Dear ANDE Friends and Colleagues,

Warm greetings from the ANDE staff!  In this edition of our newsletter, we highlight: 

ANDE Activities

• ANDE India Event
• ANDE Goes to London
• ANDE in the Huffington Post
• Save the Dates – Upcoming ANDE Events
• Launch of ANDE Calendar – Call for Submissions
• 2011 Summer Internships – Call for Job Descriptions
• New ANDE Members:
  • ForeFinance
  • Inveneo
  • TransFarm Africa

Sector Events

• OxfordJam 2011, March 30 – April 1, 2011, Oxford, England
• Social Venture Capital/Social Enterprise Conference, April 4-6, Miami, Florida 
• SOCAP Europe, May 30 – June 1, 2011, Beurs van Berlage, The Netherlands
• Global Summit on Educating Entrepreneurs, June 16 – 17, 2011, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Sector News & Opportunities

• Goldman Sachs Recruiting – Brazil
• Yale School of Management Global Social Entrepreneurship Program Opportunity
• UNCTAD's 2011 Information Economy Report
• The Tech Awards - Call for Nominations 

Randall Kempner
Executive Director 

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ANDE Activities:

ANDE India Event

On Monday, February 14, 2011, Villgro, along with other ANDE members in India convened to discuss ways to improve collaboration and explore the creation of an ANDE Chapter in India.  Over the course of the day participants learned more about each other’s work and discussed common challenges and opportunities. The meeting was the beginning of an ongoing, collaborative effort to build the impact investing and entrepreneurship sector in India. As a result of the meeting, members agreed to move forward on the establishment of an India Chapter that will work to coordinate the efforts of ANDE members in the country.

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ANDE Goes to London
              
Join ANDE from 5-8 pm on March 29th in London for our second anniversary and the launch of our 2010 Impact Report.  Highlights include an interview with Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, by Randall Kempner and a screening of the new ANDE video.  The public event will take place from 5-8 pm at the Shell Foundation Headquarters but space is limited, so register today!
 
In addition, ANDE members are invited to join us for a workshop preceding the reception from 12-5 pm.  The workshop will include an update on ANDE today, as well as discussions around horizontal capital aggregation, metrics, and technical assistance.  Space is also limited, so register now!

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ANDE in the Huffington Post
 
On February 18, Randall authored a piece entitled “Entrepreneurs are Transforming the Developing World,” for the Huffington Post about the impact of entrepreneurship on prosperity creation in the developing world. 

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Save the Dates – Upcoming ANDE Events

• Orientation Training – May 23-24^th in New York City: Geared towards new hires and summer associates, this two-day training covers a comprehensive overview of doing deals in emerging markets.  Questions? Contact Joanna Herrmann.  Registration will open in the upcoming weeks.
• Metrics & Evaluation Conference – June 20-21^st in Washington, DC: ANDE’s annual metrics conference gathers the leading thinkers in the field for an interactive, informative two day workshop.  Questions? Contact Lindsey Anderson.  Registration will open in the upcoming weeks.

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Launch of the ANDE Calendar – Call for Submissions

Last month, ANDE launched the ANDE Calendar.  This calendar will list all of ANDE’s upcoming events, sector update and working group calls, regional chapter meetings, member events, and select other sector-relevant events.  ANDE members wishing to have their upcoming events included in the 2011 calendar should send an email to Ahmed Kodouda with the event date, location, and a brief description.

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2011 Summer Internships - Call for Job Descriptions

If your organization currently hires summer associates for internships or fellowships of any kind, send ANDE your job description.  We will be posting these on our website under "Jobs in the Network."  If your organization does not currently have an internship program in place but is interested in beginning one, download the Guide for Developing a Successful MBA Intern Program that ANDE created last year.  Please submit job descriptions to Ahmed Kodouda and indicate the deadline for applying and when the internships will begin. 

