108 reatinll the tarkets of the Future

the Internet and entrepreneur-linking networks-internationally.Given the scale of the oppression of women worldwide, this maybe a vast opportunity space.

In our typology, the Beijing Cultural Development Center is aleveraged nonprofit venture (model 1), with funding initially com­ing from international source, including the Ford Foundation butmore recently from the Chinese government. This is what Wu Qingthinks busines can learn from her organization: It is simple, re­ally. We are all human beings first, women and men second. It isvital for women and men with gender awareness to work togetherand turn this imbalanced world into a world where women andmen . . . not only [are] equal in term of law but also enjoy equalopportunities across the board. To achieve this, we need peoplewith a deep love for social justice, gender equality and peace­and who are willing to take action. We have to be well prepared interm of time stra tegy and a willingness to sacrifice. It is an up­hill fight but it will be worth it. " 26

Experience suggests that closed regimeseventually become moreopen and that over time, the role of women becomes more criti­cal in determining an evolving economy' health. AsChina ages thegender effect of its long- tanding one-child policy are likely to ne­cessitate bringing women into the economic mainstream a trendthat we tern economies experienced during world wars and, morerecently, a the service economy grew. The question for busine s ithis: do we lean into this emerging future or try to turn a blind eyeto it?

Educational pportunities

As people like hina's Wu Qing recognized long ago few factorsare as powerful as education in addre sing all the e great divide.Educational divides emerge and grow for many reasons, but as theprocesses of wealth creation become increasingly dependent on in­formation and knowledge, the divides within and between coun­tries become more significant. Entrepreneurial attempts to address

that we tern economies experienced durinz world wars and. more

Identifying • .ukt porlunit:i in Ten Great Divide 109

th divide range from the gr roo approach of or aniza­

tions like Bar foot College (cha pt r 1) aod First Book (cha p r )

to entur d igned to democratize different form of technology

as e lained in chapter 5.

en in th rich t countri edu tional divid are tar and

as a r ul h v been attracting the attention of ome e aordi­oary ial ntrepreneurs. end opp for e ample turn d her

senior th isat Princeton into Teach For America founded in 19 O.

She pur ued po tential funder r lenrle I t raveled the ountrknocked on high-level door and refu ed to start mall. ter­

mined to b gin Teach For America wi th no le than five hundred

college graduate recruits she saw achieving this cale from th ou t­

set a the only way to gain the national profile necessar to in pire

the rna t tal nted graduating enior to compete to teach in low­

income communitie . Each year Teach or America recruit and

sele a orp of recent college graduat trains them, pia themas full-tim paid reachers in urban and rural pu Ii ch 01 and

coordinat a upporr nerwork to help them u ceed. In rh or­

ganizarion fir ' een ears nearly enreen thousand ople

joined Teach or America. By 200 fa -four hundred corp mem­

bers ere r ching nearl three hundred en -five thousand ru­

den in en -fi e disad an ed urban and rural communiri .

i ear to take another U. . example was founded in 19b . hael Brown and Alan azei th 0 roommat at Harvard

La hool. They felt trongl that oung people could be a pow-

erful re our e for addres ing Am rica' rna t pre ing is ue . Th Ybuilt iry Year, a leveraged nonprofit enture 00 the b Ii f that

one per on can make a real difference and with the visi n chat

one day ervice will be a commo n e pecta tion-and a rea l op­

portunity-for citizen around the world. This vi ion ha tirnu­lated a commitment from th e f deral and ta te gove rnmen . today

the repre enr a ignificant ourc of i Year' funding. In fact

in 1993 Pr id nt Clinton applied th i Year model to reate

a national network of ervice organization and ince then Ci

Year ha r ei ed a good. portion of 1 opera tin bud t from

AmeriCorp .

r -intemationall.odd .de, this rna

-egim enruall becom more

of omen a m more criri-

nn health. China ag the

me-child poli are likel to ne-

on mi main earn a trend

d durin orld ars and mar_ .Th qu t ion for businfuror r tr to rum a blind e e

Ipp rtuniti s

: 0 nized long ago few factorin all th e great divide .

o r many rea ons but as theingl dependent 00 in-

'de thin and between oun-repr n uri al arremp to addr

rural e elopment Center ' a

1) ith fundin initiall om­

ding the Ford Foundation but

irnm nt. This i hat u Qing

organization: It is simpl re­women and men econd . It i

er a arenes to work together

to a world where women and

TIS of law but also enjoy equal

I achi e thi e need p ople

gend r equaliry and p ace­e h v to be v ell prepared in

ngn to crifi e. It is an up-

ig ne. am n

quesnon ror nusmr ...._ _ ._ ..... h.t :"-A ~-U,. La School. Thev felt srronzl mar. vounz oeonle could he a nn -

110 Creating the Markets of the Future

City Year has also benefited from significant corporate interest.Local and national businesses found City Year a great vehicle forstimulating their employees' community involvement and an idealway to promote their brand. For example, Timberland, the outdoorgear company, has been closely connected to City Year since thenonprofit's inception, when Timberland CEO Jeff Swartz becamean avid City Year supporter. Other companies-including Bank ofAmerica, Comcast, and MFS Investment Management-have alsoprovided ignificant capital and human resources to City Year forpretty much the same reasons: brand enhancement and staff volun­teer commitment. And there are thousands of individuals across theUnited States who donate money to City Year annually.

