OrphanIT - Creating opportunities for youth entrepreneurs
OrphanIT has been working in the youth employment and telecentre field for 8 years since the launch of our first computer school in Ermita, Manila, Philippines in 2000. This telecentre was the first in the Philippines and was successfully integrated into local micro finance organization, CCT, creating jobs and scholarships for local youth.
From our first GLOW Telecentre we began taking on small web jobs which very quickly became larger and more complex. We soon had outsource work coming from small to very large clients in Australia, the USA, the UK and Europe and hence OrphanIT was created! This work is ongoing and growing every month. Since then we have gone on to work with a number of other telecentres around the world assisting with web development training, fundraising, project management, outsourcing systems, job creation and other ways they can become more sustainable.
New YSEI Fellows announced for 2008-2009
10 new YSEI fellows have been chosen to enter the YSEI fellowship bring the total projects we have supported to 17 across South East Asia. Meet the YSEI 2008-2009 fellows here
The YSEI Fellowship recognizes emerging young social innovators from developing countries. The fellowships provide start-up support for young social entrepreneurs to develop and test their innovative ideas.
How it works
 |
The Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) is a unique programme designed to support projects by young people who use innovative solutions to address social problems like Idea!s is doing in the Philippines. Phase 2 is now underway and the fellows have received their first grants. Emergence Fellows are action-oriented - they launch, manage and develop their ventures that implement and continually expand their ideas for lasting social change.
Meet the 2008-2009 YSEI Fellows
Chivalry Silk by Thepparat Tantikalayaporn from Thailand
Chivalry Silk has embraced the mission of increasing the income of 30,000 silk artisans in Northern Thailand by 2013.
The New Idea: Silk production in Thailand currently is not providing a stable source of income to artisans, who suffer from middleman exploitation. Through an online platform Chivalry promotes fair trade in remote areas of Thailand.
Thepparat, the woman behind the idea of Chivalry Silk, sees an opportunity stemming from a direct need to help preserve Thai culture while simultaneously providing traditional artisans with an economic opportunity.
By using the power of connectivity and accessibility that the internet offers to both buyers and producers, Chivalry Silk aims to develop this new distribution channel in order to push forward their social mission.
Visit their website here - www.chivalrysilk.com
Elevyn by Cyril Devan from Malaysia
Artisans in remote areas of Malaysia often need to resort to middlemen, who drain most of their margins.
To generate income on a fair trade basis, Elevyn is using an innovative, web 2.0-based, online platform that links the selling of handmade products to the support of social and environmental causes.
The New Idea: Elevyn aims to create wealth for marginalized communities by using fair trade online stores as an innovative platform to raise money for social causes.
By appealing to the growing number of social conscious buyers via an easily accessible internet store, Elevyn seeks to create a world with less poverty and more cultural preservation.
Visit their website here - www.elevyn.com
Kaarvan by Aysha Saifuddin Pakistan
Over 1 million women entrepreneurs in Pakistani rural face several difficulties to properly access markets. Kaarvan's mission is to provide 4,000 women entrepreneur a “one stop” shop for business development and fair trade services by 2010 through a marketing and sales strategy that would culminate on an online platform for e-commerce.
The New Idea: Due to the remarkably high-quality products that Kaarvan produces, a new vision of women entrepreneurs from low-income communities is emerging. Kaarvan is forging the way into a new developing market that delivers high-quality products to high-end customers that are proud to purchase fair trade products with a social purpose.
In the past, fair trade products have often been associated with poor quality, and for too long, consumers have had to choose between low-quality social purchases and high-quality traditional purchases. Kaarvan is changing this unappealing option and instead presenting a new more desirable choice that is targeted at high-end customers.
Moreover, Kaarvan has contributed to a changing perspective that highlights the fact that women entrepreneurs from low-income communities are more than capable of producing complex high-quality items.
Visit their website here - www.kaarvan.com
Krishak Mitra Ragvendra Singh India
Krishak Mitra is improving the livelihood of small and marginal farmers in India by employing an agriculture decision-making software. By collecting small fees from the usage of the software, they intend to maintain their operations and at the same time improve farmers decision-making capacity.
The New Idea: Krishak Mitra is a tool that will alleviate information and knowledge disadvantages for the 65 million+ small and marginal farmers living in India. Krishak Mitra utilizes IT in order to improve the capacities of Indian farmers to make economically optimal and environment-friendly decisions.
By providing structured, critical agriculture information through their decision-making software, Krishak Mitra will improve the livelihoods of small and marginal Indian farmers.
LetIThelp Stephanie Caragos Philippines
LetIThelp takes on solving structural unemployment and underemployment in poor communities by providing capacity building on specific IT skills that are in market demand and match trainees to job opportunities.
The New Idea: Due to the growing number of emerging companies in developing countries that take on outsourced projects, it is increasingly important to remain competitive. Let IT Help employs a unique business model that focuses on hiring recent graduates that do not yet commend a very high salary and then filling their knowledge gaps by training them directly, which allows them to deliver high quality service at a low cost to clients.
This new methodology not only makes sense from a financial perspective, but it clearly makes sense from a social perspective as well. By employing these early stage IT professionals, Let IT Help is able to provide a financial and physical transformation to Philippine's poor youth in a holistic way.
Visit their website here - www.letIThelp.org
Microfinancejobs Ajay Shakya India
Despite the expressive growth of microfinance in India, the related job opportunities and potential candidates are yet to find an alley for a quick match.
Microfinancejobs developed an online jobs platform to bridge the gap between 1,500 microfinance institutions in India and 10,000 professionals who would be willing to work in microfinance field.