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New Members

• ForeFinance™ empowers farmers in developing countries to have access to markets and access to formal credit. An important barrier for this is the information gap between farmer organizations on the one end, and traders and financial institutions on the other end. ForeFinance bridges this information gap by profiling the farmer organization on their creditworthiness and performance. The profiling is based on the ForeFinance Credit Risk Assessment Methodology (CRAM). In this methodology, farmer organizations are assessed on their maturity of management, management of internal and external risks and their embeddedness in the value chain, amongst others. It gives a comprehensive picture about the creditworthiness and professionalism of the farmer organization. www.forefinance.nl

• Inveneo is a 501(c)(3) non-profit social enterprise whose mission is to connect and empower rural and underserved communities in the developing world with information and communications technologies (ICTs). We work with and serve organizations that deliver vital education, healthcare, economic development and relief services to some of the poorest communities in the world, enabling these organizations – NGOs, governments, and others – to more effectively serve people in need through technology. www.inveneo.org
   
• TransFarm Africa is a new initiative of Aspen Global Health and Development that will function as the hub of an international policy network made up of civil society and business organizations and others working on agriculture and trade policy and their links to Africa’s development and food security.  Taking as a framework Africa’s “Development Corridors”—which could do for Africa what projects like the Erie Canal did for development in the United States—TransFarm Africa works to advance equitable and sustainable smallholder commercial agriculture in ways that will measurably improve the income of smallholder farmers, particularly women, and integrate them into a dynamic, internationally competitive, regional food economy.  Combining investment and policy in an innovative approach to the “missing middle” of African agriculture—growth-oriented, mid-scale commercial farms and agribusinesses that incorporate small farmers as suppliers, customers, partners or employees—TransFarm Africa seeks to facilitate the emergence of transformative forms of commercial agriculture while working to improve the policies and overcome the barriers that have held back Africa’s agricultural development in the past. www.aspeninstitute.org/ghd

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Sector Events:

OxfordJam 2011
March 30 – April 1, 2011
Oxford, England
 
Running in parallel to the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship in Oxford over 30th March – 1st April 2011, OxfordJam is a three-day event that creates a space for the nurturing of social economy and social finance projects the world over. The success of 2010 has meant that OxfordJam’11 will be run as the fringe to The Skoll World Forum. OxfordJam’11 remains open access and open all hours (7 am – 2 am!), attracting social entrepreneurs from all walks of life. The event will be even more innovative, inclusive and participatory than last year, with exciting and practical sessions given by some of the finest minds in the game (including ANDE), and a cabaret infamous the social world over for its hilarity and depravity!

On March 30, Joanna Herrmann, ANDE's program associate, will lead a session titled "Corporations and Developing World SGBs" at 9:00 am. Our Impact Assessment Manager, Lindsey Anderson, will lead the "Metrics: What to do with what we Measure?" session at 2:45 pm.  

 

To find out more, learn how you can participate, or to contribute funds, click here or email webangel@oxfordjam.org.uk.

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Social Venture Capital/Social Enterprise Conference 2011
April 4-6, 2011
Miami, Florida
 
  The 2nd annual Social Venture Capital/Social Enterprise Conference- Miami takes place from April 4th- April 6th, 2011 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Last spring, nearly 700 leaders from 41 countries participated in the region's largest impact investing conference. This year’s conference will include a panel of ANDE members, as well as tracks on Financing Impact, Building Social Entrepreneurs, Latin America Country Specific Tracks, Defining Green Prosperity, and Empowering Women Through Investment. ANDE will also hold a reception on the last night of the conference.
 
For more information and the full agenda please visit www.connectionmiami.com. Click here to register.

