Doing Good Podcast - Amra Naidoo

In this episode we meet Sumitra Pasupathy, who is the Global Partnerships Director at Ashoka. Ashoka is absolutely legendary in the world of social entrepreneurship. And it's based on the idea that the most powerful force for good in the world is a social entrepreneur. Sumi is a social entrepreneur and the Co-founder and Director of Playeum, an innovative education content and service provider centered on creativity for children and families based in Singapore. Sumitra was most recently the Program Lead for The Changemaker Journey, a six-month capacity-building pilot program led by Ashoka and funded by Google.org, benefitting 28 non-profit organizations from India, Indonesia and Singapore, aimed at fast-tracking digital adoption and tech-based solutions as they pivot the way they work.

Today I have a very special guest for you dialling in from Bangkok, Thailand. She leads the incubation programs for young entrepreneurs in over 24 countries at the Youth Co:Lab, an initiative co-led by the UNDP Asia-Pacific and Citi Foundation to economically empower the next generation in the region, through youth entrepreneurship and government innovation. Prior to joining the United Nations Development Programme, she founded various tech startups and social enterprises to economically empower the marginalised, and mobilised the youth to travel and learn. She studied business and soon realised the power of technology when managing companies, hence later learnt to become a front-end developer, then emerged to be a software consultant to develop analytics solutions for international corporates. She has a deep passion for future skills education and financial inclusion for women, and is always intrigued to learn about new ways to advance development through her travels. 

Today you’re in for a treat. I have a really interesting guest for you who works in the impact investment space. Now you might have heard about impact investing before, but for many people this is quite a new and up and coming area of investing. So, we’re going to find out more about what exactly it’s all about.   Kevin is the Head of Impact Investments at Lonsdale Capital. Through Lonsdale, Kevin works with high-impact startups and social enterprises to scale their business. Lonsdale provides capital investments for seed stage to series A companies who have impact tied to the core of their business.   Kevin believes that high impact companies and social enterprises are the business models of the future, where providing social and/or environmental returns will become a competitive advantage for improved financial returns.   Prior to Lonsdale, Kevin has worked in the social enterprise, impact investment ecosystem for 8 years. His experience spans from working with high-impact startups, social enterprises, intermediaries, SE incubators, impact investors, MNCs, and government bodies.     Kevin and I actually go back quite a few years, so this is a pretty packed episode about everything from impact investing to impact measurement, and the various definitions of a social enterprise. We cover how Lonsdale determines what to invest in and how Kevin thinks about the future of impact investing as a whole. We also go into how Kevin’s varied experience working with high-impact startups, social enterprises, intermediaries, social enterprise incubators, impact investors, MNCs, and government bodies has influenced the way he looks at impact as a whole. As always, we wrap up with 3 things.  

On this episode I’d like to introduce you to Bernhard Kowatsch who is the founder and head of the Innovation Accelerator at the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). We find out more about the World Food Program, what the Innovation Accelerator is all about and how Bernhard made the transition from a consultant at Boston Consulting Group to a founder of an app call ShareTheMeal and now, working startups around the world that accelerate innovations to address global hunger. The World Food Program has recently been awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict. While the WFP Innovation Accelerator was named by Fast Company as one of the 10 Most Innovative Companies of 2017 in Food for its work in identifying, nurturing and scaling disruptive start-ups that accelerate innovations to address global hunger. Innovations include blockchain, agri-tech, supply chain and new businesses to end hunger. Most recently, the Accelerator runs programmes for external partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In this interview we speak with Catherine Chen who works in the impact investment space. Now you might have heard about impact investing before, but for many people this is quite a new and up and coming area of investing. The impact investing space has boomed in popularity over the past decade, with many institutions adapting the idea that you can invest & generate financial returns from assets, ideas and businesses that also generate positive impact. Founded in 2017 by Catherine, Avantfaire is one of the very few signatories of the United Nationals supported Principles of Responsible Investment, are a member of the Global Impact Investing Network, and are a certified B-Corporation. Prior to Catherine’s entrepreneurship ventures, she worked in real estate development looking after smart city projects in China and Cambodia and spent some time in wealth management, advising ultra-high net worth clients and family offices on investment in public, and private equity and other asset classes.

Imagine living without sight. Now imagine living without sight and that you didn’t have to be. A shocking 75% of all visual impairment can be prevented or treated. Orbis International is an international non-profit that trains medical professionals around the world, rallying world class experts to train local eye care teams. They partner with local hospital and clinics to improve and strengthen services and, though their most iconic tool – the Flying Eye Hospital – they are able to deliver most of their program work in country, on the ground alongside local communities and partners. Since 1982, Orbis International has conducted training programs in over 92 countries and trained hundreds of thousands of medical professionals They have over 40 long-term projects around the world across countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Cameroon, Peru, Mongolia and Indonesia. And, as a result have positively impacted the lives of millions of men, women and children by conducting over 5 million screenings and examinations; more than 8 million medical and optical treatments; almost a hundred thousand laser and surgeries; and trained more than 60 thousand doctors, healthcare professionals and community health workers in 2017. This interview with Bob was recorded in person while Bob was in Singapore for the Orbis International Gala to raise funds for the critically important work that the international non-profit does around the world. Bob came to Orbis with more than 30 years of experience as strategist, leader, and manager in a career that spans across military, manufacturing and small business sectors. In his most recent appointments prior to joining Orbis, Ranck was Senior Vice President of Government Programs & Sales at Gulfstream Aerospace and Vice President of Business Development at Integrated Systems Solutions (ISS) a service- disabled, veteran-owned small business. As a military chief executive in the United States Air Force, he led military units in domestic and international flying operations, spearheaded emergency relief in the developing world and the U.S., engaged in public relations/advocacy efforts and championed change management activities. Ranck is also a pilot and is qualified to fly the KC-10, a variant of the DC-10 aircraft that currently houses the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital. At Orbis Bob provides the vision and leadership that guide operations and ensures the fulfilment of the Orbis mission.

In this interview I chat with Susan Bissell who is the Director at the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children at UNICEF. Although this episode was recorded a few years ago (I know, I’m sorry I’m slow at editing), Susan’s insights on the work to eliminate violence against children is still highly relevant. According to the Partnership, 1 in 2 children experience violence every year. Every 7 minutes a child dies as a result of violence and 10 million children are subjected to modern slavery. This interview covers how the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children is working with various stakeholders around the world to reduce these numbers, some of the innovation in the space of child protection, resources and how you can get involved. Susan's career has focused on the rights of children. Having spent over twenty-five years working in various capacities for UNICEF, as of January 2016 she is leading an emerging Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. The primary purpose of the partnership is to "end abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children."  From 2009 to 2015, Dr. Bissell served as Chief of Child Protection in UNICEF's Programme Division.   Author of a number of research studies, she has worked with UNICEF in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Italy (at the Innocenti Research Centre), and New York City, and earned a PhD in public health and medical anthropology from the University of Melbourne in Australia.  While completing her doctorate, she joined Trudie Styler and the Bangladeshi film team Catherine and Tareque Masud to produce the documentary "A Kind of Childhood," which has won awards and been screened widely.  She holds a BA and MA from the University of Toronto. On behalf of her UNICEF Child Protection colleagues, Susan Bissell has accepted awards including an honorary professorship at Barnard College/Columbia University, the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship award from Tufts University, the Flambeau D’or from Panathlon International, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. 

In this interview I chat with Pete Yao who is the Chief Impact Officer of Thankyou. Now for those who follow me on social media, you’ll probably know that Thank you are one of my all-time favourite social enterprises. I love them because they’ve kind of flipped the whole consumer product FMCG model on its head and as a result are doing incredible work and creating huge impact. In this episode we go into a lot of detail about how they track impact and the custom-made system that they’ve built in order to do that efficiently. We chat about how they’ve managed to effectively combine the business and social elements into a thriving social enterprise that has impacted over 750,000 people in 20 countries.  

In this episode I had a chat with Andy Last who is the co-founder of Salt. Recently acquired by MullenLowe, and now known as MullenLowe Salt, the company is a strategic communications agency. As one of the first companies in the UK to be accredited as a B-Corporation, MullenLowe Salt advises organisations on they can use social issues to drive growth, and how communications can effect change to bring about better business results and social progress.   In this episode we chat about how communications can be used as a tool to drive positive social changed. As an example that we discuss in this episode, you’ve likely seen the Lifebuoy soap campaign which Andy has worked on for over a decade - it’s one of the award-winning social campaigns that he’s been behind and an exampled of how change can be effected through communications.  With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Andy has led the development of salt’s Social Mission model to create sustainable, progressive campaigns for brands and businesses, associations and not-for-profits. His book – ‘Business on a Mission: How to Build a Sustainable Brand’ - also goes into more depth about his journey and the use of communications to drive impact within businesses. Being a marketing & communications professional myself, you’ll know from previous episodes that I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to the use of marketing & communications to drive social impact because motivations are often not aligned and can result in solutions designed for PR, rather than what’s actually needed and sustainable. I had a really great chat with Andy about this so am keen to hear what you think about what he has to say.

