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Reflections and Connections in Mexico for FLII 2024 Conference

Latin America holds a special place in my heart. When I visit the region, there’s an unmistakable warmth and familiarity that welcomes me, evoking a comforting sense of home. No matter where my travels take me, it’s in Latin America, particularly in Mexico, that I find not just a destination but an integral part of my identity.

My roots run deep as my mother hails from Mexico, and my daughter from Guatemala. I conducted my doctoral dissertation in Guatemala and also spent the first 12 years of my career working in the region. These immersive experiences introduced me to the unique challenges and opportunities for creating meaningful impact in the area.

I feel fortunate to be part of an organization whose mission and goals resonate deeply with my own values and identity. The alignment between my personal convictions and Miller Center’s shared commitment to fostering market-based solutions to social issues in Latin America is not just a stroke of luck; it’s a meaningful convergence that fuels my passion for our work.

Miller Center is proud to have accelerated many of the most prominent social enterprise success stories in the region, including Someone Somewhere, Iluméxico, Clínicas del Azúcar, and Sistema Bio. We have also worked with leading ecosystem organizations and universities to strengthen their capabilities and provide additional accompaniment to exceptional local social entrepreneurs along their scaling journeys. Further, Miller Center Capital is aiming to broaden our partnerships with local investors, ultimately driving $60 million to Latin American social enterprises over the next three years.

We’re not alone in recognizing Latin America’s potential for growth. There has been a huge surge in impact assets under management, venture capital, and collaboration between public and private capital. These assets have experienced significant growth, with an annualized rate of 21% over the past five years, ranking only second in emerging markets behind East Asia. According to Impact Alpha, the impact investing ecosystem is increasingly directing funding toward supporting Latin American initiatives, specifically addressing poverty reduction, climate resilience, and enhanced access to clean energy and quality healthcare.

This growing impact investing ecosystem was on display last week when we visited the Latin American Impact Investing Forum (FLII) in Merida, Mexico. FLII’s annual event provides a platform for networking, learning, and advancing social entrepreneurship in the region and showcases sessions emphasizing collaboration and growth. This year, the theme was centered around three major pillars of connection:

  • Uniting humanity with empathy and action.
  • Cherishing and protecting nature.
  • Ensuring that technology serves the greater good with purpose and integrity.

Miller Center enjoyed some terrific networking opportunities, especially around recruiting social enterprises and partners (our community partnership program generated a lot of buzz), as well as potential investors for Miller Center Capital. Highlights from the week included facilitating a knowledge-sharing workshop with nearly 50 local entrepreneurs and university students to explore avenues for creating positive change in their community; collaborating with ecosystem partners Impacto, elea, and Co_Capital to provide our Latin America alumni valuable insights on scaling their businesses and maximizing social impact; and co-sponsoring a lively happy hour where two dozen entrepreneurs had the chance to network and learn more about Miller Center’s flagship accelerator program.

Over the course of the week, we repeatedly heard from partners and alumni on the value of experiencing firsthand the transformative power of collaborating with Miller Center. “It’s exhilarating to have the opportunity to connect with Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Every time we engage, it’s a high quality experience,” shared German Zubia, cofounder of Hipocampus and graduate of Miller Center’s 2017 accelerator program. Hippocampus received the inaugural IGNITE Award for Social Impact and was recognized by FLII for creating outstanding and positive change in Latin America.

Miller Center is deeply committed to elevating the voices of social entrepreneurs and building an entrepreneur-centric ecosystem. And we’re hearing support for this approach among our peers in the impact ecosystem. Unfortunately, it’s not easy. Conferences, in particular, can be a difficult place to achieve this, because entrepreneurs are typically attending to pitch their businesses to potential partners and investors. They are unlikely to raise concerns about the very players they’re looking for support from. The onus is on the rest of us in the ecosystem to engage in active listening with social entrepreneurs in order to better understand their needs. FLII and other conference organizers can assist by using their platforms to support a more balanced dynamic among stakeholders.

As I left Mexico early this month, I felt even more committed to paving the way for social enterprises to drive impact in Latin America, leaving a lasting imprint on the communities that have shaped my personal and professional journey.

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Photos:

  • Visiting Chichén Itzá was so inspiring
  • With my mom last year in Seattle
  • Social entrepreneurs and the Miller Center team at our FLII workshop
  • Celebrating with German Zubia, cofounder of Hipocampus
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Challenging Year Reinforces Need for Social Entrepreneurship

The World Bank recently published its 2023 Year in Review, which presents a stark reality of our global challenges, including growing inequality, economic slowdowns, and setbacks in women’s economic rights. As we grapple with these issues in the aftermath of the pandemic, it’s vital that we — as global citizens and people working in the impact space — confront these challenges head-on. Understanding the gravity of the situation empowers us to establish priorities, allocate resources, and continually strive to promote human flourishing. Despite the disheartening news, the report serves as a call for collective action, urging us to rise above adversity and reshape our world for the better.

Here are five key takeaways from the report:

  1. Inequality Challenges: The year 2023 was characterized by inequality, with multiple threats — including climate change, fragility, conflict and violence, and food insecurity — hindering global economic recovery. The impact is most severe on the world’s poorest countries, exacerbating existing challenges and limiting resources for recovery.
  2. Debt Crisis: Developing countries, particularly the poorest, face a growing debt crisis. The Bank’s International Debt Report indicates a record $443.5 billion spent on external debt servicing in 2022, dramatically increasing the risk of debt crises. These costs also divert resources from critical needs, including education, healthcare, and the environment.
  3. Global Economic Slowdown: The Global Economic Prospects report reveals a sharp global growth slowdown in 2023 due to inflation, increased interest rates, reduced investment, and geopolitical disruptions. Developing economies are particularly affected, with the first four years of the 2020s among the weakest in 30 years.
  4. Climate Change Impact: The devastating impacts of climate change are expected to increase water shortages, reduce crop yields, and drive many millions to migrate by 2050. The report emphasizes the need for decisive actions, including increased climate financing, to address climate-related issues and build a livable planet.
  5. Women’s Economic Rights Decline: The Women, Business and the Law report highlights the persistence of gender inequality, with 2.4 billion women lacking the same economic rights as men. The global pace of reforms toward equal rights for women has fallen to a 20-year low, hindering women’s economic growth and empowerment.

