We noticed that you got your inspiration from your travels to India. What happened in India that inspired you? Did you see another example similar to OUWA?
No, it was being confronted with two realities; one, that extreme poverty exists on a large scale, and two, that there are many people trying to do something about it. It made me want to do something about it. The idea for OUWA didn’t start forming until a couple of years later, and didn’t full come into focus until a solid 5+ years later. We did a lot of research. The model isn’t completely original in that the parts stem from other models; open educational resources, microfinance, cooperatives, etc. But it is a beautiful piece of recombinant innovation. 

What has been your motivation for your projects and who is your role model in the entrepreneurial world?
I don’t like problems. I see poverty as a problem. One that needs to be solved. I didn’t feel like people were truly stepping up and doing so in a way that would actually achieve 100% eradication. So I wanted to see what would happen if I put my soul, heart and brain to it. Think we are making progress. Pretty excited at this point. As far as a role model, I have had a few. The most poignant is Antonio Meloto, founder of Gawad Kaligna – the Philippines’ largest grassroots social business. 

Why did you choose Ghana for this project? Do you have any personal connection to this place?
Ghana was strategically the right environment to incubate this idea. It is stable, Anglophone, etc. 

What was your greatest achievement and biggest disappointment in your entrepreneurial career?
My greatest achievement to date has been mentoring a team that was the highest ranked startup (Global Startup Battle) in West Africa. Amazing idea, amazing team. My biggest disappointment has been the friends I have lost along the way. Building things is complicated. Egos get in the way. Disagreements about money get in the way. Being a social entrepreneur can really take its toll on your friendships. 

Your project is doing great and is very ambitious. However, if there was anything you could have done differently when starting up what would that have been?
I think we should have found a local co-founder from day one. 

How did you manage to make your project financially sustainable when you first started? And how do you intend to make it financial sustainable in the future as well? 
We are reinventing the model of the university. We focus on long-term revenue streams, not tuition. In the short term, we stay afloat by sharing the burden of aspects of our operating cost via the co-working/hub model. 

How do you think the entrepreneurial world has changed since you started? 
It seems like there is an emergence in the “cluster”, “hub”, etc. world. I think this collaborative, streamlining, trend is super positive. 

What are your next big steps with OUWA and what is your vision?
My vision is to see 1,000,000+++ students enrolled in nearly free higher education. To see 10,000,000 families find employment in our ecosystem. To end poverty. Our next big steps to do this will be to add faculties. Medicine (the PA program) is the first in line. Working with some amazing people on that. 

What advice would you give to up coming entrepreneurs? Both from getting an idea to making it happen and financial advice?  
Start. Pivot. 

Why did you decide to become an entrepreneur? 
I didn’t. It just happened. 

Interviewee: Ranjan Ojha (Nepal)
Region: Nepal
Category: Music & Society

The Nepal Music Festival is not only a celebration of music, but of the different cultures and communities in Nepal. The festival unites people both domestically and internationally, highlighting that the Nepalese society can corporate despite major differences. Attracting international artists, Nepal is slowly becoming known for something else than extreme poverty. Nepalese history demonstrates that music has always been a key element for the population, which has made many exceptionally enthusiastic about the festival. The festival is especially encouraging the younger generations to stay in their country and make a difference and fight poverty. 

The founder, Ranjan Ojha completed secondary school in Nepal, after which he moved abroad. He attended universities in both England and Denmark: having studied international development at Roskilde University, Leadership at University College of Sealand and business studies as well as achieving a master in science at the De Montfort Leicester University. In 2008, Ranjan was the chief Coordinator of the Nepalese Students Network and in 2010 he became vice president of Global Medical Aid. Following by the Nepal Music Festival, which he initiated in June 2011. The organization stands for “3P”, which is the first of its kind in South Asia. 3P represents People, Progress and Peace.

The vision of the organization is to build peace, cultural and educational platforms through out time, which will create sustainable development in Nepal. This will be done by establishing trust and supporting the engagement of stakeholders from around the world.