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SOCAP Europe
May 30 – June 1, 2011
Beurs van Berlage, The Netherlands
 
May 30th - June 1st, join Europe’s key social impact innovators in Amsterdam at SOCAP/Europe, Europe’s inaugural gathering at the intersection of money and meaning. SOCAP/Europe will kick off with an opening night reception followed by two days of deep-dive sessions into the social enterprise space.  Convening at the historic site of the first stock exchange, Beurs van Berlage, SOCAP/Europe gathers leading investors, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, government funders, and innovators for a dynamic conversation.  Together participants will explore models, form partnerships and fund innovative solutions to the world’s great challenges. To register for SOCAP Europe, click here.

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Global Summit on Educating Entrepreneurs
June 16 – 17, 2011
Ann Arbor, Michigan
 
The William Davidson Institute will hold the Global Summit on Educating Entrepreneurs, June 16-17, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The conference will bring together many recognized leaders in entrepreneurship as well as educators who have designed and delivered entrepreneurship programs in emerging markets. This is a great conference for learning the latest on creating  world-class entrepreneurship training programs for SME business owners and for developing contacts with funders. Speakers will come from many countries, including Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Nigeria, and Rwanda. Register now to qualify for the early-bird registration fee of $450 by going to www.wdientrepreneurship.com.

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Sector News/Opportunities

Goldman Sachs10,000 WomenRecruiting – Brazil

10,000 Women academic partner, Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC) is recruiting women for its next cohort of 10,000 Women scholars in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.  The program seeks women with existing SMEs in and around the city.  FDC has already graduated 97 women from its program and will graduate an additional 95 scholars this month.  The next cohort from Belo Horizontewill enroll 100 scholars.  To qualify for the program scholars must meet the following criteria:

• Women must be a Brazilian national or resident
• Women must have a motivation to expand their businesses
• Women must be underserved and could not afford the program without a significant sacrifice
• Women entrepreneurs must be managing their own business 
• The business must have excellent potential for growth

Please go to http://www.fdc.org.br/10000women/Paginas/default.aspx for more information about the program.  If you know of qualified women, please direct them to: Marcele Carneiro Gama Viana at marcele@fdc.org.br for further information.
10,000 Women is a five-year investment by Goldman Sachs to provide 10,000 underserved women around the world with a business and management education. To find out more about 10,000 Women go to www.gs.com.

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Yale School of Management Global Social Entrepreneurship Program
 
Since 2008, the Yale School of Management has offered a course linking teams of Yale students with social enterprises (SEs) based in India. The course is designed to introduce Yale students to practical issues faced by mission-driven social entrepreneurs, focusing on a specific management challenge that the student/SE teams work together to address during the semester, culminating with a set of recommendations (operational, financial or otherwise) to meet the identified challenge. The course will be offered again in the fall of 2011. Yale is actively seeking applications from social enterprises in India interested in collaborating with us in next fall’s course.
 
If you are interested in applying, please submit a completed application form, including all requested attachments, by March 4, 2011. For more information, contact Tony Sheldon.  

UNCTAD's 2011 Information Economy Report

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is seeking input from ANDE members and other organizations on it's 2011 Information Economy Report. The report will focus on how effective use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) can support private sector development – with special focus on micro, small and medium enterprises in developing countries. In this context, UNCTAD would welcome input, especially with regard to recent initiatives, projects and experiences related to the application of ICTs to support the creation and development of enterprises. Areas of intervention may include improving access to finance, market information, human resources and government services. UNCTAD is interested in any studies undertaken on ways in which effective ICT use can help reduce business costs, reduce risk, increase productivity, raise competitiveness, or improve access to markets. If you would like to share your experiences with UNCTAD to be reflected in the report, please contact Torbjörn Fredriksson, preferably before March 20, 2011.

The Tech Awards - Call for Nominations

The Tech Awards honors innovators who are creatively applying technology to benefit humanity in the areas of Environment, Economic Development, Education, Equality and Health.  Fifteen laureates in five categories will be honored at a Gala event in October 2011 in Silicon Valley, California, and five Laureates will each be awarded a cash prize of $50,000 USD. Nominations are due March 31, 2011. For more information, visit www.techawards.org.
 

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