Amidst the bleak statistics and daunting trends outlined in the report, social entrepreneurship offers a beacon of hope. Every day in my work, I’m fortunate to work with committed entrepreneurs fighting to make a difference and provide opportunities for people living in poverty. And Miller Center is honored to be part of their journeys in creating sustainable impact. Here are just a few inspiring examples.

Social enterprise GajiGesa focuses on providing financial wellness for the working poor in Indonesia. The company’s flexible salary platform allows employees to access their earned wages whenever they need them, reducing much of the financial stress that comes from a mismatch between expenses and paydays. The platform also provides financial education, investment opportunities, and multiple health products — all from a mobile device. Trusted by over 300 companies, GagiGesa serves hundreds of thousands of employees, helping them build financial resiliency and escape cycles of debt. As a finalist of the Women’s World Banking 2023 Fintech Innovation Challenge, GajiGesa co-founder Martyna Malinowska was fast-tracked for our accelerator and then qualified for our 2023 In-Residence.

SEQUENCE is a beautiful, handcrafted fashion accessories brand that is committed to disrupting the cycle of violence for at-risk youth in El Salvador. When founder Ariela Suster attended our In-Residence last year, she shared harrowing stories of growing up during the Salvadoran Civil War and the kidnapping of her brother. Determined to change the sequence of events that have led to violence and destruction in her country, she created SEQUENCE to provide employment opportunities and personal and professional development for young men and women who are vulnerable to gang recruitment. SEQUENCE artisans talk about the love and dedication that goes into their work, and, on average, grow their income by 2.5 times.

MoringaConnect is another stellar example. Moringa, a fast-growing super-crop known as “the miracle tree,” had been spread throughout rural farming communities in Ghana by aid organizations for its nutritious value. But without market access, the trees became a nuisance. Kwami Williams and Emily Cunningham co-founded MoringaConnect to provide a supply chain that connects moringa farmers in Ghana to conscious consumers worldwide. Today, MoringaConnect works with over 5,000 small farming families — providing fair prices, increasing farmers’ incomes by 10x, and helping to break the cycle of poverty for rural families. The company also processes moringa leaves and seeds in-country, adding value and creating jobs locally in order to supply bulk moringa products and bring their True Moringa wellness brand to retailers such as Whole Foods. What’s more, MoringaConnect has planted 3 million moringa trees, one for each customer, to combat deforestation and malnutrition in Ghana. Kwami first attended a Miller Center accelerator in 2017 and recently joined our Social Enterprise Advisory Council.

These examples demonstrate the potential of social entrepreneurship to address and alleviate pressing global issues. In a world grappling with adversity, these innovative ventures serve as beacons of change, proving the transformative power of business for good. The commitment of these entrepreneurs exemplifies the resilience and determination needed to build a better world. As we navigate the challenges highlighted in the World Bank’s report, let’s draw inspiration from these stories and work collectively towards a more equitable, sustainable, and hopeful future for all.

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Photos:
1. The GajiGesa team
2. Ariela Suster showcasing Sequence accessories at a holiday pop-up for Bank of America and Seneca Women at Bryant Park Winter Village in New York
3. Kwami Williams helping farmers harvest moringa for MoringaConnect

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Building an Entrepreneur-Centric Ecosystem: Insights from Miller Center’s Session at SOCAP23

What, you may ask, does Frankenstein have to do with social entrepreneurship? Well, quite a bit, as it turns out. Today, the impact ecosystem is fragmented, and social entrepreneurs must patch together solutions from disparate parts into a kind of Frankenstein monster that doesn’t quite fit. In our session at SOCAP23, we focused on the importance of creating a social entrepreneur-centric (#socentric) ecosystem to support social enterprises on their journeys to create lasting impact.

For large-scale events like SOCAP, this begins with creating different kinds of spaces to listen to social entrepreneurs. Given the power dynamics and the typical mode of engagement at these events, entrepreneurs are typically either “on display” selling their products or pitching to raise capital. One of the goals for our session was to create this listening space and idea exchange between the entrepreneurs and key players in our ecosystem.

During facilitated breakouts, small groups brainstormed ways to create more seamless support for social enterprises. Some key themes emerged, including the need to build long-term relationships with other organizations, create comprehensive databases of resources, and leverage technology to connect social enterprises with mentors and support. Here are some of the common takeaways.

1. Building Long-Term Relationships

Conferences like SOCAP provide opportunities for social enterprises to focus on developing long-term relationships with other organizations. Rather than making random connections, social enterprises need to strategically identify and collaborate with organizations that align with their mission and values. Accelerators, investors, corporations, and others in the impact ecosystem can help by sponsoring entrepreneurs to attend conferences, making introductions, and building bridges of support. These relationships act as a strong foundation for support and mentorship throughout an entrepreneur’s journey.

2. Creating a Database and a Common App

To facilitate a supportive ecosystem, creating a centralized database of resources is essential. This database would serve as a repository of knowledge, connections, and tools that social enterprises can access to overcome challenges and fuel their growth. Borrowing from the college application process, a “common app” for support programs with consistent questions, language, and metrics, would greatly simplify access to resources. Finally, there’s a need for personalized guidance from a knowledgeable source who can walk entrepreneurs through complex processes.