In this episode we chat with Tharani Jegatheeswaran who leads Deloitte Australia’s Social Impact Consulting Practise.   So, if you’ve been listening for a while, you know that I am super passionate about business and impact, in particular seeing the two come together in ways that just make sense. Both for the business in terms of focusing on the core competencies of the business and leveraging that for impact. This is something that is really hard to balance and can often miss the mark with large corporations either taking part in activities that are so far removed from their strengths or it looking like the act of trying to create impact is just for marketing or publicity purposes. So, when I stumbled upon Deloitte and their social impact consulting practice I was extremely intrigued. Why does a Big Four accounting firm like Deloitte do social impact consulting? Is this for CSR purposes? is this for publicity because being involved in impact is ‘cool’? Are there business reasons behind this decision and if so, what were they? Do they charge clients for the consulting they do or is this pro bono?   Enter, Tharani.   Tharani leads Deloitte Australia’s Social Impact Consulting practice, a dedicated practice that works at the intersection of the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, government and business to deliver better outcomes for Australia’s vulnerable communities.  Recognising that complex social issues cannot be addressed by any sector in isolation, Deloitte’s Social Impact Consulting practice focuses on being a convenor - facilitating greater cross-sectoral collaboration across the NFP, government and business sectors to design solutions that deliver systemic change and greater social impact. Anyway let’s hear more about Deloitte’s work in this area and let Tharani take it from here. And if you like this episode or know someone that will, please give it a share.   Find Tharani on LinkedIn or Twitter and check out Deloitte social impact consulting website.   SHOW NOTES “People think that non-profit or anything focussed on social impact has to be philanthropy, and it doesn’t” – [07:01] How does the business model work for Deloitte’s social impact consultancy? [07:01] What kind of challenges does a typical client come to Deloitte with? [09:40] What does the team look like in the business? [14:56] Tharani pitches the social impact consultancy to Deloitte [15:30] “Life is shades of grey and so can be your career” [16:30] How does Deloitte measure impact? [18:00] Tharani shares challenges she faced building a startup practice in a mature firm [19:40] “It’s not always glamourous” [21:44] “You need to be really clear about your ‘why’. Really understand the change you want to make. If it is within a large corporate, really understand the business case and the business benefits of the change that you’re trying to effect. And measure that in its holistic sense, not just in financial – but that’s really important if you’re going to do it in a for-profit, for-purpose sense, but also the other measures of success.” [22:20] “Make an impact in the market, and it will speak for itself internally.” [23:20] What does the future look like for social impact consulting? [24:00] “I would really hope that leaders across government, business and the social sector feel like they all have a role to play in tackling social issues, and that would really be a measure of success, that it’s not just the responsibility of the not-for-profit sector but more businesses are engaged in addressing some of the complex challenges of our time.”  [25:00] “I think it would have been very easy to give up in those early stages if I wasn’t clear on my why.” – Tharani shares how she made the switch in her career. [27:40] Where does Tharani see things going for Deloitte’s social impact consulting? Moving past CSR and corporate volunteering days, to shared value. [28:00] “If I could prove we could achieve profit with purpose within Deloitte, then we would have the credibility to advise other corporates on how to achieve profit with purpose in a way that aligns with their core business. Now that we’ve done it, we have a much stronger case to work with other businesses. Whereas if we weren’t able to put our money where our mouth is, and try and prove it ourselves, it’s hard to advise with credibility to other businesses.” [30:58] Three Things [31:38]   WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE QUOTE OR LESSON FROM THIS EPISODE? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!

So, I know it’s been a while since I last released an episode. There’s been a lot of changes in my personal life and I just needed some time to refocus. I’m now located back in Singapore and heading up Community and Operations for muru-D which is a Telstra backed accelerator program. I’m excited to begin this new chapter of my journey discovering different ways of creating impact and am really looking forward to working with startups earlier on in their journeys and seeing how impact can be a part of their stories too. So, watch this space, I’ll let you know how it all goes!   Back to this episode... This episode was actually recorded a few weeks ago and it’s been one that I’ve been most excited about. It’s a little bit different because we recorded it at a cafe. It was a little bit of an experiment for me to see how things went with the audio. Anyway, now that you’ve got that background, let’s talk about Rochelle. She started Share the Dignity after reading an article about women and girls in Australia who didn’t have access to sanitary products. She decided to collect pads and tampons, and as a personal trainer, asked her clients to do the same, and so began the incredible movement of Share the Dignity.  So I’ve been following the work of Rochelle and Share the Dignity for quite a few years now and honestly after doing this interview, I’m even more of a fan. Rochelle blows me away with her sheer motivation, determination and absolute passion for the work that she’s doing. It’s not often that you meet people like that who are just so passionate about the work that they’re doing that it’s infectious. I think that’s part of the secret to Share the Dignity’s success. In its simplest form, Share the Dignity gives tampons and pads to vulnerable women and girls. You often hear stories about developing countries and how sanitary products are unaffordable and inaccessible that you forget that this is the case in places like Australia too. With pads and tampons generally being quite expensive and with an added luxury tax, which Rochelle and I briefly discuss in this episode, there are women and girls in places like Australia who are using paper towels or newspapers or whatever they can find to create makeshift sanitary pads. What I love so much about Share the Dignity is that they aren’t just another non-profit too. They work with other organisations on plugging in the gaps and not duplicating work or competing for funding, which I’m sure you would have heard me say is one of my pet peeves about non-profits in general.   I know this episode is probably going to be uncomfortable for a lot of people as menstruation is still considered a taboo topic. However, I encourage you to listen to this episode, understand the work that Rochelle is doing and why it’s so important for everyone. And when you’ve done that, I’d love you to share this episode with someone who you think would benefit from hearing these issues. In particular, with men and boys. Because this is something that is a societal issue. Not just a female one. This episode is also more than just about periods and sanitary products. Share the Dignity’s work has expanded to work on issues that are currently underserved in communities. They now look at maternity pads too. Because if you’re mum that’s struggling, let’s inject a bit of dignity back into your life so that you don’t have to go without. They provide incontinence pads. They pay for funerals for low income women who have been murdered by their partners in domestic violence incidents. Because even though it’s too late for these women, at least in death they have some dignity.    I was really deeply impacted by my chat with Rochelle so I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts about her work!   If you like what you’re hearing please make sure you subscribe, rate & review the podcast. And, we all know that awareness is the first step to creating change so, don’t forget to share your favourite episode with your friends too!    Favorite quote from this episode: “Kindness is free. Sprinkle that shit everywhere” – Rochelle [1:01:01]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Share the Dignity Tampon Tax Dignity Vending Machine Doing Good Podcast Episode 18 – Marica Ristic – Domestic & Family Violence: The Cost & Causes   Get in contact with Rochelle by Email. You can also find out more about Share the Dignity on  their website or follow them out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram .   Show notes What is Share the Dignity [06:50] “When we first started we had no idea what we were doing” [9:50] “We estimate that every handbag that was donated had about a $50 value. That means that Australian women gave about $6 million to help a sister out.” [18:30] “85,000 women used homeless services last year... One of the fastest growing [demographics] of homeless people is women over 50. I met a woman at a Homeless Connect event and she was using baby nappies because they were cheaper than incontinence pads. That broke my heart and I had one of those ‘Oh my god.. I’ve never thought of that… I was again, embarrassed.’” [24:40] Rochelle talks about the issue of girls missing school in Australia because they can’t afford pads or tampons. [34:50] Rochelle tells us how Share the Dignity finds partners [41:20] “Most charities have good hearts but not good business sense” [50:00] [54:40] Three Things [56:20] How can you get involved? [58:50] “The power of the voice is probably the most important thing that people can do” [59:15]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   Keywords: Social innovation, charity, corporate social responsibility, innovation, business, entrepreneurship, social entrepreneur, changemaker, social good, social impact, charity, nonprofit, Australia, volunteer, do good, social good, domestic violence, family violence, homeless, homelessness, gender, women, girls, menstruation

