Can you imagine if the plastic waste in the oceans could be turned into something useful, such as parasols? Or would you like to know what barriers social enterprises face in so-called “third countries”? Explore the list of interesting podcasts, articles and interviews we have prepared for you, discover inspiring stories and learn about social entrepreneurship.
One of the interesting podcasts is undoubtedly Social Entrepreneur, hosted by Tony Loyd – TEDx speaker, coach to social entrepreneurs and author of several books related to social entrepreneurship. The main idea of his podcast is to connect underrepresented voices from all around the world. Thanks to this, his podcast guides you through various social entrepreneurs’ projects in the form of discussions. Listen to the story of environmentally sustainable umbrellas from ocean-bound plastic; one of the projects awarded the UNIFEC Wearables for Good Challenge; and an interview with Emily Dalton Smith, Vice President of Product Management at Meta about their work and social impact.
In 2019 Causeartist, a global community of social entrepreneurs, builders and creators launched its podcast called Disruptors for GOOD. Through individual interviews hosted by the founder of Causeartist, Grant Trahant, you can get to know a number of interesting social enterprises and entrepreneurs from different spheres. Meet the stories of people who have dedicated their lives to ethical fashion, impact investing, climate change, sustainable travel, and businesses that impact the world in a positive way.
The Doin the Work podcast is based on one-on-one interviews conducted by Shimon Cohen, the founder of The PR Office — a London-based international public relations agency specializing in nonprofit and community. His guests are social workers, activists, educators and those in related fields. The episodes are dedicated to in-depth topics and discussions on local responses to global issues. Doin the Work can thus be considered a brave podcast that highlights the work of “real people” solving “real problems”.
One of the articles that caught our attention is a piece from The Guardian that tells the experience of a Nigerian refugee with a small social enterprise called “Give Your Best”. “Give your Best” offers the first platform of its kind where people and brands can donate clothes online so that refugee women and children can shop for free. Thanks to this platform, where photos of clothes are published, refugees have a real choice of what they need and what they like at the same time.
If you want to learn about the work of social enterprises producing coffee or chocolates around the world, this article from The New York Times is for you. The article also talks about the difference between like-minded businesses in developed countries and those in Africa or Latin America. Learn about their story and the challenges they face and see the topic of social entrepreneurship from a different perspective.
In addition to the podcast, Causeartist contributes to the topic with a number of articles published directly on their website. Along with inspiring stories, you can also find a lot of advice and motivation from experienced social entrepreneurs on their website. This makes Causeartist a great place to get inspiration or learn more about the topic.
Ted Talks are another great opportunity to learn and get to know something more. One of the interesting talks was from Erica Wenger, founder of Mahkana – social enterprise selling apparel for nonprofits and changemakers.
She sees the field of social entrepreneurship as offering meaningful opportunities at the interface between the public and private sectors. The speech outlines her experiences and efforts to inspire others to get involved in social entrepreneurship. Her talk will give you an insight into how she sees social entrepreneurship and why she thinks it’s the way which changes the world.
One of the TED Fellows is Tom Osborn, founder and CEO of Shamiri, a youth-led organization providing affordable, evidence-based mental health care to young people across sub-Saharan Africa, and especially Kenya. This TED talk focuses on his experience of working with young people in a country where up to 45% of them struggle with mental health problems. Learn about the work of the Shamiri Institute and how their community and youth-focused model could become a model to help children around the world lead successful and independent lives.
