After travelling to Somalia in 1986, Barry Coleman and his wife, Andrea Coleman, decided to create a non-profit social enterprise. The couple was shocked by the country’s indigent, disordered and inefficient health transport system, and by the shortage of medical supplies. As a result, Barry and Andrea mortgaged their home in England to found Riders for Health; a non-profit firm that now uses government funding and private donations to operate.

Over the past 27 years, the Colemans have worked to provide a reliable and sustainable health delivery system that aims to improve access to, and quality of, medical treatment in Africa. In fact, Riders for Health provides its services to 12 million people in the seven countries where it currently operates. Similarly, in Zimbabwe, the social enterprise has decreased deaths attributable to Malaria by 60%, while becoming prominent in Gambia’s inclusive, nation-wide medical coverage.

Clearly, just like the Colemans, social entrepreneurs can be as driven as commercial entrepreneurs; while the latter compete for profit and market share, the former strives for a permanent social transformation. Indeed, Riders for Health has saved thousands of lives and will continue to do so in the future.

Website and Picture: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/07/opinion/skoll-osberg-social-entrepreneurs/index.html?iref=allsearch

Video about Riders for Health: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq5QrJEHAnM

Ted Talk video by the Colemans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dykaGT4G1yA

Google was recently recognized as having the best workplace in the world by Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work for.  The enterprise functions under the Founder’s 10 tenets, creating a community of trust, which is essential for feedback, collectivism, risk-taking and thus, innovation, the company’s main goal.

To create an innovative culture, the firm has a series of habits, such as allowing employees to spend 20% of their time on anything of their interest. In fact, half of the corporation’s advancements come from work done during this period. Similarly, to foster risk-taking, Google rewards mistakes. Indeed, in 2009, a group earned the Founder’s Award and bonuses for failing at a product development; this creation later developed into Google Plus.

Furthermore, recognizing that job satisfaction nurtures creativity, Google offers free restaurants, gymnasiums, cars, and other services to its employees. In addition, by creating its own language with words such as “Googley” and “Noodlers”, Google cultivates workplace cohesiveness which is needed for innovation.

These are just a few of the many practices that Google engages in to promote innovation. By shaping organizational culture around its strategy, the firm has established itself as one of the most profitable in the world.

Websites

Source and Image: http://www.corporateculturepros.com/2013/07/the-real-secret-of-googles-corporate-culture/

Fortune’s ranking: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/list/

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8wqS7VkAcw

Jana (USA) and BiNu (Australia) are market research firms that are taking advantage of Africa’s economic growth, increased consumer spending and improved technology to connect businesses to potential and existing consumers.

As Africa continues to progress, market research is shifting from the pen-and-paper system or “Land Rover” methodology to digital data collection, improving the reliability of results while reducing costs and saving time. Specifically, increased access to mobile phones has allowed Jana to conduct mobile surveys (mCent) in exchange for airtime, while BiNu uses text messages for the same purpose.

Effectively, both firms are using a management information system to gather and analyze large amounts of information, which is then passed to medium sized enterprises that use the data about potential and current customers to improve their management decisions.

Another company that helps businesses to engage in Business Technology Management is Kopo Kopo, based in Kenya. The latter amasses and analyses data from a firm’s untracked mobile phone transactions (M-Pesa), providing managers with a better understanding of their existing consumers. With this kind of customer data tracking, organizational decisions are better tailored to the behaviour and location of buyers.

Clearly, there is huge potential for MIS and BTM in Africa; businesses are barely “scratching the surface”.

Website and Image:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24763609