I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot about asylum seekers and refugees in the news. As a human rights advocate for the past 25 years, a lawyer, social worker, and teacher, Kon Karapanagiotidis, - CEO & Founder of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre - is the go-to man for everything you want to know about people seeking asylum.    At 28, Kon founded the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC). Established in the space of 8 weeks as a class project while a teacher, the ASRC has now gone on to become Australia’s largest organisation helping people seeking asylum.   When I first met Kon, he actually took me over to where ASRC was set up - a cute little converted 20sqm fruit shop. Over 12,000 people have now been helped via a team of over 1200 volunteers and 80 staff who deliver 30 life changing programs, all without a cent of Federal Government funding.   Kon’ holds 6 degrees in the fields of law, social work, psychology, business, education and international development and his work has been recognised with an Order of Australia Medal, a Churchill Fellowship, La Trobe University Young Achiever Award, Victoria University Alumni of the Year, AHEPA Humanitarian Award, Citizen of the Year by the Maribyrnong City Council and recently voted one of Australia’s 25 most influential people in the social sector by Pro Bono Australia.   I can’t wait for you to hear this episode. If you like what you’re hearing please make sure you subscribe, rate & review the podcast. And, we all know that awareness is the first step to creating change so, don’t forget to share your favourite episode with your friends too!    Favorite quote from episode: “Bigotry, xenophobia, hate & ignorance, depravity and lack of moral imagination is seizing the global community, right at a time when we need compassion, decency and welcome and kindness” – Kon [10:30]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Asylum Seeker Resource Centre 1951 UNHCR Refugee Convetion Words That Work – Learn how to talk about refugees & asylum seekers Manus Island Detention Centre Nauru Detention Centre Statistics Kon’s 2016 TED Talk –‘There’s No Queue But Chaos For Refugees’ Kon’s 2014 TED Talk – ‘We Can Build A Better Planet for Refugees’   Get in contact with Kon on Twitter or follow his food journey on Instagram. You can also find the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.   Show notes So, what does Kon do? [04:30] What is the difference between refugees and asylum seekers? [15:30] “It’s not about money and it’s not about resources. For every 20 people that we lock up on Manus and Nauru, that’s the entire budget of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre to help 3500 people for an entire year” [22:20] How does Kon respond to arguments about how many refugees to accept in to a country? [27:00] What does the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre do? [32:30] “We’re working with people from, at any one time, at least 50 different nations” [37:30] “We live in an age where facts don’t matter, and where fear is king” [46:50] How did Kon get started in his work? [51:10] What actionable things can someone do right now to help? [59:00] What is next for Kon & ASRC? [1:02:40] Three Things [1:04:50]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   Keywords: Social innovation, social enterprise, corporate social responsibility, innovation, business, entrepreneurship, social enterprise, social entrepreneur, changemaker, social good, social impact, corporate innovation, intrapreneurship, volunteer, charity, nonprofit, Australia, refugee, asylum seeker, volunteer, do good, social good

I had a really great interview with Jon Feinman, who is the Executive Director and CEO of Innercity Weightlifting, a non-profit based in Boston. They own and operate a few gyms around the city and work with young people who have been identified as a high risk for violence. Their programs focus on social inclusion and reducing youth violence by working with these guys (mainly guys) in the gym. They connect these young people with new networks and opportunities, including meaningful career tracks in and beyond personal training. According to them, they use the gym to replace segregation and isolation with economic mobility and social inclusion, disrupting the system that leads to urban street violence. For a little bit of background, in Boston, just 1% of youth between the ages of 15-24, are responsible for over 50% of city-wide shootings. The City of Boston has identified 300 to 400 of the city’s highest risk gang affiliated youth as “most likely to be involved in a violent act.” This is called the “Pact List” and it is this group ICW strives to serve. 97% of their students have done at least 6 months of jail time, prior to enrolling at ICW. And 100% of their enrolled students report being shot, shot at, or stabbed prior to enrolling at ICW.    This interview was recorded while Jon was in one of the gyms so you’ll probably hear a few weights and grunts in the background, don’t mind them, it’s all part of creating the atmosphere! I absolutely love the work that Jon and Innercity Weightlifting are doing. They are completely flipping the typical non-profit model on its head with the way that they are running their programs but not only are they changing the lives of the students they are working with, they are changing the lives of the clients who choose to train at the gym with the students. Jon mentions in this episode that most of the clients that come to the gym have never met someone who has been in jail before. Making this introduction and fostering a connection promotes social inclusion not just for the students, but for the clients too. Excited for you to listen to this episode!   Favorite quote from episode: “At the heart of our program and how we grow, there is the assumption that we don’t know what’s best for our students and that they, know what’s best for themselves. We’re not the ones getting shot at. We’re not the ones that have done significant time in jail, even though we hire students that have although at an individual level, you can’t possibly truly understand what someone is going through. All you can do is really be there by their side and listen. And by listening you gain perspective and you are able to start to provide options that might not have existed before. And at the end of the day, it’s up to the person to decide which option is best for them.” – Jon [15:45]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Innercity Weightlifting   Get in contact with Jon at innercityweightlifting.org   Show notes Jon gives us a bit of background about Innercity Weightlifting [05:10] “Most of our students have been shot” [07:20] “In our original business plan, it was all about weightlifting. Today we talk very little about weightlifting… it just gives us our purpose and our reason to reach out to someone, to start earning someone’s trust. It gives us a place to create hope. It gives us a community and network to start to bridge that gap and create social capital and ultimately achieve economic mobility” [15:10] What kind of misconceptions do people have about the work that Innercity Weightlifting are doing? [23:14] What does the future look like for ICW? What do they need to make that happen? [30:43] “There’s plenty of people that told me that I’m crazy and that I don’t know what I’m doing. And the bit that I took from that is that, I don’t know what I’m doing. I have never been shot. I have never done time in jail. I didn’t grow up in a family income of less than $10,000 per year. There’s no way I can understand what our students are going through, there’s no way I can ever understand. What I can do is listen and respect the challenges that they are facing. And, not try and solve every challenge either. But instead just be there, and commit to being there by someone’s side. There’s a power in that.” [37:04] Three Things [38:20]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   Keywords: Social innovation, social enterprise, corporate social responsibility, technology for good, innovation, business, entrepreneurship, social enterprise, social entrepreneur, changemaker, social good, social impact, corporate innovation, intrapreneurship, volunteer, fitness, social impact, sport, gym, weightlifting, youth, violence, United States, USA

As you may know, I spent a few months in the Philippines last year. And it was amazing. There’s a special place in my heart for that country and the incredible people there. During my time there, I met up with Mark Ruiz. Mark is one of the co-founders of Hapinoy -  a social enterprise that work with women or nanays, who run small convenience stores, otherwise known as sari-sari stores in the Philippines. Sari-sari stores typically sell canned goods, rice, noodles, coffee, shampoo and toothpaste. Products are sold to locals from the neighbourhood in small packets or numbers, with very small profit margins. The stores are run informally, within the family and financial mismanagement is common. Hapinoy trains the women running these stores how to improve their business practices, get loans and earn more income. Recently they’ve included a technology piece to their work which you can hear more about in this episode.   I first heard about Hapinoy when I started running Project Inspire in Singapore. They were the first social enterprise to win the US$25,000 grand prize, thanks to Mastercard and undoubtedly are probably one of the most successful social enterprises to win.   I’m really excited to introduce you to Hapinoy and Mark today. I really believe in their work and the impact that they are creating. Now one thing that you should know about the Philippines is that internet connection is notoriously challenging... Mark also has a bit of a cold during this episode so there’s a few unedited sneezes. I’m sure you can also hear my dog bark once or twice in this episode because she was sitting under my desk while I was recording and I felt bad leaving her outside the room…. Anyway, I think all of this adds a bit of character to this episode so I hope you enjoy it! If you do, please show me some love by making sure you subscribe, rate, review and share your favourite episode with your friends.   Favorite quote from episode: “Everything starts from small seeds - you just have to start planting as soon as possible” – Mark [51:00]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Hapinoy    Happinoy Sari-Sari Store Program Hapinoy Bizmo Hapinoy Project Bagong Araw – Natural Disaster Resilience Typhoon Haiyan Philippines - Gender Equality  World Economic Forum Global Gender Hap Report 2016 Project Inspire   Get in contact with Mark through Hapinoy by checking out their Website and Facebook. You can also get in contact with the team via Email   Show notes What is Hapinoy? [05:50] Mark shares the journey of starting up Hapinoy [11:35] The challenges of introducing fintech tools in emerging markets [18:00] Where did the name ‘Hapinoy’ come from and what does it mean? [26:00] “When you lend to women, the repayment rate shoots up” [33:02] What is the impact of the work that Hapinoy is doing in the Philippines? [38:20] 20 years from now, what could this be? [44:20] “If the idea is worth pursuing, you’ll find a way” [50:30] Three Things [52:27]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   HEAD TO FACEBOOK, TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM TO GET INVOLVED IN THE CONVERSATION!    

