From Financial Success to Significance
As leaders, many of us think that we’ve already succeeded in one or more aspects of our lives. And we have. Many of us have been blessed with the opportunity to create much financial success for ourselves and those around us. Yet, how many of us will be able to say that we’ve achieved significance when we look back on our lives? As you reflect on your life, what do you want to accomplish?
Have you achieved some life goals beyond financial success? Most of us have developed business plans but very few of us have life plans. Do you feel that you’ve succeeded in areas that are meaningful? Have you left the mark that you would have liked to, in a significant way? Beyond your children, what is your legacy? These might seem like a lot of questions, but asking them now, and setting life goals early in life, is much more empowering than saying on your death bed one day, “If only I’d done more with my life…” after all, we all know that we won’t be saying, “I wish I’d spent more time at the office.”
After many years of sharing ideas with fellow CEOs on life planning, and based on my own personal experiences, I’m convinced that the progression from financial success to an increased focus on significance strikes a true chord with many of us. We all have dreams and goals that are significant on a personal level.
Defining these as part of a life plan that gets revisited often is a process that can help make your dreams a reality, much the same as a business plan helps organizations stay focused. On a broader, global scale how do we, as business leaders, take our time, skills and talent and become real leaders – truly making a difference? Setting personal goals and giving back have been so compelling to me as a father, son, husband, philanthropist and businessman that when I founded my current (and last) company – STS Capital Partners, an international, strategic mergers and acquisitions firm – this was at the core of our mission; that is to help families and entrepreneurs on their path from Success To Significance.
I wanted to start an organization that would help position families directly with strategic investors, resulting in them having the flexibility and liquidity to work more on charitable and other missions; becoming catalysts for the creation of new philanthropic endeavours. There are many successful leaders and consultants available to help others create value and significance, whether it’s maximizing financial assets to enable funds to be channeled to family foundations and charitable causes, or simply accomplishing objectives that are more personal.
Imagine not having any regrets when you reach the end of your life. I have compiled my personal list of best practices on life planning over the years and compiled this into a presentation called Everyone Has Their Own Everest: What Is Yours?. The presentation is not about me, but rather about you. If you had all the time, money, freedom and energy in the world, what would you set as your stretch goals? Why not set them now?
You can achieve almost any goal if you actually re-program your subconscious mind by believing that you are limitless and you can achieve anything you want in life. When I established the goal of climbing the Seven Summits, I had never climbed a single mountain before – that didn’t stop me from setting an ambitious goal.
Doesn’t it seem a lot more prudent to ask the question “what if”, today, and in so doing expanding the view of your life to achieve these goals? Doing this now means you begin to act on them, rather than leaving them floating around as dreams. A practical way of making this happen is to spend a weekend, with your partner, making a list of everything you really want to do before you die. Put a five year deadline on achieving these goals, with a deadline in year four that sees your action plan ready for launch the following year.
This is how you will achieve your goals, and how my partner and myself made it to the top of Everest. It’s hard… but it’s also exciting, empowering and energizing. We have been so conditioned as humans to resist change and not stretch ourselves beyond our comfort zone that we forget what we are capable of. Integrating your life goals with solving some of the world’s problems around us is the next step for many of us.
Many charities and organizations that serve the less fortunate have huge mountains of their own to climb. Helping them reach their summits can often be an important step in creating a lasting legacy for yourself. Everyone has their own Everest, what’s yours?
Rob Follows is CEO and founder of STS Capital Partners. www.stscapital.com
Mobile’s sleeping giant
With no costly infrastructure to overhaul, Africa has leapt ahead in mobile communications and m-banking.
Third World mobile banking systems are piquing the attention of international operators and international banking organizations. The result – if all goes well – could be a fresh influx of investment and technological know-how poured into an arena where Third World countries are the innovators.
Hopefully, the interest being shown by regulators will also create legislation that encourages innovation and allows more players to enter the fray. The fear, of course, is that new legislation may stifle these developments if banking organizations regard them as unwelcome incursions into their hallowed territory. Europe and the U.S. have made slow progress with mobile banking because there simply isn’t much need for it. At best, it’s an add-on service for people who already have plenty of physical branches and good Internet access if they choose to bank online.
