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Dear BfE family,
I hope this newsletter finds you enjoying a relaxing and festive end to 2021! As we begin the upcoming year in just a few days, I wanted to reflect on this past year, extend my gratitude to you all, and provide some clarity on where BfE is heading in 2022. Please bare with me as I take you on a retrospective journey back in time and into the future.
After the tumultuous nature of 2020, this past year may have felt like a breeze to some. But if this recent Omicron spike is any indication, we're no less susceptible to events that shake up our world. Global inequality is on full display once again, as people rush to take booster shots in developed countries while many parts of the developing world remain unvaccinated due to no fault of their own. The lack of global coordination and empathy exhibited during this pandemic – evident from both a micro-scale when people refuse to wear masks in public to a macro-scale when wealthy countries hoard vaccines – is something we must course correct to be more successful in our ongoing fight against climate change. Indeed, preventing ecological breakdown will require us all to rethink how we live, work, and play, while in the meantime the public and private sectors must improve their cooperation against a threat that touches upon every aspect of our lives. We can ill-afford to waste time.
And yet, at the same time, these collective challenges also present major opportunities. Beneath the omnipresent negative headlines, there is plenty of room for daily optimism if you search hard enough. Some examples: scientists are developing technologies that can save lives and heal the planet. Social entrepreneurs are reinventing business models to uplift people from poverty. Some forward-thinking governments are investing in infrastructure, health, climate research, and education – all of which are key priorities for a sustainable development agenda.
What does this mean for us here at BfE? I present this contextual background to illustrate why I believe we're on top of some important trends, namely:
- Trend #1: The world is getting hotter and more unequal. Environmental and social issues, once relegated to NGOs to 'solve' by themselves, are slowly becoming an initiative that the private sector addresses head-on. Though greenwashing abounds, some of the world's largest companies are nevertheless pledging to cut carbon, tackle human rights issues in their supply chains, and contribute to the UN SDGs. Consumers, NGO activists, governments, and the like are all demanding greater change from the private sector.
- Opportunity: The corporate social responsibility (CSR) industry has grown drastically over the past 10 years, a trend which is likely to continue as more companies find ways for their employees to 'give back' to society and the environment. At the same time, corporate employees are seeking innovative and meaningful ways to leverage their skillset outside of their day-to-day job. Our model integrates experienced professionals as volunteer mentors supporting both students and entrepreneurs, which remains a compelling avenue for CSR engagement. Our partnerships teams will continue exploring this area in 2022.
- Trend #2: The world is flattening. Throughout history, it has never been easier to connect with anyone around the world at the click of a button. As you've probably read, this shift towards digital enablement has major consequences for the future of work. Improved internet connectivity and increased smartphone penetration – including in the developing world – is making it easier for organizations to become remote-first and attract talent from around the globe. Moreover, as we've seen with the rise of web3 this year, more organizations are adopting a decentralized approach within their operations. Platforms like Slack, Discord, Notion, Coda and others are making it easier to communicate, complete tasks, and build a scalable venture at lower costs.
- Opportunity: From our origins, BfE adopted a hybrid online-offline strategy. While our student-led chapters engage in in-person activities (when it's safe to do so) in their local cities, our global team has always been distributed around the world. Increasingly, since the advent of the pandemic last year, we leverage tech tools to connect and accomplish tasks at greater scale than we could otherwise. Greater emphasis has started to be placed on non-profits 'coming into the digital age' over the last 4-5 years. Because of our model, however, we embraced this opportunity earlier than some other organizations could. We will only become more digital in 2022 (and beyond), as we streamline our operations and provide a more structured platform for our 3 core stakeholders (social entrepreneurs, students, and professional mentors) to interact.
- Trend #3: Piggybacking off of Trend #2, everybody is becoming more entrepreneurial in the digital age. Job markets are changing all over the world, and in every sector, as companies harness new technologies and recruit employees with diversified and specialized skillsets. Case in point: to become employable in a world driven by tech acceleration, it's no longer enough to gain proficiency in one coding language to secure a cushy software development job – what happens when the coding language becomes obsolete? Even in more traditional sectors like healthcare and law, people's skillsets must become more specialized and diversified as the sectors they work in become digitized and automated over the coming decades. In reality, this means that people should either choose a track early-on and try to become a specialist, or instead acquire a broad portfolio of skillsets and try to become a generalist. This specialist vs. generalist paradigm is a choice; I don't think there's one correct approach for long-term career success. Above all of this, people will need to react to shifting labor markets that may not keep pace with the slower-moving university education system. Potential friction arising from classroom learning not fitting with current and future jobs will require everyone to be more entrepreneurial in their careers. People will seek out new opportunities outside of their day-to-day job to bolster their résumé, acquire new skills, and forge stronger connections, as the jobs of tomorrow remain relatively unknown for now.