3. Using Technology for Matching

Technology can be pivotal in connecting social enterprises with the right mentors, partners, and resources. By using advanced matching algorithms and platforms, entrepreneurs can find the support they need more efficiently. This technology not only saves time but also ensures that the connections are well-matched for success.

4. Embracing Vulnerability and Listening

Building an entrepreneur-centric ecosystem requires vulnerability and active listening. Entrepreneurs, support organizations, and investors must be open to sharing their challenges and learning from one another. By creating a culture of openness and transparency, the ecosystem can adapt and evolve to better meet the needs of the social enterprises it serves.

5. Going Deep or Surface Level

A debate emerged during the session about whether ecosystem builders should focus on deep engagement with a small number of entrepreneurs or maintain a surface-level connection with a larger group. While the group acknowledged that many ecosystem partners focus on breadth, participants leaned toward going deep, as this approach allows for more tailored support and a better understanding of the unique challenges each entrepreneur faces.

6. Cohesion and Collaboration

Creating cohesion within the ecosystem is vital. Entrepreneurs in different stages should work together and share their knowledge and experiences. Support organizations have a role in facilitating this collaboration, which can lead to more profound insights and better problem-solving, ultimately benefiting the entire ecosystem.

7. Connecting Investors

Investors clearly play a significant role in supporting social entrepreneurship. It’s crucial to connect them to enterprises at various stages of development and make sure they buy into the impact of investing. Standardized impact measurement approaches would help ensure that the goals of both investors and social enterprises continue to align.

8. Political Advocacy

Social enterprises need political power and representation. The session highlighted the importance of lobbying on their behalf to provide the political leverage and resources to drive social change effectively.

Conclusion

Building an entrepreneur-centric ecosystem is essential for the growth and success of social enterprises. By creating long-term relationships, leveraging technology, and fostering collaboration, the ecosystem can provide entrepreneurs with the support and resources they need to make a lasting impact. Some keys to success lie in embracing vulnerability, active listening, and a shared commitment to creating a thriving ecosystem where entrepreneurs can flourish. Ultimately, this approach can lead to a more equitable and impactful social entrepreneurship landscape.

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  • Frankenstein photo courtesy of Eli Latimerlo.
  • All other photos courtesy of SOCAP.
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Keep Going, Together — Reflections from the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative Meeting

In a world marred by crises, where the challenges we face are daunting, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convened on September 18-19, 2023, with a powerful message: “Keep Going.” These two words captured the spirit of resilience, determination, and unity that pervaded the event. Hosted by President Bill Clinton, this gathering of global changemakers sought to address the complex issues that define our time, from ecological crises and migration to healthcare and gender equity. I was honored to attend on behalf of Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University.

Don’t Give Up

President Clinton’s call to keep going resonated deeply with those in the impact space where burnout is all too real. The journey to creating lasting impact can be arduous and often feels like taking one step forward only to be pushed two steps back. Yet, in the midst of this challenging landscape, the message was clear: Don’t give up!

Pope Francis added a poignant perspective, saying, “Only we can cure the world from the globalization of indifference.” In a world where it’s easy to become desensitized to suffering and injustice, we must remember our shared responsibility to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable among us.

 

Together, We Can Solve Anything

The importance of collaboration emerged as a central theme at CGI 2023. It was a reminder that, no matter how overwhelming the problems we face may seem, they can only be solved by working together. Our interconnected world demands that we address issues holistically, recognizing the intertwined nature of the myriad crises.

Civil rights icon Bishop William Barbar acknowledged the importance of rescuing those in immediate danger but, more importantly, called on us to get to the root causes of these crises. A more holistic approach, coupled with a focus on moral leadership, can guide us to more effective solutions.

Centering the Most Impacted

Rev. Barber’s call to “lead with love, not hate” and to “put people at the center” reinforces the importance of prioritizing the most impacted individuals and communities. In the United States alone, nearly 140 million people live in poverty, a stark reminder that our moral authority in the world hinges on our ability to address these issues head-on.

Moreover, “shifting the power” in philanthropy through trust-based giving, as advocated by philanthropists like Matt Damon and Tony Elumelo, can foster innovation and creativity while empowering marginalized communities. Matt Damon stated that Water.org would not have been able to reach 58 million people without trust-based philanthropy. Tony Elumelu started his foundation to “democratize luck, thus empowering a generation of African entrepreneurs.”

Calling on Social Entrepreneurs

Acumen founder and CEO Jacqueline Novogratz highlighted the importance of character as a driving force for success among social entrepreneurs, emphasizing integrity, determination, and grit. She also pushed entrepreneurs to find investors who will accompany them, not push for growth too quickly. And to not be afraid of failure. The only way to succeed is to fail, and keep the faith.

To elevate the role of entrepreneurs and innovators, CGI’s Greenhouse initiative brought together 30 growth-stage startups and social entrepreneurs from around the world for the event. Featured among them were Miller Center alums, Shweta Jaju of ONergy and Danny Wright of Gravity Water.

Food Security and Urgency

Food security emerged as a significant concern at CGI 2023. The call for a more holistic approach to food policy resonated strongly. Renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés urged us to avoid undermining local farmers by flooding markets with free food. Instead we must support sustainable solutions that address the root causes of hunger and food insecurity.

President Clinton asserted that “the seeds of terrorism are planted in despair,” underscoring the urgency of our actions. He called for pontificating less and doing more to create a more equitable and just world.

The Unfinished Business of Women’s Equity

Chelsea Clinton reminded us that women’s equity remains the “great unfinished business” of the 21st century. Around the world, we’re backsliding on many of the challenges women face, such as reproductive rights, wage gaps, and healthcare disparities. As a global community, we must ensure that gender inequities do not define this century.

