Description: Internet Marketplace for Student Social Business
Location: Kenya & US
The Innovation:
Rosebella Preparatory Center is a private primary school located in the slum community of Dandora, Nairobi. Most residents of Dandora earn modest incomes and some struggle to afford the cost of electricity. For lighting, they rely upon kerosene lamps, which produce smoke that is both hazardous to human health and harmful to the environment. With the help of School Ventures, elementary students at Rosebella responded to this social problem by starting a social business to sell affordable solar-powered lamps into the community. They used their proceeds to pay school fees for orphans and extremely poor children.
A portion of the funds used to purchase the solar lights came from elementary students in North Carolina who sold energy efficient light bulbs in their local community to raise money for students in Kenya.
Investing Opportunity:
The Rosebella pilot initiative shows the powerful potential of introducing social business to young people in school. Not only are children able to produce creative solutions to social and environmental problems, but they can do so in wonderfully sustainable and productive ways - regardless of their socioeconomic background.
School Ventures is building on the success of this pilot to launch an Internet marketplace that will enable school students in the US to provide microloans to students-led social businesses in Kenya and other parts of Africa.
This initiative will create opportunity for both African and US students to gain relevant life skills through participation in social business. It will also generate income so that children from low-income families in Africa can supplement the cost of their education through profits they earn from their social business activities.
The website is intended for launch in 2009.
Please contact us to explore investment opportunities.