The organization's signature program, the City Year youthcorps, unites young adults aged seventeen to rwenry-four in a de­manding year of full-time service during which they work in di­verse teams to address societal needs particularly in schools andneighborhoods. These young leaders put their idealism to work astutors and mentors to schoolchildren, reclaiming public spaces andorganizing after-school programs, school vacation camps, and civicengagement programs for students of all ages. More than elevenhundred corps members serve in sixteen sites across the UnitedStates and one in South Africa; and City Year has generated 13million hows of service to communities, helped nearly nine hun­dred thousand children, and engaged nearly nine hundred thou­sand other citizens in service.

A fascinating example outside the United States is JavierGonzalez, from abcdespaiiol, a hybrid nonprofit venture that gen­erates income through contracts with education departments andmultilateral development organizations committed to education.Across Latin America, many students repeat grades because theyfail to meet reading and math standards. or only does this situa­tion increase the cost of national education, but it also preventsstudents from living up to their potential. Gonzalez came up withthe idea for abcdespaiiol while playing dominoes with his students'parents. He realized that, although they could not read or write,the parents consistently beat him at the game by u ing deductive

sand other citizens in service.

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cowof n

compros

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significant corporate interest.l Ciry Year a great vehicle forniry involvement and an idealnple Timberland, the outdoormected to City Year since theland CEO Jeff Swartz became:ompanies- including Bank ofnent Management-have alsonan resources to City Year forj enhancement and staff volun­usands of individuals across the

City Year annually.irogram, the City Year youth.,enteen to twenty-four in a de­during which they work in di­eds particularly in schools and:rs put their idealism to work asen reclaiming public spaces andschool vacation camp and civics of all ages. More than elevensixteen sites across the United

LOd City Year has generated 13unities, helped nearly nine hun­aged nearly nine hundred thou-

ide the United States is Javierrbrid nonprofit venture that gen­with education department andzations committed to education.dents repeat grades because theyndards. ot only does this sirua­

11 education, but it also preventssotential. Gonzalez came up withaying dominoes with his students'19h they could not read or write,n at the game by using deductive

Identifying Market Opp ortunities in Ten Gr eat Divides 111

logic, memorization, inference, and other mental skills needed forlearning to read. This observation led him to believe that a keycause of students' low reading skills and high course-repetitionrate was the rote learning methods employed in Latin Americanschools. He decided to figure out how to apply the skills observedin the parents to teach reading, writing, and math.

Gonzalez works directly with education authorities in manycountries, sharing his domino-based methodology with a core teamof national educators or people (not neces arily teachers) who arecommitted to their communities. Each one of them learns the ap­proach to pass it on to others and create a solid group of trainedpeople who will then spread the methodology to target communi­ties . In this fashion, the system can reach thousands of people,teaching them to read and/or do math in three to four month .Rather than assuming a traditional authority-figure role, the teachermotivates the students, ensuring their smooth progress. Studentfocus on relating to other sharing ideas and eeking compro­mise. Using the teaching method, they broaden their ability to graspthe necessary written language and math kills while deepening theiremotional intelligence and problem-solving skills.

The same strategy applies in working with adults. The methodhas been adapted for teaching Spanish, English, Portuguese, andfour indigenous languages: K'iche, Mam, Kaqchikel, and Q'eqchi'.The system has played a significant role in reducing the illiteracyrate in some Central American countries. In Guatemala alone, il­literacy dropped from 60 percent to 30 percent from 1995 to 1999.

There is a huge opportunity to cros -pollinate all forms of ed­ucation with the perspectives, experience, and bu iness approachesof leading social and environmental entrepreneurs. Meanwhileconsider the meteoric rise of Net Impact. Started in 1993 by MBAstudents who wanted to u e their business skills to both make mone yand achieve positive social change, et Impact currently has overeleven thousand paying member. With 'more than 120 student andprofessional chapters on four continents in seventy-five cities andeighty business schools, a central office in San Francisco, and part­nerships with leading for-profit and nonprofit organizations, rhi

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112 Creating the Markets of the Future

extraordinary social venture enables members to use business forsocial good in their graduate education, careers, and communities.In 2006, the Net Impact annual conference drew over sixteen hun­dred participants. At Harvard, the student-organized group thatfocuse on social entrepreneurship is now the largest on campus,boasting nine hundred graduate students.

The message for leaders-whether they are in the public or pri­vate sectors or work in civil ociery institutions-is that educationwill be a key part of the solution to all the challenge sketched inthis chapter. What the successes of organizations like abcdespafiol,City Year, et Impact, and Teach For America demonstrate is thatremoving the barriers to learning can release a flood of energy and,in the process, lay the foundations for more susta inable futureeconomies.

Digital Opportunities

Enthusiast may talk of "growing up digital," but the IT revolu­tio n has created its own divide. Meanwhile the impact of enter­prises like Grameenphone has underscored the importance of newtechnologies like cell phones computers, and Internet connectionsfor people worldwide, whether rich or poor. Still, it is an astound­ing fact that more than 80 percent of people in the world havenever heard a dial tone, let alone urfed the Web. Some argue thatthe gap between information have and have-nets i do ing, oth­ers say that it is widening. Former secretary-general Kofi Annan

warned of the danger of excluding the world's poor from the in­formation revolution. As he put it: 'People lack many things: jobs,shelter, food, health care and drinkable water. Today, being cut offfrom basic telecommunications services i s a hardship almost asacute as the e other deprivation , and may indeed reduce the chancesof finding remedies to them. " 27

Despite the momentum in thi ector, even the rno t killed en­trepreneur make mistakes along the way. As in other area , suchfailure s often contain the seed of long-term success. In Brazil, for

109 tact mat more than ~U percent ot people ill the world have