Innovate with Urgency

The urgency to address global challenges was another recurring theme. Ruth Porat of Google stressed the importance of fostering a culture of innovation while keeping a keen focus on the most critical issues. Ajay Banga of The World Bank emphasized that money exists, but the challenge lies in making the right choices.

Above all, we cannot afford to be complacent. The world’s problems demand our collective action, innovation, and urgency.

Building Connections for a Better World

Amidst the vastness of CGI 2023, I’m grateful to have met up with longtime friends in the ecosystem and made meaningful new connections with potential partners. This underscores the power of gatherings like CGI, where individuals and organizations from diverse backgrounds come together with a shared purpose: to drive positive change.

The 2023 Clinton Global Initiative meeting served as a beacon of hope and a call to action in a world grappling with immense challenges. Through resilience, unity, and unwavering commitment, we can overcome the obstacles before us and build a better future for all. Keep going, together!

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When in Rome… Or Kuala Lumpur

One of my favorite sayings is, “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” Having lived in 8 countries and worked in 55 over the course of my career, this unattributed quote speaks to my soul. As an avid traveler, I love exploring new and familiar places, learning about the history, and immersing myself in the local culture as much as possible. Most of all, I love meeting people in person and getting to know them at a level that’s impossible to replicate virtually.

Earlier this summer, I visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (aka KL) with my colleagues Nataša Goronja and Karen Carter for the AVPN Global Conference at the invitation of our corporate partner Chevron. This annual conference, hosted by the Asia Venture Philanthropy Network, is a little like speed dating — in the best possible way. Between us, we met hundreds of people, had dozens of meetings, collected stacks of business cards (still essential in Asian business culture), and forged meaningful connections with potential partners, investors, and journalists. Our session on Building an Entrepreneur-centric Ecosystem was also well received and featured in Pioneers Post.

Miller Center’s involvement in the AVPN Conference and our subsequent tour of Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines enabled us to develop and deepen relationships with social entrepreneurs, impact investors, incubators, NGOs, and other influencers in the social enterprise ecosystem. And while I lived in Southeast Asia for four years in a previous life, this was my first visit to the region with Miller Center. Spending time with the people we met on this trip and witnessing the impact they’re having daily in the communities they serve was an incredibly meaningful experience.

One fantastic opportunity came when we asked to visit our social enterprise alum PichaEats during our stay in KL. Co-founder Suzanne Ling responded with an offer to either visit their office mid-day or join her for dinner at the home of one of their chefs. Without hesitation, we jumped at the dinner invitation. PichaEats provides sustainable livelihoods to refugees living in Malaysia through catering for events, corporations, and homes. All meals are lovingly cooked by chefs from Syria, Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Over a wonderful meal, we heard Chef Osama’s story of persecution in his home country and learned about the challenges of living in Malaysia, where refugees have no legal status or protection. PichaEats offers a ray of hope.

The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre is a beautiful, award-winning, state-of-the-art convention center with magnificent views of the 50-acre KLCC Park and the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. It is, nonetheless, a convention center. So after three days indoors, we escaped to another iconic site in KL — the 400 million-year-old Batu Caves, which are also a revered Hindu pilgrimage site. It’s impossible to approach the caves without being awestruck by the 140-foot (42.7-meter) statue of the Hindu deity Lord Murugan. After gazing upward, we climbed the 272 colorful steps to the Temple Cave, passing fearless macaque monkeys along the way.

In Singapore, we met with Alex Tee, Managing Director of our longtime partner, Beneficial Returns, for lunch. Alex took us to an unassuming Indian restaurant in Singapore’s Little India, where we had, arguably, some of the best Indian food in the country. Laina Raveendran Greene, founder and CEO of Angels of Impact, who we met over lunch the previous day, recommended the restaurant to Alex — just one indication during this trip of how tight-knit the impact ecosystem in Singapore is. Although full to the brim, we couldn’t resist fresh coconuts from a nearby vendor.

Having a weekend in Singapore was also a treat. When I lived in Indonesia, my family and I loved taking the short flight from Jakarta for a long weekend, enjoying the city’s attractions, multicultural cuisine, and, of course, shopping! On this trip, we explored the city’s vibrant Chinatown and the gorgeous and other-worldly Gardens by the Bay from our base at the Scarlet Hotel — a row of converted 1868 shophouses and one of the oldest conservation buildings in Singapore. When I travel, I always prefer to stay somewhere with a sense of place, and often a better rate, over a Western chain. The Scarlet delivered.

From there, Nataša headed to Indonesia for a Meet & Greet hosted for Miller Center by our partner, Impact Hub Jakarta, followed by more invaluable face-to-face meetings and visits to Nazava Water Filters’ production facility in Bandung, Java, and Torajamelo’s showroom of contemporary women’s wear, ethically crafted from hand-woven textiles by artisans in Nusa Tenggara Timur, Indonesia.

In the Philippines, we were honored to be featured guests at the quarterly Impact Happy Hour hosted by Villgro, xchange, and Ashoka and joined by our social enterprise alums LIKHÂ and Cropital. Over the next week, we had more incredible opportunities to meet with local organizations working to eliminate poverty and uplift communities across the country, including the Aboitiz Foundation, Card Bank, RAFI, and the University of San Carlos School of Business & Economics Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Best of all, we visited rural artisan communities with our social enterprise alums LIKHÂ and ANTHILL Fabric Gallery.

