Yunus Social Busines (YSB) and its sister organisation Zero Poverty Ventures are cooperating with Global Social Impact (GSI) and the Open Value Foundation, founded by María Ángeles, to bring expansion funding to high potential Social Businesses in East Africa.
Professor Muhammud Yunus joined the Open Value Foundation and the Global Social Impact Fund team this weekend in Santander to celebrate the partnership and speak to university students in Spain.
The GSI Fund have provided further financing to some of our YSB portfolio companies in Uganda. These include Tugende, a moto-taxi financing business that secures higher incomes and the opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs to own their own business and Ankole Coffee Producers' Cooperative Union (ACPCU), a coffee cooperative bringing together farmers to secure higher prices and better working conditions.
At both GSI and YSB we believe in working together to expand the eco-system of social businesses and support network available to them. Therefore, it is vitally important to connect social businesses with further funding where possible and we look forward to more collaboration in the future!
ACPCU in UgandaACPCU in Uganda
Social Entrepreneurs and small and growing businesses (SGBs) have been acting as frontline responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing services to the most vulnerable populations. But the crisis shed light on the constraints & challenges they face. We call on on corporations, (impact) investors, funders, support organizations and government institutions to stand by social entrepreneurs
How should we give? Along with the issue of how much, questioning the model into which we donate our money is becoming more and more pertinent in the modern age. As we seek to optimise the way we spend and invest our money, it’s not surprising that we are also looking to optimise the way we give. There is a scarcity in the philanthropic capital available - so it’s important that it is spent well.
This month we have completed the second program week of our third accelerator cycle in São Paulo focusing on customer development and impact. We were particularly excited to expand to an entirely new continent and increasing our global exposure by including more diversity in stops.