Could you tell us more in-depth about the peace aspect of your project in Nepal? How has the situation (government corruption and poverty) in Nepal affected your project?
Despite the ongoing worse scenario of political, economic and social instability in the country, we (Nepali people) should not give up our esteem; but instead join hands for unity, harmony and hope for a better future. This is our voice!

Thousands of young people have joined Nepal Music Festival 2012 which shows the value of our music and culture that binds our diversity and also manifests the strong message of ‘’people, peace and progress’. Music and culture has its own meaning and is one of the major tools that in fact brings cohesion in the Nepalese society in wider terms.

Most Importantly, in the times of divisions in society, festivals where thousands of people came together, ultimately gives the feelings and message of unity and cohesiveness that resembles peace. Further, we also say its not enough. Nepalese people should work together constructively in creating better, competitive and prosperous future by their own hands. We should focus on our synergy and strengths, and of course our own recourses, that can be utilized to make the country move forward, which we believe is possible.

Peace gives immense pleasure to think about and work towards. When the project is going through a negative phase, it helps to talk about hope and the peace aspects. It benefits us to think; that if we fully dedicate ourselves to change, then it can be achieved. 

We have not experienced any problems so far. We know there might be obstacles on the road; poverty, education, jobs, health, innovations and lot of other factors are amongst the major challenges, but on the other hand, these problems are the source of inspiration to strive on. I believe there are not any problems that can’t be overcome. The question is how much do we strive towards it and how long does it take. And regarding the government, I am very optimistic; they will be the shoulder to lean on. We trust in common efforts and look forward to work closely with them and any entity that wants to add value in the mission and contribute in this process in taking forward.

How did you get the idea for your project and what was it like starting it? What was easy and what was difficult in this process?
It originally started with my former lecturer Mr. Ian Choo and few of my close and enthusiastic friends here in Denmark who were inspired and willing to do something for Nepal. We all agreed to run a volunteer run non-profit yearly festival where people can gather and celebrate for People, Peace and Progress in an international musical environment. On the run, we were also able to articulate our vision to our various friends in Denmark, Nepal and abroad and everyone was willing to be part of. Now we have support from various people, professionals, volunteers and organization. We are also happy to have support from the Nepal Tourism Board the government body.

The easy part, was my team, we immediately agreed on the concept and to move forward. We had a few challenges of having our own recourses, expanding our networks, telling our vision and stories, convince people and organization to support us. But now we have more people and organization that have already tied up the collaborations and more have already requested to join. I think this is going great.

How do you personally think your project contributes to development? And how does this relate to social entrepreneurship?
Nepal has massive possibilities in natural and cultural recourses for example tourism, agriculture, hydropower, cultural industries etc. But I don't think there has been a sufficient action plan to take the maximum benefit out of it and making these recourses the main backbone of our economy. Despite having our own strengths, that has to be explored, we have become a kind of parasite and have spent decades relying on others. The big question is, how long we can be dependent on the developed nations and how long can this be sustainable? That is why we say, its time to reflect, evaluate our own possibilities and explore new ideas. We hope our voice and action will open the door of dialogue and opportunities that will contribute to and support the development processes. In addition, we want to create an environment, where people can have dialogues, brainstorm, share ideas and knowledge. We wish to engage people in a debate in thinking differently (Out of the box) and see what creativity and innovations they can come up with, by using the recourses that they have in front of their eyes. This will enhance our youth generations to become a role model. They can create their own innovation that contributes to the development of our country. This leads people, particularly the youth, on the path of becoming entrepreneurs and innovators, which I think is key to drive the nation.

How did you make you project financially sustainable? What financial advice would you give to upcoming social entrepreneurs?
Sustainability is vital, because we don't want only to live, but also to grow. We want to build our own economy so that we can work towards our objectives. Our financial plan is based upon the economy, which we will generate from the involvement of our outside participants. This particiapants are, for example, audiences, partners, and other stakeholders, which will help to sustain the project. We hope people will join and take this as a celebration. In addition, we also want our partners, musicians and concerned stakeholders to understand our non-profit initiative and cause. Also, we hope they will contribute their support on their own initiative. I am very positive that the Nepalese government also supports us.

