The Skoll World Forum hosted a panel titled “(Financial) Power to the People.” The moderator was Tom Watson, Managing Partner, CauseWired Communications, who also operates Social Edge for the Skoll World Forum. The panelists include three Web 2.0 social entrepreneurs: Premal Shah, President, Kiva.org; Mari Kuraishi, President, GlobalGiving; and Mads Kjaers, MYC4 A/S. Each of these social entrepreneurs is having a positive impact in the world but each with different business models: online micro-lending for Kiva, online giving for GlobalGiving and online investing for MYC4.

MARI KURAISHI

Mari Kuriashi, President, GlobalGiving introduced her company by noting “they have been called the eBay of philanthropy,” although they are a non-profit organization. Amidst the cluttered landscape of giving options, Kuriashi explained that the core uniqueness of GlobalGiving is that donors can hear back directly from the field as to how their contributions have made a difference. Thus far GlobalGiving has funded almost 1,300 projects through the contributions of 40,000 donors for a total of US$20m.

One apparently similar portal is Network For Good that opens the door for individuals to donate to all registered charities in the US. The difference of GlobalGiving is its project approach. They focus on opportunities for people to accomplish something when they donate. Another uniqueness is that individuals, who are not registered charities, can raise money for causes. Kuraishi’s motivation in co-founding GlobalGiving was the conviction that there were many organizations that they believed should be funded but weren’t. They also believed that innovation should be promoted within the charitable sectors and thus they started from scratch.

PREMAL SHAH – KIVA

Non-profit Kiva has generated widespread attention for its innovative online approach to giving. Premal Shah recounted that the company is till only 3 ½ years old. Kiva provides as internet marketplace for microfinance. A person can choose an entrepreneur and lend $25 or more and repayment usually occurs within 10 months. Shah stated that the payback to lenders at 97.7%. Thus far they have raised US$65m from over 500,000 people in more than 100 countries

Shah explained that it took Kiva an entire year to raised US$ million. At present, they raise that much per week. They now work with 115 micro-finance institutions (MFIs), which is probably the largest microfinance network in the world. The MFIs are in 45 countries, ranging from young nongovernmental organizations with little finances to large MFIs that resemble banks. They are constantly looking for reputable MFIs to help handle the overload of would-be lenders

Kiva continues to innovate. A month ago they launched a platform “build.kiva.” One product developed by an independent company is “Kiva Alerts.” Shah noted, “there is abundant enthusiasm about this space.”
Another panel member was Mads Kjaier, of Denmark, who is CEO and co-founder of MYC4 which is a Web 2.0 marketplace and a tool for people to end poverty through business. This is a for-profit business with a social purpose. The Skoll Program indicates that since its launch in October 2007, MYC4 has funded more than 4,500 African micro and small businesses with over 7.5 million Euro in seven countries with capital from over 14,000 investors in more than 80 countries. The company has 35 shareholders and they have raised $10m. Kjaier’s “big hairy audacious goal” is to list the company with 6.9 billion shareholders with a 1 Euro share each.

Tagged as: corporate social responsibility, csr, makegood, rick goossen, skoll, social responsibility 2.0, strategy, swf09