Money Management Lessons from a Teenage Entrepreneur

When I was in eighth grade, I started working at a pizzeria, owned by a local friend in Seattle. It was not long after that I received my first paycheck. I knew that with this came a host of financial responsibilities. I realized that for my contemporaries, others in their late teens and early 20s, this could be a somewhat daunting experience. A survey released this month by the Council for Economic Education found that fewer than half of states require an economics course as a high school graduation requirement, and only 17 states require a personal finance course. Fortunately, I was already armed with key financial principles through the Renton/Skyway Boys & Girls Club Money Matters: Make it Count Program, sponsored by Charles Schwab Foundation.

Over time I learned how to do everything from opening a checking account to creating a realistic budget, saving money, and investing for college and my future. The bottom line is that it's never too early to think like an entrepreneur, to manage your money and to get on a path to fiscal responsibility. My success has also allowed me to give back to my community, and I'm honored to serve as a mentor for other teens in my area.

Learning how to manage my money even helped me start my own business. When I was 16, a sophomore in high school, a friend and I started a music and entertainment company, called "Northwest Empyre." While primarily offering DJ'ing services, we also ventured into photography, videography, graphic design and clothing. This experience taught me more than I could have imagined and sparked a new period of growth for me -- allowing me to believe in myself and realize that even though I'm young I can still do something I love and make a difference.

Despite the current lack of widespread personal finance education, it is more important than ever for individuals to step up to the plate. No matter what your age, here are just a few ways to get started on your own path to financial success:

1. 1. Create a Spending Plan - Even if you don't have a lot of money, creating a spending plan is a great way to get in the habit of knowing what's coming in and what's going out. Like a diet, if you stick to it, you'll develop healthier spending habits in the long run. Sure, there's always the temptation of wanting to buy that new CD at the checkout, but you'll be less likely to impulse buy if you know you don't have the money to cover it. I also learned that everyday expenses can really add up quickly. One of the methods that helped me create a realistic spending plan was to write down my goals and try to save a little from each paycheck.
2. 2. Get Educated about Banks and Accounts - Once I started earning my own money, I wanted to have my own account -- but there was so much I needed to learn, including the difference between checking and savings accounts, credit unions versus banks, fees, debit cards and minimum balances. Asking all of these questions helped me determine which bank was right for me and which account would help my money grow. And the advice from my mentors and parents was 100 percent free!
3. 3. Invest - After setting my goals, I needed to find a realistic way of achieving them. Saving and investing a little each month helped me do that. Because I was living at home I was able to invest a little more in my business by creating a chart with specific project goals, costs and estimated dates to accomplish them, which helped me stay organized.
4. 4. Plan for College - I'm currently a freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology where I'm studying Electrical/Mechanical Engineering Technology. I truly didn't realize how much it would cost to attend college. Everything from tuition to room and board, activities and books should be part of your plan. Saving a little from my paycheck and coming up with a realistic list of schools we could afford was important for me to map out with my family. I also looked into a variety of scholarship and loans -- something I highly recommend. There are so many different programs out there to help you finance your education if you take some time to do the research.
5. 5. Think Like an Entrepreneur - The most exciting part of my financial literacy journey has been the ability to apply the money I've saved over the years to my own business. I learned that to be an entrepreneur you have to be willing to take risks, which may not be for everyone. I love the independence of running my own show along with my friend and business partner. But I also know that I have to constantly stay aware of costs and expenses in order to keep things running smoothly. Entrepreneurs have a great sense of pride but also a great responsibility. Taking some time to learn about yourself, knowing your skills and how they fit into your goals are really important to see if entrepreneurship is the right fit for you.

From HUFF POST Financial Education

Branding Tips: How to Be a Social Media Conversationalist

Your company’s brand may be on social media. In fact, it should be on social media. However, that doesn’t mean your brand is a conversation starter.

Many brands struggle with social media marketing because their social media efforts don’t produce the fruit they expect. Business owners scratch their heads because they’re unable to gain traction on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and Pinterest. It’s a big issue, because consumers are hanging out in the social media stratosphere; and if they’re not hearing of your brand, you’re losing market share (and share of mind) every single day.