A recent study concluded that 1.7 billion people do not have a bank account, but do have a mobile phone, making mobile phones a direct conduit to nearly half of the world’s unbanked.
Yet, in the emerging nations, massive populations have no access to banks and so little money to spend that the cost and hassle of opening a bank account has never been worth it. Yet everyone needs to give money to someone else, whether it’s to pay for a bus ticket, a grocery bill, or to send money to relatives. Global technology research company Gartner estimates the number of mobile payment users worldwide at 212 million, yet Nigeria alone has 25 million people with a cellphone but no bank account and mobile operators are keen to capitalise on this.
African mobile operators have identified a gap in the market to provide customers with an affordable service they need, leveraging on their brand, large subscriber base and distribution capabilities. The minute people are able to do financial services on their mobile handset, a mobile operator’s subscriber churn reduces immensely. Nigeria’s banking regulator is giving more freedom to mobile operators, while the local governments have started paying social grants to the unbanked via mobile services.
The global awakening of interest is highlighted by the numerous conferences being held to debate mobile banking and thrash out strategies for its regulation. Recent developments in mobile phone-enabled financial services suggest we are on the cusp of a revolution in the way financial services are delivered. Debates are under way on how to enable innovation without creating undue risk to operators or their customers, while adhering to national and international security standards including the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Their worry is that operators introducing financial services to millions of unserved people may expose the financial sector and payment systems to new risks that existing regulations do not address. Or perhaps governments are just worried that the banks they regulate are under threat from new rivals, and are too slow and staid to retaliate. Harnessing the power of technology could dramatically increase access to financial services for poor people, says the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a microfinance group within the World Bank.
But it can only happen if regulators and private firms strike the right balance between protecting customers and allowing innovation to flourish. Poor people need a safe way to save and send money, and African innovations like M-Pesa and M-Kesho are showing us how to reach the billion people worldwide who have a cellphone but no bank account. Millions of people could be given access to safe, low-cost financial services using mobile phones and other technologies, giving them opportunities to manage their lives. Some of the most innovative solutions for financial inclusion have come from Africa.
The mobile phone is a pervasive device that has penetrated the poorest economies due to an overwhelming demand for communications. That makes it a useful tool for banking as well. Africa’s abundance of people, untouched by traditional financial services, is usually viewed as a challenge, when it’s actually an opportunity to explore new ways to bring people into the financial environment.
Africa is a cash-based society, and companies are proving mobile banking can be used as a tool to facilitate virtually any form of payment, directly from a mobile phone. As an example, Celpay in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo offers virtual bank accounts via a cellphone with features that compare to many normal accounts. Account transfers, bill payments, cash deposits, withdrawals and prepaid airtime vending are all supported.
Celpay has also developed an m-banking cash-on-delivery payment that many national chain stores are using. A thriving network of agents is vital to the success of mobile banking, but building and sustaining that network is challenging. In a survey of Safaricom’s M-Pesa service in Kenya, it was found that it had successfully established large agent networks, but that not all were profitable. M-Pesa has more than 5 million users and handles about 160,000 transactions per day worth US$4 million.
Agents earn a commission on each transaction, and a typical agent generates more than twice as much revenue through M-Pesa than by selling mobile phone airtime. Some believe mobile operators should automatically get limited banking licences to offer shortterm loans, overdrafts and handle payments for their customers, while banks should be given communications licences to run secure hotspots to increase the range of services they offer at ATMs. A recent study concluded that 1.7 billion people do not have a bank account, but do have a mobile phone, making mobile phones a direct conduit to nearly half of the world’s unbanked.
As many as 364 million low-income, unbanked people currently use mobile money, generating US$7.8 billion in new revenue via transaction fees, improved loyalty, and more cost-efficient airtime distribution. To successfully capture this opportunity, operators must understand the financial lives of unbanked and low-income consumers.
Most of the target market receive their incomes in cash, and keep their money at home, in a hiding place or join a saving club. Africa’s advantage to many banks in the developed world is that many old and established financial institutions use old systems that are not as scalable or adaptable as the new technology architecture that mobile networks offer.
