_Hello We are _SocialStarters and we design international development, career change and social entrepreneurship programmes that see the growth of social enterprise with some of the world’s hardest to reach people. We are looking for the right people to join us! •Are you a career changer / career breaker / post-grad / sabbaticalist / corporate learner / freelancer or aspiring social entrepreneur? •Are you looking to travel with purpose? •Would you like a career changing volunteer experience that tackles real social goals with a heavy focus on two way development and sustainability? Working with the British Council, you #JoinUs as Social Enterprise Consultants, we will train you so that you are able to develop and grow Sri Lankan Social Entrepreneurs. •Work with clients who are in their first year or two of manufacturing, developing and selling a product •Get to know the Sri Lankan organic, fair trade and sustainability goals •Play a role in developing social entrepreneurship in a country recently affected by war •Innovate. motivate, aspire and inspire •Design new solutions for change across product design, packaging solutions, new markets, supply chain management and distribution. Interested? Then apply to info@socialstarters.org ASAP. We have two programmes running in 2015 - July 4th (6 weeks) and September 6th (6 weeks). We also will be running a two week programme in September - Social Innovation Bootcamp. Limited spaces available. Email us for details.
_WhoWeAre We are a small group of young professionals who have been making our move away from the corporate sector in the last few years. Since then we’ve been notching up hours in volunteer management, international development, youth media, CSR & Social Enterprise. We have over 30 years of professional experience, managing over 200 volunteers along the way. _SocialStarters works with two groups of people: 1. International volunteers who want to gain hands on social entrepreneurship experience 2. Entrepreneurs in developing countries who lack access to training in social entrepreneurship
The idea is that the skilled professionals (that’s you!) return to your communities, motivated and inspired to take the next step in your social impact career journey. We connect these two groups together to develop sustainable social impact ventures and launch new impactful start-ups. Our collaborative accelerator programme sees international volunteers become _ SocialStarters, taking all the current thinking around social innovation and design thinking to hard to reach places, developing along the way sustainable social impact ventures.
_WhoWeWorkWith We are delivering training programmes throughout 2015 in Sri Lanka, India & Brazil working with brilliant partners who aim to nurture and grow social entrepreneurship in their communities. In India we work with UnLtd India, and in Brazil we work with key organisations playing a role in the cultural and youth development legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
In Sri Lanka, we’re going to work alongside and support the independently run, but government supported Social Enterprise Lanka and social enterprise Good Market, who are based in Colombo. Brought to life by the British Council, SE Lanka are on a mission to promote social enterprise at the highest level and you would play an influential role in that process helping launch and develop fairtrade, sustainable and organic products.
COLLABORATE We bring together people from different worlds to create change. We train you up to become a Social Enterprise Consultant, and you will work with a group of micro start-ups, young people, or existing grassroots social entrepreneurs to help them identify problems, design solutions, test ideas, build brands and get them ready for launch. You will work with a group of early stage social enterprises and entrepreneurs to help them identify problems, design solutions, test ideas, build brands, validate revenue options and get them ready to scale or grow.
LEARN During the Bootcamp you will learn about specific tools that enable you to devise, test and develop your own ideas for social change in your community. You’ll be introduced to social entrepreneurship, start-up methods, business modelling, financial sustainability and what it means to work with at the base of the pyramid. in Sri Lanka - getting inspired by incredible people doing amazing things.
DESIGN _SocialStarters gives you the tools and inspiration to design change in your own lives as well as others. Whether you want to develop your own start-up ideas, turn your passion into a business or move into a more meaningful career, we create space for you to explore your values and what it is that makes you tick so that you can return home feeling ready to make your next move.