How to Be a Social Media Conversationalist

So, every small business must think of their brand as a conversation starter and ultimately write social media posts that support that perspective. There are numerous proven methods to achieve this goal, including, but not limited to:

• Writing content that is more about what your audience wants than about your brand. Sure, you can slip a few pieces of information about the benefits and features of products and services, but first and foremost give customers what they want, not what you want to tell them. This means creating clickable, shareable, tweetable social media content that encourages them to find out more about your brand.
• Creating a brand image that goes beyond your logo. What does the brand really mean? How is someone who views your company logo supposed to feel? What does the logo represent? We all know the Golden Arches aims to communicate “fast, affordable food” that – despite an unhealthy reputation – we all love to eat. What does your brand’s logo say about your company? Develop a story around your company logo and share that story on social media platforms.
• Encouraging people to participate in social media events, such as contests and polls. Ask them questions, and actually answer them when they add their two cents to the conversation. This two-way street encourages engagement, and we all know that engagement begets exposure, which ultimately leads to sales. Make the old-school “cash register” cha-ching by fostering a social media environment where readers can speak back.
• Using social media as an opportunity for customer service and support. Yes, this can be extremelytricky.  It is recommended that all employees (with access to social media accounts) be well-trained in the art and science of handling issues delicately and definitively. If you can make the most of solving problems in front of a very large audience on social media channels, you’ll become a social media hero and people will talk about your social media savvy… and your brand.
• Making sure all social media messaging is synergistic with consistent communication. For instance, the person writing your Twitter messaging should develop the content for your Facebook account. Social media can’t occur at cross-purposes. Everyone needs to be on the same page.

Of course, it’s always a good idea to look at a few examples of smart social media in action, so let’s take a gander at companies who do a pretty good job of wooing customers and gaining interest in social media.

A Case for a Strong Social Media Brand

• Case #1: Safer Brand

  In the case of Safer Brand, their Pinterest campaigns are linked nicely with their blog. One feeds the other, which helps build brand recognition. This entices visitors to populate a social media channel, and hopefully add it to their favorite pages. Because Safer Brand sells gardening and landscape related products, the company has been wise to request pictures from contestants. These pictures can be used in the future on other social media forums.

• Case #2: Falling Whistles

  Falling Whistles is a company that uses the whistle in a symbolic way, and their Instagram page follows suit by representing “A campaign for peace in Congo. Wear your protest and be a whistleblower for peace.” On the page, they use the whistle in dynamic imagery, merging black and white, as well as muted color, pictures with minimalist writings. Their poignancy has attracted followers and made them a strong upstart.

• Case #3: Empire Cat

  Empire Cat has a different type of product: They sell heavy-duty manufacturing equipment. Rather than try for a “soft sell”, they go for the gusto from page one on their Facebook page. They have positioned their brand as dynamic, strong, and rugged. It’s what they know their audience wants to see, and the fact that they’ve gotten 4.5 out of 5 stars from customers speaks volumes without them saying a word.

• Case #4: Leap Motion

  When Leap Motion got involved in business, it did so in a social way. The American company manufactures and markets a computer hardware sensor device that supports hand and finger motions as input, analogous to a mouse, but requiring no hand contact or touching. Their product is innovative and so are their conversations. In fact, their Google+ page is incredibly dynamic. They know how to write relevant social media content, and their high number of followers and engagement illustrates that they are doing something right!

• Case #5: Your Business!

  Will this take a bit of time on your part to potentially change the way your business considers its social media branding? Sure. Is it worth it? Of course. In today’s hypersocial world, every company needs to brand itself in this manner. After all, that’s exactly what your competitors are doing.

From YFS MAGAZINE

7 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Prioritize Their Day and Accomplish More

They say, “You’ve got as many hours in a day as [insert celebrity name here], but how can you truly unlock your daily potential and make every hour count? Why is it important to prioritize your day and accomplish more?

Let me explain. For starters, when you work smarter you improve your business and personal well-being. Most importantly, you regain control over your time – an invaluable asset. As Dr. Alan Zimmerman, an advocate of peak performance, explains, “I would suggest that your success and failure … in almost every part of your life … depends (almost entirely) on how you use your time. Think about it. You can always get another [career], and you always get new possessions. [But] you can never get more time, and you can never recapture the time you’ve spent.”

So, in an effort to help you make the best use of your time and resources, here’s a list of seven productivity hacks to get your life and business on track.

