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Monday, Apr. 22, 2013
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 22, 2013 —Applications are being accepted for GSBI Online, the online version of Santa Clara University’s highly regarded, 11-year-old training program for worldwide social-entrepreneur ventures, the Global Social Benefit Incubator or GSBI™.
Up to 20 ventures will be selected and enrolled in the six-month program, each receiving a scholarship to participate. Those selected will be notified in early September.
GSBI Online helps early-stage social enterprises that have the potential to create significant social impact through financially sustainable operations. Each accepted entrepreneur will be guided by two mentors who will provide hands-on assistance: an experienced Silicon Valley corporate-level executive, and a local in-country executive.
The rigorous, structured curriculum will last from October 2013 through March 2014. Successful participants will graduate armed with a fundable plan for scaling their organization, including a business-plan summary presentation, an “elevator pitch,” and a one-year operating plan.
“Having mentors from their home countries as well as Silicon Valley helps GSBI Online entrepreneurs better navigate their local cultures and economies, while taking advantage of Silicon Valley’s unique start-up acumen, global perspective, and culture of innovation,” said Cassandra Thomassin, senior program manager for the GSBI program.
“We are indebted to Applied Materials for their support of this cohort and enabling us to take this next step in bringing GSBI to more social enterprises in frontier markets,” she added.
For more details, visit the Center for Science, Technology, and Society’s website at www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/. For questions regarding the program please e-mail gsbi@scu.edu.
About the GSBI
The GSBI is the signature program of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University. The mission of the Center is to accelerate global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. The GSBI empowers socially-minded entrepreneurs to build sustainable, scalable organizations and solve problems for people living in poverty around the world. For over a decade, the GSBI has helped mission-driven enterprises build, sustain, and increase the reach and impact of their businesses. The GSBI is currently funded in part by a grant from the Skoll Foundation, corporate gifts from Applied Materials, and generous support from individual donors.
Media Contacts:
Beverly Nuako | CSTS Marketing Manager | 408-551-6048 | bnuako@scu.edu
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | 408-554-5121 | dlohse@scu.edu
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Thursday, Apr. 4, 2013
SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 4, 2013 —When pressing social problems and innovative entrepreneurs collide, dramatic change in the humanitarian landscape is possible. That’s exactly what is happening at Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society (CSTS), which today announces the latest group of 15 social enterprises chosen to receive training through its signature Global Social Benefit Incubator or GSBI™.
The newly named GSBI Accelerator program has been revamped to focus on investment-ready social enterprises that have the potential to vastly increase their impact on the lives of the poor—as CSTS strives to improve the lives of 1 billion by 2020. This year’s cohort of 14 was selected through a competitive process that began last November.
"As the GSBI enters its eleventh year, we have intensified our focus on helping successful social enterprises scale,” said Thane Kreiner, Ph.D., executive director of the CSTS. “The 2013 GSBI Accelerator will develop, train, and guide investment-ready social enterprises to rapidly expand their reach."
"As a long-time GSBI mentor, I have worked with hundreds of social enterprises over the last decade. This is unequivocally the most accomplished cohort I have ever seen,” said Paul Meissner, Ph.D., senior director of the GSBI. “Their momentum reflects how quickly social entrepreneurship is expanding, and how many millions of lives can be impacted by their work."
Leaders from 14 enterprises have been selected to take part in the eight-month GSBI Accelerator program, beginning in April and ending in December 2013. Participants will receive mentoring from top-level Silicon Valley executive experts, highly specialized instruction, and intense on-campus education. For the first time this year, the social enterprises are being directly monitored by an elite group of interested funders, the GSBI Impact Investing Partners. While not necessarily committing to funding the ventures, the partners will help participants evaluate their organizations from a funding perspective.
