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William James Foundation to Recognize Colectivo 1050, First Access and MoWoza

10th Annual Sustainable Business Plan Competition Finalists Announced

William James Foundation to Recognize Colectivo 1050, First Access and MoWoza

10th Annual Sustainable Business Plan Competition Finalists Announced

Published 07-10-13

Submitted by Mentor Capital Network

The William James Foundation is announcing the finalists for their 10th annual Sustainable Business Plan Competition. The three finalists in our idea-phase category, in alphabetical order, are:

  • Colectivo 1050 (www.1050grados.com) sells contemporary ceramics inspired by traditional cultures, but finely adapted to modern life. They are coming in from Mexico.
  • First Access (www.first-access.org) helps microfinance institutions extend access to finance further into the informal sector by using new consumer records like prepaid mobile to evaluate loan applicants via SMS at the point of sale. They operate in Tanzania.
  • MoWoza (www.mowoza.com) expands rural enterprise and employment in Sub-Saharan Africa by creating mobile shopping services that facilitate remote access to goods to consolidate micro-distribution difficulties associated with informal supply chains. They are coming from Mozambique.

Finalists will be choosing from more than $100,000 worth of prizes, including services from: Swankin and Turner (www.swankin-turner.com), Reitler Kailas & Rosenblatt (www.reitlerlaw.com), CitySoft (www.citysoft.com) , CSRwire (www.CSRwire.com), Islay Consulting LLC (www.consultislay.com), Foxhall Consulting Services (www.foxhallconsulting.com), The Adventure Capitalists (www.youradventurecapitalists.com), Social Enterprise Associates (socialenterprise.net), HIP Investor Inc. (www.hipinvestor.com), Inspire Commerce (www.inspirecommerce.com), Ecoprint (www.ecoprint.com), Grasshopper (grasshopper.com) and FilmMason (brandonbloch.com).

Their finalist presentations will be on Saturday, July 20th at World Resources Institute. Tickets to the event are available at wjf2013gathering.eventbrite.com.

Those presentations are part of the WJF’s 10th annual gathering, which is taking place in Washington, DC from July 18th-20th, and also features:

  • A rooftop reception on the 18th night featuring music from Allison Shapira and The Stick Mob.
  • Both idea- and venture-phase finalist presentations. Audience questions will help decide how more than $125,000 worth of prizes will be divided. The venture finalists are Access Afya, Morale Fashion Group and Wecyclers.
  • Our Green Grab events, featuring clean tech/clean energy and base of the pyramid companies presenting for on-the-spot investment in front of professional investors, allowing the audience to witness what is normally a private discussion with real world implications.
  • Conversations with Jigar Shah (Co-Founder of Sun Edison, former CEO of the Carbon War Room) and Seth Goldman (T-EO of Honest Tea).
  • Practitioner Groups, where impact entrepreneurs working on similar challenges in different markets learn the lessons of each other’s challenges and successes.

This will be an amazing opportunity to meet and network with impact entrepreneurs working in more than a dozen countries.


The William James Foundation in Two Minutes from Ian Fisk on Vimeo.

The agenda can be seen here: williamjamesfoundation.org/2013agenda.

Tickets can be purchased at wjf2013gathering.eventbrite.com.

The William James Foundation congratulates all of our entrants for their hard work throughout the competition process. Over the past decade, we have worked with more than 1,000 impact entrepreneurs, many of whom are listed at www.williamjamesfoundation.org/companies. The WJF engages a mentor network of more than 800 individuals who have built, managed or invested in impact entrepreneurs to discover, invest in, connect and educate impact entrepreneurs who are building companies that are making our world a better place.

The William James Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to supporting for-profit entrepreneurs who are solving the world's social and environmental problems through their businesses. Our sponsors include The Stiefel Family Foundation, Halloran Philanthropies, Josh Mailman, The Affinity Lab, CSRwire, Thompson Knight Foundation and dozens of other like-minded organizations listed at www.williamjamesfoundation.org.

For more information on the event, or participating in our programs as an entrepreneur, mentor or sponsor, please contact our executive director Ian Fisk via ian.fisk@williamjamesfoundation.org.

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Mentor Capital Network

Mentor Capital Network

Mentor Capital Network, a Washington-DC based 501(c)3, strives to advance the evolution towards a more socially responsible economy. We support new entrepreneurs who are committed to establishing socially responsible businesses and policies that will more equitably benefit all stakeholders -- consumers, employees and their families, and the public-at-large, in addition to investors.

Our main program is the Sustainable Business Plan Collaboration. Over the years, we’ve supported over 930 ventures with almost $6M worth of mentor capital, giving entrepreneurial teams customized feedback on their business plans and access to a network of over 1,000 of the world’s best industry and regional experts who have graciously given their time to support these startup teams. We seek to create and accelerate opportunities for these teams to make a serious, innovative, and scalable difference in the world.

Mentor Capital Network is the trade name of the William James Foundation.

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