1. Take action.

   It seems simple. Just do it, right? But the reality is this: “It’s easy to find reasons not to take action – lack of experience and lack of money are two common excuses,” according to entrepreneur Richard DeVos in the book Success Secrets of Super Achievers. “But with the right attitude and atmosphere, we can act despite these roadblocks.”
   The secret to a productive day is consistent and purposeful action. Leonardo Da Vinci, a polymath known for his masterful artwork, said it best when he observed, “It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”
   In order to happen to things you must be in a state of clarity, presence, and enthusiasm for the task at hand. If you find it hard to take action, consider why and work diligently to eliminate the excuses behind inaction.

2. Never check email first thing in the morning.

   It’s hard to unplug (especially when your smartphone cozies up next to you at night). But to become more productive and successful, it is essential. I know, I know … you think I’m not firing on all cylinders. But the truth remains – email is a major time suck.
   Mashable reports, email takes up to 28 percent of a workers time. “McKinsey Global Institute and International Data Corp. found that email is the second-most time-consuming activity for workers, next to ‘role-specific tasks.’” Since you’re an entrepreneur – let’s triple that!
   Time spent reading and answering emails can be better spent by taking purposeful action. I classify checking email as “busy work” … work that makes you feel productive, but in reality is not moving you any closer to your goals.
   Peter Bregman, author of 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done, said it best in Fortune magazine: “‘Email is such a seductress in terms of distraction because it poses as valid work,’ he says. You’re supposed to be working on a proposal, but you don’t feel like working on the proposal, so you check your inbox.” Instead, set aside a specific time in the day to check email and stick to it.
   If it’s virtually impossible to do so in your line of work, set aside a brief amount of time for email or funnel them through an assistant to flag important emails that require immediate action.

3. Commit to physical activity and get moving.

   Health and wellness contributes to a more productive day. Don’t believe me? Go pick up a ten pound bowling ball, throw it in a backpack and carry it around – all day. If you take this challenge, I’d bet that many of you (including me) would notice a steep decline in productivity. This is what happens when we aren’t active and moving; weight creeps up and productivity takes a nose dive.
   A sedentary lifestyle is the culprit of much productivity loss in the workplace and beyond. So, it’s time to get up! The LA Times reports, “People who replace even half an hour of sedentary time with 30 minutes of light activity can improve their health, researchers said.”
   I start my day by walking one mile each morning and the results are tremendous. Most importantly, I can tell the difference when I skip a day (or two). And for those that feel as though they don’t “have time”, stepping back seems counterintuitive, but it is actually necessary.
   “The brain is a fickle machine, but it’s fortunately one that continues to work on problems even while our consciousness is elsewhere. Stepping back to take a break might feel like moving backwards, but it’s often what your brain needs to actually move forward (Source: 99U; Daunting Task? Take a Walk First).” Simply put: regular physical activity improves your weight, health, mood, energy, sleep and business.

4. Avoid mental drift.

   I have a team meeting scheduled for 9 a.m., so I decide to focus on a new sales proposal from 8 to 9. Of course, I feel the normal temptation to check my email, social media, and answer my cell phone (that has rung five times in the past hour) — just in case. Even a glance at my inbox would trigger at least 30 minutes of similar small (unproductive) tasks. And before I know it, 9 a.m. will knock on my door and I’ve accomplished nada! Sound familiar?
   With distraction, and a lack of focus, mental drift is soon to follow. However, in order to accomplish more, you have to intentionally focus. As 99U writer Brittany Ancell notes, “A lack of focus is at the root of this problem. Constant shifts mean that no task receives the proper attention. Instead, each is carried out in the most automatic (and quick!) way possible.”
   Mental drift is the culprit of low quality and incomplete work. Pay closer attention to when you are the most focused; consider the time of day, environment, and your state of mind. Then replicate this atmosphere often.

5. Leverage task management and workflow apps.

   We live in a digital world, which means we can accomplish more with the help of technology. If you don’t have a personal assistant, you can rely on 24me. If you are a task-oriented entrepreneurToDoist will help you get the job done. Meanwhile, if you need a suite of project management simplicity (without laborious email), Asana is definitely my app of choice.
   But while you’re managing a never-ending to-do list, you’ll need to waste less time doing it. This is where personal goal-setting and habit-tracking apps will do the heavy lifting. To accomplish more, it’s important to understand how you are actually spending your days.
   Unlock your potential with Lift, let Chronos find your “lost time”, and open up to Saga so “she” can intelligently learn your every move (creepy, eh?). The right technology can make you more aware of what works and what doesn’t and give you pointers on how to do more of what makes you awesome.

