A Positive Voice: Recent Episodes
Positive Planet US
Positive Planet US, a nonprofit dedicated to addressing economic, social and ecological inequity through entrepreneurship, is proud to launch “A Positive Voice”; a podcast series featuring the continuing stories of both success and struggle, of underrepresented social impact entrepreneurs from around the world. As supporters of these initiatives, you deserve to hear these amazing stories, from a new generation of social impact entrepreneurs, first hand. So we thought what better way than to allow for the founders to tell you themselves. Enjoy at your own pace!
Featured in Business Insider, Thrive Global, 500 Startups and recently selected for Cox Enterprises Social Impact Accelerator powered by Techstars, California-based Dreami.io is well on its way to fulfilling its mission of democratizing career guidance. “Mentorship is a powerful tool to attract, develop, and retain,” says its founder and first-time entrepreneur Ashima Sharma. But mentorship was the very thing she lacked after leaving a successful chemical engineering career in the male-dominated oil and gas industry (where she felt like a “diversity hire”) and pivoting into the tech industry..
Positive Planet sat down with Ashima Sharma to listen to her story of how lack of professional support, surviving a Sri Lanka tsunami when she was only 10, and doing a bit of soul-searching on a wilderness backpack trip gave her much of what she needed to start Dreami.io.
**In a country still very much divided by socioeconomic class and race, equal opportunity for all is far from being fully realized in the United States. Certainly people of color know this better than anyone, still grappling with the brunt of inequity in all sectors of life.
As an African-American woman raised in a Los Angeles working-class neighborhood, Elaine Rasmussen knows first-hand the challenges many people of color face trying to prosper. After years working in finance, marketing, and philanthropy, in 2015 she founded Social Impact Strategies Consulting, a Minnesota-based financial advising and strategizing organization that works to democratize wealth, financial services, and access to capital by and for women and communities of color. Elaine spoke with Positive Planet to discuss her path to and presence in the burgeoning field called “impact investing.”**
Mathias Apovo has been a dedicated educator and a passionate youth capacity builder for more than 8 years. In this episode, Mathias shares his personal journey, including failed business ideas, persistence and chasing a dream, that have led him to where he is now: as the founder of a young company, Blue Diamond Leading Solutions (BDLS). With BDLS, Mathias sees education as a means to empower and positively influence youth in Africa. The organization is equipping youths in Burkina Faso for the modern, international world, through English-language proficiency. Listen to his story here.
"It doesn’t matter what you’re feeling, there’s a community for you.” With 25 years as an award-winning journalist and producer, Cathleen Trigg-Jones experienced the lack of representation in media first hand and felt compelled to address it, not just for herself, but for the wider community. So, Cathleen founded iWoman TV as a digital streaming platform by women, about women, for everyone.
In this episode, Cathleen shares her mission for the platform, what she needs to make it successful, and why she is so passionate about it. We also welcome Christine Matovich as co-host. You might recognize Christine from an earlier podcast: she and Cathleen got to know each other in Positive Planet US’ most recent Accelerator Hub, from which they are among our recent graduate cohort. Tune in to the conversation.
Originally a grad school project, the concept for Market Express almost didn’t see the light of day. But, Ebenezer Lazar saw so much potential in it that he felt it deserved a chance as a real business. The result? An ecommerce platform for Ghanaian grocery retailers, connecting farmers with a market directly.
The goals and benefits of Market Express extend beyond simple convenience. Tune in to hear Ebenzer explain how the online ordering system aims to improve the quality of life for everyday Ghanaians: saving time, improving stock management, opening doors to micro financing, and even reducing the congested streets filled with traffic.
In 2020, Christine Matovich founded CommonTime: an online platform providing global access to the arts. With the onset of the pandemic, countless artists were unemployed, museums and performing arts centers closed, and educators teaching online were in need of new material to connect with their students. Christine responded by building a digital platform to connect students and educators to teaching artists; private art teachers to individual learners; and arts organizations to educational institutions - regardless of location. And so, CommonTime’s existence is proof that out of necessity, creative solutions are born.
In this episode, Michael chats to Christine about the role of the arts as a vital, integrated and accessible part of the education curriculum, the industry’s contribution to the global economy, and how to surround yourself with great people to build a successful business. She also gives us a tip on where to find a thriving creative community in New York (hint: it’s not Manhattan).
A graduate of Positive Planet US’ most recent Accelerator Hub, Christine is a multi-hyphenate (opera singer, cellist and artist manager are just some hats she has worn) who has described herself as ‘never comfortable with just a single track with my craft.’ Tune in to hear her speak passionately about entrepreneurship and creativity, all the most relevant in 2021, the year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, as declared by the UN.