I think entrepreneurship is all about taking risks, doing something new and bring forth change, whatever the size or scale. So I suggest depending upon one’s financial and other capabilities, one should at least start to make the idea grow and expand. Eventually, it’s all about knowledge and creative approaches that you make to foster the actions further. If people believe your ideas, things will turn your way.

What can we expect from your project in the future, both short and long term? What do you hope it will result in?
Nepal Music festival is from the people and to the people. We hope it grows bigger every year, where many people and organizations join and takes it as a celebration of peace, hope and transformation. We hope our festival will carry the message of peace within and across the country. It should be a festival where people unite under one arena despite any differences or ideologies. We look forward to our many foreign guests who will join the Nepalese audience for the good cause. Our non profit initiative and the proceeds from the festival will contribute to the most pressing social causes within Nepal. Moreover, most importantly, our audience will understand that they are not only paying for the festival, but  also contributing to the good cause. We want to see Nepal music festival not only a yearly musical event, but as an organization working for development and progress.

Where do you think the biggest social entrepreneurship potential is in your country? In your opinion, what should the next generation of entrepreneurs focus on?
Nepal has many challenges to overcome, so I think there must be many opportunities and potentials for entrepreneurship. But I can suggest areas, in which I think the biggest potential for social entrepreneurship is in: education, health, agriculture, cultural industries, natural recourses, hydropower, technology and so forth that can create the vibrant the economy and social impacts. These are the major areas we should all focus on. These areas should be the starting point for exploration.                                                                                     

What is the biggest barrier in your country for social entrepreneurship to happen? What do you think is the best way to overcome these barriers? 
I think it's the embedded culture. We don’t have a strong background of entrepreneurial culture due to many influencing factors, such as tolerance of failure, individual passion, etc. Basically, people lack the knowledge of what entrepreneurship is. In spite of having creative ideas and imaginations, one lacks the confidence in his/her creativity and willing for the risk in making it happen. Similarly, we don't have a strong educational background that empowers youth and students to become entrepreneurs. Our education systems does not prepares us for it. This is the major challenge.

But this is not an excuse. It’s an incremental change process and we should trust our new ideas and move forward.  Sometimes there might be a small initiative of change, that can have a wider impact. But to start with, and importantly, the government should play an inspirational role in facilitating and engaging people into the perspective of seeing the world differently. The government should understand the importance of entrepreneurship, create a healthy and competitive environment and empower the citizens to create and transfer their knowledge to the society. Also traditional ways of learning needs to be reformed to prepare the upcoming generations to lead and bring their passion into actions and make Innovation to happen. 

What would you change in your country to make entrepreneurship a stable strategy to get more development?
The culture and passion of entrepreneurship should be empowered both from a government and society level. We have to create an environment where people can build up their confidence in trusting their new ideas and willing to take the courage to speak up and take action. We should prepare generations to think differently and look for new opportunities. Educational reform, new learnings, supporting peoples ideas and creative thinking is fundamental. The government can facilitate this process by investing in education, research and development, e.g. in Universities, ventures etc.

What advise would you give upcoming social entrepreneurs?
Knowledge and critical thinking is central, and combined with action plans will result in change.  

Entrepreneurs are the ones who create change. They are the role models and source of inspiration to the society. So I think they need to engage in a discussion of how they might bring some differences and make their own stories. Thinking differently and looking for opportunities is the seed. Preparing for the challenges that might appear on the way , continuous work, passion in what they are doing and dedication is a drive that will eventually pay off. 