6. Limit phone calls.

   Heresy! I know. But with phone calls comes even more distractions in your day. And here’s a shocker – not all incoming calls are important or urgent. It’s okay … let it flow to voicemail. I’ve found that when I answer every single phone call I move into reactionary mode – reacting to every little thing instead of running the day. Not to mention, an early morning call can (and will) set the tone for your entire day.
   We live in a world of “short attention span theater” and as such brevity is generally better throughout your work day. Encourage more clarity by setting 10-15 minute calls (in lieu of 1 hour monologues). Inform business contacts that you have a hard-stop at a specific time. And when you set conference calls on your calendar dedicate 15 minutes, max. I look at it this way: If you can’t tell me what needs to be said in 15 minutes or less then you need to go back to the drawing board.

7. Prioritize based on project value or profitability.

   What is urgent is not always important. Really important activities – those that contribute directly (or indirectly) to your bottom line – will always take precedence over incessantly putting out fires.
   If you find yourself extinguishing fires often, it’s indicative of a flaw, or bottleneck, in your systems and processes. When you fix the root issue you can dedicate and invest your time into projects that really matter.  Prioritization on a value basis is a rational and logical approach to deciding what tasks take priority through the day.

8. Bonus: Get a procrastination chair.

   To make yourself aware of the amount of time that is actually spent on unproductive activities, get a procrastination chair. Whether it is time spent surfing the web, checking email, taking personal calls, or sharing funny viral videos online, like this one from Southwest Airlines, we all procrastinate on a certain level – some more than others. The best way to become more accountable to your new productive lifestyle is to become brutally honest about how much time is actually wasted. A procrastination chair will keep you more accountable to your day.

The great thing about accomplishing more throughout your day is carving out the time to do what you enjoy most. Time is the world’s most valuable commodity. When you spend it well in business, you can then enjoy it more in life.

From YFS MAGAZINE

5 Most Innovative Businesswomen of 2014

1. Rana el Kaliouby—Co-founder of Affectiva, Kaliouby’s innovation is facial recognition, a technology that’s been getting some attention and that will be all the rage in upcoming years.  Affectiva’s boss product is Affdex Facial Coding, which measures viewers’ emotional responses to brands and marketing.

2. Nina Nashif—She’s the founder—in 2011—of Healthbox, which aims to help startups in the healthcare-technology industry.  She told Entrepreneur.com rel=”nofollow” she believes that “if these organizations become early adopters of entrepreneurial solutions, co-creation will allow for faster advancement and, ultimately, more effective patient care.”

3. Mary Barra—Having started as a GM intern at only 18, Barra is now the new CEO of the automaker.  Barra is trying to re-brand GM’s cars as luxury rides.  Further, she’s interested in autonomous driving technology and lower CO2 emissions.

4. Indra Nooyi—Pepsi’s CEO has helped fostered growth of the global giant, overseeing the company’s acquisition of Tropicana and mergers with Gatorade and Quaker Oats.  She is the director of Pepsi’s global strategy and has run the point on the Performance with Purpose initiative.  This entails Pepsi’s commitment to human and environmental sustainability.

5. Michele Weslander Quaid—Weslander Quaid’s contribution wasn’t an easy one.  She worked with a panoply of national security agencies, managing to get them to update their software and collaborate with web utilities.  That work landed her a post at Google, where she’s the CTO of the public sector division.

The biggest thing to remember about these innovative and courageous businesswomen for 2014 (and beyond) is that there’s really no telling what developments and achievements they’ll mastermind.

From The Frugalentr Epreneur

African Entrepreneur, Backed by IFC Private Equity, Wins Award from Ernst & Young

Onajite Okoloko, CEO of Notore Chemical Industry Limited, which produces low-cost fertilizer to boost crop yields and is backed through an IFC Private Equity Fund, has been named Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in the West African region by Ernst & Young. 

