This weekend, I will be speaking on a panel at The Chicago Microfinance Conference (CMFC), a collaborative effort among leading graduate business and policy institutions that brings together practitioners, academics and emerging industry leaders to advance the strategic debate of the future of microfinance.
I was originally invited to be a speaker at the conference on the general theme of "Green Microfinance" but as the conference's agenda developed, organizations throughout the world doing similiar work combining renewable energy, the environment and microfinance were brought in to form a panel called "Microfinance Goes Green." I will be joined by 3 others to discuss why renewables and microfinance, and the environment and international development, are inherently linked, and where this momentum will lead the microfinance community in the coming years.
You can learn more about the conference participants and the conference itself here: http://www.chicagomicrofinance.com/speakers.shtml
If you're in Chicago come check it out!
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In other news, after the pilot project, I will be focusing on an application for this grant from the Draper Richards Foundation: http://www.draperrichards.org/process/guidelines.html
This grant, which supports startup non-profit social ventures with funding for 3 years, fits perfectly with SunPower Afrique's mission, current status and future vision. The foundation's homepage states: "By delivering critical support at the start-up phase, Draper Richards Fellowships help outstanding people create wide-spread social change."
A Draper Richards Fellowship, along with the excellent reccomendations on our financial model from Penn State, would allow SunPower Afrique to operate in the black and move beyond the pilot state into our 10-year scaleability plan. Ashoka watch out, I WILL be back...I am a passionate and principled entrepreneur.
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