Shaping the Future

Brasil concorrendo a prêmio do BID

2010-11-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

Vote na sitawi!

A sitawi é a única organização brasileira concorrendo, na categoria “Socially Responsible Investment”, do prêmio Beyond Banking do BID (Banco Interamericano de Desenvolvimento).

O prêmio visa reconhecer as melhores iniciativas de sustentabilidade econômica, social, ambiental e governança no setor financeiro da América Latina e Caribe.

A sitawi é uma organização sem fins lucrativos, que realiza empréstimos para negócios sociais (de R$100 mil a R$400 mil com aconselhamento estratégico e juros 1% ao mês). É a primeira iniciativa do gênero no Brasil e foi escolhida entre concorrentes de toda América Latina como uma das 3 finalistas do prêmio.

Votar na sitawi leva um minuto e traz esse prêmio para o Brasil:

1 – Acesse o link http://bit.ly/crxrES ou www.iadb.org/Resources/business/beyondBanking/public.cfm?language=Spanish

2 – Cadastre-se clicando no link “Nuevo Usuario”

3 – Informe seu e-mail e a senha

4 – Vão te mandar um e-mail de confirmação. Clique no link enviado.

5 – Vote na sitawi, na categoria “Socially Responsible Investment”.

Vamos trazer reconhecimento e credibilidade para o setor social no Brasil!

Multiplique seu impacto social.

Na sitawi, sua doação ajuda mais organizações e transforma mais vidas.

sitawi.net | contact@sitawi.net

2010-10-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

O poder do impacto social - The power of social impact

Multiply your social impact!

2010-09-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

sitawi - Brazil's 1st Social Fund - Launches Commitment at CGI

NEW YORK, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- sitawi, a Brazilian nonprofit, has committed to increase its Social Fund to US$1.5 million in the next year and provide loans to mission-driven organizations in Brazil, as part of its commitment at this year's Clinton Global Initiative.

Brazil's first Social Fund's loans range from US$50,000 to US$250,000 and include strategic advice at rates similar to the local base rate (approximately 12%p.a. rather than the market's 35-50%). Its clients are nonprofits or for-profits that have a social impact mission. Donations to the fund are 100% allocated towards loans. Once these are repaid, the resources are recycled and the social impact is multiplied. In the last two years, sitawi has lent over $500,000 with no defaults or restructuring and has impacted the lives of more than 6,000 people.

Despite Brazil's recent economic growth, significant problems and inequalities remain in the country: over 35 million people live below the poverty line, it is the 4th country with more at-risk biodiversity, 80% of the rural population do not have access to basic sanitation and it burns over 12,000 km(2) every year. Organizations that are complementing government efforts to change this situation are capital constrained: 300,000 nonprofits compete for less than US$5 billion in grants. Leonardo Letelier, CGI member and sitawi's CEO summarizes the situation "With US$17,000 per organization, per year, there is no way we will change this dire situation, but if we can tap the local credit market, 100 times larger, we have a fighting chance."

"Our success is still artisanal," he continues, "we need to provide more loans to different types of organizations in different geographies with different operating models, so we can learn what works and what doesn't both in terms of risk assessment and in terms of strategic advice. With that, we can develop a methodology that is 'plug-and-play' at the traditional banks and provide access to finance for organizations with viable models."

Solidarium, a Brazilian social enterprise, received an order from Wal-Mart to produce 30,000 ecobags (bags made out of recycled PET bottles). Without working capital for its largest order in history, it turned to its bank for a US$75,000 loan. It was offered $5,000 at 3.5% per month. sitawi stepped in and provided the full amount at 1% per month and helped 120 craftsmen (and over 350 indirect beneficiaries) to generate income. Ms. Diva, one of the craftsmen for Solidarium, commented: "with the increase in sales, we had a very different Christmas, last year."

sitawi, which means "to develop" in Swahili, refers to the organization's mission to develop financial infrastructure for the social sector in Brazil.

More information at: www.sitawi.net.

SOURCE

sitawi

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sitawi---brazils-1st-social-fund---launches-commitment-at-cgi-103626014.html

"Have Breakfast… or…Be Breakfast!"

2010-02-05T11:59:00.000-08:00

By Y. L. R. MOORTHI

[Management Views from IIMB is an exclusive column written every two weeks for india.wsj.com by faculty members of the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.]

Who sells the largest number of cameras in India?

Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above. The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones.

Y. L. R Moorthi

Reason being cameras bundled with cellphones are outselling stand alone cameras. Now, what prevents the cellphone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sonys and Canons are taking note.

Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry. The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by selling music albums (that run for hours).

