Venture Sierra Leone ~ Investment & Tourism++

Just thought I'd assemble several promo videos about Sierra Leone business perspective, investment climate, tourism possibilities, starting with this World Bank piece on Rebuilding Business and Investment in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone... Next, SLIEPA -- the Sierra Leone Investment and Export Promotion Agency -- made a general promo video in 2009... And here's the fairly recent SLIEPA promo piece on SL as Africa's New Investment Destination... Highlights of Investors Conference held on Nov 16th, 2011... Here's a tourism promo piece... The intro to the multi-part Road to Change... Concluding here... And finally, some pro-development but cautionary comments on Salone as we head on...

Replan It Philippines ~ Brandis & Diaz on Shelter

MyShelter founder and social entrepreneur Illac Diaz just dropped by and shared some latest news, including the trailer of his appearance on Jock Brandis' Replan It!

True Africa ~ MIT DV's Grunitzky's Lomé Reports

Our MIT Development Ventures 2011 True Africa team is reporting from Lomé, Togo as they explore the market potential for their base-of-pyramid professionals directory service. Claude Grunitzky writes...

"...we’re already doing a better job of explaining our True Africa service proposal to the workers we’ve been meeting in corner shops and back alleys. (My nephew/assistant Ayité is great at starting conversations, and he has great people skills. It must run in the family...) I’ve been practicing the pitch in French and local language Mina, and now the words just flow out of my mouth like H20 out of a faucet. True Africa is a free -- I repeat FREE -- mobile directory for local service providers who will get to post their name, occupation, location and cellphone number, in addition to client ratings, through their cellphone, in order to drum up new business by getting unexpected calls from prospective new clients. A bit of a mouthful, I know, but some in our target market seem drawn to the idea nonetheless. Still, many are also questioning the usage of the word “free” because by now everyone knows that there’s no such thing as a free lunch."

Foodking ~ BBC on Sarath Babu's Tasty Venture

BBC's My Business correspondents Parul Agrawal and Heather Sharp tell of The slum dweller who founded a food chain -- Sarath Babu the Foodking who...

"...now employs 250 people in his fast-growing catering empire. Born to a family with next to nothing, Sarath dreams of an India without hunger. He has set himself the target of providing for half a million people, by creating 100,000 (known as one lakh) jobs. "I give a job, and that person takes care of four to five people -- so I take care of five lakh people directly," he says. [...] Sarath launched Foodking in 2006, supplying snacks to banks, software firms and other corporates, with just 2,000 rupees (£24; $38) to fund the first month. But with his impressive academic pedigree, he was soon able to secure a bank loan of 100,000 rupees (£1,205; $1,890), and employed eight to 10 workers. The expansion continued, and he now has seven outlets and an annual turnover of $1.3m. [...] Sarath's drive remains strong. He wants to have 100 outlets by the end of this year -- and 5,000 across the state eventually. [...] He already gives lectures at schools and business institutes, and spends time encouraging children in a local slum to continue studying. And he hopes to inspire 1,000 entrepreneurs across the state, who too would go on to create employment opportunities for others."

Kadogo Economy ~ CNN & NTV on Small Goods

Small is beautiful: Slum traders spark big business trend reports CNN's Lillian Leposo, on the retail goods transformation in Kenya, the rest of Africa, and emerging economies generally...

"A common factor in these goods is that they are sold in small packages, weighing from 45 grams to just four grams, and costing from as little as half a cent. Though now all her goods are sold in branded packaging, [shopkeeper Anna] Wanjiru has been selling the same items in similar small portions for decades to the low-income market. "My customers are poor and were locked out of the supermarkets where everyday things were packaged in large quantities, making them unaffordable," said Wanjiru. "So I decided to buy the big packs and then resell in small portions to my customers." The ingenuity of Wanjiru and other shopkeepers who serve people in low-income areas gave rise to Kenya's "Kadogo economy," which loosely means low-unit economy. Progressively, big consumer goods companies noticed the profits and decided to cash in as well by repackaging their products."