"Every society can only be as intelligent, effective and successful as the people it‘s made of. […] It is not an indulgence to cultivate great talent, it is an indulgence, a criminal indulgence not to do so." (Dr. Alfred Herrhausen, former Chairman of Deutsche Bank)

Interviewee: Dr. Florian Kapitza
Focus Region: Africa & Asia
Category: Education support

Education is the most important lever for the development of people and people are the most important lever for the development of any society. But the problem is that 400 million people worldwide don’t have access to secondary education. Their chances to realize their potential and contribute to the economic, political and social development of their countries are consequently extremely limited.

Aiducation International is a for-impact organization, dedicated to giving people access to education. Founded in 2007 by parts of Kenya’s civil society, the organization awards merit-based high school scholarships to bright and needy students in developing countries (current focus is on Kenya). Thereby, donors (AiduMakers) donate in a highly impact-efficient way: They help individuals (AiduFellows) to realize their chances in life, while at the same time pushing the human capital in developing countries closer to their factual potential. The 1-1 principle ensures very high transparency of the investment as the AiduMaker receives regular performance reports during the 4 years of the scholarship. The AiduMaker can participate in selecting the student and each scholarship is named after the AiduMaker (e.g. “Frank-Smith-Scholarship”). Until today, Aiducation has been awarded numerous prices and is run by volunteers (called Aiducators) with chapters in Germany, Kenya, Switzerland, and UK.

Currently Aiducation International awards 150 scholarships per year on merit to high achieving children in Kenya who are identified as potential future leaders. It offers mentorship, networking and job placement opportunities to these young adults.

As the co-founder of Aiducation International, Dr. Florian Kapitza said, “I'm part of Aiducation International because I want to help students realize their potential and I love achieving this together with very inspiring people from all over the world!”

How did you come up with the idea? When and how did Aiducation International get started?
It all started with Jeremiah Kiponda Kambi (Kenya) who had received a scholarship to become a physician. It was then that he understood the importance of complementary funding programs in order to support deserving students in their education and career development, an investment from which the entire community would benefit. At that time (1998/99), I lived in Ivory Coast and was amazed by the diversity of young talents. However, I also understood that they would hardly realize their potential, as many of them did not even have access to basic education – a prerequisite for the development of a person. When we (Kristin and myself) met Jeremiah and heard about the idea to give opportunities to high-potential students with financial need, it immediately appealed to us. Together with several friends, the three of us founded Aiducation International with one part of the team in Kenya to identify deserving applicants and one part of the team in Switzerland to raise funds to finance scholarships and push the idea forward. It was only later that we realized the similar patterns across many if not all developing countries: A large variety of high-potentials but no opportunities to unleash their talent through education and other career possibilities.

How has your project evolved over time and where are you standing today?
Over the past years we have grown from a small idea without any supporters to an organization, which awards 150 scholarships per year to high achieving children in Kenya who were identified as potential future leaders.

This is a remarkable success and I am sure you are very happy about your positioning. Could you tell us about the biggest impacts of your project to the sustainable social development in the African society?
In Kenya, we pay the school fees for our “AiduFellows” (scholars). This has an enormous impact. It gives hope to the AiduFellows and their families, it reduces the number of students out of school who often face brutal alternatives to going to school: working as day laborers, sitting at home, and in some cases even being married off long before their 18th birthday. We have had several such situations already, in one extreme case one of our scholarships led to the cancelling of an arranged marriage of our of our students. So, the impact is often very tangible. And above all our scholarships give our students the chance to excel in school: 2/3 of our AiduFellows belong to the top 30% of their classes in secondary schools, with a good reputation and traditionally academically strong class mates. One of our AiduFellows is for example David Charo Katana who recently graduated from secondary school as the best out of several thousands students in his county.

Apart from that immediate impact our scholarships will also have a long-term impact, as all AiduFellow are part of a network of high potentials that will move their country forward in an economic, political, and social way.

As an entrepreneur, what are you doing in order to remain on top of things and reinvent what you’re doing to ensure your strong position?
I exchange ideas with other entrepreneurs and read relevant literature.