The winners were determined by their contribution to the economic development of their country and selected by public vote and an independent panel of judges.Commenting on his win at the awards ceremony in Lagos, Jite Okoloko said, "With this award, the whole workforce at Notore has been recognized for our goal of increasing crop yields to guarantee food security in Africa, while also encouraging skills acquisition and creating jobs. Today, we are producing about 90 percent of the fertilizer in Sub-Saharan Africa and we hope to expand our business further."

IFC is backing Notore through the private equity fund Emerging Capital Partners Africa to which it committed $25 million in 2010. ECP itself has just been presented with the Gold Award for Best Emerging Countries Private Equity Fund 2011 at a ceremony hosted by Private Equity Exchange in Paris last month. The award recognized ECP for outstanding performance in terms of returns and exits over the last three years and track record over the last 10 years.

Congratulating the winners of both awards, IFC Financial Markets Director for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean Dolika Banda said, “By investing in funds, IFC is able to support SMEs that it would not be able to reach otherwise and these awards show that IFC is selecting the right partners to bring about maximum development impact. 

Since 2007 over half the private equity funds supported by IFC have been in IDA countries and 65 percent of the companies we supported have been SMEs, many of which employ significant numbers of women.

From IFC

African Woman Entrepreneurs Discuss Perspectives, Solutions at JICA-Sponsored Panel Discussion

Panel discussion in Yokohama aims to empower women and give Japanese and Africans a networking opportunity.

Three African woman entrepreneurs told inspirational stories of overcoming challenges and building successful businesses at a panel discussion in Yokohama on Feb. 3.

Among the challenges they cited were a lack of access to financing, work-family balance, glass ceilings, male-dominated industries and gender discrimination.

JICA and the City of Yokohama co-hosted the event, entitled "Empowerment of Women Through Entrepreneurship,” to promote that goal and networking between the businesswomen of Africa and Japan. The discussion was part of a public symposium that day entitled “Growing Together with the Rising Women of Africa.”

The events took place at Yokohama Symposia. The panel discussion was held in Japanese and English with simultaneous interpretation, and approximately 300 people took part. Among them were woman entrepreneurs from Yokohama and the Tokyo metropolitan area and people representing Japanese companies with an interest in Africa.

The discussion featured African woman entrepreneurs Fikirte Addis Tedla of Ethiopia, Ellen Otaru Okoedion of Tanzania and Bongiwe Kali of South Africa. Each woman told her story.

Tedla of Ethiopia is a mother of two girls and the owner and designing manager of YEFIKIR, a fashion company headquartered in Addis Ababa that employs 10 people. She was a full-time psychologist dealing with children's social problems, including trafficking and abuse, before having a child and starting her own business.

Affected by the exploitation she had seen as a psychologist, she strove to create a company that had a “healthy relationship” with its employees and subcontractors. The latter are weavers, embroiderers and crochet-makers in specialized cooperatives. YEFIKIR uses Ethiopian hand-woven cotton to create child-labor-free products.

Her company makes an effort to pay its subcontractors well and allow them to work from home, she said.

“What happens for women is when they go out of the house to work, if they don't have a sustainable, good environment for their kids, they come back and find their kids getting abused,” Tedla said.

“If I can create a whole-rounded system where I actually enrich myself with a beautiful Ethiopian culture using the unique products in Ethiopia and also produce in a very ethical manner, together I can create a better solution which is mainly sustainable, creating a healthy supply chain,” she said. 

With four partners, Okoedion of Tanzania runs Lilac n Shades, a company in Dar es Salaam engaged in corporate public relations, brand development, documentary film production and event planning, and she mentors students and children on the side. She worked for many years in advertising and corporate communications, but left and started Lilac n Shades in 2009 because she wanted to spend more time with her two daughters.

She said she created documentaries that were televised and worked with journalists to publicize the issue of a lack of health care workers in rural areas.

"We have created a response from the government. Therefore we have seen that the health sector issues have been addressed. There are more health workers being deployed in the rural areas,” she said.

Okoedion said finances were a challenge when she started her business and she had some studying to do.

This learning “allowed me to make money and invest the money back into my business rather than looking for investment from the outside. So that minimizes the chances of being financially restricted. Again, as a woman, and working in a very male-dominated industry, I found it very challenging to be able to penetrate into the industry,” she said.