The in-residence portion of the program will take place August 15–23 at Santa Clara University, culminating in a networking event with the impact investors. The GSBI Impact Investing Partners include: Accion, Acumen Fund, Bamboo Finance, Beyond Capital Fund, The Eleos Foundation, Emcor Securities, Grassroots Business Fund, Halloran Philanthropies, Hub Ventures, Invested Development, Khosla Impact Fund, KL Felicitas, Skoll Foundation, Toniic, and Village Capital.
This year’s GSBI class members are building businesses including “biodigester systems” that help small farmers treat animal waste and convert it into powerful organic fertilizer and methane-rich biogas for cooking and heating; “100-percent biomass waste gasification” to generate electricity and distribute power to rural households; water pumps that run on solar power; two-way, on-demand mobile platforms that teach reading and writing skills to poor families; low-cost, pre-paid electricity meters that enable the extension of renewable energy to global communities living off-the-grid, and many more.
In addition to launching this year’s GSBI Accelerator, the CSTS joined with longtime GSBI sponsor Applied Materials last year to make a Clinton Global Initiative commitment to support 18 clean energy social enterprises over the next three years. Including this year’s GSBI Accelerator class and the related online program, GSBI Online, the partners have already reached 15 clean energy enterprises.
For more details about the program and the 2013 GSBI class, visit the Center for Science, Technology, and Society’s website at www.scu.edu/socialbenefit/.
About the GSBI
The GSBI is the signature program of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University. The mission of the Center is to accelerate global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. The GSBI empowers socially-minded entrepreneurs to build sustainable, scalable organizations and solve problems for people living in poverty around the world. For over a decade, the GSBI has helped mission-driven enterprises build, sustain, and increase the reach and impact of their businesses. The GSBI is currently funded in part by a grant from the Skoll Foundation, corporate gifts from Applied Materials, and generous support from individual donors.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contacts:
Beverly Nuako | Marketing Manager | 408-551-6048 | bnuako@scu.edu
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | 408-554-5121 | dlohse@scu.edu
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Monday, Feb. 25, 2013
Come hear GSBI Online alumni Gemma Bulos with the Global Women's Water Initiative speak about "Maximizing Potential through Entrepreneurship and Education" at The Stanford Association for International Development's.
Where: Stanford University
When: Sat. March 2nd
Sign Up: http://bit.ly/WeEVD8
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Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov. 1, 2012— Applications are now open for Santa Clara University’s Global Social Benefit Incubator (GSBI™), an 11-year-old program that helps social entrepreneurs create greater impact in their poverty-alleviating missions.
This year, the program has been renamed GSBI Silicon Valley and revamped to focus on later-stage, investment-ready organizations with potential to reach significant scale. Up to 15 accepted enterprises will receive eight months of mentoring from Silicon Valley veterans, 10 days of intensive, on-campus education, and — for the first time this year — will be paired with at least one interested funding partner.
GSBI Silicon Valley 2013 is seeking applications from proven social enterprises — those that have been able to reach large numbers of beneficiaries. Those selected will utilize their eight months in GSBI to develop skills and martial resources to achieve operational excellence and attract financing that enables rapid, effective expansion of impact. Qualifying criteria for applicants can be found on the GSBI website.
GSBI Silicon Valley 2013 applications must be completed fully by Jan. 11, 2013. Ten to 15 successful applicants will be awarded scholarships valued at $25,000 each; the in-residence portion at Santa Clara University is scheduled for Aug. 15 to 23, 2013.
The intensified focus reflects the GSBI’s goal of positively impacting one billion people living in poverty by 2020. The program’s new curriculum focuses on achieving significant scale, so alumni of GSBI are also encouraged to apply.
“Last year, we launched GSBI Online in collaboration with the World Bank Development Marketplace to provide earlier-stage social enterprises the core training we’ve always provided through GSBI — establishing a business model, identifying a target market, and crafting distribution plans,” said Eric Carlson, Ph.D., director of the GSBI. “Now, to maximize the impact of our intensive GSBI mentoring and structured curriculum, we’re focusing on social enterprises with the greatest potential to lift vast numbers of people from poverty, and attract impact investors in the process.”