I’m sure you’re aware that most of the world’s news coverage from developing countries centres around 4 topics: war, poverty, disaster, & disease. That’s where Global Press comes in.   Global Press exists to pave a new way forward for international journalism. Acknowledging the flaws and limitations in both foreign correspondence and citizen journalism, Global Press offers a powerful third way. Global Press Institute (GPI) trains women in developing media markets around the world to be ethical, investigative, feature journalists. After completing the Institute’s 24-module training program, trainees are employed as professional reporters at Global Press Journal. At the Journal, reporters cover the topics of their choice, supported by a sophisticated editorial structure that offers deep insight, extraordinary context and complete accuracy. Once complete, local language and English versions of stories are published on the Journal and distributed via Global Press News Service, the syndication division of Global Press.   Global Press Journal’s coverage takes a much fuller picture of the developing world    In this episode we chat with Cristi Hegranes, Founder of Global Press. I first met her when she came to Singapore as a Finalist for Project Inspire when I was leading the program in 2013 and was immediately blown away by how confident, extremely capable and savvy she was and have followed her journey since. She has received a wide range of prestigious social entrepreneurship and journalism accolades. She is the recipient of the Grinnell College Young Innovator for Social Justice Prize, the Jefferson Award for Public Service, the Society of Professional Journalists Journalism Innovation Prize, a New Media Web Award, a Clarion Award for Investigative Journalism, and a Lifestyle Journalism Prize. She was also recently awarded the 2015 Distinguished Young Alumni of New York University.   In this interview, we’re going to hear about how and why she started, how it works and the impact of Global Press so far. We’ll also hear about how she developed a new business model for international journalism through Global Press News Service, a state-of-the-art syndication service that enables GPI to magnify its social impact and drive revenue from the sale of GPJ news content to media organizations, corporations, and NGOs. GPNS meets a market need by providing professional, diverse, affordable international news content to its partners. Let’s get in to the interview and hear from Cristi about how it all works. I’m keen to hear what your thoughts are after you’ve had a listen!   Favorite quote from episode: “Change rarely comes in predictable packages” – Cristi [09:35]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Global Press Eats   Global Press Eats - Congolese Rat Recipe Global Press Passport Global Press Institute Global Press Journal Global Press News Service Female Students Claim Discrimination Over Short Hair Policies at Some Uganda Schools   Get in contact with Cristi on Twitter and check out Global Press Institute  and Global Press Journal  on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.   Show notes What is Global Press? [05:06] Cristi explains more about the how the Global Press training program works [14:00] How does Global Press ensure the safety & security of their journalists reporting from countries where freedom of the press or women working may be an issue? [22:40] How does Global Press measure impact? And what is the Hopefulness Index? [26:20] “We’re not in the reactive storytelling business. Whereas, a lot of mainstream media chooses to exist in the 24-hour news cycle - they are constantly reacting to the day’s event. And we’re a proactive news organisation, so we’re talking about stories that you might not know about.” [31:40] “We want the world to understand that these reporters are well trained. They go through a very robust editorial process” [34:00] “We’ve long covered the women of the world as recurring victims in their own environment. So, to say actually, a woman in the middle of the Democratic Republic of Congo is not a victim of living in the rape capital of the world and broken political systems, she’s actually a change maker and she’s powerful, and she’s using the tools of ethical journalism to change the narrative and to change minds. And that’s what it ultimately comes down to, is that the world understands the power of local women and that we have a very flawed assumption that white men should be the ones telling the stories of the world.” [34:40] “We’re constantly committed to quality, we’re constantly committed to accuracy and becoming the best storytellers in the world in the communities that we cover. And once we can solidly say we’re the best and convince the world that we’re the best then the gender of our reporters will just cease to matter. And then they’ll just be the best. They won’t be the best women journalists, they’ll just be the best. And that’s the goal.” [40:30] “If you have an idea, just do it. You’re not changing any lives just thinking and plotting.” [44:40] Three Things [47:50]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   HEAD TO FACEBOOK, TWITTER OR INSTAGRAM TO GET INVOLVED IN THE CONVERSATION!   Keywords: Social innovation, social enterprise, corporate social responsibility, technology for good, innovation, business, entrepreneurship, social enterprise, social entrepreneur, changemaker, social good, social impact, corporate innovation, intrapreneurship, volunteer, news, media, charity, news, journalism, journalist, gender, women, women in media

When I first started thinking about this podcast and the topics that I’d like to cover, domestic violence was one that was top of mind for me. Domestic violence is an issue that has always stirred something in me. It’s something that is so pervasive in our societies. It crosses all cultures, races, countries, income and education levels. 1 in 3 women aged 15 and over will be abused at some point in their lives. How is this acceptable? But it happens every day.  When I first started thinking about this podcast and the topics that I’d like to cover, domestic violence was one that was always top of mind for me. Domestic violence is an issue that has always stirred something in me. It’s something that is so pervasive in our societies. It crosses all cultures, races, countries, income and education levels. 1 in 3 women aged 15 and over will be abused at some point in their lives. How is this acceptable? But it happens every day.   The scale of the issue is huge. In Australia alone, police deal with an estimated 657 domestic violence matters on average every day of the year. That’s one every 2 minutes. Every 2 minutes! So, by the time you’ve finished listening to one of the Doing Good Podcast episodes, around 30 women would have been affected. And these are just the women that get through to police. Because the likelihood of women calling for help is extremely low and domestic violence often goes unreported.   In this episode, I interview Marica Ristic, the Domestic & Family Violence Client Response Team Leader from the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre on the Gold Coast in Australia. We go back to basics and talk about domestic violence – what it is and why it happens; what is being done about it; and what you can do to help.  Let me know what you think about this episode in the comments!   IMPORTANT: If you or someone you know may be in an unhealthy relationship, please reach out for help. Here are some useful resources: United States United Kingdom Singapore Australia   ADDITIONAL READING: Information for friends and family Domestic & family violence information Men & domestic violence   If it is an emergency, please call the police immediately.   Favorite quote from episode: “I will go home to the safety of my home, and you will go home today to the safety of your home, and we have so many women and children that are dreading it because the worst part of their lives is behind those doors” [48:30]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Domestic Violence Prevention Centre Domestic violence statistics in Australia UN Women statistics on violence against women Purple book DV Connect   The work that Marica does is very sensitive so unfortunately her contact details cannot be made available. However if you’re interested in finding out more, you can check out the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre’s website and contact the organisation at here   Show Notes: What is the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre? [06:30] Marica explains the difference between domestic violence, intimate partner violence and family violence? [13:25] What are some of the programs that the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre run? [17:35] “It’s not all men” [28:55] How does Marica think that large scale impact can occur? [32:40] “We need to raise just one generation where the children are free from abuse, where children grown up in non-violent environments. Then, they have something to compare to” [34:00] Marica shares her journey working to support domestic violence survivors [38:26] Safety and security concerns that Marica has to think about with her work [44:20] “To learn that the place that you are supposed to feel the safest is not safe for so many women, that was a defining moment for me” [48:20] Three Things [54:50] What are warning signs and where can you get more information if you need support? [57:25] Advice for family and friends supporting [59:45]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   Keywords: Social innovation, social enterprise, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, social entrepreneur, changemaker, social good, social impact, volunteer, women, gender, violence, nonprofit, family

So, unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s hard not to miss all the events, news, and general PR buzz about International Women’s Day that was recognised this month. Countries celebrate it in different ways. This year you would have heard about the Day Without Women in the US and many other western countries around the world such as Australia. It is an official holiday in a number of places including: Afghanistan, Armenia, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Laos, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Uganda, Vietnam. Zambia and in China & Nepal for women only. Many brands such as Nike and P&G  launch powerful ad campaigns, while companies around the world ranging from huge multinationals host an array of events, women’s breakfasts and conferences in recognition of the day.   If we move past all the marketing spin, is International Women’s Day still even important? Why do we still celebrate it? Is there an international men’s day? And, looking in to the future, what are the 6 things that we should be focussing on when it comes to gender equality. Let’s go back to the start for a minute or two. What is International Women's Day? And, is there an International Men's Day? Let’s start with Men’s Day - Is there an International Men's Day? Yes, it takes place on November 19 each year and is celebrated in 60 countries around the world. The objectives of the day include a focus on men's and boy's health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality, and highlighting positive male role models. Now back to International Women’s Day - What is it? The Telegraph did a great short piece about this which I’ll link to in the show notes (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/international-womens-day-2017-did-start-important/) Basically, International Women’s Day (or IWD as it’s commonly referred to) is “a worldwide event that celebrates women’s achievements – from the political to the social – while calling for gender equality. It has been observed since the early 1900s and is now recognised each year on March 8. Is is not affiliated with any one group, but brings together governments, women's organisations, corporations and charities.” So, why is it still important? I think the best way to answer this question is to give you a few facts about the current situation of women in the world. Women make up more than two-thirds of the world's 796 million illiterate people. (UN Women) Only 22.8 per cent of all national parliamentarians were women as of June 2016, a slow increase from 11.3 per cent in 1995 (UN Women) As of January 2017, 10 women are serving as Head of State and 9 are serving as Head of Government (UN Women) It is estimated that 35 per cent of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or sexual violence by a non-partner at some point in their lives. However, some national studies show that up to 70 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime (UN Women) Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children (below 18 years of age). Of those women, more than 1 in 3—or some 250 million—were married before 15. Child brides are often unable to effectively negotiate safe sex, leaving them vulnerable to early pregnancy as well as sexually transmitted infections, including HIV (UN Women) Around 120 million girls worldwide (slightly more than 1 in 10) have experienced forced intercourse or other forced sexual acts at some point in their lives. By far the most common perpetrators of sexual violence against girls are current or former husbands, partners or boyfriends (UN Women) At least 200 million women and girls alive today have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting in 30 countries, according to new estimates published on the United Nations’ International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation in 2016. In most of these countries, the majority of girls were cut before age 5. (UN Women) Adult women account for almost half of all human trafficking victims detected globally. Women and girls together account for about 70 per cent, with girls representing two out of every three child trafficking victims (UN Women) One in 10 women in the European Union report having experienced cyber-harassment since the age of 15 (including having received unwanted, offensive sexually explicit emails or SMS messages, or offensive, inappropriate advances on social networking sites). The risk is highest among young women between 18 and 29 years of age (UN Women) Evidence suggests that certain characteristics of women, such as sexual orientation, disability status or ethnicity, and some contextual factors, such as humanitarian crises, including conflict and post-conflict situations, may increase women’s vulnerability to violence (UN Women) Also, 34 per cent of women with a health problem or disability reported having experienced any physical or sexual violence by a partner in their lifetime, compared to 19 per cent of women without a health problem or disability, also based on data from the European Union (UN Women) Now we know what it is and why it's still important, what are the SIX things that we should focus on to accelerate gender equality? 1)     Accelerating Gender Equality for Women and The Environment The situation: Women, especially those in poverty, appear more vulnerable in the face of natural disasters. A recent study of 141 countries found that more women than men die from natural hazards. Where the socioeconomic status of women is high, men and women die in roughly equal numbers during and after natural disasters, whereas more women than men die (or die at a younger age) where the socioeconomic status of women is low. Women and children are more likely to die than men during disasters. (UN Women) "Similarly, in industrialized countries, more women than men died during the 2003 European heat wave. During Hurricane Katrina in the USA, African-American women who were the poorest population in that part of the country faced the greatest obstacles to survival" (IUCN Global Gender Office) Women and children bear the main negative impacts of fuel and water collection and transport, with women in many developing countries spending from 1 to 4 hours a day collecting biomass for fuel. A study of time and water poverty in 25 sub-Saharan African countries estimated that women spend at least 16 million hours a day collecting drinking water; men spend 6 million hours; and children, 4 million hours. Gender gaps in domestic and household work, including time spent obtaining water and fuel and processing food, are intensified in contexts of economic crisis, environmental degradation, natural disasters, and inadequate infrastructure and services (UN Women) So, gender equality goes hand in hand with climate solutions and that makes movements like 1 Million Women are super important and extremely relevant right now. They are a movement of 600,000+ women and girls (and growing everyday) who are pioneers in the gender and climate change arena in Australia and around the world. Climate solutions have to move past world leaders arguing about the proven science and for everyone to take control. Yes, the reality is that we need strong leadership and big decisions to be made now. And this can only happen when we all make it a priority so organisations like 1 Million Women aim for all of us all to be living a low-carbon lifestyle by inspiring 1 million women to take practical action on climate change in their everyday lives to cut carbon dioxide (CO2), the main greenhouse pollutant leading to climate change. According to them, if 1 million women all cut 1 tonne each of carbon pollution, it would equal to 1 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. This is the equivalent of growing a new forest of 5 million trees. They provide resources to guide you through ways to live a low-carbon life and cut C02 in the process, and ask you to kick-start your low-carbon life by making a personal goal to cut a minimum of 1 tonne of CO2 pollution from your daily life within a year. It's an easy way to educated start taking action so I suggest you check them out at http://www.1millionwomen.com.au as a first step. “Climate change responses cannot be effective unless they are gender aware, taking into consideration the different needs of women and men, the inequalities that compound the impacts of climate change for women and the specific knowledge women and men can contribute to solutions” (1 Million Women) If you want some further reading about climate solutions, Project Drawdown will be available from the 18th April which maps, models, and describes the 100 most substantive solutions to global warming. For each solution, they describe its history, the carbon impact it provides, the relative cost and savings, the path to adoption, and how it works. The goal of the research that informs Drawdown is to determine if we can reverse the buildup of atmospheric carbon within thirty years. All solutions modeled are already in place, well understood, analyzed based on peer-reviewed science, and are expanding around the world. So if you had any doubt about the solutions to climate change being available, this is proof that we already have everything that we need to make a difference. 2) Accelerating Gender Equality by Creating Access to Finance for Women The situation: The IFC has estimated that worldwide, a $300 billion gap in financing exists for formal, women-owned small businesses, and more than 70 percent of women-owned small and medium enterprises have inadequate or no access to financial services. Without access to finance, women face difficulties in collecting and saving income, growing their businesses, and pulling their families out of poverty. As a result, women remain largely excluded from the formal economy.  So to recognise International Women’s Day, I decided to make 2 loans to women micro-entrepreneurs in the Philippines through Kiva. And wow – what an impact Kiva made that day! They had a goal to lend $3 million USD to women on Kiva in one week, and not only exceeded it, but DOUBLED it! It was the biggest day for lending in Kiva’s 11 year history and as a result 16,473 women around the world are one step closer to following their dreams of starting or growing a business, going to school and investing in a better future for themselves, their children and their communities. The situation: Lack of access to finance affects women in other parts of the world too. According to Fortune, a 2015 study found that 92% of senior investment teams at top venture capital firms are male. Additionally, fewer female founders – 8% in 2015 compared to 16% in 2014 – received Series A funding in the Bay Area last year. And that’s why when I met Pocket Sun, co-founder of SOGAL Ventures, I knew she was on to something big. As the first female-led millennial venture capital firm, according to them, they are redefining the next generation of diverse founders and funders. Although female-led, they don’t just invest in women entrepreneurs, but changing the status quo and adding diversity to the mix is powerful. As Pocket puts it: “SoGal is all about changing the power dynamics in business and entrepreneurship. This power dynamic is not going to change unless women are sitting on the other side of the table and signing cheques.” 3)     Accelerating Gender Equality for Women in the Workforce The situation: Women’s economic equality is good for business. Companies greatly benefit from increasing leadership opportunities for women, which is shown to increase organizational effectiveness. It is estimated that companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions of organizational effectiveness (UN Women) 71% of employers who said they had adopted diversity practices said these were having a positive impact on their recruitment efforts (PwC 2017 Report on Winning Female Talent) 86% of millennial women and 76% of millennial men think that an employer's policy on diversity, equality and workforce inclusion is important when they decide whether or not they should work for them (PwC 2015 Report on The Female Millennial)  In the United States, companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians. And, companies in the top quartile for gender diversity are 15 percent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians. (McKinsey 2016 Diversity Matters Report) That’s why when companies take this seriously, they can create huge impact. In April 2015, Salesforce Founder and CEO, Marc Benioff announced that the company would be taking a look at equal pay within their business. On International Women’s Day 2016 they announced their results. Their assessment showed that they needed to adjust some salaries—for both men and women. Approximately six percent of employees required a salary adjustment, and roughly the same number of women and men were impacted. Salesforce spent nearly $3 million dollars to eliminate statistically significant differences in pay. Wow. Salesforce also increased access to advancement opportunities through their High-Potential Leadership Program, which is designed to provide leadership skills to advance women in the workplace. The program has led to a 33 percent increase in the number of women who were promoted last year. In the last year, Salesforce increased parental leave to 12 weeks off at 80% of total pay. The company also introduced a new gradual return program which offers new parents the flexibility to work reduced hours for the first four consecutive weeks of returning to work, at full pay. The gender pay gap is widely discussed amongst businesses. But how many actually stop, acknowledge there might be an issue and then go on to audit their entire workforce? In the case of Salesforce, this was 17,000 strong. And, in the case of Salesforce, it’s men that benefitted from this exercise too.   4)     Accelerating Gender Equality by Educating Women  The situation according to UN Women: Women make up more than two-thirds of the world's 796 million illiterate people.  According to global statistics, just 39 percent of rural girls attend secondary school. This is far fewer than rural boys (45 percent), urban girls (59 percent) and urban boys (60 percent).  But, this doesn’t have to be the case. Every additional year of primary school increases girls' eventual wages by 10-20 percent. It also encourages them to marry later and have fewer children, and leaves them less vulnerable to violence. (UN Women) Increasing women and girls’ education contributes to higher economic growth.  5)     Accelerating Gender Equality by Ending Violence Against Women The situation according to UN Women: 35 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime. Globally, 47 per cent of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner or family member, compared to less than 6 per cent of murders of men.  Women represent 55 per cent of victims of forced labour and 98 per cent of the victims of sexual exploitation.  Globally, an estimated 200 million women and girls have undergone FGM in 30 countries and 700 million were married as children (250 million before the age of 15).  What does this all mean? Apart from the fact that violence of any kind is horrific, it results in a HUGE economic cost to society. According to the OECD estimates suggest that “discriminatory social institutions – including violence against women – cost the global economy approximately 12 trillion US dollars a year. So while it is critical to put in place laws, budgets and plans to transform discriminatory social norms, we also need to empower women and girls, men and boys, to challenge – and change – these norms”. Examples of this by UN Women include: In India women can lose an average of at least five paid work days for each incident of intimate partner violence. This fact would mean the affected woman would get 25 per cent less of her salary each time an incident of violence happens. In Uganda, about nine per cent of violent incidents forced women to lose time from paid work, amounting to approximately 11 days a year, equivalent to half a month’s salary, affecting not only the incumbent person but her family and dependents. Also, research shows for example that women who are exposed to intimate partner violence are employed in higher numbers in casual and part-time work, and their earnings are 60 per cent lower, compared to women who do not experience such violence. Annual costs of intimate partner violence were calculated at $5.8 billion in the United States of America and $1.16 billion in Canada. In Australia, violence against women and children costs an estimated $11.38 billion per year. Domestic violence alone costs approximately $32.9 billion in England and Wales.   The Secretary General of the OECD adds that “across the 160 countries included in SIGI ( Social Institutions and Gender Index), one in three women agrees that domestic violence is justified; in some countries, these acceptance rates climb close to 90%. How can we even begin to tackle violence if women believe it can be justified” First responders are vitally important in dealing with the consequences of violence against women, but ultimately empowering women through education, increased leadership and economic opportunities, as well as access to finance are key in changing societal norms. One of the guests in an upcoming episode on the podcast said to me that we can end violence in one generation - we only need one generation to grow up without any violence to change this. That will forever stay with me. 6)     Accelerating Gender Equality by Advancing Women in Leadership Gender differences in laws affect both developing and developed economies, and women in all regions. According to UN Women (http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures) “90 per cent of 143 economies studied have at least one legal difference restricting women’s economic opportunities. Of those, 79 economies have laws that restrict the types of jobs that women can do. And husbands can object to their wives working and prevent them from accepting jobs in 15 economies”. The fact is, the more women that are represented in leadership positions around the world, the fast gender equality will become a reality. The World Economic Forum predicts that at the current rate of progress, the gender gap won't close entirely until 2186  If you’re happy waiting for almost another 170 years, then don’t bother doing anything more than you’re already doing. But if you see the economic, social, environmental and political reasons why closing this gap is important, then you need to start doing something about it now. You can start with education. Educate yourself more about this issue and talk to others about it too. In your circle of influence you can choose any one of the above areas that I’ve chosen to highlight and do something about it. Whether it’s joining the 1 million women pledge, funding micro-entrepreneurs around the world, working in your business to promote diversity or, speaking up when the societal norms that permeate a culture of violence against women rears it’s ugly head. You don’t have to wait - you can do something now. If you like what you’re hearing with this podcast, I'd love it if you could let me know what you think by subscribing, rating & reviewing the episodes. We all know that awareness is the first step to creating change so, don’t forget to share your favourite episode with your friends too! One more thing, if you'd like to stay in touch, check out the Doing Good Podcast on social media - I'd love to interact with you and hear your thoughts and ideas. Happy International Women’s Day!

