The Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI) of the Claremont Colleges is a Jenzabar Foundation 2013 grant recipient. SEI is a club for students from the five undergraduate colleges interested in innovative solutions to social issues facing developing countries in the areas of poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, environment and climate change, governance and democracy, human rights, and public health. The club’s special focus is on the role that business and business models can play in global poverty solutions.

With their Jenzabar Foundation grant SEI was able to make progress on the following:

• Junior Achievement – SEI partnered with Junior Achievement in 2013 to teach financial literacy to middle school children in Simmons Middle School, Pomona.

• Foundation of Sustainable Development Nicaragua Spring Break Trip – The 2013 Nicaragua trip enabled members of SEI to get a taste of practical experience by applying learnings from the conferences to the real world. Through the trip, SEI members learnt more about microfinance by seeing the impact of the Revolving Loan Fund. The trip also enabled SEI members to mentor small businesses and a women’s co-op on basic accounting skills, marketing strategies and business plan development to help them strengthen their businesses.

Hear from the following speackers:

• Rafael Mazer, Associate Microfinance Analyst at Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) for a luncheon at the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum

• Claudia McKay, Microfinance Specialist, Consultative Group to Assist the Poor and Mike McKay, Consultant, World Health Organization (WHO), RTI International and Dimiagi for dinner lecture, “From the Ath to Africa: Two CMCers Share Their Decade of Experiences Abroad

• Jessica Beckerman, Co-Executive and Founder, Project Muso Ladamunen for a dinner lecture, “Pragmatic Solidarity and Breaking the Cycle of Poverty and Disease”

• Annika Dubrall, currently the supply Chain Strategy Manager at Gap, Inc, received her MBA at the University of Oxford Said Business School. She spoke about her time serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania and the notion that individuals and businesses can pledge to save the world in small and big ways

 

Support several small businesses around the world including:

• Metal Shop in El Salvador

• Clothing Sales in Georgia

• Animal Sales in Tajikistan

• Retail Sales in Haiti

And document screenings from:

• After My Garden Grows (2014)

• Grameen Voices (2013)

The strategy for SEI has been to use Jenzabar Foundation grant for external projects including service trips and conferences. SEI also aims to use the funding such that there equitable amount for all members as well as future members. Hence, they have spent $6000 of the two Jenzabar Foundation Grants on the following projects:

• Harvard Social Enterprise Conference -2012

• Emerg

• Nicaragua Spring Break Trip – 2013

• Net Impact Conference- 2013

They also hope to use the rest of the funding for the following events:

• Harvard International Development Conference/ Harvard Social Enterprise Conference – February / April 2015

• Jordan Service Trip – December 2014

• Speakers

Keep up the good work Social Enterprise Initiative! We are proud to have you as our grant recipient.