And here's a Kenyan NTV report on the Kadogo economy...

MIT Development Ventures 2011 ~ Final Projects

Fantastic to have final presentations this morning in our emerging market innovations class, MIT Development Ventures! 2011 is the 11th year Professor Alex (Sandy) Pentland and I have run this entrepreneurial action lab! Nearly three- dozen new venture concepts this year, including both for- and non-profit, across multiple sectors including health, energy, education, commerce, and civic. In reverse order of presentation, we have (plus start geo-locations)...

• GoGlobal ~ Startup Network (China, Africa, Americas)
• CharityFunds ~ Giving Portfolios (Global)
• Corruption Beacon ~ Civic Rights Media (Africa)
• Luma Light ~ Off-Grid Electricity (Africa)
• Roti ~ Affordable Foods (India)
• FarmDoctor ~ Mobile Vet Services (Africa)
• GreenRide ~ Delivery Network (Americas)
• LaborBand ~ Maternal Health Monitor (Global)
• Ubuntu Financial ~ SME Bonds (Africa)
• Essmart ~ Essential Retail (India)
• Healthy Hearts ~ Lifestyle Change (India)
• coursehound ~ Kayak for Courses (Americas)
• Educate Lanka ~ Diaspora Edu Net (South Asia)
• Group-Aid ~ Commerce Tithing (Americas)
• MedSight ~ MD Skillsharing (Americas)
• APS ~ Affordable Private Schools (India)
• Mamasanas ~ Maternal Health Tools (Latin)
• Llifelog ~ Info Exchange (Americas)
• ReciclaJusto ~ Wastepicker Tools (Latin)
• Real Life Transitions ~ Career Education (Americas)
• WeCyclers ~ Recycling Info Tools (Africa)
• Sundry Fruits ~ Food Processing (Africa)
• Baby Circle ~ Parenting Network (China)
• E-Stops ~ Transport Informatics (Africa)
• True Africa ~ Mobilized Yelp (Africa)
• AgilAgro ~ Farmer Tech (Latin)
• Billion Entrepreneurs ~ Talent Market (Brazil, India)
• My Free City ~ Urban Info (Global)
• The Matatu Project ~ Transit (Africa)
• Urban Launchpad ~ Informatics (Asia)
• RemitWise ~ Money Tracking (ASEAN)
• Digital DNA ~ Health Info (India)
• MobileConnect ~ Yelp for Emerging Mkts (Global)
  

Most of these have app prototypes, websites, exploratory field-research plans, trial-runs, and substantive action-plans going forward!

Sanergy + USAID = Dev Innovation Venturing!

This Wednesday afternoon, USAID's Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) announces its support for Saner.gy, one of our MIT D-Lab Development Ventures alumcos and winner of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition!

MIT SEID + $100K Mixer ~ Emerging Markets++

This coming Monday night 28 November 2011 at the MIT Stata Center, the student-run SEID and MIT $100K Emerging Markets Track are hosting an informal mixer 6-9pm in the R&D Commons to encourage cross-links and developmental venturing! This is the home stretch to submitting idea in MIT $100K Accelerate Contest next Friday 2 December 2011. Past Emerging Markets track winners have met team-mates at just such mixers, btw, so they're quite worthwhile!

Innovation with Impact ~ Gates on Development

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates calls on G20 world leaders to invest in Innovation with Impact: Financing 21st Century Development and offers creative ways to pay for and accelerate prosperity...

"The world is facing urgent short-term and long-term challenges. I hope we focus on the assets we have always relied upon in difficult times. In particular, I hope we emphasize innovation. Scientific and technological innovations will allow us to solve problems that cause significant misery and hold societies back. A malaria vaccine, for example, would change the economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa. Better seeds for the crops that poor people rely on -- cassava, maize, millet, rice, and sorghum -- would feed billions, improve nutrition, and guarantee food security for the world. Another kind of innovation -- a fundamental shift in the way we think about development -- will provide amazing opportunities."