Being able to use a cellphone to make purchases or transfer money has rapidly won an enormous customer base in Africa. Ease-of-use, speed, price and accessibility may have overshadowed the concerns about security that would be raised in countries where this is far from an essential service, but as the user base grows and money starts crossing borders, the authorities, as well as banks and global operators, are starting to pay attention.
Mobile’s sleeping giant
With no costly infrastructure to overhaul, Africa has leapt ahead in mobile communications and m-banking.
Third World mobile banking systems are piquing the attention of international operators and international banking organizations. The result – if all goes well – could be a fresh influx of investment and technological know-how poured into an arena where Third World countries are the innovators.
Hopefully, the interest being shown by regulators will also create legislation that encourages innovation and allows more players to enter the fray. The fear, of course, is that new legislation may stifle these developments if banking organizations regard them as unwelcome incursions into their hallowed territory. Europe and the U.S. have made slow progress with mobile banking because there simply isn’t much need for it. At best, it’s an add-on service for people who already have plenty of physical branches and good Internet access if they choose to bank online.
A recent study concluded that 1.7 billion people do not have a bank account, but do have a mobile phone, making mobile phones a direct conduit to nearly half of the world’s unbanked.
Yet, in the emerging nations, massive populations have no access to banks and so little money to spend that the cost and hassle of opening a bank account has never been worth it. Yet everyone needs to give money to someone else, whether it’s to pay for a bus ticket, a grocery bill, or to send money to relatives. Global technology research company Gartner estimates the number of mobile payment users worldwide at 212 million, yet Nigeria alone has 25 million people with a cellphone but no bank account and mobile operators are keen to capitalise on this.
African mobile operators have identified a gap in the market to provide customers with an affordable service they need, leveraging on their brand, large subscriber base and distribution capabilities. The minute people are able to do financial services on their mobile handset, a mobile operator’s subscriber churn reduces immensely. Nigeria’s banking regulator is giving more freedom to mobile operators, while the local governments have started paying social grants to the unbanked via mobile services.
The global awakening of interest is highlighted by the numerous conferences being held to debate mobile banking and thrash out strategies for its regulation. Recent developments in mobile phone-enabled financial services suggest we are on the cusp of a revolution in the way financial services are delivered. Debates are under way on how to enable innovation without creating undue risk to operators or their customers, while adhering to national and international security standards including the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Their worry is that operators introducing financial services to millions of unserved people may expose the financial sector and payment systems to new risks that existing regulations do not address. Or perhaps governments are just worried that the banks they regulate are under threat from new rivals, and are too slow and staid to retaliate. Harnessing the power of technology could dramatically increase access to financial services for poor people, says the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), a microfinance group within the World Bank.
But it can only happen if regulators and private firms strike the right balance between protecting customers and allowing innovation to flourish. Poor people need a safe way to save and send money, and African innovations like M-Pesa and M-Kesho are showing us how to reach the billion people worldwide who have a cellphone but no bank account. Millions of people could be given access to safe, low-cost financial services using mobile phones and other technologies, giving them opportunities to manage their lives. Some of the most innovative solutions for financial inclusion have come from Africa.
The mobile phone is a pervasive device that has penetrated the poorest economies due to an overwhelming demand for communications. That makes it a useful tool for banking as well. Africa’s abundance of people, untouched by traditional financial services, is usually viewed as a challenge, when it’s actually an opportunity to explore new ways to bring people into the financial environment.
Africa is a cash-based society, and companies are proving mobile banking can be used as a tool to facilitate virtually any form of payment, directly from a mobile phone. As an example, Celpay in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo offers virtual bank accounts via a cellphone with features that compare to many normal accounts. Account transfers, bill payments, cash deposits, withdrawals and prepaid airtime vending are all supported.
Celpay has also developed an m-banking cash-on-delivery payment that many national chain stores are using. A thriving network of agents is vital to the success of mobile banking, but building and sustaining that network is challenging. In a survey of Safaricom’s M-Pesa service in Kenya, it was found that it had successfully established large agent networks, but that not all were profitable. M-Pesa has more than 5 million users and handles about 160,000 transactions per day worth US$4 million.