- Opportunity: BfE is, and always will be, a volunteer-based organization. As such, we rely on the availability and interest among people seeking outlets to develop their professional skillset alongside their day-to-day job or studies. Volunteering with BfE – unlike other volunteer opportunities where professional skills are less aligned – therefore presents an exciting opportunity to develop stronger career skills while showcasing one's contribution to employers from a real, impactful project. At the global level, as we consider recruiting more external volunteers, we hope to take advantage of this trend.
- Trend #4: Emerging markets are the future of the world. Emerging markets (also termed 'developing economies'), as defined by GDP per capita, make up about 80% of all 193 countries in the world and are home to some 6 billion people. Moreover, population growth rates are higher across key EM regions. Over the next 50-80 years, Africa is projected to grow the fastest, outpacing Asia as its economies continue to mature. By 2100, 13 of the world's largest cities will be in Africa. Over the last 20 years, EM countries have also grown faster than their developed country peers by economic measures on an annual basis. Today, EM countries represent about 60% of global GDP. Despite some economic setbacks induced by the pandemic, EM share of global GDP is only expected to rise. Likewise, in the startup world, many are discussing how venture funding is being increasingly democratized. White male founders being funded in Silicon Valley is far from the only path to startup success, and venture capital dollars are flowing into markets across Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa at unprecedented clips. Thanks to the internet, Zoom and other digital tools like crowdfunding, it has become easier for investors to conduct virtual due diligence and find savvy founders in EM countries to support.
- Opportunity: BfE has positioned itself to be a global platform supporting social entrepreneurs in the developing world. We are proud to source impact startups across five key regions: Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Our conviction is that startup support still remains unequal across the world, and founders building an impactful business in Uganda, for instance, have far fewer financial and non-financial resources at their disposal – despite the relative importance of SMEs in EM countries (>90% of jobs in many countries) and EM countries outsized impact on the global economy. We're excited by the trends driving more support towards founders in these countries, but we know that more can be done. For too many passionate founders, startup support remains inaccessible, too costly, and/or not fit-for-purpose. BfE's model is set up to address these gaps. By providing a free, holistic set of advisory support that is both light-touch for founders (so they can continue running their business during our programme) and tailored to their needs (unlike traditional startup accelerators), we are plugging a gap in the market. And by choosing to work with startups across five regions, rather than one, we are building a platform that allows startup founders in Africa to connect with others in Southeast Asia. Here, we can reduce entrepreneurship 'silos' and forge connections across similar verticals in different markets, thereby promoting shared learning and meaningful engagement.
I believe that BfE is well-positioned to take advantage of these four trends that are shaping our world. While we still have plenty of work to do, I've never been more excited about what we're building. Before I share a few goals we have for 2022, let's do a fun little retrospective on where BfE has been, where we are now, and where we're going.
Where we've been
BfE was founded by a group of students at Cambridge in 2015 under the tagline #Bridgethegap between career success and making a difference in the world. Our initial goal was to provide meaningful social impact opportunities for Cambridge students, while at the same time supporting social entrepreneurs around the world. We didn't have a structured Incubation Programme like we have today, and nearly all of our advisory engagements for startups were conducted externally by other student consulting groups. Still, we saw a growing need among startup founders and increased interest among students outside of Cambridge. We began global expansion to create student chapters in Singapore and New York in 2017, and have been iterating our pro bono model ever since. For a bit of extra fun, click here to view one of our first ever slide decks from October 2016. |
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Screenshots from BfE's first website in 2015-2016 |
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Where we are
We're in the midst of a digital transformation and global expansion. We have now served over 100 social enterprises across 30+ countries, maintain an active community of 250+ members at both the chapter and global levels, and recently expanded to pilot two new student chapters in Vancouver, Canada and New Delhi, India. 2020 and 2021 were years of incredible growth, and with a diligent Global Tech Division, we're poised to launch a global intranet to smoothen our operations and expand our global footprint next year.
Where we're going
We're headed towards becoming a full-fledged tech non-profit with an enhanced capability to empower more social entrepreneurs advancing the UN SDGs. Simultaneously, this new tech-driven model will make it easier for university students and professionals to grow career-relevant skills and contribute in more meaningful ways to our platform.
Lastly, a huge thank you, once again, for joining BfE on this continual journey. I wish you and your loved ones a happy and healthy New Year. As always, please feel free to reach out to me to talk at any time – I'd love to connect.
With lots of gratitude,
Jordan |
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🪞 5 Reflections from 2021 | |
- Global Recruitment: For the first time, 2021 was the year we opened up some positions on our global team to external recruits who were previously not part of BfE Chapters. A big shoutout to Clara (Global Communications Manager), Michelle (Global Partnerships Manager), Mun Keong (Global Compliance Manager) and virtually the entire Global Tech Division for joining us! This strategic change emanated from a realization that the number of people we needed to fill global roles outpaced the number of incoming recruits we had from outgoing chapter members. This new recruitment strategy paid off big-time, and these members have added fresh perspectives and an eagerness to jump in on key projects. I'm glad that we decided to begin recruiting externally, and look forward to filling some additional roles on our global team next year.