Did you catch the last episode of the Doing Good Podcast? I interviewed Christine Amour-Levar, co-founder of Women On A Mission about travel, adventure and using sport to end violence against women. If you didn’t hear it, I highly recommend it, but I may be a bit bias. Anyway, incase you didn’t know, Christine is of French, Swiss and Filipino descent. So while I was in the Philippines last year, I of course reached out to her to let her know I was there and to see if she knew any interesting people that I should connect with while travelling around.   Now interesting is an understatement when thinking of a word to describe who she introduced me to.   This week on the podcast, I’m chatting to the one and only Anne-Marie Bakker. Power-woman. Environmental advocate. Don’t mess with her, passionate, problem-solver, connector. Tree-planter. And all round, bad-ass. She is a solid driving force in the fight for environmental conservation in the Philippines - one of the last remaining tropical rainforest areas.   Some estimates state that forest cover in the Philippines has dropped from 70% down to 20% over the course of the 20th Century (check this report). Forests play a critical role in mitigating climate change because they act as a carbon sink—soaking up carbon dioxide that would otherwise be free in the atmosphere and contribute to ongoing changes in climate patterns. Deforestation undermines this important carbon sink function.   According to WWF, some 46-58 thousand square miles of forest are lost each year—equivalent to 48 football fields every minute, and it is estimated that 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are the result of deforestation. So what are the causes of deforestation? Well, illegal logging, fires used to clear land for agriculture, and fuel-wood harvesting.   The impacts are overwhelming. But in this episode we’re going to hear from an environmental warrior extraordinaire. Anne-Marie is truly at the forefront of the effort to restore the lungs of the world.   I remember one night, there was a group of us and we were all chatting. It was late at night and over a few beers and Anne-Marie was telling a story about a time that she was in walking by herself down a dirt road in one of the remote village-islands and how she scared away a group of rowdy guys with a large knife that she was carrying for scenarios like that. If you’re looking for stories of adventure, look no further than Anne-Marie. She is humble, down to earth, and a great storyteller. As the VP Operations & Partnerships at Fostering Education & Environment for Development (FEED) in The Philippines, Anne-Marie chats about how she does it all, her family history of and personal motivation for conservation, as well as some of the projects that she runs; one in particular that I find so fascinating, is the planting for peace program - engaging the people of Mindanao in environmental conservation through tree planting projects with the Philippines Defence Force, as a way of promoting peace in that region. I’m not going to give any more away – I hope you enjoy the show!   Favorite quote from episode: “It should be a given that we give back to the community somehow.”  [24:35]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Fostering Education & Environment for Development (FEED) COP 21 - Paris Pope Francis says destroying the environment is a sin Living Legacy Ridge to Reef (R2R) – Watershed Rehabilitation Students & Volunteers for the Environment (SAVE) Philippine Environmental Legislation FEED Ambassadors   Get in contact with Anne-Marie by email or through the FEED Facebook page, Instagram or website.   Show notes “We realized it was the right time to engage the public at large to generate awareness about the need to reforest 70% of our lost forest cover in the Philippines” [08:15] Anne-Marie gives us a bit of background about the environmental situation in the Philippines [17:30] How does FEED measure social impact? [21:00] Anne-Marie talks about the Planting for Peace Program, working with the Philippines Armed Forces on a tree-planting program to promote peace in the highly unstable region of Mindanao in the Philippines [29:00] What are some of the challenges that Anne-Marie faces in doing this kind of work, especially in the Philippines? [34:50] What is FEED working on for the future? [50:00] Three Things [01:01:30]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   Head to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or doinggoodpodcast.com to get involved in the conversation     Keywords: Social enterprise, corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, social enterprise, social entrepreneur, changemaker, social good, social impact, volunteer, Philippines, nonprofit, NGO, green, trees, peace, deforestation, carbon emissions,  environment, environmental, shared value, conservation, climate change, global warming, education

Of French, Swiss and Filipino descent, Christine Amour-Levar is Social Entrepreneur, Marketing Consultant and Author who passionately believes in women empowering each other. She grew up between Manila, Paris and Tokyo and is currently based in Singapore, where she lives with her husband and four children. After graduating from Sophia University in Tokyo, with a BA in International Business and Economics, and a minor in Japanese language, she embarked on a fulfilling career that took her across Europe, Asia, North and South America for brands such as Nike, McCann-Erickson, Philippe Starck and her own Brazilian fashion retail business, Beijaflor. After selling her retail business in 2010, she went on to write the motivational guide, The Smart Girl’s Handbook to Being Mummylicious, published in May 2012.   Today, Christine heads Marketing and Communications at Temasek Trust and Temasek Management Services, two wholly-owned subsidiaries of Temasek Holdings, a global investment firm headquartered in Singapore. She is also the Chief Marketing Officer of iRace Group, one of Asia's leading horse racing publishing and media companies and the Founding Partner of Women On A Mission, a non-profit organisation, which combines challenging expeditionary travel to remote locations around the world with the support of humanitarian causes.   Christine recently received the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the World Award™ (Global FWN100™) that recognises Filipina women who are influencing the face of leadership in the global workplace, having reached status for outstanding work in their respective fields, and who are recognised for their leadership, achievement and contributions to society, female mentorship and legacy.   I am super excited to introduce you to Christine. She is someone who I really admire because of her personal and professional accomplishments. You’ll hear me say it a few times in this episode, but I honestly don’t know how she has the time to do everything that she does. Having said that, I think when you’ve found that sweet spot in your life where you can use the skills that you’re good at while you work at something that you’re passionate about, the time you spend on work, doesn’t seem like work at all. Christine co-founded Women on a Mission - a social enterprise that combines travel, sport and adventure with her passion to end violence against women. Now I’m not talking about leisurely travel here, some of their recent missions have included one to Iran in November 2016 where they trekked 200km of dessert. They also recently went to Jordan for rock climbing, Siberia to live with the nomadic Nenets reindeer herders and even up to Everest Base Camp in 2012. These trips are not for the faint-hearted. We’ll chat about how they do these trips, prepare for them and how these trips contribute to the fight to end violence against women. Let’s get in to the show!    Favorite quote from episode: “It may sound cliché, but I really believe that if you follow your passion and you do that throughout your life - even through the tough times when you think ‘oh I should just get safe job’ or, ‘I should just stick to something that is less flamboyant or risky’, but I think that if you do that continuously through your life, it ends up all just coming together.” – Christine [20:50]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Women On A Mission Smart Girl’s Handbook to Being Mummylicious  Women for Women International Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) UN Women Singapore Pertapis Children’s Home Singapore Changemaker workshop (AWARE)     Get in contact with Christine on her website, Twitter, or through Women On A Mission   Show notes What is Women On A Mission? [05:00] Christine tells us about the causes that Women On A Mission support and why [08:35] How do teammates fundraise for these trips? [17:45] How does Women On A Mission measure impact? [23:30] “It’s not work for me! I work on it [Women On A Mission] every day but I don’t consider it work. It’s so much fun, I love what I do with Women On A Mission – it’s my profession of the heart” [29:50] Where does Christine see the future of Women On A Mission & what kind of things are they working on? [34:34] Corporate partnerships and corporate responsibility programs [38:40] “I put a lot of value on being kind and being compassionate towards others. But also educating yourself all through your life” [44:00] Three Things [47:00]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!   Head to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or doinggoodpodcast.com to get involved in the conversation     Keywords: Social enterprise, corporate social responsibility, entrepreneurship, social enterprise, social entrepreneur, changemaker, social good, social impact, volunteer, women in business, entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship, empowerment, travel, adventure, sport, women, feminism, end violence, mother, businesswomen