Agents earn a commission on each transaction, and a typical agent generates more than twice as much revenue through M-Pesa than by selling mobile phone airtime. Some believe mobile operators should automatically get limited banking licences to offer shortterm loans, overdrafts and handle payments for their customers, while banks should be given communications licences to run secure hotspots to increase the range of services they offer at ATMs. A recent study concluded that 1.7 billion people do not have a bank account, but do have a mobile phone, making mobile phones a direct conduit to nearly half of the world’s unbanked.
As many as 364 million low-income, unbanked people currently use mobile money, generating US$7.8 billion in new revenue via transaction fees, improved loyalty, and more cost-efficient airtime distribution. To successfully capture this opportunity, operators must understand the financial lives of unbanked and low-income consumers.
Most of the target market receive their incomes in cash, and keep their money at home, in a hiding place or join a saving club. Africa’s advantage to many banks in the developed world is that many old and established financial institutions use old systems that are not as scalable or adaptable as the new technology architecture that mobile networks offer.
Being able to use a cellphone to make purchases or transfer money has rapidly won an enormous customer base in Africa. Ease-of-use, speed, price and accessibility may have overshadowed the concerns about security that would be raised in countries where this is far from an essential service, but as the user base grows and money starts crossing borders, the authorities, as well as banks and global operators, are starting to pay attention.
The Business of Education in Morocco
Education is a real issue in Morocco. Around 40 percent of the population is illiterate – not a great scenario for parents wanting to help with their kids education.
Each year, the birth rate adds 640,000 more kids to the system while 380,000 leave school before completing high school. These kids are very often exposed to social exclusion, unemployment and illegal immigration to Europe.
The Sanady Foundation has a solution – for US$260 per child per year. Kacem Bennani-Smires is chairman and CEO of Delassus, a leading grower and exporter of fruit and vegetables in Morocco and he’s developed a unique plan to get companies to fund the education of their employees kids. Morocco is ranked 11th out of 14 countries in the MENA region for educational outcomes (access, equity, efficiency, quality) according to a recent report from the World Bank. Out of 100 students enrolled in primary only 12 will ever get their baccalaureate.
In a society that finds it difficult to implement Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)successfully, Bennani-Smires came up with a project that kept the funding and target group close: companies that fund the education of their employees’ children. The Sanady Foundation offers free tutoring to public school kids after school, with each class funded by the respective companies that employ their parents.
The foundation helps kids achieve at school and motivates them to complete high school and aims to create an equal opportunity for public school kids, including gender parity. The foundation started with 57 kids in a citrus packhouse in Agadir in 2008 and now supports close to 3,000 kids in five cities across the country. In Morocco, there are no retirement homes, as it’s taken for granted by parents that their kids will take care of them in old age. For these employees, their only hope for a better future is if their kids succeed through studying and becoming something in life.
The first step in achieving this is to obtain their high school diplomas, before going on to do their higher education. In addition to raising the quality of education, the employees are comforted by the fact that Sanady can track their children’s progress when they have no ability to do so, intellectually or financially. The program has shown companies that CSR programs can make sense and also help resolve many of the urgent social needs in Morocco.
It gives companies a simple and tangible method of implementing CSR, without mobilizing extra human resources, as the program is taken care of by the Sanady Foundation, that organizes the classes, does follow-up and reporting. From Bennani-Smires’ own company, Delassus, where the program started, they now have 36 participating companies with the primary goal of acting out their CSR strategies and relying on Sanady to help them.
One of the more important social impacts of the program is that kids aren’t abandoning school. This makes a real difference in Morocco where the dropout rate is extremely high and kids become a problem in society for decades. Schooled kids feel better about school, more confident about themselves and are better prepared to continue with studies after school.
Sanady kids have a better chance to succeed in a career beyond school and thereby offering a better future for their parents too.
https://notablemagazine.com/this-is-what-inspired-me-to-reach-the-womens-world-cup/
Beyond financial profit
Florida Ice & Farm Co. is one of the few companies around the world that has been able to implement a Triple Bottom Line Strategy. While many companies have sustainability strategies, the truth is that few of them have managed to merge their business strategy with their sustainability strategy. CEO, Ramón Mendiola, has systems in place to measure three types of profitability every month: financial, social and environmental. The company is a Costa Rican holding company with four areas of businesses: beverages & food, real estate & hotels, retail and investments.
