ASAP Winter Newsletter

Click here to read ASAP's winter newsletter.

Thank you for your interest!

Randomized Control Trials

Randomized Control Trials are coming of age. It's been 10 years since Abdul Latif Jameel launched Poverty Action Lab; introducing an evidence-based approach, changing thinking about measuring impact. Now The Kauffman Foundation and Nesta have teamed up to offer funding for innovation, entrepreneurship and growth experiments using RCTs. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 24th. Click here to learn more. 

‘Schooling Ain’t Learning’

Thanks to the world's focus on MDG #2, achieving universal primary education, school enrollment is up. But there is a crisis in education - evidence shows that children are not learning nearly enough. For example, only 1 in 20 fifth graders were able to perform basic arithmetic and less than 1 in 4 could read a simple sentence in rural India.
With technology and access to web-based platforms such as Khan Academy,  more of the same is not the best option. In fact, the Online Learning Institute currently is calling for proposals to lead roundtable discussions during the 10th annual conference to be held July 1st in Atlanta.
Worldwide, our approach to education is in need of an overhaul. A new book by Lant Prichett "The Rebirth of Education"  advocates for education systems to evolve locally.  Mr. Prichett gives us plenty of food for thought, as we rethink our education system to prepare children for today's world and to be tomorrow's leaders.

Women Empowerment

On 14 Feb World Citizens will dance to end violence against women and girls.  

Women's empowerment a the driving force behind ASAP's work; created as a result of my personal experience as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching in rural Africa. Here I witnessed the local acceptance of my roommate being raped. As a result, we're proud that over 85,000 women are now actively involved in ASAP Savings Groups in Zimbabwe and Malawi -  and now have their own power and voice in the home.

But global change takes generations. Today the statics are staggering. One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her life time. That's one billion women.

ASAP in Zimbabwe and Malawi are proud to participate in  One Billion Rising. On Feb. 14th, together  we will harness the power and imagination, coming together to tell stories, dance and speak out to stop violence against women.

This is a start, but some say the deck is stacked against true equality for women.  Here are some resources.

Click here view "50 years of Women's Legal Rights"
Click here to view the 2014 key findings from the World Bank report "Women, Business and the Law"

There is so much work to be done!

Africa - Looking Ahead

The beginning of the new year is a time for reflection and planning. The Brookings Institute has released their report outlining some of the major challenges and opportunities Africa will face in the coming year.Click here to read the Foresight Africa report.

Join the conversation on twitter using #ForesightAfrica. 

Don't miss the exciting opportunity to attend the live webcast on January 7th from 10-11:30 am EST

Top Priorities for Africa in 2014 

Leading Africa experts will discuss the most important challenges the continent will face in 2014. The panel will include: Robin Renee Sanders, former U.S. ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria; Bright Simons, Ghanaian social entrepreneur and founder and president of the mPedigree Network; and Amadou Sy, senior fellow with the Africa Growth Initiative. Helene Cooper, New York Times White House correspondent, will moderate the discussion.

Social Change

Jonathan Lewis - social entrepreneur extraordinaire - has produced a series of thirty videos to help empower your social justice career. Click here to learn more about Cafe Impact.

Latin America Savings Groups Forum

Beginning tomorrow, the SEEP Network will host the first ever Latin American Savings Groups Forum in Bogota, Columbia. From December 4th to the 6th, academics and practitioners will share experiences and results. Participation, live or virtual, is FREE. To learn more, click here.

Wear Orange Today

Wear orange. Say NO to violence against women.

November 25th is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The facts are staggering:

• Up to 70 per cent of women experience violence in their lifetime.
• Between 500,000 to 2 million people are trafficked annually into situations including prostitution, forced labour, slavery or servitude, according to estimates. Women and girls account for about 80 per cent of the detected victims
• It is estimated that more than 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM/C, mainly in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries.
• The cost of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceeds $5.8 billion per year: $4.1 billion is for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.
• Click here to learn more.