The New Idea: By using an innovative blend of both online and offline recruitment support services, Microfinance Jobs will be able to help bridge the gap between potential employers and potential employees in the Indian microfinance sector. In order to create a platform that is simple to use and easily accessible, Microfinance Jobs will use ICT tools through an online jobs portal, MicrofinanceJobs.com.
Visit their website here - www.microfinancejobs.com
Mobile Telecentres Khristine Lopez Philippines
In metro Manila most public schools students have limited or no access to computers and Internet. Mobile Telecentre provides onsite ICT skills training and career opportunities to over 6,000 students in metro Manila by using ICT tools adapted to a 3-wheeled trike
MTC takes on an entirely innovative approach to ICT skill development. Currently, there is no mobile telecenter unit operating in the Philippines. MCT has engineered a model that allows them to deliver ICT training directly to the schools initially in the urban Manila region.
MCT has created an entirely wireless telecenter that is built completely on a three-wheeled motorcycle, which they refer to as an "eTrike". This eTrike is a fully self-contained mobile, wireless telecenter that travels into urban communities in Manila and provides youth with access to participate in new digital ICT technologies, basic computer lessons and an introduction to the internet. MCT is able to remain financially sustainable through the sale of related IT and Telecommunications services.
Visit their website here - www.mobiletelecenters.com
Open Dream Patipat Susumpow Thailand
Open Dream provides low-cost web and application development service to social groups and organizations by leveraging the network of social software developers for project collaboration. Their sustainability comes from channeling fees from high paying clients to subsidize the low-paying ones.
The New Idea: OpenDream uses revenue earned from charging market rate prices to commercial clients for their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) jobs in order to subsidize services for lesser-endowed social groups. They also help build connections amongst the community of software developers willing to work on lower-paying social projects.
Competition in this field is very limited as OpenDreams' target clients are those who normally do not have the means to afford such services. The benefiting organizations themselves take partial responsibility in raising efforts to raise the needed funds.
Visit their website here - www.opendream.co.th
Rural Light Alexander Reyes Philippines
Rural Light aims to electrify a prototype community centre that also acts as an intermediary to a wide range of services such as refrigeration, lighted facility for education and ICT-based information for the purposes of marketing the products/ services of the community.
Rural Light charges low fees to services provided and pursue sales of excess electricity generated to community households or local governments.
The New Idea: Rural Light provides non-electrified communities in the Philippines access to facilities powered by renewable energy. These facilities also provide fee-based access to relevant market information that helps improve local businesses. This innovative delivery method for combining sustainable energy, electricity development and information sharing will foster local businesses and improve the community's quality of life.
Youth Engagement Services Ali Khan Pakistan
The absence of youth-focused programmes in Pakistan makes youth highly exposed to crime, unemployment and terrorism recruitment. By providing seed financing and incubation for youth-led micro social enterprise Youth Engagement Service Network is filling this gap left the government. YES recoups 50% of the loans provided to the ventures they incubate.
The New Idea: Even though the vast majority of the Pakistani population is under 30-years-old, there is insufficient support to help them become productive members of society. Pakistani society at large fails to tap into their largest resource for economic development for low-income communities- their youth.
According to Youthquake in Pakistan, close to 70% of Pakistan's population in under the age of 29. YES network seeks to reach out to this marginalized group of people in order to tap into this enormous potential and focus on the possibilities that can directly contribute to the overall improvement of Pakistan's economic situation by helping to lower crime, violence and terrorism rates.
Visit their website here - www.pnys.com
More about YSEI Fellows
Emergence Fellows are recognized as emerging young social entrepreneurs equipped with fresh and innovative ideas to solve global challenges. YSEI was founded in 2005 as a Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) multi-stakeholder partnership program between its members - Thai Rural Net (TRN), Mitra & OrphanIT.
The cofounders and management of YSEI include Sunit Shrestha (Executive Director, TRN), Rahul Nainwal , (Director, Mitra), Simon Healy (CEO, OrphanIT) and Sailendra Dev Appanah (TRN Partner).
 |
 |
 |
 |
About OrphanIT
In a nutshell we work with telecentres and other entrepreneurial, social business ventures in developing communities. We focus on improving their systems, marketing, training, use of ICT's and the internet to assist them increase their earned revenues.
More sustainability means greater social impact each project can create in their local communities
OrphanIT helps train and mentor entrepreneurial, usually youth led social businesses in nations like India, Malaysia, Russia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Timor and Africa to help them achieve their missions faster.
OrphanIT is always seeking new projects that fit into the model we have worked with i.e.telecentres and other projects using ICT's (Information Communication Technologies). If we find a good mix we contact that program and see if there is a synergy and take it further from there. Every week we are contacted by social ventures and telecentres around the world with different, innovative approaches however we are only able to deal with a few such projects at any one time.
OrphanIT is part of the new Youth Social Entrepreneurship Initiative (YSEI) and we are undertaking the mentorship management role for the 17 award winning youth ventures over the course of 2007-2010.
Coach a YSEI fellow in 2009. Volunteer mentors wanted...
If you are an entrepreneur, business person, retired, still working or just someone who believes they have knowledge and business skills that would be useful to youth led, social business ventures in developing nations then consider becoming a part time YSEI Mentor.
Please complete the mentor application form here so we can match you up with one of the fellows. We have projects underway in India, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. You can view the 2008-2009 YSEI fellows projects here
OrphanIT is a multi award winning, cause related, non profit, social business you can trust. Using our web development services helps SolvePoverty.com
Outsource your web work
Consider outsourcing your web work to a social business. When you buy these Professional Services you will be giving something back as 100% of all proceeds go directly to youth ventures we work with. They are able to do web jobs like this: and www.StudyinAustralia.com
Our professional web services firm OutsourcingTo.uS works with NGO's, pro web teams, SEO companies and other IT clients who want to outsource their web development jobs
