Empower Program for Social Entrepreneurship
Founding Partners
Seeking experienced partners committed to establishing a synergistic relationship, Empower has successfully reached out to renowned organizations as its founding partners.
In part as a result of the Founders' strong interest in the field of microfinance and their own entrepreneurial history in the field of finance, microfinance was selected as the core Empower launching social entrepreneurship initiative. After researching potential partnering organizations that are active in the field and following conversations with ACCION senior management and its newly-elected Chairman, Álvaro Rodríguez Arregui, ACCION became the first uniquely suited partner able to both enrich the educational experience of program participants as well as benefit from its participation in the program. Empower is therefore extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to launch the program with Boston-headquartered ACCION International, a pioneer and leader in the field of microfinance throughout the world. The first Empower-ACCION Fellows were Tufts seniors who intensively engaged in creating ACCION's new hub in Accra, Ghana.
ASHOKA: INNOVATORS FOR THE PUBLIC
Ashoka has approached Empower and Tufts to create a collaboration where Ashoka Fellows -- Ashoka Visiting Social Entrepreneurs who are geographically and topically diverse -- will be directly involved in mentoring university students. Since 2000, Ashoka has been involved in training university students in Indonesia, Nepal, and Poland with the goal of encouraging students to maintain a long-term commitment to participation in civil society. Empower has also been invited into the Ashoka University Network that draws together scholars and others studying social entrepreneurship and the emergence of the entrepreneurial competitive citizen sector. Bill Drayton, CEO and Founder of Ashoka, addressed the 2008 EPIIC Symposium and has invited the IGL's Director to be an Ashoka Global Nominator.
THE SCHWAB FOUNDATION FOR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. invited Empower to participate as resource providers at its Social Entrepreneurs Summit, Social Entrepreneurship: Connecting Markets and Meaning, in Ruschlikon, Switzerland in January 2008. One significant consequence of this meeting has been the commitment of the Schwab network to endorse Empower's students seeking positions in the extensive and extraordinary international network of recognized Social Entrepreneurs.
Kiva is a highly entrepreneurial organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to small businesses in developing countries. It has committed itself to a preferential relationship with Empower.
"I would like to formally say that Kiva.org is thrilled to announce the launch of an innovative partnership with Tufts University to provide Kiva Fellowships for qualified students through the school's Institute for Global Leadership. We are confident that Tufts' strong commitment to social entrepreneurship and microfinance will greatly benefit Kiva and our microfinance partners around the world! We also have identified exciting research opportunities for Tufts students to engage in independently and with Empower's support during the academic year. On behalf of the Kiva community from our lenders and our entrepreneurs, and from the staff and volunteers working tirelessly to serve them — we are looking forward to a long-term partnership with Tufts University and Empower." — Anushka Ratnayake, Kiva Fellows Program Manager