From our hotel in bustling Metro Manila, we rode an hour and a half to Pulilan with LIKHÂ founder Nathalie Lim to meet the talented artisans who create the company’s immensely popular animal planters. Amidst engaging conversations and basket-making demonstrations, we were treated to a delicious homemade lunch of lumpia, fried plantains, and other local favorites, followed by a lively karaoke session. I couldn’t resist joining the fun with Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” Our visit also aligned with an assessment conducted by Nest, which supports the responsible growth and creative engagement of the artisan and maker economy to build greater gender equity and economic inclusion. As Nathalie shared, “​​Our work with Nest and their Ethical Handcraft Program has allowed us to ask ourselves difficult but important questions as we strive to meet higher standards for artisan well-being and navigate the complexities of our supply chain.”

After a full day, we dashed through the airport to catch our flight to Cebu City. Early the next morning, we made the two-hour trek to Argao with Anya Lim, co-founder and managing director of ANTHILL Fabric Gallery. There, we spent time with a community of artisans who weave many of ANTHILL’s fabrics, including their innovative zero-waste products. The weavers upcycle manufacturing scraps into new fabrics that would otherwise go to landfills, creating beautiful new fabrics with intricate weaves. It was an honor to spend time with these women and hear their stories and aspirations. Anya also shared ANTHILL’s commitment to provide consistent demand, support growth in the artisans’ production capacity, and nurture pride for their talent and skills.

Through our travels, we learned so much from seeing the work of these social entrepreneurs up close and personal as they strive to mitigate poverty and overcome challenges in the communities they serve through sustainable, market-based solutions. Spending time with them only reinforced our impressions of their innovation, hard work, commitment, and compassion.

We’re incredibly grateful to Chevron, who made the trip possible as a further extension of our three-year initiative, Advancing Climate Resilience Solutions in Asia Pacific. The program is designed to support high-potential social enterprises in Southeast Asia that are developing bottom-up solutions in climate-smart agriculture, safe water, and renewable energy for the world’s most vulnerable communities.

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Photo captions:

  • A weaving lesson with ANTHILL Fabric Gallery
  • Outside our conference session with Hiral Sarvaiya Chauhan of AVPN, AB Chakravarthy of Upaya Social Ventures, Danny Wright of Gravity Water, Rebekkah Angelyn of Yayasan Rumah Energi, and Dee Bourbon of Chevron
  • Wonderful dinner with PichaEats Chef Osama and his family. Teechawan Yanudom of Chevron (second from right) joined us.
  • A visit to Batu Caves
  • Fresh coconuts with Alex Tee of Beneficial Returns
  • The Scarlet Singapore received the Singapore Architectural Heritage Award 2005 for its renovation of 1868 shophouses and a vintage 1924 Art Deco building.
  • With LIKHÂ founder Nathalie Lim (right) and Czarina, one of LIKHA’s fair trade partners
  • ANTHILL Fabric Gallery founder Anya Lim (left) trading stories with our artisan hosts during our visit
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Working to Overcome Our Unconscious Biases

It was early in my career, working in international trade and investment in Washington, DC, when I first became aware of widespread confirmation bias. I was typically the youngest and almost always the only woman in any meeting. Time and again, I’d make a recommendation, only to be dismissed or ignored by the room. Then, five minutes later, when a man would make the same suggestion, the response was, “Great idea, Bob!”

Confirmation bias is our tendency to support evidence that confirms already-held beliefs. I’m not suggesting that all of these men were intentionally sexist or ageist. But deeply ingrained biases informed their thinking: good ideas came from men with decades of experience, and the upstart woman in the room couldn’t possibly have anything to contribute. I don’t think they even heard what I’d said.

As defined all over the internet, “unconscious biases are social stereotypes that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. These biases stem from our tendency to organize social worlds by categorizing.” In part, this is how we attempt to make sense of the world. But the dangers of leaving unconscious biases unchecked are myriad — from poor decision-making to harmful, even illegal, discriminatory practices, and worse.

Since our work at Miller Center pairs social entrepreneurs from around the world with more seasoned professionals, we’re especially attuned to the potential for imbalanced power dynamics. Our mentors are amazing, and they understand that establishing credibility and trust is essential for effective mentoring relationships. We all fully intend to support social entrepreneurs in ways that are respectful, authentic, and empowering. But sometimes, our conversations and interactions don’t go how we intend. Sometimes communications falter or break down.

Four years ago, a small group of mentors, staff, and experts formed our Unconscious Bias Working Group under the leadership of Miller Center’s Mentor Network Director Lynne Anderson. This group, which includes mentors Lisa Braden-Harder, Cynthia Lang, Jitendra Mudhal, and Ed Vargas and San Jose State professor Heidi Eisips, has been looking at ways to better understand where communications break down and mitigate unintentional harm. And their outstanding work is informing our thinking and actions across the center.

Last year, the working group developed a toolkit for mentors based on the work of social scientists, who have identified over 200 biases, and Kahneman et al., who narrowed the list to 12 biases that are particularly relevant to entrepreneurs (Harvard Business Review, 2013). The group aims to explore and address unconscious bias and how it may arise in the mentoring relationship.

Adapted from the Cognitive Bias Codex conceived and categorized by Buster Benson

The good news is that these unconscious biases are malleable, and we can take steps to minimize their impact (Dasgupta, 2013). We owe it to ourselves and others to become aware of our biases and work to overcome them. We can also be upstanders when we witness someone else encountering bias. Challenging our preconceptions and leading by example will have positive effects throughout our work and personal lives as we create spaces where everyone can be their authentic selves and be respected and heard.

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Note: If you have a story encountering bias, please share it with our team at mc-mentors@scu.edu, along with responses to that bias that promoted change. These stories provide valuable insights and learning opportunities.

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Social Entrepreneurship Provides Beacon of Hope for Women Worldwide

Celebrating International Women’s Day earlier this month reminded me of a blog that I wrote almost exactly two years ago today. Now that we’re (mostly) on the other side of the pandemic, it seems like an apt time to think about what’s changed for women in these two years and what hasn’t.

