We at Beyond Profit believe in the power of entrepreneurship to drive development. But creating a new social business isn’t an easy task – it involves a huge risk (personal and financial), and a special mix of business know-how and savvy street smarts that aren’t easily taught in a classroom. How can we both inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs to take that risk, as well as equip them with the skills to be successful? This group of social enterprises is doing just that. This week, we bring you five organizations supporting the next group of changemakers.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Social Enterprise of the Day – Educate!
Uganda; Non-Profit
Educate!’s name is deceivingly simple and easy for such a complex and difficult mission. Educate! believes one of Africa’s biggest challenges isn’t poverty, disease, or conflict. At the root of it all is a lack of leadership. Their programs support and develop young Ugandan leaders, to create change through social enterprise. Educate! is all about employing local mentors to inspire rural youth, rather than using foreign volunteers to serve as examples. There are currently 830 high school students (Educate! scholars) enrolled in their 2-year, after school curriculum. Through the curriculum and work with a mentor, each scholar creates their own project to address a need in their community. Some Educate! success stories include a pig-keeping business that pays for school fees of impoverished children to working with schools and churches to reforest a community. Educate! provides leadership skills, as well as a mentor and role model to inspire their students.
Courtney Said,
August 24, 2010 @ 1:19 pm
Educate! works to empower the students to be the change that their communities need. It’s an amazing organization. And if you’re a Coloradoan, consider attending their Hike for Uganda awareness-raising event this Saturday, August 28 at Boulder’s Green Mountain Trail. Visit http://www.experienceeducate.org/hike-for-uganda for more information.