Co-Founders and childhood friends, Hicham Zouaoui and Otman Harrak came back to Casablanca after spending high school and college part experiencing different cultures and realities. Once back together, they had the idea to build out a new their business model and the first ridesharing app in Morocco.
Now they're working together in a big, beautiful office overlooking the cinematic backdrop of Casablanca. "It's been a wonderful adventure", as Otman puts it. Carpooling isn't a new concept for a culture that already has sharing as a big part of its values. This is what made it challenging for people to understand that it was ok to exchange money for something that is usually considered simply neighborly ⥖ even among strangers.
Hicham started Pip Pip Yalah through a Facebook group, just connecting people wanting to travel between universities and their hometowns. Ridesharing. They started talking about the new concept just among friends. They got all the way up to 100 users before reconnecting again with Otman, coming back from studying in the London School of Business and the Grenoble École de Management.
Pip Pip Yalah now has recorded over 26 million kilometers in shared rides, reducing CO2 emission by 6,500 tons as people shared their ride and did not use their own cars.
Hicham and Otman talk us through serial-entrepreneurship, battling “against” cultural norms, user experience and driving social, economic and ecological impacts by facilitating and incentivizing ridesharing throughout Morocco.
Their pure friendship and excitement to conquer their mission together really comes out clearly in this very light and joyful conversation. It challenged us to battle through interpreting English and French context together at the same time. Their story of beating the odds is certainly inspiring and we know they are only at the beginning of their journey.
Learn more about Pip Pip Yalah downloading their app or visiting their website https://pippipyalah.com/
Sophia el Bahja comes from an entrepreneurial family, but she realized that fact only years later when she learned more about her mother’s work. It was this legacy which most likely led her to build a Moroccan social enterprise with education at its core. Nobox Lab focuses on experiential programs for adolescents. In our interview, Sophia walks us through the three main forms of learning Nobox Lab is currently implementing. She also shares with us how she leverages design thinking and a unique innovation lab to introduce these new curriculums for the Moroccan youth to express themselves differently.
Sophia reminds us how the traditional education system gives the same learning experience to every child, expecting the same result. However, we know now that everyone learns differently, especially at a younger age when the brain isl developing.
By providing a human-centric platform, Nobox Lab helps develop important social-emotional skills, such as empathy and love, avoiding hateful narratives so present on today’s web.
Born out of social innovation, Nobox Lab is paving the way in Morocco with a growth strategy that revolves around key partnerships and a digital experience (with in-person training once it becomes available again) for a truly hybrid model.
Learn more about Nobox Lab at http://noboxlab.com/ , while supporting more initiatives like this HERE.
At the same time Fadila Bennani had her first daughter, she decided to leave her stable job at Groupon in Casablanca, so that she could fulfill her dream of creating a socially and environmentally responsible, authentic Moroccan brand.
She was always into shoes as a student in high school and the university, but working as a consultant, she couldn’t wear sneakers in the office. At the same time, she was inspired by smaller brands launching online and growing fast in Europe, which were appealing to a more conscious consumer.
Now her shoe company “Amaz” takes traditional forms of Moroccan textile weaving to create both social and environmental impacts, at every level of its operation. “Amaz for Education” works as a give-back program which for every sneaker sold, one day of school is financed for a young girl in Morocco. They’ve raised they equivalent of over a year of schooling since the program started.
Her experience in e-commerce also opened her eyes to frivolous consumption of low value products. With Amazorking with recycled material, using traditional textile weaving of plastic bags, and so far they’ve upcycled the equivalent of 500 standard plastic bags, and 700 VHS tapes (using the film).
By utilizing Moroccan know-how and craftsmanship, Fadila continues to build an ethical, eco-friendly and socially sustainable sneaker brand in Casablanca.
On this episode we speak to Stephen Kyei, a shoemaker in Ghana using innovative tactics to create shoes from cork sheets. After working for some time in oil and gas companies throughout Ghana, ensuring environmental safety standard were met and getting his environmental resource management certificate. At the same time, he was importing leather goods from India and Spain to resell, and the business grew, until he reached a point he need to focus 100% on the business. From there, he started researching other sustainable resources he could use to build his products. He landed on cork sheets from rare cork trees.
In order to dig deeper into his story, we invited Gideon Dendzo back on the show from our previous episode, this time as a co-host asking the questions. Stephen and Gideon could have easily seen themselves as competitors, but have come together to leverage each other’s talents and resources, in order to build businesses that will sustain jobs in their community, provide quality clothing to their people and help reverse the effects of pollution by using recycled products.