Incidentally Airtel is not in music business. It is the mobile service provider with the largest subscriber base in India. That sort of competitor is difficult to detect, even more difficult to beat (by the time you have identified him he has already gone past you). But if you imagine that Nokia and Bharti (Airtel's parent) are breathing easy you can't be farther from truth.

Nokia confessed that they all but missed the smartphone bus. They admit that Apple's Iphone and Google's Android can make life difficult in future. But you never thought Google was a mobile company, did you? If these illustrations mean anything, there is a bigger game unfolding. It is not so much about mobile or music or camera or emails?

The "Mahabharat" (the great Indian epic battle) is about "what is tomorrow's personal digital device"? Will it be a souped up mobile or a palmtop with a telephone? All these are little wars that add up to that big battle. Hiding behind all these wars is a gem of a question – "who is my competitor?"

Once in a while, to intrigue my students I toss a question at them. It says "What Apple did to Sony, Sony did to Kodak, explain?" The smart ones get the answer almost immediately. Sony defined its market as audio (music from the walkman). They never expected an IT company like Apple to encroach into their audio domain. Come to think of it, is it really surprising? Apple as a computer maker has both audio and video capabilities. So what made Sony think he won't compete on pure audio? "Elementary Watson". So also Kodak defined its business as film cameras, Sony defines its businesses as "digital."

In digital camera the two markets perfectly meshed. Kodak was torn between going digital and sacrificing money on camera film or staying with films and getting left behind in digital technology. Left undecided it lost in both. It had to. It did not ask the question "who is my competitor for tomorrow?" The same was true for IBM whose mainframe revenue prevented it from seeing the PC. The same was true of Bill Gates who declared "internet is a fad!" and then turned around to bundle the browser with windows to bury Netscape. The point is not who is today's competitor. Today's competitor is obvious. Tomorrow's is not.

In 2008, who was the toughest competitor to British Airways in India? Singapore airlines? Better still, Indian airlines? Maybe, but there are better answers. There are competitors that can hurt all these airlines and others not mentioned. The answer is videoconferencing and telepresence services of HP and Cisco. Travel dropped due to recession. Senior IT executives in India and abroad were compelled by their head quarters to use videoconferencing to shrink travel budget. So much so, that the mad scramble for American visas from Indian techies was nowhere in sight in 2008. (India has a quota of something like 65,000 visas to the U.S. They were going a-begging. Blame it on recession!). So far so good. But to think that the airlines will be back in business post recession is something I would not bet on. In short term yes. In long term a resounding no. Remember, if there is one place where Newton's law of gravity is applicable besides physics it is in electronic hardware. Between 1977 and 1991 the prices of the now dead VCR (parent of Blue-Ray disc player) crashed to one-third of its original level in India. PC's price dropped from hundreds of thousands of rupees to tens of thousands. If this trend repeats then telepresence prices will also crash. Imagine the fate of airlines then. As it is not many are making money. Then it will surely be RIP!

India has two passions. Films and cricket. The two markets were distinctly different. So were the icons. The cricket gods were Sachin and Sehwag. The filmi gods were the Khans (Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and the other Khans who followed suit). That was, when cricket was fundamentally test cricket or at best 50 over cricket. Then came IPL and the two markets collapsed into one. IPL brought cricket down to 20 overs. Suddenly an IPL match was reduced to the length of a 3 hour movie. Cricket became film's competitor. On the eve of IPL matches movie halls ran empty. Desperate multiplex owners requisitioned the rights for screening IPL matches at movie halls to hang on to the audience. If IPL were to become the mainstay of cricket, as it is likely to be, films have to sequence their releases so as not clash with IPL matches. As far as the audience is concerned both are what in India are called 3 hour "tamasha" (entertainment). Cricket season might push films out of the market.

Look at the products that vanished from India in the last 20 years. When did you last see a black and white movie? When did you last use a fountain pen? When did you last type on a typewriter? The answer for all the above is "I don't remember!" For some time there was a mild substitute for the typewriter called electronic typewriter that had limited memory. Then came the computer and mowed them all. Today most technologically challenged guys like me use the computer as an upgraded typewriter. Typewriters per se are nowhere to be seen.

One last illustration. 20 years back what were Indians using to wake them up in the morning? The answer is "alarm clock." The alarm clock was a monster made of mechanical springs. It had to be physically keyed every day to keep it running. It made so much noise by way of alarm, that it woke you up and the rest of the colony. Then came quartz clocks which were sleeker. They were much more gentle though still quaintly called "alarms." What do we use today for waking up in the morning? Cellphone! An entire industry of clocks disappeared without warning thanks to cell phones. Big watch companies like Titan were the losers. You never know in which bush your competitor is hiding!