SU's SEED ~ $150M for Development Innovations

Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies just launched, enabled by a $150M gift from Dorothy and Robert King...

"Known informally as SEED, [the Institute] seeks to stimulate, develop, and disseminate research and innovations that enable entrepreneurs, managers, and leaders to alleviate poverty in developing economies. SEED's work is based on the belief that a critical route for economic growth is through the creation of entrepreneurial ventures and by scaling existing enterprises."

Fantastic!

MIT Africa Business Club ~ Innovate Action 2011

Very good to see the MIT Sloan Africa Business Club kickoff this Tuesday, 20 September 2011. Building on the successful first-ever MIT Africa 2.0 conference this past Spring, the leadership aim to dial things up this year with Innovate! Africa initiatives, including conference, speakers, trek, and more. Plus they're building up the cross-MIT connections -- e.g. with Media Lab's Africa Initiative and the DUSP Urban Africa effort. Plus, fully 40% of the people in our MIT Development Ventures class this Fall 2011 have an Africa interest, which is disproportionate -- and quite exciting and promising.

MIT SEID 2011 ~ Entrepreneurs International...

On Wednesday 21 September 2011, MIT SEID -- the Sloan Entrepreneurs for International Development -- had their kickoff meeting for the year. Very exciting happenings afoot, including guest speakers, career treks, international trip, support for student-inspired Study Tours, and organizing action learning project teams to work with developmental entrepreneurs from around the world -- including EGG, Assured Labor, Sanergy, and Global Cycle Solutions! SEID is also key as the extracurricular club complement to our MIT Development Ventures class and D-Lab activities more broadly.

Ringing Change ~ ICT/Mobis Empowering Women

Meena Bhandari writes in the Guardian about Using technology to close the gender gap in Sierra Leone...

"Admire Bio has the reassured presence of a successful businesswoman, with an edge that reveals she is still hungry for more. Bio, 28, a single mother living with her parents, set up her first internet cafe in the Sierra Leone capital, Freetown, only a year ago. She has expanded with two more branches, and plans to go national if she can secure a bank loan. "My biggest motivation is challenging men," she says, "to [get women to] say: 'Yes! I can be successful without you'." [But there are many barriers to overcome] "There's a need to nurture a culture of real entrepreneurship to allow women to grow. As a first step, we need to put businesswomen on the map," she says. Unipsil and local NGO Afford-SL are working with women across the country to establish a national business network. "Once we have this kind of structure we can begin to bridge the gap between urban and rural businesses, for example, through technology, networking and training," says Manja Kargbo of Afford-SL. "Yes, I'll join a women's network," says Admire Bio. "I always tell women they can be like me -- stronger by saving, investing and doing business with technology."

MIT Development Ventures ~ D-Lab Action 2011

My MIT colleague Alex (Sandy) Pentland and I are again hosting our D-Lab Development Ventures class this Fall 2011 at the Media Lab, this time in close coordination with Founder's Journey which demystifies the startup process and Building Mobile Apps which is about rapid prototyping solutions on smartphones! As always, we look forward to the latest new venture concepts our students propose -- in domains ranging from Health, Energy, Education, Commerce, and beyond -- and we try to help the most motivated teams and promising ideas actually start and thrive!

Mobile Learning ~ New MIT Media Lab Center

Today the Media Lab officially announces new Center for Mobile Learning run by Professors Abelson, Klopfer, and Resnick which...

"...will focus on the design and study of new mobile technologies and applications, enabling people to learn anywhere anytime with anyone. Research projects will explore location-aware learning applications, mobile sensing and data collection, augmented reality gaming, and other educational uses of mobile technologies. [...] The Center's first activity will focus on App Inventor for Android, a programming system that makes it easy for learners to create mobile apps for Android smart phones by visually fitting together puzzle piece-shaped "programming blocks" in a web browser. Abelson proposed an idea that prompted the development of App Inventor during his sabbatical at Google in 2008. [...] According to Abelson, the idea for App Inventor was directly inspired by Resnick's Scratch software, and the core code for its programming blocks came from Klopfer's lab. "The new Media Lab initiative completes the circle," said Abelson. "For me, it's a terrific experience of starting with an idea, finding visionary industry leaders willing to make it a reality, then bringing it back home to MIT so I can work on projects I love together with colleagues I admire."