The main focus of the business is beverages & food and the company operates from its headquarters in Costa Rica, exporting to 12 countries in Central America and to the U.S. With 10 manufacturing facilities, 17 distribution centers and more than 5,200 employees, sustainability has become an integral part of Florida Ice & Farm Co.’s strategy. In October 2008 Mendiola decided to merge their business strategy with their corporate social responsibility strategy to become a Triple Bottom Line company.
At the end of each month, instead of measuring only one profit indicator (financial), they measure three: financial, social and environmental. During their meticulous planning process, they define strategic priorities for each dimension. For environmental they decided to become water neutral by 2012, reduce electricity consumption, reduce carbon emissions to become carbon neutral by 2017 and become a zero solid waste company by 2011.
They have achieved two of these strategic objectives according to their deadlines and have only their carbon neutral goal left. To help measure their progress in attaining the social, environmental and financial goals the company has set, they use a Sustainability Balanced Scorecard that measures both individual and group achievements.
The results of this scorecard are used to calculate the remuneration of the company’s managers and top executives. Their total performance is measured in three categories, each with its own ratio: 60 percent economic, 30 percent social and 20 percent environmental. Mendiola believes that the main driver behind his organization´s sustainability business practices is really simple, “We believe this is the right way of doing business and one that will create a competitive advantage for our company in the long term.”
He also likes to quote Swiss businessman Stephan Schmidheiny: “It’s impossible to build successful companies in failed societies.” Mendiola’s company has implemented environmental and sustainability initiatives that have become benchmarks in Latin America and around the world.
Their triple bottom line strategy and the way they compensate employees – according to environmental, social and economic indicators – has ensured that the goals they want to achieve are taken seriously by management. It must be working, their techniques have been studied by the World Economic Forum, INCAE, and Harvard’s INSEAD project.
https://notablemagazine.com/uber-launches-the-worlds-first-rideshare-submarine/
Healthcare heals the planet
James Skogsbergh COO of Advocate Health Care in the U.S. has taken healthcare beyond patients in hospital beds and established green teams that educate hospitals and physicians on environmental awareness and how to minimize waste.
His strategies are nurturing a culture that protects both human and environmental health. The company has an excellent track record for energy management strategies within the hospital industry.
The resulting financial savings and the reduction of emissions are a key part of the company’s commitment to the environmental health of the communities it serves. Every staff member is encouraged to embrace ownership of the company’s sustainability goals during day-to-day operations.
Recognized as one of the top 10 health systems in the United States, Advocate Health Care is the largest fully integrated health care system in the State of Illinois. As a faith-based, not-for-profit organization, Advocate offers over 250 sites of care, including ten acute care hospitals and two integrated children’s hospitals. They are committed to serving the health needs of individuals, families and communities and recognize the inextricable link between a healthy eco system and human health.
They strive to deliver health care that meets today’s needs without compromising the health needs of future generations. Through the commitment of a growing coalition of leaders, physicians and associates, Skogsbergh is leading efforts to mitigate environmental harm and contribute to the wellbeing and health of the communities in which his organization serves. Integrating stewardship, a sense of responsibility for “all that we are, have and do,” is central to their mission and conserving resources and materials that are used on an everyday basis saves dollars that can be reinvested in its healing ministry.
Advocate has adopted industry-leading strategies to reduce harmful environmental impacts on the surrounding communities in which they work. They have developed an Environmental Dashboard which reports quarterly progress on key metrics associated with their annual goals in energy and waste reduction. Skogsbergh has creating a culture of conservation where accountability is hardwired into its 33,000 associates.
They regularly collaborate with health systems nationwide to drive best practices and the organization is one of seven founding health systems, and three environmental non-government organizations, to sponsor the Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI), a coordinated sector-wide approach to improve environmental health and safety. The initiative’s straightforward view is that hospitals have a responsibility to minimize the adverse impacts of their operations on patients, staff and the natural environment.