Connecting Impact Investors to Build Stronger Enterprises
Each participating enterprise in the 2013 cohort will be matched with one of the GSBI’s Impact Investment Partners. GSBI’s impact investor partners include Accion, Acumen Fund, Beyond Capital Fund,The Eleos Foundation, Invested Development, and Hub Ventures, among others.
“Impact investors seek a more investment-ready pipeline of social enterprises,” said John Kohler, director of impact capital at the Center. “GSBI Silicon Valley will help social enterprises prepare for and find capital to support scaling of their enterprises.”
GSBI Silicon Valley 2013
Over the past 10 years, the GSBI has built an impressive network ofalumni, mentors, and other resources, all of which will be available to GSBI Silicon Valley 2013 participants. As in past years, the program will comprise four processes, which will be more advanced and customized: Application, pre-work, in-residence, and implementation.
“GSBI has traditionally and successfully focused on fundamental business-model development,” said GSBI Program Manager Cassandra Thomassin. “GSBI Silicon Valley intensifies the focus on operational excellence to attract investments that expand already-proven business models.”
Applicants must provide a recorded elevator pitch; a business plan; a one-year operating plan; and financial statements. Applicants will be evaluated based on a scoring matrix that includes: strength of mission, financial sustainability, potential for scale, potential for social impact, management capacity, and business model efficacy.
Social enterprises focused on off-grid clean energy, health, and mobile applications for any sector are especially encouraged to apply.
Top applicants will be interviewed in March 2013 and participants announced by early April. Each social enterprise will then be partnered online with two or three GSBI mentors to complete tailored pre-work exercises.
About the GSBI
The GSBI is the signature program of the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University. The mission of the Center is to accelerate global, innovation-based entrepreneurship in service to humanity. For a decade, the GSBI has helped mission-driven enterprises build, sustain, and increase the reach and impact of their businesses. Collectively, alumni of the program have provided essential products and services to an estimated 74 million underserved people worldwide. More than 90 percent of the organizations are still operating. It is currently funded in part by a grant from the Skoll Foundation, corporate gifts from Applied Materials, and individual donors. For more information, visitwww.scu.edu/socialbenefit.
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contacts
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Erin Berkenmeier | GSBI Marketing Manager | eberkenmeier@scu.edu | 408-551-6048
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Friday, Oct. 26, 2012
We are excited to share this news from GSBI Alumni Husk Power Systems!
Husk Power Systems, Inc. (HPS), an innovative company providing renewable and affordable decentralized energy solution to underserved communities, is pleased to announce that the company has raised Series A equity financing of US $5 million from co-investors Bamboo (Oasis Fund) Finance, Acumen Fund, and LGT Venture Philanthropy. Acumen Fund and Bamboo Finance led the Series A financing process along with LGT Venture Philanthropy. DFJ and CISCO will remain invested in the company having converted their existing investment to equity capital.
“HPS continues to demonstrate the commercial viability of providing affordable electricity to low income communities. We believe their model can be replicated in many countries. We are excited about their progress and investing in their ongoing growth,” said Jean-Philippe de Schrevel, Chief Executive Officer of Bamboo Finance.
HPS has been a pioneer in using 100% biomass waste (rice husks, straws and other crop straws etc.) gasification process for generating electricity and distributing power directly to households. The company has successfully implemented 80 mini-power plants that serve over 200,000 people in more than 300 villages. This is no small feat and this de-centralized model of electricity generation and distribution was validated on July 31, 2012 when 670 million Indians on the centralized grid suffered blackouts ( http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/01/world/asia/power-outages-hit-600-million-in-india.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0) while 200,000 people served by HPS mini-grids had their lights on. With this new equity capital, HPS aims to rapidly expand its operations in rural India and East Africa and power the lives of over 10 million people in rural areas. The company is also looking to raise up to US $4 million of term loan to support its expansions organically and through its “franchise” partners.
