Frontier Market Scouts Program at the Monterey Institute of International Studies
Social Enterprise and Impact Investment Management Fellowship

The Frontier Market Scouts (FMS) Program selects and trains aspiring professionals who desire a career in social venture and impact investing. Jointly developed and managed by the Monterey Institute of International Studies, Sanghata Global, and Village Capital, the FMS program turns compassionate and capable young professionals into talent scouts and investment managers serving local entrepreneurs and social-minded investors in low-income and weak-capital regions of the world.

The scouts provide due diligence for investors and technical assistance for entrepreneurs with the goal of generating high-quality deal flows and supporting portfolio companies at a low cost. The Scouts’ mission is to enable the enterprising poor to scale poverty alleviation in capital-weak areas of emerging markets, while gaining career defining and life changing experience.

Fall 2012 placement partners include:

Village Capital (www.vilcap.com)
The Shell Foundation (www.shellfoundation.org)
Invested Development (www.investeddevelopment.com)

Benefits: Program provides a graduate-level pre-departure training, un-matched experience with industry leaders and projects, and a minimum $200 monthly stipend. Additional funding to offset travel and living costs may be available.

Interested June-December 2012 fellows should apply online at http://go.miis.edu/fmsapp by April 1, 2012. For more information visit http://www.fmscouts.org or contact Carolyn Taylor Meyer at (831) 647-6417.

APPLY TO GSEC 2012 by November 9, 2011!

NEW THIS YEAR: travel scholarships will be awarded to eligible team members, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

GSEC is a leading-edge international social venture plan competition, where interdisciplinary student teams from around the world propose creative, commercially viable businesses aimed at reducing poverty in the developing world.

From innovative sanitation solutions in Kenya, to solar-powered modular power generators in Papua New Guinea, to prick-less anemia scanners in India, GSEC business plans demonstrate the power of business to create sustainable, positive change to some of the world’s most challenging social problems.

Each year, GSEC brings the world to UW: semi-finalist student teams from around the globe are invited to Seattle for GSEC Week. Teams visit regional companies, receive expert coaching, present their business ideas to 400+ professionals, and compete for monetary prizes.

GSEC 2012 will award at least $30,000 in prizes, including a GSEC grand, global health, and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) prize!

The professional support to GSEC is unparalleled: annually more than 200 experts participate as mentors, judges, and sponsors. We welcome this invaluable support, from individuals at organizations like Costco, Gray Ghost Ventures, Microsoft, PATH, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle International Foundation, the Grameen Foundation, and more. Learn more.

The 2011 Circuit Program members in a session on measuring social and environmental impact. Photo from PSU.

Obsessed with a business idea that will make the world a better place? Open to taking a hard look at your ideas and making them better? Hoping to start a nonprofit that will generate its own revenue, or a business that will address a social or environmental problem? Apply for the SII Circuit Program!

The Circuit Program is a six-month series of group workshops for startup social entrepreneurs. The workshops, taught by local experts, cover such topics as business law, planning and strategy, marketing and sales, financial estimates, and other essential skills. At the end of the Program, participants will pitch their business concepts to a panel of experts and an audience of community members and peers. In 2011, six startup social entrepreneurs went through the Program. Click here to read more about their ventures and experiences.

Learn more: view an online presentation about the program or request additional information from Cindy Cooper at impactentrepreneurs@pdx.edu.
To Apply: fill out this online application by November 11. Applicants will be notified by November 21 whether or not they have been accepted for a Business Planning Workshop in December. Five Circuit Program members will be selected from the workshop participants (additional info to be provided at the workshop).

Detailed Info:
Applicants must attend a Business Planning Workshop (7:30-10 a.m. on December 2) to be considered for the full program. The Workshop costs $25, payable at the door. Breakfast is included. Laptops are required. Details on applying for the full program will be given at the workshop.

The Circuit Program costs $350, payable when notified of acceptance to the full program. This subsidized fee includes breakfasts, business planning software, an expert business model evaluation, and additional mentoring valued at $8,000.

Each organization that applies must select one founding member to attend workshops.
Membership Criteria:

Applicants must have a concept for a social enterprise: a for-profit business that will address a pressing social or environmental problem through core business operations, or a nonprofit organization that will generate a substantial portion of its own revenue.

Applicants also must demonstrate a deep commitment to their concept, a willingness to accept coaching, and an openness to sharing and problem solving with their peers in the Circuit Program. Social ventures with technology inventions are encouraged to apply.
Calendar of Sessions:

All regular workshops are scheduled for a Friday from 7:30 – 10:30 a.m. If accepted, you must commit to attending the Business Planning Workshop, the final Pitch Fest, and at least five other workshops.

December 2: Business Planning Workshop
January 20: Circuit workshop
February 3: Circuit workshop
March 2: Circuit workshop
April 6: Circuit workshop
May 4: Circuit workshop
June 1: Circuit workshop
June 29: Circuit Pitch Fest and Graduation

GES-Banner.jpg

*Applications due 11/15/2011. See below for details.*

The mission of the Global Engagement Summit is to build the capacity of the next generation of global change leaders. By providing tangible skills training and connecting driven students with innovative thought leaders, GES strives to empower students to make the change they wish to see in the world, and produce responsible solutions to shared global problems.

WHAT IS GES?

GES, founded in 2005, is completely student-founded, student-organized, and student-run by a team of 50-60 Northwestern undergraduate students. Through our annual Summit, yearlong programming, and staff curriculum, we build the capacity of the next generation of global change makers. Delegates and staff come together to understand the challenges of and opportunities for their engagement; to hone the skills and mindsets that will enable them to better plan, execute, and participate in change-based projects; and to connect with like-minded peers from around the world. GES is the only conference of its kind for students, as it not only provides them with the tangible skills and resources to move beyond good intentions towards action, but also equips them to think more critically about their efforts and ask the right questions when going out and making change in the world.

THE SUMMIT

Every April, approximately 80 student delegates from universities across the globe come to Northwestern University, each with their own community development project or social entrepreneurship venture that they hope to bring to the next level. Delegate projects range in topic, regional focus, and stage of completion (idea, planning, implementation, and execution). The Summit features a week of capacity-building workshops, critical discussions, community building and networking, and outcome resources. GES is personally tailored to each delegate’s interests, on topics ranging from “social impact metrics” to “blending for-profit and non-profit models” to “using social media for social good,” and connects them with mentors that are leaders of various social change organizations.

YEAR-LONG EXPERIENCE

Throughout the year, in addition to our annual Summit, GES provides staff members of our thirteen different teams with the same tools, skills, and training as provided to delegates at the Summit. With a comprehensive curriculum that includes dynamic workshops, leadership training, current events analysis, and provocative discussion, staff is provided with a working knowledge of community development and global issues, as well as a powerful and supportive community dedicated to social change. Supplemented by multiple events held on NU’s campus throughout the year for the broader Northwestern community, as well as alumni gatherings that we organize regionally and worldwide, GES staff and NU students are offered a unique forum for discussion as well as the resources and opportunities needed to make the change they want to see in the world.

APPLY
Any applicants currently enrolled at an American university should complete the American Delegates application. This includes both US and International students. If you are an international citizen and are currently enrolled in, recently (within 1 year) graduated from, or will soon (within 1 year) be enrolled in an international university, please apply to be an International Delegate.

Contact american@theges.org or international@theges.org with any questions.

*This is not connected with Global Envision.