Echoing Green is a pioneering, impact focused global nonprofit that provides seed funding and technical assistance to early stage social entrepreneurs. Their programs have been supporting social entrepreneurs and driving social change around the world since they were founded in 1987. Echoing Green has long been a great friend and partner to SOCAP. The SOCAP team pays close attention to Echoing Green Fellows, whether they are applying for our Entrepreneur Scholarship or proposing content through our SOCAP Open platform. Passing Echoing Green’s rigorous due diligence process is an achievement and a sign of distinction for an entrepreneur. We are excited to announce the names of Echoing Green Fellows to look out for at SOCAP15 and some of the great content they will be presenting at this year’s conference.

SOCAP TV

Several Echoing Green Fellows were selected to deliver a 10-12 minute talk as part of our new SOCAPTV session format. These talks will be delivered live at SOCAP15 and recorded for future viewing and sharing online.

Aleem Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Love Grain, a venture that raises the incomes of Ethiopia’s smallholder teff farmers by connecting them to the multi-billion dollar international natural food market. Ahmed’s talk, Myth Busting Social Entrepreneurship, will be featured as part of the SOCAPTV Learning session.

Rose Wang, Co-Founder and CEO of Six Foods, a company that works to normalize insect consumption as a sustainable source of protein. Wang’s talk, How to Face Fears and Eat What Bugs You, will be featured as part of the SOCAPTV Scaling session.

Michael Wilkerson, Co-Founder and CEO of Tugende a for-profit social enterprise which helps Ugandan motorcycle taxi drivers own rather than rent their motorcycles. Wilkerson’s talk, More than Motorcycles: Small Asset Ownership and a Bottom Up Economic Revolution, will be featured as part of the SOCAPTV Funding session.

Echoing Green Fellows on Panels

There will be many Echoing Green Fellowship alumni speaking at and attending SOCAP15. Here are three panels that were organized by some of the Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellows:

Measuring Racism: the Prerequisite for Diversity and Equity

Entrepreneurs, evaluators, funders, and experts from the racial equity space will explore ideas from leading racial justice research that all funders should consider before backing the next diversity or equity issue. Walking away from this session, participants will be better able to hold organizations accountable for the way their policies or initiatives are contributing to or dismantling systemic racial biases. We need to quantitatively assess social entrepreneurship’s role in the inequitable power dynamics created by racism. Learn more about this session on Pathable.

Funding “Otherness”: the Impact of Race, Culture, Gender, and other Identities

Have you witnessed funders create a portfolio that fails to reflect a commitment to race, gender, and economic justice? Are you an entrepreneur who has confronted fundraising barriers as someone whose identity does not reflect the dominant cultural identity? How does investing in white, cis-gendered leaders serve as a barrier to entrepreneurs and funders who are working to tackle issues of inequality? Join an entrepreneur and funder-led discussion on the nuances around funding “otherness”. Learn more about this session on Pathable.

Redefining Scale: Depth vs. Breadth

When scale is re-defined as depth of impact, how does this affect how we need to organize ourselves, measure ourselves, and fund the work? We hear from three initiatives that are going deep in their communities in different ways: a neighborhood-based youth organization, a city-wide organization supporting high-performing social change efforts, and a national organization that focuses on strengthening local businesses. These stories challenge assumptions about scale and reframe sustainable impact. Learn more about this session on Pathable.

SOCAP Scholarship Entrepreneurs

Keep an eye out for these Echoing Green Fellows who won scholarships to SOCAP15:

2009 Fellow

Natalie Bridgeman Fields, Accountability Counsel

2013 Fellows

Christopher Ategeka, Rides for Lives

Kohl Gill LaborVoices, Inc.

Avnish Gungadurdoss, Instiglio

2014 Fellows

Hilary Abell, Project Equity

Alloysius Attah, Farmerline

Nigel Alexander Carr, Qorax Energy

Emily Cunningham, MoringaConnect

Abhishek Choudhary, Saajha

William Jackson, Village of Wisdom

Yscaira Jimenez, LaborX

William Jackson Village of Wisdom
Ian Monroe, OroEco

Rustam Sengupta, Boond Engineering & Development

Matthew Smith, Fortify Rights

Michael Wilkerson, Tugende

2015 Fellows

Aleem Ahmed, Love Grain

Matt Alexander, Suyo
Daquan J. Oliver, WeThrive

Stephanie Speirs, Solstice Initiative

Paolo Stufano, Eggplant

Rose Wang, Six Foods

Other Ways to Interact with Echoing Green at SOCAP15

Don’t miss Cheryl Dorsey’s appearance at the SOCAP15 plenary session on Wednesday, October 7th at 8:30AM. Andrea Davila, Echoing Green’s Deputy Director of Fellowship Programs, will lead an interactive session at SOCAP15 for social entrepreneurs on how to land and retain top talent: Delivering on Promises to Employees: Attract, Engage, and Motivate. Min Pease, Echoing Green’s Director of Impact Investing, will join as a panelist for a session on Blended Capital to Support Early Stage Entrepreneurs. And Kate Hayes, Senior Associate at Echoing Green, will participate in Training for Impact: Bringing New Talent into the Sector.

For an in-depth look at Echoing Green and the entrepreneurs they support, read our blog SOCAP Conversations: Echoing Green President Cheryl Dorsey and Entrepreneur Michael Wilkerson.