On a lighter vein, who are the competitors for authors? Joke spewing machines? (Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, himself a Pole, tagged a Polish joke telling machine to a telephone much to the mirth of Silicon Valley). Or will the competition be story telling robots? Future is scary! The boss of an IT company once said something interesting about the animal called competition. He said "Have breakfast …or…. be breakfast"! That sums it up rather neatly.

—Dr. Y. L. R. Moorthi is a professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He is an M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a post graduate in management from IIM, Bangalore.

Artoujours - An Idea

2009-09-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

What happens when a Greek, Brazilian, American and Indian come together to work on a business idea? Apparently, nothing short of a miracle! Artoujours is an idea developed by four such minds, so alike yet so different. This paradox creates a spark of innovation.

The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind – A Whole New Mind (http://www.danpink.com/wnm.html). Left brain dominance is a thing of the past; right brain qualities of empathy, inventiveness, and expression create the landscape of our times.

How many young people today have the opportunity of free expression? How many women around the world could live a more secure and happy life by choosing art as a vocation? How many cultures are watching their art forms fade away into history? How many children have never held a paint brush or a musical instrument?

The need of whole new minds, some haunting questions and our passion for creativity gave way to Artoujours, art forever. Artoujours is a dynamic center of arts, where people have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of creative expression, through classes, experimentation, production, performance and connection with art forms and artists from around the world.

At Artoujours we are passionate about arts of all kinds, we believe in the power of art to transform lives, inspire creative thinking, cultivate expression and develop character. Art is for everyone, and artistic talent can be found in every human being.

Our way of making this real is through six approaches –
1. Art School for everyone
2. Art foundation running projects addressing specific social risk groups
3. Art Production connecting themes from across the world
4. Art gallery promoting artists
5. The Art shopping experience
6. Casual Arts where people can explore their creative side through different art forms over a cappuccino and applie pie

Annika, Mauricio, Sophie and I are working on feasibility studies in different parts of the world to see where we want to start up the first Artoujours. Mauricio already runs an art center in Santa Maria Brazil called Musiartes (http://www.musiartes.com.br/) which he will build further.

The feasibility study includes these elements:The legal framework of setting up an organization; overhead costs; competition; grants and Government policies; supporting network; market; local business culture; financial prospects; social inclusiveness; and the education system and arts.

Here is a brief presentation on Artoujours – If you have any ideas, feedback or contacts that can support us in starting up please write to us at artoujours@musiartes.com.br

Artoujours

Art is not just painting or playing the guitar or dancing. Art is a way of discovering who you are, what you want, expressing your feelings and thoughts, your life. Sophie said to me – toujours is a very strong word, it means forever. Art for us is forever, and everywhere in everyone. A person can create as he/she can destroy. Everyone connects with feelings, ideas, and thoughts to be able to share these with someone else, with the world – visualize, hear, express. And this happens in every corner of the world, throughout the years of human existence. Art is natural, nature is art. It is human evolution.

I find myself constantly thinking – Based on India’s reality, where and how can Artoujours be most relevant?

By Deepti Chadda

MBA of life called AIESEC!

2009-09-04T01:54:00.000-07:00

Today I am finishing my 4 years MBA in the University of Life called AIESEC, and there is only one word that comes to my mind to summarize this experience… GRATITUDE!

Have you ever stopped to think why people do an MBA? What are the benefits of doing an MBA?
Usually the reasons are: Advancing in their career, changing their career, starting their own business, build a new and powerful network, learning how to solve complex problems in a practical way, and so on and so forth.

The University of Life called AIESEC and its MBA program aims to create change agents through the development of 11 competencies: Self-Awareness, Personal Effectiveness, Analytical Thinking, Awareness of Others, Inclusiveness, Effective Communication, Development of Others, Stakeholder Focus, Inner Strength, Innovation and Commitment to Results. (Check my competency assessment below, the green bars represent how it was in the beginning of my AIESEC MBA)

The methodology? Practical experience through international internships, a learning environment comprised by team experiences, conferences, seminars, virtual spaces and platforms, mentorship and coaching programs and much more, combined with a leadership program where individuals have the chance to lead a high performance team. The program is completely flexible and the student chooses its own path.

I started the AIESEC MBA going for exchange to India, Chennai, for a marketing internship in an organization called Campus abroad. This experience taught me the importance of being able to adapt, to react faster to different environment, to stretch our cultural understanding. I also have built a fair international network, while in touch with more than 40 other AIESEC trainees.