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Working with _SocialStarters pushed me in many ways that I will continue to benefit from for a long time after this programme. From working abroad, experiencing a new culture (both socially and workwise), learning about social entrepreneurship and working/ living with a diverse mix of talented people. _SocialStartes Graduate, India, Feb 2015
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“Bootcamp was an enriching experience; it is not often you get the chance to work with such a diverse and impressive group of people, at the same time building and developing your own business and personal skills. Juan Galan, Graduate from McGill University, Canada
Welcome to our new products focused programme! We’re going to be running our inaugural training bootcamp and social entrepreneurship training programme in Colombo the capital city of the island of Sri Lanka, working with three incredible partners the British Council, SE Lanka & Good Market. You would come and be an invaluable part of the _SocialStarters team as a trainee Social Enterprise Consultant. First up, we will equip you with essential 7 day training bootcamp and a toolkit that teaches you about global and Sri Lankan social entrepreneurship, basic business skills, sustainable start-up methods, and how to facilitate workshops and delve into problem solving’ with ‘and you’ll explore some of your own ideas and what the future could mean for you. When Bootcamp’s over, you’ll find out more about your client, will conduct a needs assessment with them, and then design a plan that develops their learning over 5 weeks. You’ll then spend the remaining weeks identifying problems, designing solutions, testing ideas, building brands, validating new revenue options and making a long lasting impact for your clients. Aside from your client work you’ll spend a good 30% of your time thinking about your own personal and professional challenges. You will be able to take part in workshops and sessions designed to help you bring your ideas to life truly understand what is the work you were meant to do. You’ll also get to see a lot of what this awesome country has to offer – from the delicious food, to the friendliness of the people and the myriad of weekend away options that could see you on safari one weekend, taking a train ride through hilltop tea plantations on another, and then surfing in the south the next.
_WhatYouWouldLearn You will gain hands on experience of working with a start-up social enterprise (that’s us!) contributing to our own start-up journey. Helping us be able to show more people globally how to climb their own way out of poverty. Our collaborative accelerator programme sees international volunteers become _SocialStarters, taking all the current thinking around social innovation and design thinking to hard to reach places, developing along the way sustainable social impact ventures. The idea is that the skilled professionals (that’s you!) return to your communities, motivated and inspired to take the next step in your social impact career journey.
We’ll be supporting you through career coaching and ideation workshops to enable you to feel ready to tackle your ‘what next’. This programme means you can travel with purpose. Over the six weeks, you’d collaborate, learn and design solutions to real social challenges in Sri Lanka alongside likeminded, talented, international peers. You’d meet incredible social entrepreneurs who are changing the face of Sri Lanka, and get to take part in workshops and sessions that broaden your knowledge and experience of start-up methods and social entrepreneurship.
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I’ve attended dozens of training courses and workshops in my time, and I have to say that the format, style and quality of the training has been exceptional. I’ve learnt more than I ever could have imagined on topics such as social enterprise, lean start-ups and the local market. It’s been a fully rounded and immersive experience.”
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Paul Goff, Former Supply Chain Consultant, Deloitte, UK.
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I have found my involvement with _SS as one of the most rewarding cultural, intellectual and socially impactful experiences of my life. I’ve met some amazing people both locals and other _SS consultants ; learnt new skills and it’s really opened my eyes to new opportunities. _SS is definitely traveling with true purpose.
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_SocialStarters Graduate, India Feb 2015
Social Starters gives you the chance to spend time learning and living with a bunch of amazingly talented people, working alongside social entrepreneurs putting their hearts and souls into brilliant projects impacting other peoples lives for good. What’s not to like? You simply can’t put a price on this type of experience. _Social Starters Graduate, India, Feb 2015
_WhatYouWouldDo Your clients will be a small group of grassroots Sri Lankan social entrepreneurs who are making a huge different in their communities tackling real world problems for consumers at the base of the pyramid. Sri Lanka is a hotbed of social entrepreneurial talent so this is a really exciting opportunity to get involved at a grassroots level and gain hands on experience in international development, making a real difference to the entrepreneurs who are changing people’s lives for the better. What are your passions and values and how will this shape the path you lead yourself on? We will help you try and answer some of these questions on our Immersion Programme. The tools you learn will be transferable to your own professional development and you’ll be able to utilise the skills and knowledge of the international group.
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We have the most incredible range of talent within the room, covering almost every topic you can imagine, from developers to entrepreneurs. It’s been incredible getting to know each persons background and I can tell that I will be lucky enough to gain something insightful from each one of them.
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Emma Wilson, Former Brand Controller, L’Oreal, UK.