“Never before has the need for safe energy alternatives been greater and it’s remarkable to be a part of what Husk Power has been able to accomplish in recent years,” said Sachindra Rudra, Director of Acumen Fund India. “This additional investment represents an important step in Husk’s evolution as it continues to scale and provide affordable and reliable electricity across rural areas that need it most.”
“While Series A financing positions HPS to exponentially scale its modular energy solution, it is paramount to understand that such scaling would be practically impossible without the right mix of capital that consists of equity and debt capital and equally importantly grant capital necessary to address systemic issues like training rural talents, and discovering low-cost smart metering and grid solution”, said Manoj Sinha, Co-Founder of Husk Power Systems. HPS formed strategic partnership with Shell Foundation in 2008 and has received grant funding. The company also partnered with Overseas Private Investment Corporation to secure low rate term-loan in June 2012.
Simon Desjardins, who manages Shell Foundation's Access to Energy Program, said: "Husk Power is a global pioneer in the rural electrification sector and is proving that de-centralized power provision is a viable model to reach rural households and businesses. Their recent fundraise will enable significant scale in India and Africa that will further validate their approach and create impact."
The company’s expansion strategy will focus on leveraging its core competency of providing very low cost renewable energy at community scale and addressing systemic challenges like training a large number of rural people for running and managing power plants through Husk Power University. In addition, HPS plans replicate its model in multiple locations by expanding its “Franchise” network in different geographies. Going forward, HPS will utilize a combination of biomass power plants (with larger plants of size of 100-250KW) with AC grid and Solar powered plants with DC grid as appropriate. The company is actively looking for talents and partners with passion to help achieve the ambitious growth targets of installing over 2,000 mini-power plants.
"This long awaited closure of financing strengthens and validates the growing confidence in the market of rural electrification using “ecosystem approach” that Husk Power Systems started. We plan to thrive in the diversity of our efforts and build on the platform we have created in past 5 years. Thus far we have been a good promise. This financing round will go a long way in making us a solution for the world”, said Gyanesh Pandey, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Husk Power Systems.
About Husk Power Systems:
Husk Power Systems is a rural empowerment enterprise. The company focuses on inclusive rural development on the backbone of renewable energy solution. Unlike any other effort in the world, it creates a self-sustaining ecosystem in the villages it serves, enabling economic development along with environmental protection, physical well-being and strengthening of the rural communities. A humble effort spearheaded by locals from the communities served, HPS strives to touch more than 10 million lives over the next five years, in rural areas across the world. For more information, please visit http://www.huskpowersystems.com/.
About Bamboo Finance:
Bamboo Finance is a commercial investment firm managing 250M USD representing a unique portfolio of direct investments around the world with offices in Bogota, Singapore, San Francisco, Luxembourg and Geneva. Bamboo specializes in the financing of entrepreneurship globally. We use a market-oriented approach to deliver social value environmental value and financial returns to investors. Please visit http://www.bamboofinance.com/ for more information.
About Acumen Fund:
Acumen Fund is working to create a world beyond poverty by investing in social enterprises, emerging leaders and breakthrough ideas. We invest patient capital in business models that deliver critical goods and services to the world’s poor, improving the lives of millions. Since 2001, Acumen Fund has globally invested more than $80 million in 72 companies. We are also working to build a global community of emerging leaders that believe in creating a more inclusive world through the tools of both business and philanthropy. Please visit www.acumenfund.org for more information.
About LGT Venture Philanthropy:
LGT Venture Philanthropy is an impact investor supporting organizations with outstanding social and environmental impact. Our team in five continents strives to increase the sustainable quality of life of less advantaged people by inspiring clients for active philanthropy, providing individualized philanthropic advice and investment implementation. Our broad range of clients benefits from the experience, systems, processes and networks built by implementing the philanthropic engagement of the Princely Family of Liechtenstein/LGT Group. Please visit http://www.lgtvp.com/ for more information.
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