Tech entrepreneurs want to change the world, often in a selfish way. Having a social mission or social capital is a fringe concept, making social entrepreneurship and technology two opposite worlds in the city. Of course a technology entrepreneur may talk about CSR or charity or even community involvement, but it’s often at the end of the party.
If you look around though, Montreal being as it is, social capital inspires many.
Events like the Grameen Creative Lab workshop gather people from different backgrounds, and that’s where you can meet a few good people who understand the concept of using businesses to solve a problem without a profit objective. It takes time to grok the concept, and see what you can get from it. I’ve met there Christine Renaud (aka e-180), and in the tech community, there’s also Ajah.ca, OpenNorth, and a couple of ventures which in a way or another started with a social mission.
There is also RadialPoint , an established company building a culture based on people, talent, and giving, and who wants to support social entrepreneurship. Yesterday, the company invited to Montreal Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva, to speak to RadialPoint family & friends. She told the story of Kiva’s organic growth, and captivated the audience with how kiva revolutionized personal giving, by allowing anyone to connect with third-world entrepreneurs, empowering them, and ultimately changing the relationship you have with them.
Kiva facilitated $260 millions in micro-loans in 2011, and it certainly allows millions of entrepreneurs to make a difference.
Kiva made an impression on Hamnet Hill, co-founder and CEO of RadialPoint, back when the service started in 2006 and he told everyone how it resonates with his values, and in a way, RadialPoint’s. The company is now encouraging actively employees & friends to be active members of the service in a special Kiva group.
There’s a good question if all of this really makes a difference. After all, you could just build a quick money-making venture. A few people will say though that while it pays the bills, it doesn’t bring satisfaction or the happiness of working with good generous people.
Thanks to RadialPoint for the event!