_ProgrammeFee: £1780.00 _Includes: Accommodation (42 nights) *1 week-long training bootcamp *Teaching materials for your clients *Any programme related printing, photocopying, workbooks *Travel within the community to visit clients *Pre-arranged return airport transfer from nearest local airport *WIFI *Local sim card (bring your own phone) *Weekly phone credit budget *Weekly ‘headspace’ half day excursion/trip
_Doesn’t Include: - International flights - Tourist visa - Vaccinations - Insurance
#JoinUs
Ten years since the Indian Ocean Tsunami, and six years since the conflict in the north, Sri Lanka is a growing economy with some exciting things happening as NGO’s and charities transition into entrepreneurship as they continue to tackle issues around ethnic division, women’s empowerment, environment and education. The poverty rate has fallen significantly to under 10% and there is a growing social entrepreneurship community. But there is still lots of work to do. We’ve got a big ask – to help us take social entrepreneurship training to an island that has never seen it before. We will trainyou, but you’ll also bring a wealth of experience to the islandfrom your time working marketing and communications,business strategy, customer development, finances, lawor sales – it’s all relevant. We’ll show you how transferableyour skills are. What’s essential will be your passion todrive a new form of impact, in a place that’s starting totruly recognise the future of international.
“Life’s too short” is repeated often enough to be a cliche, but this time it’s true. You don’t have enough time to be both unhappy and mediocre. It’s not just pointless, it’s painful. Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you ought to set up a life you don’t need to escape from.”
- Seth Godin
_HowWeStarted We started this in Kenya as an experiment to test whether social entrepreneurship training with hard to reach people can empower them to climb their own way out of poverty. Follow a successful pilot, and new launches in India, Sri Lanka and Brazil, we are confidant about our methodology and approach to bringing people together to create change. We have ambitious aims! We do expect with your help, that aspiring social entrepreneurs will be able to strengthen their solutions to serious social issues. And we look forward to seeing your ideas for creating change in your community. Could this be the start of a sustainable volunteer programme that truly creates change? You will be instrumental in helping us find out.
_TheTeam
_ANNA MORAN
_ANDREA GAMSON
_MAHIMA GIRDHAR
_CO-FOUNDER
_CO-FOUNDER
_PROGRAMME MANAGER
A social enterprise, communications and youth engagement specialist who studied one of the first digital media degrees in the UK.
With eight years’ experience in the development sector, and experience of working on seven different youth volunteer programmes overseas for organisations such as VSO (the ICS Programme), Balloon Kenya and Project Peru.
From India, to Hult Business School in London to San Francisco, working for companies like Salesforce as an ambassador for their foundation where she held workshops on the importance of Social impact analysis, sustainability and impact investing, Mahima is now running our Sri Lanka programme. Her experience will be invaluable, having co- founded Study Malaysia in 2007, where she employed and trained counselors to mentor students to follow their passions when it came to education. She also worked as a Marketing and Sustainability Manager for Design Tech, integrating top of the line, innovative and sustainable package designs with companies like Adidas, Puma, Glaxo, Reebok, and Perfetti. She also coached and trained them on how to recycle and reuse their packaging while creating minimum impact on the environment.
Andrea thrives when impacting positive change. She spent a while post-university selling advertising & marketing campaigns to global brands, charities & media; then found herself launching and developing projects for some of the brightest youth organisations and social enterprises in the UK, including taking Brixton’s foremost youth-run ‘Live Magazine’ national for Livity (2013 Queens Award for Enterprise, the Observer & Nesta’s New Radicals 2012, E&Y Entrepreneurs of the Year). Has a passion for community development, particularly around impact of digital; and is dedicated to global & UK youth issues. Over the years clients and employers have included News International, Bauer Media, Livity, O2, Barclays, Converse, Nike, Adidas, PwC, Australia Tourism, British Film Institute, C4, Cabinet Office, and TFL.
Anna previously set up and run a two-year volunteer programme in Peru, for which she was nominated for Woman of The Future Voluntary Award, and is passionate about social entrepreneurship as an alternative approach to addressing social issues. She believes that overseas volunteer programmes are a valuable opportunity to develop young people into future leaders and social entrepreneurs.
Passionate about and eager to create an impact, and to make a difference in the society Mahima learnt at a very young age that we, the people are change makers, we cannot depend on others to do it for us, so started volunteering from a young age with Red Cross, Green Peace, SOS Village and Rotary International to help strategize their fundraising, management and sustainability. Still under 30, she’s a huge asset and will be leading us through social and environmental change in Sri Lanka, only six years post conflict.
_ProgrammeDates _2016 February 6th to March 19th _2015 4th July to 15th August 5th September to 17th October
_ContactUs