Last summer, the World Economic Forum published its Global Gender Gap Report 2022, which benchmarks 146 countries in a robust analysis of women’s workforce outcomes. As Managing Director Saadia Zahidi summarizes, “In 2022, amid multi-layered and compounding crises including the rising cost of living, the ongoing pandemic, the climate emergency and large-scale conflict and displacement, the progress towards gender parity is stalling.”

Based on current data, the report predicts that closing the global gender parity gap will take another 132 years as compared with pre-pandemic estimates of less than 100 years. That difference represents an entire generation of women.

Yet social entrepreneurship continues to shine a beacon of hope for women around the world. A separate article by the World Economic Forum states that “The social entrepreneurship sector has proven itself uniquely capable of empowering women leaders in its field, and of changing the lives and welfare of all women.”

I truly believe this! There’s remarkable power in the social enterprise movement to disrupt the status quo and contribute to the economic empowerment of women around the world.

Here’s my original blog, published in our March 23, 2021 newsletter with links to a series of articles I wrote for Times of Entrepreneurship about how social entrepreneurs are creating models for success for women in the communities they serve.

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As the month of International Women’s Day on the 8th and Women’s History Month in the US, March is a time to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments, strength, and resilience of women. It is an opportunity to honor the women who are our heroes, mentors, and role models, both the famous and the personal. For me, some of those notable women include the “notorious” Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Rosa Parks, and my mom, Val Ellis.

But while we commemorate how far we’ve come, it’s impossible to ignore how far we still have to go. Data compiled by UN Women shows that women are paid less than men globally, are more likely to be unemployed, and are disproportionately responsible for unpaid work, spending approximately “2.5 times more time on unpaid care and domestic work than men.” And we’re witnessing how COVID is only widening these gaps. A January article in Fortune dropped this bombshell: “Women accounted for 100% of the 140,000 jobs shed by the U.S. economy in December”, with the pandemic largely to blame.

Even though the social enterprise movement is at the forefront of innovation and sustainable change on so many levels, women entrepreneurs still must overcome far greater hurdles for recognition and investment compared to their male counterparts. My February Op-Ed in Times of Entrepreneurship: The Real Reason Women Entrepreneurs Struggle to Raise Funding highlights that women-led enterprises are drastically underfunded despite the fact that their businesses, on average, significantly outperform those founded by men. A Santa Clara University study led by Professor Maya Ackerman and cited in Forbes found that gender is the primary determining factor in funding, with women “65% less likely to get funded at early stages…and 35% less likely to be funded at later stages.”

Yet social entrepreneurship still offers some of the most compelling hope for women’s economic empowerment — as founders and leaders, customers, employees, and value chain contributors. Two additional Op-Eds published in Times of Entrepreneurship, Good Jobs For Women Are In Reach Through Social Enterprises and These 10 Social Enterprises Help Women Navigate The Grey Economy, focus on the ways social enterprises are providing both formal and semi-formal work opportunities for women. And my final Op-Ed in the series, Companies Can Learn to Tap the World’s Biggest Market highlights how social enterprises are at the forefront in recognizing the global consumer market of women.

We know that raising women’s economic status works! According to a Boston Consulting Group analysis, if women and men participated equally as entrepreneurs, global GDP would rise by approximately 3% to 6%, adding $2.5 trillion to $5 trillion to the global economy. And as women earn money, they are significantly more likely to invest in their children’s education and their communities than men.

Miller Center is working tirelessly to be part of the solution in changing the narrative for women, especially those living in poverty. One way we’re doing this is through our recently launched Women’s Economic Empowerment Accelerator for enterprises taking a robust and holistic approach to elevating women in all aspects of their businesses.

Our mission is to accelerate social entrepreneurship to eliminate global poverty for the next generation. To deliver on this ambitious goal, the evidence is clear — we must move the needle on women’s economic empowerment.

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Photo Credits:

  1. Polly & Other Stories
  2. Gravity Water
  3. Tierra & Lava
Gratitude + AR Blog 20221128
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With Gratitude for the Journey

Over the Thanksgiving weekend on the California coast, I took time to reflect on my gratitude for Miller Center as we near the end of our 25th anniversary year — from our prescient founders to the incredible social entrepreneurs, mentors, students, faculty members, colleagues, and ecosystem partners I have the pleasure to work with. And for our vision for the future.

This has been an exciting and busy year for Miller Center. A few highlights include

  • Hosting two In-Residence programs — bringing social entrepreneurs to Santa Clara for the first time since before the pandemic. Over 50 entrepreneurs representing 35 enterprises from countries around the world joined our staff and executive mentors for multi-day learning sessions and mock-investor panels in April and October.
  • Launching our Miller Center Invest Innovation Fund with $1 million of our $4 million goal already committed and beginning due diligence on our first potential deals.
  • Holding a standing-room-only session at SOCAP on Bridging the Funding Gap for Impact Zebras — those social entrepreneurs with potential for scale but who struggle to access the billions of dollars purported to be dedicated to impact investing.
  • Celebrating our 14 outstanding Miller Center Lewis Family Fellows at Action Research with a Mission, a culminating event to showcase their 9-month action research projects with social entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the US. This marks the 10th anniversary of our award-winning fellowship and brings our total number of fellows to 175.

For more on our exciting history and our future direction, I’m resharing the letter I wrote for our 2022 Annual Report below. We are deeply committed to helping end global poverty and will continue to fight the good fight for the next 25 years and beyond. Thank you for being part of our journey!

Where We Started

(Originally published in our 2022 Annual Report following our fiscal year end in June.)

As we celebrate Miller Center’s 25th anniversary, it’s remarkable to reflect on our history since 1997. I’m continually struck by how visionary the founders were — applying the innovation and entrepreneurship of Silicon Valley through the social justice lens of Santa Clara University to solve global problems.

