[Fsf-friends] [OFFTOPIC] Digital Partners' Social Enterprise Laboratory Call for Applications

Frederick Noronha fred@bytesforall.org
Thu, 18 Jul 2002 09:18:34 +0530 (IST)


Could something in GNU/Linux take support of projects like this? FN

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Digital Partners' Social Enterprise Laboratory (SEL) Call for Applications

Please forward the following opportunity to anyone that you think may be
interested in applying or any appropriate listserves you may be aware of.
We have attached a copy of the announcement as well.


Digital Partners, a United States-based non-profit organization, invites
for-profit and non-profit social entrepreneurs and organizations serving
disenfranchised communities in developing countries to submit a proposal for
entry into this year’s Social Enterprise Laboratory (SEL).  Entries are due
by midnight, September 1, 2002.

SEL is a new model of collaborative social-problem solving. The entries
selected as the “Most Promising Social Enterprises” will be matched with a
team of Digital Partners Brain Trust members and graduate students to help
the social entrepreneurs maximize the potential of the idea.  The Brain
Trust is composed of IT professionals, business leaders, venture
capitalists, and other professionals in their fields.  The students are
selected from prestigious graduate schools in business, public policy, and
IT.

After an assessment of the project’s needs for success, the team works with
the leadership to identify funding sources, make strategic introductions,
effectively incorporate information and communication technologies and
market mechanisms into the enterprise, develop implementation strategies,
and transform proposals into sustainable business plans.  The most promising
projects are eligible for up to $100,000 in grants, loans, or equity
investments from Digital Partners.

SEL is a yearlong collaboration to support the design, development, and
deployment of projects or businesses that incorporate the use of information
and communication technologies (ICT) to address the needs of disenfranchised
communities.  Supported projects can be undertaken by any combination of
businesses, non-profits, governments, or individuals seeking to develop
sustainable, ICT-enhanced mechanisms to serve markets at the bottom of the
economic pyramid.

Preference is given to projects that are grass-roots/bottom-up, market-based
forsustainability, collaborative for community building, scalable,
replicable, and catalytic in terms of systemic social and/or market change.

If you intend to apply for SEL, please send an email message to
dfeige@digitalpartners.org with "Applying for SEL" as the subject.  You need
not include anything in the body of the email.  This will allow us to keep
you updated on new developments.  For more details please refer to
http://www.digitalpartners.org/sel.html.  Applications are available on the
website.