My second year was about getting some functional knowledge, so I was assigned to manage the finances of the AIESEC branch in Brazil (Sao Paulo), I have learned a lot about budgeting, scenario planning, return of investments and others.

The main projects I managed and main results I got: Development of a new financial model, Redesign of conference management (long term venue contract, increasing logistical capacity), Design of new financial management software and contract negotiation with vendor, Growth of 200% in operational revenue , Increase of 30% of reserves.

After managing finances, I decided to step up and go for a strong leadership experience, being responsible for leading directly a team of 6 people from 3 different countries, plus being responsible for the operations of 30 local AIESEC branches in Brazil, with more than 2,000 people.

During this experience, I have the chance to work in a Long Term Plan implementation (Adjustment of planning framework, design of road map, set up of long term organizational goals), Balanced Scorecard implementation (Development of new planning framework and tracking tools, revision of measurement tools and development of rewards & recognition based on the Balanced Scorecard, Delivery of the International Congress 2008 (a congress for 1000 people form 100 different countries with a budget of more than 1 million Euros).

Some of the results I got: Growth of 60% in exchange realization and general growth in all key performance indicators (200-325), Strategic Management ING Award winner – The best AIESEC office amongst 107 countries AIESEC is present in, Growth of 300% in operational revenue and increase of 75% of reserves.

My last year of the AIESEC’s MBA, took place in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. I was responsible for Strategy & Operations in the global headquarter of AIESEC, working directly with 22 amazing and smart individuals from 16 different countries, taking care of the strategic direction and operations of more than 600 offices, over a 100 countries, with more than 38,000 people.

Projects? What did I do? Leading global planning process with 107 Countries and more than 800 local offices, Balanced Scorecard education and Strategy Map revision, Redefining quality standards and measurement systems, Leading country development team (6 regional Directors), Leading the strategic development task force (Vice President of Talent Management, Exchange, External Relations, Information Systems, Finance and President) , Leading global competitive analysis process.

Results? 45% year-on-year growth in exchange results – Biggest growth in the last 15 years, and first time that we achieved the 2010 vision’s goals. In a year that the majority of the organizations failed to succeed!

I have tried to summarize how my 4 years AIESEC MBA contributed to my development and next steps, check this out:

I think now you understand why GRATITUDE is the word that express my feelings towards my AIESEC MBA! I wish more and more people can have the chance to join the university of life called AIESEC, and that more and more people can learn as much as I learned, can meet people as many as I’ve met, can travel as much as I traveled, can share ideas as much as I’ve shared and most importantly, can be happy as much as I am!

That's the truly spirit of leadership development, you do what you love, you deliver your promises in a sustainable way, you get people to do things you believe it is the right ones, you don't feel the time going away... you just enjoy the journey!

Thanks AIESEC and AIESECers, partners, alumni, sponsors, supervisory boards and groups, all stakeholders that make and made AIESEC possible and real!

Yours truly,
Mauricio Schneider
A proud AIESEC alumnus!

“If there’s smoke… there’s fire”, is the cold war back?

2009-08-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

I don’t understand that much about politics and stuff, the little I know I have learned at school, so, if my understanding of the facts stated below is wrong, apologies from the very beginning.

What has been calling my attention are the side conflicts amongst couple of countries that have arisen these days.

Two events in special made me remember the cold war again: South Ossetia in August last year and the Colombian agreement with the USA this week.

In the South Ossetia conflict last year, where Russia has arisen again with its military power, remembering the old and powerful Russia, and the Georgian President very confident of its capabilities to challenge Russia… what actually encouraged the Georgian president Saakashvili to challenge Russia? Was him counting on the US support? What happened then? Why Russia has reacted disproportionally? “Showing off”? What was the intention?

Late last week, the Colombian president has announced an agreement with the US Government to let the Yankees use 7 Colombian military bases, with the intention of combating the terrorism in Colombia. Was it an answer to Hugo Chaves that in 2008 have settled agreements with Russia around military cooperation and so on? The tension is all around in South America, and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is willing to go for a war against Colombia.

Why should South America go into a war that actually doesn’t belong to South America? Who will play the role of moderate this conflict? Has Brazil the leadership power to sort it out?

Is the cold war back? If no, what is behind the scenes? If yes, Why not let Russia and the USA solve their differences, without using “marionettes”!!!

It is a shame that we haven’t been able to shape leaders in the political and corporate environment enough skilled and talented to drive the society towards a more sustainable and peaceful world!

What can we do? Or who?

Mauricio Schneider
Consultant at Move Strategy & Partner at 4SC