About the episode On the show today we have Sabeen Ali, founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Angelhack - the world’s largest and most diverse hacker community. AngelHack, a female-owned, female-majority company helps drive open innovation of tech products, platforms and brands with extraordinary smarts, scale and speed via tech education, marketing and hackathons. Prior to AngelHack, Sabeen founded (and then sold) her own leadership training and organizational development company, Team Building ROI. She has also consulted for companies like Yahoo!, and Cisco. Sabeen is someone who i very much personally admire. I especially love how she is working to bridge the gap between the tech world and the social world, which have up until quite recently been very seperate. Even today, the social world can be very slow to adapt new technology, much to the sectors disadvantage. Sabeen is also someone who is very much a role model for getting more women in to technology and is also a champion of making this happen quicker. Angelhack is actually one of the case studies that I use quite often when people tell me that it is too difficult to have more women at a tech event or in their organisation. Anyway, I think it’s best we get in to the show so that Sabeen can tell you more about her work!   Favorite quote from episode: “Everything has the potential to change the world and create positive momentum” – Sabeen [21:55]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: UNited We Hack Angelhack Angelhack & World Bank Hackathon Lady Problems Hackathon Hacking The Hashtag – Taking Back #LadyProblems Angelhack’s Hackcelerator Sabeen’s TEDx Talk B Corporation Certification Benefit Corporations Tesla     Get in contact with Sabeen on Twitter or at her Website   Show notes “The average hackathon’s female participation rate is 4%” [03:25] Sabeen chats about what Angelhack does and how hackathons are a platform for innovation “We’ve been focusing on expanding the skillset of the people in our community and broadening their own understanding of what technology can do and what it can accomplish, and that’s brought us to a lot of inclusivity and social good events” [05:45] What is a hackathon and how does it work? [06:20] How does Angelhack use hackathons to create social impact? [09:45] Sabeen chats about four barriers for female entrepreneurs [14:25] Do Good Ventures & Hackcelerator Program [20:00] How does Angelhack measure impact? [22:20] “If you can do more, then do it” [26:10] Sabeen takes us through the journey of starting up Angelhack [30:55] The future of hackathons for the public sector [35:15] What Angelhack is working on now [38:30] Sabeen, what do you love about what you do? [40:00] How to get started in tech for good? [41:40] What’s next for Sabeen and for Angelhack? [46:20] Three Things [50:00]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Head to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or doinggoodpodcast.com to get involved in the conversation

I promise I've got a great episode for you today. I'm sure a lot of the listeners out there have heard about Salesforce and probably even use it. But I'm pretty sure your imagination would be quite limited in terms of the type of social impact initiatives that they work on that are in line with their business. Well today you're in for a treat. I interviewed Esther Nai, who heads up corporate responsibility and sustainability programmes across Asia for Salesforce about exactly that. I'm quite familiar with their work in creating social impact so I'm excited to share this with you too. We chat about their 1-1-1 model, some case studies on impact that they've created, how they measure impact and most interesting to me, how Salesforce aligns the social impact with their business model. Enjoy!   Favorite quote from episode: “I always open with a line that [Marc Benioff] says, ‘the business of business is improving the world” – Esther [25:40]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Marc Benioff Salesforce org 1-1-1 Model Force for Change (Salesforce) Sustainable Development Goals   Get in contact with Esther on LinkedIn   Show notes Esther takes us through the history of Salesforce and their culture of creating social impact [03:15] How does Salesforce support nonprofits using their platform? [07:35] Measuring impact [11:30] Case studies on how nonprofits use Salesforce for social impact [16:15] Trends in CSR [18:30] How can you do good and business at the same time [25:00] What kind of things frustrate you about the work that you do? [29:00] “Most people don’t understand what exactly CSR people do in their roles besides getting people to volunteer” [30:50] A day in the life of Esther [32:00] Esther tells us how she got started in CSR [34:30] “It’s about being very honest about you can do and what you want to do” [37:00] Three Things [39:15]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!

I am excited to introduce to you one of my very good friends and someone who I find extremely inspiring. In this episode, I interview Eli Johnston who does a lot of very interesting work bringing together corporations and entrepreneurs to accelerate social innovation. He does this through his work as the head of corporate innovation at the Impact Hub in Singapore which is a co-working space and community for social entrepreneurs. If that’s not enough, he is also the co-founder of Own Your Brilliance that brings students together from around the world and gives them to tools to get started on their journey to becoming social entrepreneurs. In this spare time, for the next 9 months Eli is also teaching a class of 10 women from all over South East Asia. They are house helpers also known as foreign domestic workers in Singapore. And he is going to be running a Venture Club through an organisation called Aidha which teaches financial literacy, business and entrepreneurship to these incredible hardworking women on their days off. Eli will be working with the women to build their business plans for a venture in their home countries and for the first time in Aidha’s history, these businesses will be designed as social enterprises. Honestly don’t know how he does this all! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this episode, it was definitely one of the more fun ones for me to record, especially as I find that Eli is someone who can be a lot of fun but also very deep in his thoughts and motivation to change the world. I’m keen to hear what your thoughts are after you’ve had a listen!   Favorite quote from episode: “We are here to discover who we are, not who we think we need to be” – Eli [58:20]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Impact Hub Singapore Own Your Brilliance Aidha P&G Disrupt the Laundry Experience Duolingo Tesla   Get in contact with Eli on LinkedIn, Email (The Hub), Email (Own Your Brilliance)   Show notes “We call it a social enterprise launch pad for university students” [04:30] How do you support ideas after ‘Impactathons’? [10:45] Shout out to David Nosibor from Mazars [13:30] Eli chats about his work at the Impact Hub in Singapore fostering social innovation [22:00] Disrupting the laundry experience using hardware and software [24:00] “Innovation is what makes us human” [32:00] Eli and I rant about words that grind our gears [32:30] Eli explains how he got started with his career [34:30] What are some common misconceptions about the work that you do or the industry that you’re in? [42:00] What is something that you love about what you do? [44:00] Eli is in a unique position working on both top-down and bottom-up approaches to creating social impact through innovation. He shares his predictions for the future of the space [46:50] Future of Own Your Brilliance and the Impact Hub Singapore [53:15] “We are here to discover who we are, not who we think we need to be” [58:20] “I think not enough people are curious! Reading is such a beautiful gateway to learning new things and exploring the depths of that curiosity” [59:33] “I think people fight intuition too much. I often tell friends, don’t fight intuition, there’s truth to that. Sometimes there’s more truth than you sitting down and trying to map out a decision” [1:00:00] “Do shit. Do things … The most helpful thing in [finding your purpose] is doing things. Because even if you don’t like something, finding out what you don’t like is just as useful as finding out what you do like. Everything in life is either a lesson or a blessing. You’ll grow from it either way. I always encourage people to just do things” [1:00:55] Eli chats about the things that he needs help with [1:02:00] Three Things [1:03:30]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!

The silly season is in full swing! And although, I love this time of year because of the special time I get to spend at home with my family and friends, I can't quite wrap my head around the craziness in the shopping malls and supermarkets. Apart from being absolute chaos, are you noticing the consumerism and materialism? #guilty This is a quick episode about how you can do good over the Christmas season with 3 simple and EASY-PEASY tips to make this time of year truly the GIVING time of year.    I really do believe that you can still have a great time celebrating AND if everyone makes small conscious changes, the impact can be huge.    Big impact doesn’t have to be hard. It starts with small changes. I’m not even saying that you have to radically modify your lifestyle. But if everyone makes small conscious changes to their lifestyle, collectively the impact will be huge. These a just a few quick things that I’ve identified, but I’d love to hear from you about what things small things are you doing this year to create social impact? Happy holidays everyone!    People/ items mentioned in this episode: carbonfootprint.com B Corporation Certification Alter Eco ETSY Ben & Jerry’s Tristram Stuart, Founder, Feedback Feedback Agenda, World Economic Forum Tristram Stuart World Economic Forum article on food supply USDA data on food loss in the American retail food supply chain USDA data on food loss in American restaurants & kitchens Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) United Nations Livestock impact on: greenhouse gases loss of biodiversity water pollution   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!

Episode 9 & 10 of the Doing Good Podcast are interviews with Founder of Chuffed, Prashan Paramanthan. In this episode, Prashan shares a ton of wisdom from his journey raising VC funds, how others can learn from their fundraising process and general advice for social entrepreneurs who are looking at securing investment from other non-traditional sources. Prashan also talks about Chuffed’s company structure and why they made the decisions they did to set it up that way.  If you don’t already know much about Chuffed, I recommend listening to episode 9 before tuning in to episode 10. Looking forward to your thoughts!   Favourite quote from episode: “Start with only enough that you need to figure out what people actually want [24:13]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Chuffed Chuffed’s blog Chuffed’s Public Benefit Structure Chuffed Seed Funding Round     Get in contact with Prashan on Twitter   Show notes What was the path that Chuffed took to raising venture capital funding as a social enterprise? [2:20] Prashan shares the 3 common responses by commercial investors to social enterprises looking to raise funding [06:10] More on Chuffed’s public benefit company structure [10:00] Prashan shares useful advice he’s been given [20:30]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!

