Why you are never "too young" to launch a startup

For many years, it was a common misapprehension that an individual’s ability to create impact and his or her age were mutually dependent. Fortunately, this is now changing as the younger generation is going against the norm and breaking countless barriers. Winning a Nobel prize was once reserved for the “mature” generation, but last year 17-year-old Malala Yousafzai stunned the …

Business sustainability benefits the community, environment and local economy

Andres Hammerman is the co-owner of the award-winning eco-lodge Black Sheep Inn. With extensive eco-building and design experience in composting toilets, adobe structures, natural roofs, woodstoves and chimneys, grey-water systems and rainwater catchments, he built his company to help develop and create a community tourist destination in the rural Andean village of Chugchilan, Ecuador. What was the dream when setting …

The ideal age to start a business is when you’re young

Last week we interviewed Wachira Kariuki, Founder and CEO of Classic Foods Limited, a food processing company. It was established in 2007 for buying and selling milk in- bulk quantities from farmers to milk processors. The company was further transformed to a milk processor in 2009 with capital contributions of over $5 Million. We expanded the business to fruit juice processing, …

If you’re starting a startup: listen. learn. act. pivot.

Maryam Mohiuddin Ahmed is the Director of the Social Innovation Lab, Pakistan’s sole incubator providing mentorship and sustainable business practices for startup ideas related to poverty alleviation and rural development. She currently lives in Lahore and holds a LL.M. degree from University of California, Berkeley. What was the dream when setting up The Social Innovation Lab?  The dream was to …

The secret behind FoodCycle’s success

Mary McGrath is the CEO of FoodCycle, which runs volunteer-powered community projects across the UK – working to reduce food poverty and social isolation by serving tasty, nutritious meals to vulnerable groups. They are an award-winning social enterprise and recently won Ashoka’s Makers of More challenge.   What was the inspiration behind tackling food wastage and the food poverty problem? We throw …

Tech entrepreneur says to keep learning, listen to feedback and hire carefully

Last week we interviewed Forbes 30 under 30 Tanyella Evans, 27, the co-founder and COO of Library For All, a tech non-profit based in New York that is committed to unlocking knowledge and opportunities for those in developing countries with limited access to educational materials. Tanyella and her co-founder Rebecca take on this mission with their cloud-based library of e-books. …