ASAP Fall Newsletter

    Click here to read ASAP's autumn newsletter.

Teachers on Pinterest

Teachers on Pinterest is a great place for teachers to find and share creative ideas. In an effort to promote lively learning, this is a place that will inspire our hard-working teachers - who make a difference in the lives of our children everyday.  Click here.

Healthy Money Summit

The Shift Network Healthy Money Summit begins today. "Navigating the shift to our shared prosperity.

• If you want to know specifically what to do to increase your personal prosperity – and also create abundance for your family, your communityand the world...
• If you want to overcome those financial roadblocks that just never seem to go away, so that you can enjoy life and fulfill your mission...
• If you want to feel free instead of fear when you sit down to pay your bills...
• If you want to spread your money in meaningful ways that support your deepest values and passions...

...then, you’ve come to the right place! "

Click Here to learn more.

National Entrepreneurship Month

Barak Obama, President of the US, has proclaimed November 2013 as National Entrepreneurship Month. "I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 22, 2013, as National Entrepreneurs' Day." To learn more, click here. 

African Events

For the entrepreneur, this directory for events, trade shows, conferences, trade fairs, and exhibitions in Africa, and worldwide, is very useful. Click Here.

Can Entrepreneurship be Taught?

  According to Steve Mariotti, The Founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, this is not open to debate. His mission is to build a global movement so every young person can learn how to start a small business. But many disagree with Steven and believe that entrepreneurship is not a  teachable skill; that the intrinsic motivation required to succeed cannot be learned. Click here to read more about these opposing views. Click here to read Richard Branson's thoughts.

Steve shared his five basic lessons for young entrepreneurs recently in Cambodia High Schools:

1. Never compete; instead, find out what everybody else is doing and then don't do it.

1. Hire the best and brightest, and provide incentives for them like profit-sharing.

1. Get your economics of one unit accurate. The unit that solves a problem must be clear and concise and you must know not only its price, but also its full costs.

1. Learn how to communicate your story, which has to be absolutely true and streamlined, but must answer the question of what your life's work will answer. 

1. Always have a business plan that is based on comparative advantage. 

Click here to learn more.

Steve Mariotti believes in teaching entrepreneurship 

Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship

Recognizing African entrepreneurs with the most innovative, sustainable, scalable, and impactful businesses. Click here to see the finalists for 2013.

Save the Date - Friday Oct. 11th

Celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child by providing school fees for a girl in Zimbabwe.
Click here to learn why educating girls will change the world.

International Day of the Girl Child

October 11th is International Day of the Girl.  Voices from girls around the world will be shared through The Girl Declaration. The goal is to ensure that girls take a lead role as we think about the post-2015 development goals. Their insights will help to guide our efforts to break cycles of poverty for girls, their communities, and the world.  To learn more, click here.

Teaching Entrepreneurship in High School

For 25-years the Network for Entrepreneurship has been instilling entrepreneurial mindset in  young people worldwide. A 2013 survey of NFTE alumni shows impressive results; that  NFTE alumni are innovators, creators and leaders.  Click here to see the research.  

But could sooner = better? According to NFTE’s chief executive, Amy Rosen, high school may be best time to start;“Kids are making decisions when they’re 12 or 13 that will destine them to poverty, the question is: Can you change the trajectory of a kid’s life in one year-long course by getting them involved in their work? I’ve seen over and over again that you can.” Learn More.  

Rethinking Financial Inclusion

An interesting new course to be offered at the Kennedy School in February. Click here to learn more.

Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught

Dr. Noam Wasserman, professor of entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School, believes we can teach founders to use data to avoid common hazards.  While Victor W. Hwang, co-author of "The Rainforest: The Secret to Building the Next Silicon Valley" and managing director of T2 Venture Capital in Silicon Valley,  disagrees; believing the required skills must come from "the aggregate experience" of living.

So far, a recent Wall Street Journal poll reveals that 62% of respondents agree with Dr. Wasserman. 

To learn more about this debate and to cast your vote click here.