmas have emerged, such as the need to assure African citizens that their financial institutions are trustworthy (and actually ensure that they are so), an observation made by DeBeers Chairman Nicky Oppenheimer.

The second question, and perhaps the more troubling of the two is, "Where are the African captains of industry, academicians and civil society leaders?" Kofi Anan,Obiageli Ezekwesili and Omari Issa and Nicky Oppenheimer are featured prominently in the report, but appear to be lone voices. Oppenheimer notes this as well---"African leaders need to continuously engage with, and play a constructive leadership role in, the global forums that address these key issues."

The question is how do we make that happen?  If it's a pipeline issue, part of me thinks (and I apologize for sounding trite) that there should be a mandatory "take a rising star to work" policy so that more emerging African leaders become privy to these debates.  Reports like these could also feature excerpts from new voices in the field; Dambisa Moyo comes to mind.  Regardless, surely a wider set of stakeholders could have been invited to weigh in.In any case, the report is new andt the debate ripe for commentary.  Be sure to check out the report and voice your opinion here.

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

Occasionally one encounters a novel application of a familiar technology.  In this case, it's blogging.  David Roodman, fellow at the Center for Global Development and architect of the Commitment to Development Index, is writing an open-book blog about microfinance.  He drafts a chapter, then posts it for comment and critique.  Mr. Roodman shared the introduction to his book on February 17th and has since authored nine additional sections.  Although the work looks substantially complete, there is still a tremendous opportunity to contribute to its evolution.  (Talk about opportunities for co-creation!)

What I appreciate most about Mr. Roodman's approach (apart from his willingness to share the manuscript-in-progress), is his clear and thoughtful use of a framework to couch the discussion.  The purpose of the book is to explore the impact of microfinance from three primary perspectives : development as freedom, development as institution-building, and development as measurable impact.

Development as freedom, a concept introduced by Amartya Sen, refers to the ability to exercise one's sense of agency and maintain control over one's life.  With respect to microfinance, the question is whether (and under what circumstances), microfinance increases or limits the freedom of those who use it.  Creative destruction, described by Joseph Schumpeter as the dissolution of the status quo caused by disruptive innovation, is the underpinning of development as institution building.  From this perspective, the relevant query is whether the evolution of financing for MFIs has improved the state of the field.  Finally, development as measurable impact explores the debate over whether social impact can be meaningfully measured. In other words, how do we know if microfinance is really helping the poor?

Editor's note: A blog post written by Manuel Bueno, published yesterday on NextBillion.net, addresses this exact question. 

Given the extreme contrast between microfinance success stories and those of disaster and indebtedness, a balanced interpretation of these accounts and a rigorous exploration of the truth is quite welcome. Check out David Roodman's Microfinance Blog here.   

Happy Reading!

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

Most of you are probably familiar with the story of Dr. Mo Ibrahim, the British-Sudanese entrepreneur who built Celtel (now Zain) into one of the most successful telcos on the African continent (and beyond).  Then you can imagine my surprise when the following email landed in my inbox:

Dr. Mo Ibrahim, founder of Celtel and a 2008 Time 100 honoree, will be on campus next week as the 2009 Bartels World Affairs Fellow.  Dr. Ibrahim is one of Africa's most successful businessmen and created the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in 2006 which           awards the Achievement in African Leadership [prize].

I have been fortunate enough to secure a portion of Dr. Ibrahim's time to attend Monday's class.  If you are interested, I would love to have you join us for a continental breakfast from 8:00-8:40 am, followed by discussion from 8:40-9:55 am.

Unbelievable-I couldn't believe my good fortune.  Never would I have imagined that I'd be within twenty feet of an entrepreneur of Mr. Ibrahim's caliber.  Not only is African telecom one of my primary interests, I'd been enamored with the CelTel/Zain story since completing a strategy project about its rival, MTN.  Furthermore, I was intensely curious about Mr. Ibrahim's motivation for creating his foundation. 

On the surface, his two careers, telecom entrepreneur and democracy advocate, seemed rather disparate.  However, (as I was recently reminded), the role of government is critical to the success of business in Africa, particularly when it comes to infrastructure.  Given the critical role that government officials play in the distribution of licenses, it's little wonder that he linked the two.

