Project Inspire

Attending the UN Women project called Project Inspire since 2012, has been initially an accident. On my way to the library at the INSEAD campus for one of my daily writing sessions in the quiet city-off-centre, there was an ongoing registration for a UniFem session and it looked like a good gathering of women with a “Livelihood Fair” - for me, lots of Christmas gifts & homeware on their makeshift tables inside the library entrance led me to extreme distraction, that presses to an inquiry, to buying some unicef Chrissie cards, and eventually signing up for future involvement.

Three years and two offices later, they are now a fully grown committee and have more volunteers, programmes and women’s businesses and overall social enterprise supported in participating countries - mostly in Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa: the countries represented are where the community of women are being developed with the programme that are in the Project Inspire list of nominations for the tender prize that enables the takeoff or sustain of each project’s runway in their respective countries.

This year, I lent support with presence of media and packed with questions, lock on to some of the participants and their corresponding needs - and what they would do if they don’t win? (The dreaded plan B inquiry to their social business plans.)

I can tell by their reactions, that these are hinged to the phase B or expansion of their projects, and some for foundational, like education, training with some equipment & technical support. The Ten Finalists are well chosen and presented well with very good pitches that were well-developed and painted a picture on what they have done with this project, where it had gone, and the intersect with sourcing funds from the MasterCard-endowed annual fund, for five years running. Few of them had a ten-year plan, but all I found had good intentions spelt out in their business plans, and with little or no idea on how to get their business feet going, or where to get help for their next steps in the offing. I think this is where the funding institutes do good at their jobs, in getting their charity hungry businesses or choice clientele to meet with these various non-profit or organisations with voluntary helping hands, and their business-forward social enterprises. Some have the machinery installed and need operations, others need the expertise as well as the funds. So in the short stay I have assessed which ones had the most need, and which ones needed the most business assistance. The ones needing the in-kind assistance were the most intending ones, but are lucking out on the ones who have the finance savvy of the other business leaders.

I have Amra Naidoo in conversation in a podcast I will be publishing soon, on the off chance that the next lucky candidates vying for the $20k pot will make the right points, pitch their objectives clearly, and extend themselves at the right pace. But the winners clearly have it all: going home not only with the prize money, but achieving it with a viable paper to start, and a smile and a warm thank you card to finish.