This should accelerate STEAM app development and ventures too!

Kitsong ~ Botswana's Rural IT Village Ventures

BBC's Egon Cossou asks Can tech save Botswana's empty villages?

"Botswana has one of the most stable and successful economies in the whole of Africa. But most opportunities are based in the bigger cities and towns. That has led to worries that small villages could face a lingering death unless there are moves to boost their economies. The government has gone into partnership with a telecoms company [Mascom] to provide villages with communications hubs [called Kitsong], to try to keep businesses in rural areas."

Read the full report by Cossou.

GiveDirectly ~ Gift Moneys Straight to the Poor

Thanks to Rohit Wanchoo for promoting GiveDirectly which enables philanthropic donors to send money directly to the poor. To do this effectively, they...

"...locate impoverished households in Kenya and then transfer donations electronically to their mobile phones. [The] goal is simple: to provide the most efficient, transparent, and respectful way to give."

So simple and obvious -- and needed. Evidence this works includes...

"Households typically save or invest 50%-80% of transfers they receive; Household spending on "temptation goods" like alcohol and tobacco either does not increase significantly or increases in proportion with other spending; Households sometimes spend money on items that an "expert" could never have predicted."

The Bright Continent ~ Africa's Innovative Spirit

I'm very interested to read Dayo Olopade's upcoming new book The Bright Continent. A Nigerian-American journalist, Olapade is interviewed here by CNN's Robyn Curnow to talk about learning from African innovation...

"It's a continent approaching a billion people, all of whom have something to say. It's a very young place -- I think something like 60% of the population is under 35 -- and so in the next decade we're going to see this generation really take advantage of what is both global technology and global ideas and what they're already working with on the ground and there are so many examples that I see all over the place. [...] A sense of individual responsibility and a sense of entrepreneurship are endemic to Africa. [...] And they've got their side hustle and I think the ability for people to find opportunity where there is none is something very important in terms of the way that the 21st century will move forward. [...] People may not call themselves entrepreneurs, but they are very entrepreneurial."

Thanks to Edwardo Sackey for spotting this!

Startup Summer ~ Entrepreneurs of the Revolution

Nice venture piece by NYTimes' Hannah Seligson on Arab Spring, Start-Up Summer?

"Six months after an uprising led by people like her ousted Hosni Mubarak and overturned the established order of the Arab world, Ms. Mehairy has joined the ranks of Egypt’s newest business class: the entrepreneurs of the revolution. Instead of leaving Egypt as she had planned, she is staying to nurture a start-up [...] “The revolution really made my generation believe in ourselves,” Ms. Mehairy, 30, says. If Egyptians can topple Mubarak, she wonders, what else might they accomplish?"

Several startups mentioned, including SuperMama, Inkezny, Bey2ollak, Kngine, and more.

Africa Tech ~ WIRED on Emerging Innovators...

Nice piece by Pete Guest in WIRED about Switching On: Africa's Vast New Tech Opportunity...

"Beyond macroeconomic factors [...] technology is driving profound changes to economies and societies across the continent. The hundreds of millions of mobile handsets and billions of airtime minutes only go some way to describe the scope of entrepreneurship that underpins Africa's technological revolution. From mobile payments to telemedicine and advertising, there is a common pulse of innovation, driven by an irrepressible combination of aspiration and necessity. This is the new Africa."

Companies and innovators mentioned include M-PESA, Verviant, PesaPal, Safaricom, Google, Wananchi, Zuku, InMobi, Encipher, mPedigree, Kalahari, Dealfish, Mocality, and more.