Those of us who attended this session were treated to an Inside the Actor's Studio-style interview conducted by Mark Milstein, Director of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise.  Please read on for a smattering of what we discussed.  (Note: This is not a verbatim transcript.  It's just a summarized excerpt of a much longer conversation.)

Mark Milstein:
How did you spot an opportunity for telecom in Africa?

Mo Ibrahim:
People thought that Africa was too dangerous.  People didn't want to work in Uganda because of Idi Amin despite the fact that he'd been gone for more than 15 years.  Cynicism and romanticism co-existed.  Both are true, but the larger picture is also true.  For example, everyone knows about Mugabe, but this is an incomplete, inaccurate picture.  Life can be as boring in Africa as it is in Ithaca-people get up, go to work, etc.  (Who knew Mo Ibrahim had such a wry sense of humor!)

Mark Milstein:
Why was the success of the mobile phone so dramatic in Africa?

Mo Ibrahim:
First, there was a high degree of equity in the phone call and secondly, the market was defined.  There were limited ways for people to communicate; often, they had to meet in person.  In Kinshasa, people used messengers.  If you didn't live in the same town, it could take ten days just to tell your mother that you were engaged.

Mark Milstein:
Did you realize that cell phones would be so powerful?

Mo Ibrahim:
They definitely exceeded our expectations.  They are essential for trade and education and are a tool for democracy and openness.  Zimbabwe and Kenya represent a great victory; people stopped elections from proceeding [due to their ability to communicate about what was going on].

Mark Milstein:
What quality made it difficult for companies to learn how to operate successfully in this space?

Mo Ibrahim:
Business people who were shifty and behaved illegally made things challenging.  People warned us that it wasn't possible to do business with integrity.  But at CelTel, any check for more than 30,000 pounds had to be signed by the board.  This was our silver bullet because the clout of the board discouraged bribery.  At the end of the day, the level of transparency and quality of corporate governance enhanced the value of the company.  When we sold the company we received 8.5 times EBITDA.  In fact, Celtel's story is taught at Harvard Business School as an example of how strong corporate governance attracts a premium.

Mark Milstein:
How did the state of leadership help you determine what markets to enter?

Mo Ibrahim:
We looked beyond the condition of the market to governance.  We've paid for licenses but then walked away.  We delayed entry in another place due to corruption.  Don't let short term gain push you to do something.  In the end, it will harm the value of your business.

Mark Milstein:
What advice do you have to give for people starting business with a social value?

Mo Ibrahim:
Any business has social value, otherwise it's unethical.  For example, prostitution and gambling have no social value.  Creating jobs and looking after the community are important.  A business cannot thrive in a community that is failing.  Social value should not be invoked as an excuse to do lousy, unsuccessful business.  Mixing the two is a recipe for disaster.  The sole purpose of business is to generate value generally, not just the kind that is social in nature.  As long as the company is ethical, there is social value.

Mark Milstein:
Why decide to promote democracy?

Mo Ibrahim:
Democracy is terrible, but it is the least evil system we know.  Democracy, transparency, good government, rule of law, and strong law enforcement are all very important. 

Mark Milstein:
A society of entitlement compounds the likelihood of success for the wealthy. 
Doesn't the Prize for Achievement in African Leadership give money to the already wealthy?

Mo Ibrahim:
The first part of the statement is correct, but we we're not dealing with wealthy, crooked people.  Once you finish the job as head of state, you leave your means behind.  Tony Blair charges $500M per speech and $2M to sit on Merrill Lynch's board.  But many leaders can't rent an apartment in the capital where they were living because they can't afford to.  Also, we're not paying people excessively.

Well, that's all she wrote.  Not surprisingly, the dialogue during this session was much richer than I could convey in this excerpt.  Of particular note was the James Lipton-like approach to the initial round of questions.  Thanks to that, I now know that Mo Ibrahim likes the sound of babies, admires Madame Curie (complete with poster on the wall), and detests hypocrisy.  How's that for a 360 degree view of a leader?

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

Pushing the 'go' button (to borrow Francisco's brilliant phrasing), is much harder than it sounds.  Some days, I'm convinced that I misplaced mine, lent it to someone who forgot to return it, or never had it at all.  Regardless, I think about what makes people go, hoping to divine the ingredients of the secret sauce.  What I've realized recently (and what Francisco pointed out in his post), is that 'going' is part conscious choice, part inspired possession.  It's about being completely consumed by an idea to the point where your doubts about how, what, when, and who (Me?  No, but maybe you.) completely melt away, if only for a blissful moment.  Then comes the inspired decision-will you or won't you?