How do you evaluate the competition between NGOs in the charitable educational field in Africa? Which are your major competitors and what are you doing better / different?
I think there is healthy, positive competition just like in any other field of the economy. It propels the different organizations forward.

What is Aiducation doing differently than many others?
There are four things, which characterize us and distinguish us from others. First, it is the use of donations. The 1-1 principle ensures very high transparency of the investment as the AiduMaker receives regular performance reports during the 4 years of the scholarship. The AiduMaker is part of an informal selection committee and decides from a pre-selected pool of AiduSeekers who he/ she wants to support and each scholarship is named after the AiduMaker (e.g. “Frank-Smith-Scholarship”). Regular reports inform AiduMakers on personal progress and impact. Second, we believe that education is the most effective way of realizing potential. Therefore, Aiducation’s activities fully focus on providing access to education and we are proud to say that 90% of all scholarship funds are invested directly into education. Third, we believe in meritocracy. Consequently, each AiduFellow has to go through a rigorous selection process in which financial neediness and brightness are carefully assessed. Therefore, our AiduFellows are high-potentials capable of contributing significantly to the social, economic and political development of their country. Fourth, Aiducation supports AiduFellows financially (Aid to Education Program) and non-financially (Education to Aid Program) by making them become part of an exclusive network of high potentials. The Education to Aid Program, consisting of elements like mentorship academies, group mentoring, career rotations, workshops, project work, seminars, internships, training, startup experiences and others, allow the students to meet and learn from high profile speakers and from other each other. The whole program empowers AiduFellows to live active lives and to use their potential and capabilities for the economic, political, and social development of their country.

Do you collaborate with other educational charities to have a stronger impact? Which and why?
We collaborate loosely with SOS Children’s Villages in Kenya and Shining Hope for Communities. Both organizations help us recruit suitable candidates.

Many people admit that improving governance mechanisms and transparency in Africa could reduce opportunities for corruption. What are your experiences with corruption and how does that affect what you’re trying to do?
Luckily we have never had active contact to corruption. It is an important problem in Kenya and mainly affects dealing with public authorities. Since our funds go directly to Kenya and then directly to the schools, we are hardly affected by it. 

Are there any other barriers that constrain social entrepreneurs like yourself and governments from working more effectively together? How might they be overcome?
We have never applied for any government grants. At one time we approached the Swiss Development Aid organization, the DEZA and asked if they are interested in working together. Their answer was that they prefer working directly together with government agencies, rather than foundations, companies, or for-impact organizations like Aiducation.

Many non-African NGOs have to listen to criticism that they make a living on the poverty and necessity of the people they work with and that their activities are non-transparent and non-sustainable. How do you ensure that Aiducation International does not fall into the range of these NGOs and what do you do in order to transfer knowledge and resources to the local level for a more sustainable development?
We do so based on four principles.

• Sustainability: Is there something more sustainable than empowering the young generation with education to push their own country forward? 
• Transparency: our concept guarantees a very high level of transparency. The AiduMaker selects the student and a very large portion of his/ her money is invested into that specific student. Moreover our yearly report provides a very high degree of transparency on what we do. Last but not least, any donor is highly welcome to attend our Mentorship Academies in Kenya and directly talk to “his/ her” AiduFellow.
• Living on poverty: To say organizations like Aiducation are living on poverty is like saying that hospitals and doctors are living on cancer and diseases. We are not living on poverty but trying to get rid of it with an innovative and promising approach that has been widely neglected in the past.
• Knowledge transfer: In our Mentorship Academies, invited guest speakers – mainly from Kenya but also some from abroad – pass on their knowledge and experience to the high potentials. Apart from that, we also work closely together with our Kenyan chapter and mentor and coach them in our every day dealings. 

What advice would you give to social entrepreneurs in Kenya or other African countries as well as non-African entrepreneurs who want to get started there?
Just do it.

What are your goals for Aiducation International?
We want to activate as much human potential as possible. Next year, we plan to add the Philippines as another Talent Raising Site to our organization and we are looking for more corporate partners, foundations and private people to support our mission.