Yunus Social Busines (YSB) and its sister organisation Zero Poverty Ventures are cooperating with Global Social Impact (GSI) and the Open Value Foundation, founded by María Ángeles, to bring expansion funding to high potential Social Businesses in East Africa.
Professor Muhammud Yunus joined the Open Value Foundation and the Global Social Impact Fund team this weekend in Santander to celebrate the partnership and speak to university students in Spain.
The GSI Fund have provided further financing to some of our YSB portfolio companies in Uganda. These include Tugende, a moto-taxi financing business that secures higher incomes and the opportunities for micro-entrepreneurs to own their own business and Ankole Coffee Producers' Cooperative Union (ACPCU), a coffee cooperative bringing together farmers to secure higher prices and better working conditions.
At both GSI and YSB we believe in working together to expand the eco-system of social businesses and support network available to them. Therefore, it is vitally important to connect social businesses with further funding where possible and we look forward to more collaboration in the future!
ACPCU in UgandaACPCU in Uganda
We are delighted to be part of delivering the fantastic F-LANE Accelerator, Europe's first accelerator with a focus on early-stage social impact start-ups that utilise technology to empower women worldwide.
At the halfway point through the program we find ourselves sitting back and reflecting over the last five months. And what a fine journey of progress and development it’s been. We’ve seen our entrepreneurs learn and share all sorts from methodologies to frameworks to general advice about life and business.
Amidst the hype from Friday’s Climate Strikes and the ongoing UN Climate Week, it was fantastic to have the opportunity to speak at the #LeadTheBeat B Corporation Summit this week. Having been involved in the social business movement for over ten years, the summit felt like a real moment of change.