I've also noted that it helps to watch the creative process unfold in others.  To that end, I'd like to share the story of Big Red MicroCapital.  BRM MicroCapital is a "student-run organization that spurs microenterprise development by assisting self-employed individuals to reach their business goals."  Several Johnson School students, (now newly-minted alums) spent more than a year bringing this concept to life.  The team is comprised of Andrea Findley (Director of Client Support Services), Taryn Goodman (Director of Community Partnerships), Ryan Kelley (Director of Finance), Kandea Mosley (Director of Marketing), and Mike Pezone (Director of Operations).

Thanks to their efforts, the Johnson School community, and hopefully, the citizens of Tompkins County, will be better for it.  I had the opportunity to sit down with Taryn, who graciously offered to speak on behalf of the group.  Introducing BRM MicroCapital...

Tayo Akinyemi, Nextbillion.net:  
What does BRM MicroCapital do exactly?

Taryn Goodman, BRM MicroCapital: 
We have a business coaching program and offer financial support to low income entrepreneurs in Tompkins County.  (Low income describes people who earn less than 80% of median income in a county according to HUD data.)  The coach's job during a typical four-month engagement is to understand what the entrepreneur wants to do and help him/her create a process for achieving their goals.

In terms of financial support, we take on what a traditional bank would call "risky loans".  Loans are typically small ($300-$1500) and short-term.  We also require borrowers to enroll in the coaching program so we can help them reach repayment status.  Although our interest rates are slightly higher than bank rates, we can adjust them when it makes sense to do so,  for example, if a community recommendation is made.

Tayo Akinyemi, Nextbillion.net:  
How was BRM MicroCapital founded?

Taryn Goodman, BRM MicroCapital:
BRM MicroCapital was conceived 3-5 years ago by students who wanted to launch an   international microfinance fund.  Given the difficulty of creating an international program, someone had the idea to do something local.  Last year Jeff Fuchs 
(JGSM '08) revitalized the idea, started creating a strategy around it, and began meeting with local community members.  He discovered that there was a need to help people who couldn't be served by the normal banking system.  As a result, he recruited a few other students to join the team.  They did months of research to understand what other programs existed, what worked, and what didn't.  Eventually, they were referred to theAlternatives Federal Credit Union (AFCU), now a BRM partner.  It's great because we benefit from the AFCU's expertise with lending and the community; it's one of the premier credit unions in the nation.  Additionally, AFCU assists us by processing our clients' loans and matches our funds.

Tayo Akinyemi, Nextbillion.net:  
Don't these types of services already exist in Tompkins County?  How does BRM fill an unmet need in the community?

Taryn Goodman, BRM MicroCapital:
We didn't actually know what the need was when we started.  It was hard to tap into, but we partnered with the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, the Women's Opportunity Center, Tompkins County Work Force, and several community leaders to learn the landscape.  We met great people with great ideas.  Ithaca actually has a very entrepreneurial feel to it.  People have the desire to create but may not have the financial ability or the background to do so.  They also have families, jobs, and other daily requirements that don't allow them to put the time and energy into really figuring things out.  We wanted to help those people.

Also, it's assumed that people who don't get loans don't deserve them.  Clearly, this is a miscalculation and a misrepresentation.  Sometimes people just need another pathway, an opportunity to  flourish.

Tayo Akinyemi, Nextbillion.net:
How did you find your clients?  What types of businesses do your clients have?

Taryn Goodman, BRM MicroCapital:
People came through the AFCU website but we found others through the research that we did. We cultivated relationships with people who could help us understand what was going on in the community.  Our plan is to continue to reach out through community organizations. 

In terms of the businesses, we have a woman who does transcription, someone who does composting and landscaping for private homes, a clothing store owner, a housekeeper/personal assistant, and a small scale farmer.

Tayo Akinyemi, Nextbillion.net:
What have been your major accomplishments?

