Topic: International Development

Audrey Seagraves has a passion for international development and social enterprise. In this audio interview with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman, the director of programs at World of Good talks about the creation of Fair Wage Guide software, a free tool that tells the viewer how wages being paid to any artisan worldwide compare to international wage standards.

Social entrepreneurship may be the most promising avenue for solving global problems, says Paul Rice, CEO of TransFair USA. In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, Rice details his own work to establish Fair Trade. The movement has opened the U.S. market to more than 1.4 million small family farmers around the world who are now getting a fair price for their harvests and making dramatic gains in their living standards.

When Priya Haji put her mind to helping reduce global poverty, social entrepreneurship took a quantum leap. In this university podcast, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, the plucky founder of World of Good shares how she created a social enterprise that now empowers women in communities around the world by helping them sell their artisan goods in stores and online. She talks about strategies for using educated consumer choice and inspiring business competition to do good.

The future of international development may lie in the hands of children. In this audio interview with Sheela Sethuraman, Jeroo Billimoria talks about how her organization, Aflatoun, provides social and financial education to youth ages 6 to 14 in 31 countries. She discusses Aflatoun's work with partners to create and disseminate innovative curricula to mainstream schools, and its vision for continuing to empower young people over the next five years.

While the United States has been a leader in global entrepreneurship, other countries are also getting in on the act. But the movement abroad has not been without its struggles. In this panel discussion at a conference convened by the Hoover Institute at Stanford, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs talk about what it takes to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in a variety of countries. They look at challenges as well as lessons from nations that have been particularly successful in creating startups, such as India and Taiwan.

A critical aspect of international development and the restoration of the global economy involves fostering entrepreneurship. In this panel discussion at a conference convened by the Hoover Institute at Stanford, experts and entrepreneurs discuss what it takes to create social and educational environments in the United States and abroad that support innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit. They consider what opportunities the world crisis has opened up for major transformations in every sector of the economy.

The U.S. government is working to grow the "ecosystem" for entrepreneurship abroad as a part of its international development efforts. In this audio lecture, Richard Boly, a member of the U.S. Foreign Service, discusses how he managed a program of the U.S. embassy to promote entrepreneurship in Italy, a country steeped in bureaucracy and lacking engines of innovation. Speaking at a conference convened by the Hoover Institute at Stanford, he details efforts to connect entrepreneurs with the resources and role models they need to be successful.

International development is increasingly dependent on the entrepreneurship of local citizens. But has the U.S.-caused global recession robbed American business and government of the ability to persuade other countries to partake of the capitalistic entrepreneurial model? In this panel discussion, part of a conference convened by the Hoover Institute at Stanford, experts discuss the role of entrepreneurship in economic growth worldwide.

Microfinance has become a staple of international development. In this audio interview, Chetna Gala-Sinha talks with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman about how her micro-enterprise development bank and foundation are economically empowering rural women in India. She describes the various tools and services that allow women to become financially independent, provide more adequately for their families, and drive international development.

Let there be light! That's Sam Goldman's motto, and he's taking it around the world. The founder of d.light design talks with Stanford Center for Social Innovation correspondent Sheela Sethuraman about how he is bringing affordable, ecologically sustainable electricity and lighting to billions who are now operating in the dark. In this audio interview, he details aspects of the design, function, marketing, and distribution of the organization's products, as well as the kind of impact the social enterprise is having in some of the most remote, poor areas.