Kali is an entrepreneur from a rural community in South Africa. She runs Kali Chicks and Poultry Farms, a poultry, equipment, vaccines and feed business. The family business was founded in 1998, and she took the helm in 2006. It hatches about 20,000 chicks weekly that it sells to small farmers. The company has 12 permanent employees. In 2008 she became the youngest person ever to win South Africa's Female Farmer of the Year award.The industry was dominated by the white broiler chicken when Kali took over the company, and she determined that it was not well-suited for the African market. But in seeking an alternative, she was initially frustrated. “I looked into the South African Poultry Association for help. And I figured out that the association was very male-dominated and white-dominated. And therefore they form a glass ceiling within the industry and I couldn't penetrate it at all. They were not willing to help,” she said.

So Kali turned to the Internet and found a partner in India, who helped her find an indigenous chicken to raise instead.

“In order to bring growth and prosperity to our communities, we need to bring back what is known and what can be sustainable instead of bringing in new things that are not sustainable in our environment,” she said.

Kali said she centers her business and extensive civic activities on food security, poverty alleviation and economic sustainability.

A common meme at the event was that Africa is ascendant and its best days lie ahead.

As Tedla of Ethiopia said, “I know we can change the world, and I know Africa is becoming the best place now.”

Guest speakers at the panel discussion were Junko Watanabe, representative director of VM (Vitamin Mama) Inc., and Chinwe Ohajuruka, a Nigerian-born architect active in the United States.

The panel discussion was proceeded by a lineup of high-profile speakers. JICA President Akihiko Tanaka made opening remarks and Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobuo Kishi gave a brief greeting. Then came keynote addresses by Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy.

Hayashi talked about encountering various barriers in her own business experiences before launching initiatives as mayor to fulfill her public promise to make Yokohama "the city in Japan where it is easiest for women to work."

Kennedy said Japan and the United States are working together toward women's empowerment to contribute to global economic development.

"I hope this symposium will be an opportunity for Japan and Africa to exchange ideas and learn from each other," Tanaka said.

"I want to continue examining what kind of partnership is possible between Japan and the U.S. to support African women," said Kishi.

The symposium was part of a larger program, the Africa Women's Business Development Seminar, held from Jan. 26 to Feb. 6. It was a follow-up event to the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V), held in June 2013. At TICAD V, an agreement was made to launch the Japan-Africa Business Women Exchange Program for the purpose of strengthening the capacity of women's leadership in Africa. The events Feb. 3. were a first step in that program.

As part of the Japan-Africa Business Women Exchange Program, JICA plans to continue inviting African women entrepreneurs and government officials who support women's businesses to Japan every year. JICA will continue enriching the program so it will be useful in building the network between African and Japanese women entrepreneurs and expanding businesses.

From jica - Japan International Cooperation Agency

7 Africans win Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Seven Africans from Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique have emerged winners of the Schwab Foundation’s Social Entrepreneurs of the Year 2014 awards.

The Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 awardees are leading 30 organisations operating in more than 20 countries that are pioneering solutions for social and environmental challenges including urban revitalisation, renewable energy and unemployment.

The African winners are Gbenga Sesan of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (Nigeria), Patrick Awuah of Ashesi University (Ghana), Ashifi Gogo of Sproxil (Nigeria), Martin Kariongi Ole Sanago of Institute for Orkonerei Pastoralists Advancements (Tanzania), Jay Kimmelman and Shannon May of Bridge International Academies (Kenya), and Allen Wilcox of VillageReach (Mozambique).

Hilde Schwab, chairperson and co-founder, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Switzerland said: “Social entrepreneurs are the driving force behind innovations that improve the quality of life of individuals around the world, and they represent an integral and dynamic community of the World Economic Forum.

“It therefore gives me great pleasure to announce the 2014 Schwab Social Entrepreneur awardees.

“The 37 outstanding social entrepreneurs we have selected into the Schwab Foundation community this year are designing transformative models in collaboration with government and business partners to generate truly inclusive growth.”

Winner Sesan said: “This is both a pat on the back for the work that the PIN team did with 12 people working in Abuja and Lagos Nigeria, and a call to do more. None of these milestones would have been possible without the support of our board or the commitment of our partners. This goes to appreciate them really.”

From Human