In 2000, the Center cofounded the Tech Awards to showcase how technology can address the newly established UN Millenium Development Goals. And when Miller Center launched its first accelerator in 2003, focused on social entrepreneurship, it predated Y Combinator by two years and SOCAP by five. The founders really were onto something very early.

In parallel, microfinance was gaining traction. Alongside other pioneers, Mohammad Yunus launched affordable microloans in 1983 as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty in Bangladesh. Over the next couple of decades, the model spread around the world.

Around the time Miller Center was founded, I started working in microfinance at CGAP (housed at the World Bank), and we were just beginning to appreciate the power of commercial microfinance globally — the idea that poor and low-income excluded people could be engaged as customers rather than beneficiaries to become architects of their own destiny.

This shift in mindset directly fed into the social enterprise movement, with companies simultaneously pursuing sustainable growth strategies while alleviating poverty.

Where We’ve Been

Over the next decade, social entrepreneurship and impact investing gained momentum. Acumen was founded in 2001, Duke University established its Center for Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) in 2002, and both Village Capital and Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) were founded in 2009.

In his groundbreaking 2004 book, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, author C. K. Prahalad wrote that “the typical pictures of poverty mask the fact that the very poor represent resilient entrepreneurs and value-conscious consumers” and argued for businesses to collaborate with the world’s 4 billion poorest people to create sustainable win-win solutions.

Throughout this period, Miller Center continued to be a hub of innovation in the broader social enterprise movement — experimenting across sectors, geographies, and themes, and prototyping multiple programs. At the core of the work was a focus on developing a deep understanding of social entrepreneurs and how best to support them. Further, our fellowship program, launched in 2012, provided Santa Clara University students with opportunities to learn and work with social entrepreneurs on the frontlines of poverty eradication and sustainable development around the world.

By 2015, when Jeff and Karen Miller gave their transformative $25 million gift, the Center had grown from supporting between 15–30 social enterprises annually in the accelerator’s first decade to well over 100 per year. That was also the year the UN adopted its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Millers, who had been active with the Center since 2001, committed to a bold vision for the newly named Miller Center to help lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty through social entrepreneurship.

Where We’re Headed

In 2018, Larry Fink, founder and CEO of BlackRock, told business leaders that “To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society,” in what the New York Times described as “a watershed moment on Wall Street.”

In early 2020, the world changed. Miller Center quickly adapted to roll out a 3-week Crisis Business Planning program for alumni social entrepreneurs to help them retool in response to COVID. By May, in partnership with Beneficial Returns, we launched the Truss Fund, an emergency loan fund to help our alumni weather the pandemic and catalyze additional investment.

When I joined Miller Center in June 2020, it was truly an honor to take the reins of this well-functioning machine. And following a tradition of big hairy audacious goals (BHAGs), we developed a 5-year strategic plan aspiring to achieve the same depth of impact over five years that we had attained over our entire previous history. We honed our focus to support scalable and replicable social enterprises tackling women’s economic empowerment and climate resilience. We are also increasingly leveraging capital, partnerships, technology, and university resources to multiply and amplify our impact.

During this past year, we have made tremendous strides toward achieving our ambitious goals. In impact investing, we worked diligently to close the funding gap that exists for many of the social enterprises we work with. We launched a major partnership with Sopact to embed impact measurement and management into our social enterprise alumni programs. Already, we are close to our 2025 goal of engaging 500 university students per year. And we continued to expand our efforts in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Of course, in 2022, we are all still in the midst of the pandemic, while facing political and economic uncertainty. And despite the promise of the racial reckoning that began in 2020, we are witnessing a conservative backlash to curtail civil liberties.

Our work continues to be vital. And while social entrepreneurship will not solve all that ails us, I truly believe it presents a unique model for harnessing the power of the marketplace to achieve what capitalism currently struggles to do: reduce global poverty, promote widespread human flourishing, and protect the natural world that sustains us all.

With gratitude for your support!

 

 

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A Summer of Travel and Growth for My 17-Year-Old

As someone who’s been very fortunate to travel extensively — both for work and pleasure — I recognize how much experiencing new cultures, people, and ideas has helped me grow as a person. I know my colleagues at Miller Center share this view. So it’s immensely gratifying for our team that some of our fellows are traveling internationally this summer for the first time since before the pandemic. Two went to Nepal to work on their action research projects with Gham Power, and two more just left for Mexico to work with Someone Somewhere. This immersive, hands-on travel is a huge part of what makes the Miller Center Lewis Family Fellowship so meaningful for our students.

This year, travel is also taking on new layers for me personally. With summer winding down, I’m sitting on a beach in Hawaii, preparing to say goodbye to my 17-year-old daughter Paloma. She’s been traveling and living around the world her entire life, so she really wanted to spend her final two years of high school studying overseas (in this case, almost halfway across the Pacific). As I write this, she’s about to start her junior year at the Asia Pacific International School on Oahu. The school’s experiential, project-based learning environment plays to Paloma’s strengths, and she’s excited about its focus on global citizenship and sustainability.

And this isn’t Paloma’s first independent adventure away from home this summer. In July, she spent 3 weeks in Guatemala studying Spanish and living with a host family. We adopted Paloma from Guatemala when she was 5 months old, and it was important to her to connect with her language and cultural heritage in a meaningful way. It was also a chance for her to improve her Spanish, which had generally taken a backseat to a combination of English and local words and phrases in the places we lived — Indonesia, Paris, Mozambique, and Cambodia.

There’s magic in living in another place, even for a short time. For Paloma, Guatemala became a part of her, and the people who hosted her became her second family. It was incredible to watch how quickly she adopted the place of her birth — the energy, the art, the people, the colors, the markets, everything. This trip was a wonderful opportunity for authentic cultural connections for her.