Launched nationally in 2012, its goal is to enroll at least 2,000 hospitals through a no cost commitment to one or more of six challenges: leadership, healthier foods, less waste, leaner energy, safer chemicals and smarter purchasing. Advocate ranks as one of the best performers in medical waste generation across the U.S. and their hospitals recycled 26 percent of its waste last year, reducing the landfill waste by over 30,000 tons.
This translates to saving over 6,243 metric tons of CO2 emissions and equates to removing 1,224 passenger vehicles from the road annually or reducing the equivalent amount of electricity used by 541 homes in one year.
Palestine’s first planned city
Rawabi, the first Palestinian planned city, is bringing dignity, pride, economic opportunity and social development to people of the State of Palestine.
The city gives Palestinians an outlet for their knowledge and skills that can be channelled towards building their country. It’s doing this in a way that empowers and engages local communities, making sure that Rawabi contributes to Palestinian social, environmental and economic development.
Bashar Masri is a Palestinian-American entrepreneur, born and raised in Nablus, and founder and managing director of Bayti Real Estate Investment Company, jointly-owned by Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Massar International – created to build Rawabi. Rawabi is a modern, new city and a landmark project, being both the largest project in Palestinian history and the first Palestinian planned city.
On completion, Rawabi will be home to 40,000 Palestinians and hundreds of businesses, offices, and public recreational areas and will provide new homes for Palestinians. By creating jobs, strengthening the Palestinian private sector and helping to revitalize the economies of villages around it, The city is helping to build a more sustainable world and respect for the environment has been integrated into its values and into the design of the city. For example, it’s designed to be pedestrian-friendly and to maximize the use of public transportation to reduce CO2 emissions. Rawabi is more than just a corporate project.
It’s also a historic, national project for Palestine, and as such, Rawabi needs the support of the Palestinian community to achieve its goals. The city also has a role to play beyond its investors, which explains its activity in corporate social responsibility. Bashar hopes that the social outcomes of their work will infuse dignity, confidence and pride in the Palestinian people, promoting and advancing Palestinian culture by investing in the arts and revitalizing the economies of local communities.
Inspiring and empowering young Palestinians through educational support and training programs, is also key in creating a positive and dynamic national brand for the State of Palestine for the world to see. Rawabi encourages people to experiment and try new things, as long as they work towards the goals of the business.
To give an example, you would see a civil engineer designing a business plan for a new city winery, or an urban planner implementing a smart grid system. While this may seem counterproductive, Bashar thinks that it actually helps develop people’s skills and create connections between everyone involved. This dynamic helps prevent the “silo” mentality that blights many companies.
One of Rawabi’s more interesting aspects is its “no title” policy. Aside from very senior leadership, most employees do not possess official titles. This has created a culture of openness, where even the newest hires engage as equals with more experienced coworkers.
It also reduces corporate politics and ensures that the people who come to Rawabi are mission-oriented and not obsessed with titles. The new city has created construction jobs for thousands of Palestinians, who used to work building Israeli settlements. Today, they can feed their families by working on a project that is building their own country, rather than destroying it.
https://notablemagazine.com/did-we-mishear-neil-armstrongs-famous-first-words-on-the-moon/
Palestine’s first planned city
Rawabi, the first Palestinian planned city, is bringing dignity, pride, economic opportunity and social development to people of the State of Palestine.
The city gives Palestinians an outlet for their knowledge and skills that can be channelled towards building their country. It’s doing this in a way that empowers and engages local communities, making sure that Rawabi contributes to Palestinian social, environmental and economic development.
Bashar Masri is a Palestinian-American entrepreneur, born and raised in Nablus, and founder and managing director of Bayti Real Estate Investment Company, jointly-owned by Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Massar International – created to build Rawabi. Rawabi is a modern, new city and a landmark project, being both the largest project in Palestinian history and the first Palestinian planned city.
On completion, Rawabi will be home to 40,000 Palestinians and hundreds of businesses, offices, and public recreational areas and will provide new homes for Palestinians. By creating jobs, strengthening the Palestinian private sector and helping to revitalize the economies of villages around it, The city is helping to build a more sustainable world and respect for the environment has been integrated into its values and into the design of the city. For example, it’s designed to be pedestrian-friendly and to maximize the use of public transportation to reduce CO2 emissions. Rawabi is more than just a corporate project.
