Unlocking the power of impact investing in Asia and the Pacific
At Synergy we have long recognized that there is much more potential for social entrepreneurs to contribute to impact and development in the Asia Pacific region than is being tapped into. This realization, in fact, was the inspiration behind the founding of Synergy Social Ventures and our mission to help to unleash this potential. In [...]
Back to Myanmar
In this blog post Abbie shares her reflections on Myanmar today compared to the Myanmar she knew from 2004 when she spent time living in the country and working for Population Services International. Although I had worked in Myanmar in 2004 and found much of the physical infrastructure challenges still existed, there was a [...]
Social Entrepreneurship in Myanmar
This November we conducted an initial exploratory visit to Myanmar to better understand the current context given the recent major changes in the country, to explore the social entrepreneurship sector and to assess how Synergy could contribute to its development. As with all our exploratory trips, we make a point to meet with a full [...]
Innovations in Philanthropy: Paying It Forward With Thriive
One of the highlights of my recent trip to Vietnam was seeing innovative philanthropy in action. US-based nonprofit Thriive is creating win-win-win situations all around with its pay-it-forward grassroots philanthropy model. Thriive pioneers a model that democratizes philanthropy, a concept that many of us think is only for the likes of Bill Gates and Warren [...]
The Danger of Funder-Driven Social Entrepreneurship
I work with start-up social entrepreneurs and people often talk to me about new ideas they are hatching up. These conversations are usually full of energy and excitement, with the aspiring entrepreneur talking a mile a minute about a great idea they have for a venture and why it will be a great solution to [...]
Finding Entrepreneurial DNA in Cambodia
Some say that entrepreneurs are born not made. At Synergy, we often get asked to help organizations become more entrepreneurial?, but it’s not that simple. I don’t believe that you can make an entrepreneur. The traits and characteristics that make someone a successful entrepreneur just can’t be taught. I don’t know where they come from [...]
GSVC South East Asia & Social Enterprise Symposium 2012
This March I was excited to be invited back as a judge to the South East Asian round of the Global Social Venture Competition. The competition is held annually in Bangkok and organized by Thammasat University, whose MBA program is a leader in the region in incorporating sustainability and social entrepreneurship into its curriculum. Two [...]
Agnes b. Travel Concept Store Journeys to Social Venture in Tai Po
Every few months, Agnes b‘s La Maison sur L’eau travel concept store in IFC takes its Hong Kong customers on a journey to lesser-known countries around the world, featuring photos and art exhibitions introducing locations such as Andalucia, the Ivory Coast, and Belgium. The most recent destination, however, brought customers back home, to shed light [...]
Financing Social Returns in Southeast Asia: Synergy Social Ventures
[Re-posted from SocialFinance.ca. See the original post from 15 February 2012 here.] Part 1 of this blog post highlighted some difficulties faced by social entrepreneurs in Asia; Part 2 profiles Synergy Social Ventures, which supports social enterprise, and ties in lessons for the broader world of social finance. Synergy Social Ventures is a not-for-profit organization [...]
Financing Social Returns in Southeast Asia: Barriers
[Re-posted from SocialFinance.ca. See the original post from 14 February 2012 here.] The concepts of social enterprise and social entrepreneurship are newer to Southeast Asia and China than to other parts of the world. If someone was asked to name the most successful social enterprises globally, it is unlikely that an individual or organization from [...]