From rediscovering Paloma’s roots, we’re now discovering for the first time, the place she’ll spend the next couple of years. And the Hawaiian culture is remarkable and rich, from its myths and stories to Hawaiians’ deep relationship with the earth and the natural wonder of the islands.

It’s exciting to share these experiences with my daughter — hiking across a suspension bridge over Lake Atitlan, walking along the beaches of Waikiki, and trekking in the foothills of volcanoes across both locations — each offering opportunities for us to learn something new together. Interestingly, volcanoes are prominent and culturally significant in both Guatemala and Hawaii, providing another connection for Paloma.

It’s truly been a summer of major milestones for our family. Our daughter is maturing into a young woman navigating new places on her own. And her parents are getting used to the idea of not having her close to home. Even when that home was on the other side of the globe, we were together as a family. If anyone left, it was usually me for a business trip. Certainly not Paloma. But she’s ready. And I’m so proud of the woman she’s becoming.

It’s fascinating to watch this all through her eyes, first as I dropped her off and picked her up in Guatemala and now in Hawaii. These opportunities for discovery and self-discovery are causing me to reflect, here on this magnificent island. Travel allows us to discover the beauty in the world and to recognize that diverse cultures and practices enhance that beauty. At the same time, it’s a sense of our shared humanity that helps us appreciate our differences and bridge divides. And it is the remarkable beauty in both our diversity and our similarities that fills me with hope.

Kosovo PM Visit 1
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Esteemed Visitors Envision Social Enterprise Solutions

What do the head of one of the world’s largest NGOs, Chevron executives, and the prime minister of Kosovo have in common? Believe it or not, they all came to visit us at Miller Center over the course of about 5 days earlier this month.

As Executive Director of BRAC Bangladesh, Asif Saleh runs the biggest among the BRAC family of organizations. Founded in 1972 in Bangladesh, BRAC is the largest southern-based non-profit in the world, reaching over 100 million people across Asia and Africa. In my view, BRAC is the OG social enterprise, having designed proven, scalable, multifaceted solutions that equip people with the support, skills, and confidence they need to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve their potential. As the only organization of its size both from and headquartered in the Southern hemisphere, BRAC is a singular leader in locally-led development and adaptation — working hand-in-hand with communities as co-creators of its programs, centering women and girls at the heart of its work; prioritizing high-quality research, monitoring, and evaluation; and designing, piloting, and scaling integrated poverty alleviation programming — all with unparalleled business acumen. During Asif’s visit, we discussed the amazing complementarity of what Miller Center can offer to the “missing middle” — those entrepreneurs whose capacity and aspirations reach beyond the microenterprise or early stage growth yet are much smaller than the gigantic social enterprises run by BRAC in Bangladesh and beyond.

That was on a Friday. The following Monday, we had the esteemed pleasure of hosting Prime Minister Albin Kurti of the Republic of Kosovo. As part of his official visit to the United State to meet with state officials, business and nonprofit leaders, and members of the Albanian-American community, the prime minister spent time at Santa Clara University and Miller Center. Miller Center’s relationship with Kosovo began in 2020, when we launched an accelerator for 20 Kosovan women-led enterprises in partnership with the US government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation. Drawn by the university’s social justice mission and Miller Center’s work, Prime Minister Kurti sees the potential of social entrepreneurship to stimulate innovation and growth while fostering social good. With Kosovo’s young workforce and a high degree of training in information and communications technology (ICT), the country is investing heavily in innovation and entrepreneurship while also caring deeply about development and social impact. The prime minister also noted the considerable interest among Kosovo’s diaspora, which contributes significantly to the country’s GDP, to invest in innovative solutions to pressing problems. I was incredibly impressed by the prime minister’s progressive vision for how to balance growth and equity in his country.

Then the very next day, on Tuesday, Kurt Glaubitz, Chevron’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs, Asia Pacific, Dee Bourbon, Senior Advisor of Global Social Investment, and Jennifer Liebeler Michael, Manager of Social Investment, visited to announce our 3-year partnership to advance climate resilience through climate-smart agriculture, access to safe water, and reliable, low-carbon energy among vulnerable Asia Pacific communities. As Kurt shared, “The Miller Center – Chevron climate resilience initiative strives to help reduce poverty, drive economic and social opportunity, and develop the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Asia Pacific region.” By investing in Miller Center, Chevron is demonstrating not only its commitment to social entrepreneurship as a solution, but the benefits of working with an accelerator to aggregate and amplify its impact through a trusted intermediary. Corporations and philanthropic organizations can benefit from Miller Center’s experience in selecting the most promising social enterprises and helping them scale, enabling funders to take a portfolio approach. Kurt, Dee, and Jennifer  reinforced their commitment to exploring the potential of social entrepreneurship and partnership with Miller Center as a way to drive toward a more sustainable future.

Meeting with these extraordinary people — representing the world’s largest NGO, #16 of the Fortune 500, and a European nation — over several days in May was a bit of a whirlwind, but also exhilarating. I truly believe that social entrepreneurship presents a unique model for harnessing the power of the marketplace to achieve what capitalism currently struggles to do: reduce global poverty, promote widespread human flourishing, and protect the natural world that sustains us all. It’s incredibly inspiring and empowering to meet global leaders pursuing this path.

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Photos by Eli Latimerlo, Sr. Director of Development

Cover photo: Prime Minister Albin Kurti of Kosovo

Photo: Prime Minister Kurti with Elaine Scott, Dean of Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering

Photo: Dee Bourbon and Kurt Glaubitz of Chevron

Photo: Jennifer Liebeler Michael, Dee, and Kurt of Chevron met Lisa Kloppenberg, Acting President of Santa Clara University

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