With his venture and partnerships in the community, LeathOnCall was able to develop a three-pronged approach to building a sustainable business;
- Economic sustainability - Building durable, inexpensive shoes with innovative environmentally sustainable resources
- Environmental sustainability - Creating durable shoes with resources from wasted cork trees
- Social sustainability - Creating jobs for those in need in his community
Support this and more initiatives like it HERE, as we are excited to be launching our second "Accelerator Hub" program in the US, dedicated to helping minority women in the U.S. kickstart and grow a business. 25 startup founders will be selected to participate in this intensive 10-week coaching program in partnership with Capgemini and Genpact.
Gideon Dendzo was in his second year at when his little brother, Greg, started his first year at the same university in Ghana. At that point, he noticed that the amount of money his parents could afford had to be split in two. As a result, he needed to find a way to support himself on campus.
At the same time, he noticed that his male classmates weren’t able to find affordable, durable shoes to wear at the university. As a food process engineer, he started to apply conveyor belt processes to create environmentally sustainable shoes that would last. From 5 pairs, to 65 pairs he quickly realized he was also providing employment for the community.
With his venture, Giddins Fashion, he was able to develop a three-pronged approach and build a sustainable business;
- Economic sustainability - Producing a long-lasting, durable and inexpensive shoe for a generation in need
- Environmental sustainability - Creating durable shoes from recycled waste material
- Social sustainability - Developing a livelihood for members of his community
Gideon participated in the 2020 round of the @afidba, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual programme dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with Positive Planet International
Babacar Lo is a serial entrepreneur from Dakar, Senegal. He has also been a university professor level for ten years. There, he realized that people were going to business school for a Master’s Degree, but were not getting traction once entering the job market. He clearly saw that students were not being prepared with the practical skills needed to jump into a new job and hit the ground running. Students were trained to pass through a process with certain academic requirements, and not being trained with skills they need to succeed in the market.
So in 2017, he founded Taag Education, a platform that identifies the hard skills and soft skills needed for specific job positions in Dakar. Taag has now over 400 job descriptions on the platform. Through a filtered search, the user is able to identify which job positions most align with their interests. They then take a test to see how their current skills match up to those job requirements, and are then directed to the right material and professors, to start filling those knowledge requirements.
Lo participated in the 2020 round of the @afidba, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual programme dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with @positive planet international.
Building a new avenue to #employability in Senegal, Taag helps to reduce poverty and build a more economically and socially sustainable economy in Senegal.
Support this and more initiatives like it HERE.
AND if you're interested in VOLUNTEERING and helping build our next and largest entrepreneurial endeavor in the US, to accelerate 50 female entrepreneurs in social, environmental, democratic and economically sustainably enterprises, send an email to our Head of People, Katherine Alafodimos @ katherine.alafodimos@positiveplanetus.org
Rosemary Kwofie and Edward Neequaye met at University in Ghana and founded @Built Accounting in 2016. They participated in the 2019 round of the @afidba, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual programme dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with @positive planet international.
Since 2016, @Built Accounting has impacted over 5,000 small businesses in Ghana through its application, small business training programs, business development services and partnerships. Through a partnership on the ENGINE project, Built worked directly with 320 enterprises. Over a period of 2 years, these businesses have gone on to mobilize over $480,000 in credit, generating $2.5 million in incremental revenue and creating over 500 new jobs.
With a core objective of the company being to “democratize prosperity” for small business owners throughout Africa, they are a thriving example of a company that personifies the four pillars of sustainability in our programs at @Positive Planet US; economic, social environmental and democratic.
Support this and more initiatives like it HERE
Antoine de Mirbeck and Redouane el Haloui founded @peecoopcom in 2020, but have known each other for years. Peecoop is a free mobile application based out of Casablanca, Morocco, which allows you to quickly find and geolocate a scooter, a mini Honda or a pick-up for the transport of all your goods; your “Uber Freight”, if you will.
Peecoop now has more than 1,000 verified "peecoopers" who are currently referenced and deployed in Greater Casablanca to respond to all your requests without you having to move from where you are.
With over 1,000 verified users, Peecoop promotes an economically and socially sustainable environment of inclusive employability. By moving workers from the black market to the formal job market, they have the opportunity to work with many more clients/consumers, on a digital marketplace.
Antoine de Mirbeck and Redouane el Haloui founded the organization in 2020, and participated in the 2020 round of the @afidba, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual program dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with @positive planet international.