Taryn Goodman, BRM MicroCapital:
Our biggest accomplishment has been getting the program running, because we had no idea what it would look like when we started.  Now we have 12 coaches who are rising 2^nd year MBA students and 5 entrepreneurs in the program.  We have also elected the new board, so we know the organization will be around next year.  It's a great feeling and it's kind of unbelievable to see.  We actually got an email from an Executive Director at United Way who's excited about the program, and wants to connect us to someone who's trying to create a micro-loan program in Wisconsin.  We told them that we were still in the pilot phase, but it's great to know that there's interest in what we're doing, and that our efforts could extend beyond Ithaca.

Tayo Akinyemi, Nextbillion.net: 
Your biggest challenges?

Taryn Goodman, BRM MicroCapital:
We had really difficult internal conversations about program requirements.  What should the income cut-off be? Should we require six months of revenue because we're not equipped to handle start-ups?  It was challenging because we couldn't foresee how these decisions would impact our program.  We were also concerned about lack of interest in it, so we wanted to target the right people.  But initially we didn't know who the right people were.

Tayo Akinyemi, Nextbillion.net:
What is the strategic outlook for BRM?  What do you hope to see in the future? 

Taryn Goodman, BRM MicroCapital:
Our strategic vision is to become the premier, student-run microenterprise fund.  We want to share our vision with other business schools and create a model that others can replicate.  Many schools belong to communities like ours and have students with similar passions.  It would be great to share our vision with them. 

There you have it.  To read more about BRM, please visit the profile at the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise.

Authored by: Tayo Akinyemi

I must say, being an MBA has its privileges.  It's difficult to imagine how I would have attended the Cornell Global Forum (CGF) otherwise.  However, as a recent graduate of the Johnson School, I had an "all-access pass" to an invitation-only event in exchange for support services.  Even so, I approached the CGF with a healthy bit of skepticism.  Although its purpose is explicitly action-oriented-the mission of the Forum is to accelerate the degree to which clean technology firms and BoP-focused companies incubate clean technology at the BoP (also known as convergence)-I couldn't wrap my head around how another big, centrally-planned talk shop ensconced in a tony New York locale could possibly do anything meaningful. 

Let's look at the variables.  You have:  a). nearly one hundred delegates with very distinct BoP or cleantech foci divided into eleven task teams; b) three working sessions over the course of two and a half days; and c) eleven facilitators charged with the daunting task of combining a, b and c to yield d) eleven actionable initiatives that facilitate convergence.  Just to be clear, I have a vested interest in an action-oriented CGF.  First, I had recently worked with another student to develop a methodology to measure the convergence rate.  No action, no convergence.  Additionally, as an MBA graduate hoping to work in this space, I have to understand what work needs doing.  So, was I disappointed?  The answer is a resounding, "No!"

First of all, I was surprised by the lack of resistance to the convergence concept.  Granted, the Forum delegates comprised a relatively captive audience and my task team participation was limited, leaving me less privy to "hallway murmurings".  (As event staff, I was able to sit in on three of the eleven teams.)  It was also quite impressive that every task team produced an initiative; some generated two or three.  Given the time constraints and the diversity of perspectives represented, this is a significant accomplishment. 

However, lest the buzz of the Cornell kool-aid obscure my critical thinking, let me state that the impact of the Forum remains to be seen.  Whether it actually accelerates the rate of convergence will depend on the quality of the initiatives developed, how committed the task teams are to launching them, and how much support the Forum provides to these efforts.  Clearly, the challenge is great and the journey strictly uphill.

As I learned through my independent study, social impact measurement is a frustratingly complex phenomenon.  It is difficult to define social benefit accurately, particularly when costs, trade-offs and externalities are considered.  Even if one succeeds there, the greatest challenge is to translate this (hopefully) well-defined benefit into something measureable. 

The Forum's convergence concept is no exception.   At this stage who's to say what the practical nature of convergence will be?  Will consensus form around what constitutes convergence activity or will there be several interpretations?  Will momentum grow around the concept?  If so, will it be strong enough to bring convergence 'doers' to life?  Finally, will 'converged' companies succeed in fostering world-wide sustainability?  How will we know?  Only time will tell.

What I can say is that the Forum organizers have a strong impact orientation and have a monitoring and evaluation system in place.  They also, quite strategically, created an enabling environment for action.  As Virginia Barreiro described in her recent post, cards were exchanged, names taken, and deals done.  Needless to say, the end of the story is just the beginning.  Stay tuned for the next episode...