- Forming an Advisory Board: To get some outside perspectives from senior-level professionals in the social impact space, I tried to form an Advisory Board this year. This group of Advisors also serves as a check on my leadership. In March, I interviewed 20-30 applicants and recruited 6 new Advisors, 4 of whom are still with BfE. The insight and guidance these Advisors have provided myself and other Global Heads have been invaluable. Due to time zone challenges, I wasn't able to put quarterly board-like calls together with all Advisors, which was unfortunate, but I've learned so much from liaising with these inspiring people.
- New Chapter Expansion: We may have been over-ambitious in trying to expand to two new chapters in Vancouver and Rotterdam in 2020-21. Despite completing a successful consulting engagement with Teamcoby Nigeria, the Rotterdam Chapter has now closed due to recruitment challenges. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Chapter just completed an engagement with Afyaboost (Kenya), and looks to begin its first leadership handover next month. Equipped with the learnings from some challenges we faced supporting the growth of both chapters, we're now overseeing a new chapter pilot in New Delhi via more structured calls, a chapter creation 'playbook' and other hands-on guidance to make it easier for student leaders. Follow the New Delhi chapter on their Instagram here for all the updates!
- Incubation Programme Tweaks: We took the feedback from surveying startup founders who went through our Incubation Programme over the past few years and are now in the process of tweaking some aspects to better fit their needs. This includes creating 1) a Startup Demo Day for startups to pitch to a group of impact investors and philanthropic organizations after graduating from our programme, and 2) adding a 1-2 week 'Diagnostic Phase' for startups at the beginning of our programme to better scope their upcoming BfE engagements. In the past, I think we may have been a bit too rigid with the Programme structure itself, leaving less room for flexibility if a startup preferred to work on Finance Advisory rather than Consulting as their first engagement, for instance. As we build on these pilot initiatives, we're now learning a key lesson to put our key stakeholders first so we continue to provide value-added services.
- Direct Communication: I started writing these BfE Briefs newsletters to everyone in BfE this year (all 300+ of you ❤️) and I think it's served us well. It's a more direct form of communication than anything we've had previously, and as we continue to grow, I see the value in it more and more each month. I hope that you find the time to read them to stay abreast of key updates across the organization.
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- BfE is now a registered UK Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO)! This new legal status helps bring more credibility to our global mission to accelerate social enterprises building a more sustainable world. We'll be leveraging this new CIO status to seek donations in the future, with the hopes of eventually providing unrestricted micro grants to the social entrepreneurs we support 🚀
- We expanded our footprint to Vancouver, Rotterdam and New Delhi, piloting new student chapters in each city. Though Rotterdam has now closed, Vancouver and New Delhi are showing great strides to building out a full-fledged chapter with multiple teams akin to what exists in Cambridge, New York and Singapore.
- We launched a new website and corresponding set of brand guidelines in March. This new site has improved our brand credibility and made BfE become more attractive to potential startups, partners, and professionals interested in supporting our work.
- Consistent with our effort to build a stronger support system, we signed MOUs with a number of partners who will be providing key support for BfE as we build on new initiatives. These new partners include Satgana and CliMatr, among others.
- Kevin (Global Head of Technology) and others grew the Global Tech Division to ~30 members across multiple domains, which has helped accelerate our goal to build a scalable intranet platform connecting our core stakeholders.
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- Global Tech transformation: We expect to launch an MVP (minimum viable product) of the BfE intranet (Members Portal) sometime in 2022. This will be a total game-changer for how we operate, and I couldn't be more stoked for this to be released.
- Deepen engagement with BfE Mentors: We'll soon have a more detailed and up-to-date database of all professional mentors in BfE that everyone across the organization can view. This will be very valuable for chapter teams looking to contact mentors with specific knowledge and skills to assist them in their engagements and event planning, as well as the global team so we can more easily recruit mentors who fill in knowledge gaps in the core sectors/regions BfE startups come from. In 2022, we'd also like to find new ways to engage with our mentors outside of the traditional support they provide on Incubation Programme engagements.
- Strengthen our impact reporting: The publication of our first annual impact report is slated for 2022. This will highlight the impact we've created for students, startups, and mentors since BfE's inception, and we hope it'll bring more credibility to our work. Moreover, we hope to flesh out our impact reporting framework more next year and begin piloting it with BfE startups so we can have a better grip on their impact as it aligns with our existing Theory of Change.
- Success of BfE Chapters: We want to see the Vancouver and New Delhi Chapters thrive in 2022, building upon their current successes by creating a strong campus presence and completing more successful engagements.
- Improved startup due diligence: Another goal is to improve the way chapter startup recruitment (SR) teams recruit, interview, and conduct due diligence on potential startups to include in our bi-annual cohorts, so that we continue to craft cohorts with startups that fit our criteria, are advancing the UN SDGs, and are likely to remain in business over a 5+ year period post-programme.
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