Faso Attiéké produces fresh and dried cassava couscous (attiéké). The company produced 542 tonnes of attiéké in 2019 and currently employs 50 full-time employees. Florence Bassono founded the company in 2015 after being stopped at the border, she was forbidden to bring attiéké into her community in Burkina Faso, an essential piece of their diet. She now works with 500 small-scale cassava farmers. They’ve differentiated themselves from the competitors through the quality of their products and their brand image. Faso Attiéké’s is having a tremendous impact on the community. By creating over 50 full-time jobs, giving sustainable income to over 500 local farmers and 200+ female cassava collectors, Florence’s presence goes far beyond the kitchen.
“I started the business on the side while still employed by another company, which gave me the ability to take out a bank loan. Later on, we also received a loan from the Fonds Burkinabè de Développement Economique et Social, a national investment fund; a grant from Luxembourg-based NGO ASTM; a loan from Initiative Ouaga, and a grant from the Danish-backed Programme for Economic Growth within the Agricultural Sector (PCESA).”
- Florence Bassono
Florence founded the organization in 2015, and participated in the 2020 round of the AFIDBA, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual programme dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with Positive Planet International.
Kitambaa, which symbolizes and evokes ‘dignity’ in Swahili, aims to provide young African girls and women of childbearing age with washable pads that meet their hygienic needs, in order to enable them to go to school and so to participate in an equitable manner to national development. By reducing the upheavals caused - in their education and in their lives - by their periods, and the lack of accessibility to disposable hygiene products and adequate infrastructure, Kitambaa is providing an ecologically and financially sustainable solution while answering her community social needs.
- 40% of girls between the ages of 9 and 17 have skipped school at least once a week every time they get their period due to lack of sanitation.
- This absenteeism has a negative impact on academic performance. In some cases, girls (11.2%) drop out of school because of challenges encountered during their periods.
- Women lose 40-45% of their income during these five days.
- More than half of elementary schools did not have sanitary facilities. 52% of schools did not have a toilet and 59% did not have access to water.
Thanks to her experience in NY, her education and her life experience in Senegal, Yaye Helene understood very fast the importance to supplement any outside funds (NGO or donors’ funding) with local support - whether using a local Mayor’s enthusiasm or the new creation of a free zone in the country.
**Y.H. Ndiaye founded the organization in 2019, and participated in the 2020 round of the AFIDBA, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual programme dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with Positive Planet International.
Guest Co-Host: Catherine Roggero-Lovisi, former President of Revlon North America**
Fanta Mone founded Malaika’s Garden schools in 2015. She is first and foremost a mother. Always smiling, she is very attentive to the needs of the children she welcomes on a daily basis. Fanta is a passionate entrepreneur who is constantly looking for solutions to ensure a suitable and quality education for many children. She wants to support parents in making the new generations “grow and shine”.
She joins us today with a fellow mother and English teacher at the school, Mrs. Traore, to help translate this conversation in real-time.
The two shed light on how the school has grown from 0 to 38 employees and from 0 to 500 students in just 5 years. However, they face a financial challenge. To grow the school and allow for children to continue at Malaika’s Garden after primary, they must obtain access to microfinance loans otherwise it will threaten their progress.
Fanta Mone founded the organization in 2015, and participated in the 2020 round of the AFIDBA, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual programme dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with Positive Planet International.
In two years, AFIDBA has accelerated 60 startups, from 4 countries, in 6 month programs for each batch of entrepreneurs. It has provided €540,000 in funding, with 72 workshops and 101 contributions to sustainable development goals in 2019 alone.
E-cover aims to solve the problem of waste management in Africa by upcycling in an eco-friendly way in order to create marketable resources.
Mbeubeuss is an open air landfill in the capital of Senegal; Dakar. This landfill exposes the entire city to many fumes and filth every day, leaving all surrounding communities to live in alarming conditions. There are so limited options for them that they are forced to find ways to extract iron and steel contained in the tire waste, and resell it. They are exposed to illnesses such as pneumonia, mycosis and cancer. Surrounding communities have voiced complaints with little to no response.
E-cover is a start-up that proposes a solution to help these and other communities throughout Africa, to find a way of recycling all types of waste and apply it usefully and sustainably.
Yaye Soudaou Fall founded the organization in 2015, and participated in the 2020 round of the AFIDBA, a multidisciplinary, multi-stakeholder, international and bilingual programme dedicated to the inclusive, digital and sustainable economic growth in continental Africa, in partnership with Positive Planet International.
In two years, AFIDBA has accelerated 60 startups, from 4 countries, in 6 month programs for each batch of entrepreneurs. It has provided €540,000 in funding, with 72 workshops and 101 contributions to sustainable development goals in 2019 alone.