It’s also a historic, national project for Palestine, and as such, Rawabi needs the support of the Palestinian community to achieve its goals. The city also has a role to play beyond its investors, which explains its activity in corporate social responsibility. Bashar hopes that the social outcomes of their work will infuse dignity, confidence and pride in the Palestinian people, promoting and advancing Palestinian culture by investing in the arts and revitalizing the economies of local communities.
Inspiring and empowering young Palestinians through educational support and training programs, is also key in creating a positive and dynamic national brand for the State of Palestine for the world to see. Rawabi encourages people to experiment and try new things, as long as they work towards the goals of the business.
To give an example, you would see a civil engineer designing a business plan for a new city winery, or an urban planner implementing a smart grid system. While this may seem counterproductive, Bashar thinks that it actually helps develop people’s skills and create connections between everyone involved. This dynamic helps prevent the “silo” mentality that blights many companies.
One of Rawabi’s more interesting aspects is its “no title” policy. Aside from very senior leadership, most employees do not possess official titles. This has created a culture of openness, where even the newest hires engage as equals with more experienced coworkers.
It also reduces corporate politics and ensures that the people who come to Rawabi are mission-oriented and not obsessed with titles. The new city has created construction jobs for thousands of Palestinians, who used to work building Israeli settlements. Today, they can feed their families by working on a project that is building their own country, rather than destroying it.
https://notablemagazine.com/did-we-mishear-neil-armstrongs-famous-first-words-on-the-moon/
Investing For Impact
Founded by entrepreneur Andrew Kuper and launched with President Bill Clinton in 2008, LeapFrog set out to reach 25 million vulnerable people, including 15 million women and children, within 10 years. In just 3.5 years, LeapFrog’s portfolio companies have reached nearly 10 million people in emerging markets – 70% of them women and children – providing millions of families a financial safety net and springboard to escape poverty. According to President Clinton, “LeapFrog’s team is widely recognized as having opened up a new frontier in microfinance and alternative investment.”
Since their launch in 2008, they have become a global leader and pioneer in the impact investing movement, with distinctive success at scale: their average deal size of $12 million is roughly 8x the industry average. Their unique business model, a team across four continents and a community of influential stakeholders has created a company that can operate at the scale necessary to make a dent in mass poverty. Both sustainability and social justice are central to LeapFrog’s vision.
They have simultaneously played a major role in creating a new asset class, offering diversification and top quartile investment returns, and opened the gates of the capital markets to innovative pro-poor companies. Not surprisingly, LeapFrog’s portfolio companies have shown strong financial performance while serving the “next billion” rising consumers. In addition, an accelerated growth trajectory at their portfolio companies increases employment directly and indirectly, supporting over 30,000 jobs and livelihoods.
Sustainability for Kuper is not an afterthought; rather, it’s at the centre of his company’s investment strategy. Ultimately, Kuper’s vision is for LeapFrog’s profit-with-purpose model to lead the way in developing a more catalytic, inclusive, and sustainable capitalism. His goal is to match the size of the problem – 4 billion people in poverty – with a transformative solution.
A solution that creates businesses that can scale, reach vast numbers of low income people and mobilize trillions of dollars from capital markets. Families that lose their only productive asset, such as their home or their sole income-earner, usually fall into poverty with no safety net under them. The efforts of many years can be wiped out in a single tragic day. For this reason, it’s no wonder that insurance and savings are the two most demanded financial products among low-income people worldwide.
Yet, financial tools are more than simply protective, they are also enabling, providing springboards that can break the cycle of poverty. People who are secure will make different daily choices; families can expand their horizons, from grappling with daily fears to longer-term investments. Impact investment is often unable to attract pure financial investors such as major reinsurers and global banks.
LeapFrog has bucked this trend by demonstrating that to achieve social impact, we need not accept a smaller financial return. They have shown that social and financial return are mutually reinforcing.
https://notablemagazine.com/want-to-speak-to-a-holocaust-survivor-now-you-can/