Episode 9 & 10 of the Doing Good Podcast are interviews with Founder of Chuffed, Prashan Paramanthan. In episode 9, we talk all things tech for good, crowdfunding for social good and more. You get a better understand of what exactly crowdfunding is and how it can be used to create huge impact. Chuffed is a unique social enterprise in its structure and is the first of its kind to receive venture capital funding. If you would like to hear more about the business side of things for Chuffed from Prashan, you can check out episode 10 with his advice on getting started, how to fundraise and more. Enjoy!   Favourite quote from episode: “Pitch them the big bold idea of how you’re going to change the world” [24:00]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Chuffed Chuffed’s blog Telstra Foundation Chuffed Seed Funding Round   Get in contact with Prashan on Twitter   Show notes What exactly is crowdfunding and how is it transforming the charity sector? [02:30] What makes Chuffed different to other crowdfunding platforms out there? [04:00] Prashan takes us on the journey of how Chuffed started [11:45] How did you come up with the name for your social enterprise? [24:41] How does Chuffed measure impact? [31:38] Prashan gives advice on how to get started/ get involved in creating your own social impact [44:10] Three Things [55:00]   What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!

This is an episode that I have been wanting to do for a while. Everyone knows Facebook, but not many people would be aware about the work that Facebook is doing in the community to create social impact.  In this episode, I interview Clair Deevy who is the head of Economic Growth Initiatives for Asia Pacific at Facebook. Clair is someone who really inspires me, and in this episode, we talk about some of the initiatives that she is looking after. One of the programs we talk a lot about is She Means Business - an initiative to support female entrepreneurs. Another one you may have heard of is Safety Check which has been used around the world for natural disasters and human tragedies. Clair is a seasoned professional in terms of executing high impact initiatives that not only create positive social impact in the community, but also are in line with business objectives. Something that is increasingly becoming more important as businesses take on a bigger role in creating impact in their communities and supply chains. We speak about the work that she is doing now, how she got to where she is, and her thoughts on how others can get started. If you are working in any type of business or multinational organisation, I highly recommend this episode as an example of things to consider when thinking about business and social impact. Enjoy!   Favourite quote from episode: “Rather than just trying to inspire people about things that I care about is help people to find what they’re good at and what they care about and then get them to pass that on to the next person. Because I think that’s real inspiration. Inspiration isn’t like, you now think that my topic is the most important thing ever. Inspiration is you feel inspired to go and do something else yourself” – Clair [34:18]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: She Means Business Safety Check Think Before You Share - Jakarta Online Safety Project Infoxchange - Australia   Get in contact with Clair on Facebook   Show Notes What is economic growth initiatives? Clair explains some of the programs she works on such as Safety Check and She Means Business [03:10] Clair tells us about her career path  [09:45] What kind of partnerships does Facebook have with different organisations to promote social impact? [15:30] How does Facebook think about social impact and measure it? [20:40] Clair’s advice for someone who wants to know how to get started in creating their own social impact [26:08] Three Things [27:52] What’s next for Clair? [30:53] “If you set out to try and inspire someone, you probably won’t. If you can work out what you actually care about, like what gets you excited and passionate about, you will inspire other people without even trying because it’s really infectious.” [34:18]   What was your favourite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!

I was planning on releasing an episode from another amazing guest but given recent events, I think it’s an important time to stop and reflect about a new era that we have well and truly entered. This is an episode about tolerance and finding common ground to overcome some of the biggest problems the world is facing. These thoughts have been weighing heavy on my mind for a few years now, but over the past few months I’ve been putting it altogether. Challenging my beliefs and assumptions. Although many of us are genuinely concerned with the direction the world is heading in, I believe that we can all do more. We can all do better. I was honestly a bit nervous about releasing this episode, because I don’t want to sound like I’m coming to the defence, or attacking any certain type of person. I am not discrediting real experiences or feelings from people either. I also don’t want to come across as preachy. My aim is to open up dialogue and challenge you to think further about your role, whatever your opinion is, and how you can do better. The purpose of this podcast is not only about doing good and hearing about different ways to do good. But it’s also about challenging misconceptions and challenging beliefs, ideas and assumptions. It’s open having open discussion and critique in a supportive community that cares about a sustainable future for every being. The fact that I even feel the need to preface this episode with that little disclaimer means that I am anxious about the response that it’s going to get, even though the whole point is to open dialogue. How ironic is that! Despite my anxiety, I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas, so long as they’re constructive.

Siddarth Das is the Director of Digital Engagement at WWF International and the Executive Director of WWF’s Earth Hour. Earth Hour is a very interesting campaign in the way that it’s run. Actually, WWF and their online communication in general is quite outstanding. The panda brand is recognized almost everywhere. So, it was interesting when Sid mentioned some common misconceptions about what WWF actually does, but also, how they’re using digital media tools for education and to support their social impact work. There’s a lot to talk about in this interview so I hope you enjoy!   Favourite quote from episode: “It is everyone’s collective problem and it’s everyone’s collective solutions that are going to fix it as well. It’s not a single government or just a few people in the policy or business world that are going to fix this. Climate change is the most universal problem that we have and it’s the most universal issue that we have. And the solution for that is going to come from all of us” – Sid [14:20]   People/ items mentioned in this episode: Earth Hour WWF International WWF Singapore, Earth Hour – Haze Campaign Earth Hour Sri Lanka Campaign WWF Russia, Earth Hour – Protect Russian Seas Campaign   Get in contact with Sid on Twitter, LinkedIn or Email   [Download the MP3 here]   Show notes “It was always meant to be a six-month gig, and seven and half years, I’m still here” [06:00] How does an initiative like Earth Hour create change? [06:15] Earth Hour and WWF International work with corporations around the world in innovative ways. Sid gives us some examples of these partnerships and what they entailed. (Shoutout to Serena Tan for this question! Have a question that you’d like me to ask in a future interview? Get in touch!) [16:30] Digital engagement at WWF: streamlining, amplifying & localizing global communications [21:25] Sid urges people to think about careers in social impact - “When you balance everything out, the social enterprise world or the NGO world actually offers quite a bit of movement for people to come in to and experience just one different side of it” [33:05] Looking in to the future of WWF: partnerships, technology & innovation [40:27] Sid dishes out some useful advice [45:47] Three Things [49:21]   QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Let me know in the comments!

This is a very special episode in partnership with CGIAR and CGIAR Gender and Agriculture Research Network to recognise, International Day of Rural Women (15th October), World Food Day (16th October) and the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17th October). CGIAR is a global research partnership for a food-secure future. CGIAR science is dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services. Its research is carried out by 15 CGIAR Centers in close collaboration with hundreds of partners, including national and regional research institutes, civil society organizations, academia, development organizations and the private sector. Now the participation and inclusion of rural women is so important to meet the growing need for food and eradicate poverty. Women are central to many development projects around the world. In this episode, I interview Maria Alejandra Garcia who is an Assistant Researcher at the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia. She works on projects related to rice production in Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia, which is culturally seen as "male crop" in the region. As such, the work that women do in rice production is often not recognized and therefore not supported. Maria Alejandra’s work is to understand how gender plays a role in agriculture and what can be done support rural women in having access to the same resources and opportunities as men. This episode brings to light the importance of good research, how it affects development programs, government policies and business decisions, and what happens when women are left out. 

William Stubbs who is the cofounder of an organsiation in Australia called Spur Projects. Most Australians would have heard of their Soften the Fuck Up Campaign and their just launched "How is the World Feeling?" campaign.

In this episode of the Doing Good Podcast, I have a discussion with Zhang Tingjun the Executive Director of Mercy Relief. Ting is the first female to helm Mercy Relief in its 12 year history and was formerly the Co-Founder and Director of The Chain Reaction Project (TCRP), a non-profit organization recognized by the President's Office as one of Singapore's leading social enterprises. We chat about how she transitioned from working at a large bank, to starting up her own social enterprise, to taking charge of one of Singapore's leading independent disaster relief agencies. We speak about what it’s like to work at a humanitarian relief agency, skills-based volunteering, how to best help in the case of a disaster and vent about common misconceptions that donors have about nonprofits. 

In this episode of the Doing Good Podcast, I’m interviewing David Nosibor. David is the Innovation Evangelist at Mazars, a global audit and accounting firm. David describes himself an intrapreneur, that is, someone within an organisation that is entrepreneurial and is making change from within. We find out what he does to promote innovation within a company that is typically seen as traditional and how he has incorporated social impact as part of his work. We touch on how Mazars, as an auditing company thinks about corporate social responsibility. How involved should a multinational corporation be in social good, social impact and sustainability. Do corporations have a responsibility to social impact? David and Mazars think so. Among the topics we discuss, one that I find most interesting is on Mazars award-winning human rights audit and consultancy service for businesses. They are the only audit and accounting firm to offer this service and are ongoing advocates for businesses to demonstrate respect for human rights.  David is a very familiar face to me. We met about two years ago when Mazars was launching a social entrepreneurship competition called Mazars For Good. We actually then got close over a shared appreciation for soca music from Trinidad and Tobago which we discovered over a Twitter exchange! David is a lot of fun to chat to in this interview so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Chris Annadorai is the Director of Operation Sumatran Rhino which will premiere through Nat Geo Wild’s new series Mission Critical, a new monthly programming initiative featuring powerful stories of the most incredible and endangered animals on our planet.