👋Friends International was founded 🚀25 years ago by a French 🇨🇵social entrepreneur, Sebastien Marot. This NGO 🌠can be considered as a social enterprise. Their mission is clear: protecting marginalized children 👦👧and their families and training👨🏫 them with professional skills leading to a full time employment 👨💼in Cambodia 🇰🇭& South East Asia. We have been impressed by the professionalism…
Author: romainsion
VC Advisor at blisce/ investing in late stage startups in US & UE. Passionate about E-Commerce, Consumer internet, Marketplaces, SaaS, Startups, Ski and Travels
Moussa Trains the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs To Fight For Social Integration
✌️In sensitive 💥urban areas in France🇨🇵, the unemployment rate is 2X📈 higher than the national average. For Moussa, economic integration is the cornerstone of social success🚀. In 2015, Moussa launched Les Déterminés, a mission driven🌠 NGO🌠 aiming at supporting the success of entrepreneurs in sensitive💥 urban and rural areas. Self-taught👨🏫 and resolutely audacious, Moussa started…
Benoit Created The Khmer Braille For Blind Children In Cambodia
👋Do you know the life ⚕️expectancy of a Cambodian🇰🇭 child becoming blind in the 90’s ? 2 years! 😢Benoit is the founder👨💼 of Krousar Thmey (“New Family”) a leading NGO 🚀based in Cambodia supporting blind and deaf children👦👧. Becoming blind or deaf in Cambodia was like a death ☠️sentence because there was neither support nor infrastructure🏢 to address those problem🔃….
At 21, Immaculate Already Knows How She Will Give A Better Future To Her 6 Sisters
😉This meeting with Immaculate was unforgettable🌠. From her tiny 10 square meter shelter🏚️, she explained us what was her plan to get out of poverty🎯. She was only 21 years old and she already had a clear idea 💡on how to get a brighter ☀️future for her sisters 👧with a realistic plan. When you come…
Cyrielle Hariel Impact Journalist & World Explorer – “Change Our Mind With Positive People”
👋Are you fed up with dark side 😒headlines from traditional media🗞️? If that’s your case, follow🌠 Cyrielle Hariel’s journey🤩. She is an enthusiastic 🔥& positive🌠 journalist🎙️ travelling 🧳the world 🌍with a clear objective: showcase the positive impact🌠🚀 brought by citizens👨🧑, individuals and entrepreneurs. Since 2014, she travelled 100 000km and interviewed🎤 400+ change-makers from the Dalai…
Celestine Convinces Pregnant Mothers To Give Birth In Healthy Environments
👋How would you react as a pregnant 🤰woman if you are refused by hospitals ⛑️when your baby 👶is due to arrive? It seems so far from what we are living in countries such as France 🇨🇵where I am currently based. One more time, we are so lucky🤞. When I was in Kenya🇰🇪, I witnessed several…
Enkhjin CEO of Gerhub – Innovation to Fight The Most Pressing Issues Of The Ger Areas in Mongolia
👋Did you know that every year hundreds of children 👶die ☠️in the Ger Areas due to pollution🌫️ & sanitation 🚽issues? Gerhub is a non-profit social enterprise that is using innovation 🚀to support local communities located in the Ger areas. Their main projects focus on researching🔎 and developing ways to affordably modify and modernize the Mongolian…
From Fashion with Tom Ford & Yves Saint Laurent To A Social Business Supporting 100 Women in Turkey
👋Have you already been in a situation where you can not stay without doing anything?🤷 15 years ago, Izabela Szeliga started a promising 🚀career at Yves Saint Laurent👚, dealing with world famous🌠 fashion designers such as Tom Ford and Yves Saint Laurent himself. However, after falling in love♥️ with a Turkish🇹🇷, she decided to quit…
Mesut Is Disrupting The Scholarship System With a Cutting Edge Technology Platform in Turkey
👋Did know that in Turkey🇹🇷 40% of the young graduates 👨🎓👩🎓are unemployed? Nowadays, many promising students are working hard ⚒️to make sure they could get a job 👨💼👩💼after graduation. However, being accepted in a tier one Turkish 🇹🇷or International🌍 University is not enough. They need to pay💰 for the University fees and many of them…
To Fight Pollution & Sanitation Issues,Odgerel Is Building Sustainable Community Infrastructures
🙌Why do Hundreds of Children 👦👧die 😥every year in the Ger Areas around Ulan Bator in Mongolia🇲🇳? There are two major issues💥: Heavy pollution 🏭& Sanitation ⚕️issues due to the absence of public infrastructures🏨. 60% of the Ulan Bator population👨 live in Ger Areas which are disorganized housing🏘️ areas built with very limited urbanization facilities…
Ashe Is Fighting For LGBT Hand in Hand With the First Lady of NYC
👏Today, over 50% of homeless and unstably housed youth in NYC 🗽are LGBT🏳️🌈. During my last stay in NYC, I had the chance to meet with Ashe, a brilliant🌠 activist fighting day 🌞and night🌛 to protect, support and empower the LGBT youth👦👧. After prestigious🎓 studies at Cornell & Columbia, Ashe could have applied for a…
Belinda – From Slum To a Career of Professional Footballer
👋Currently professional 🏟️footballer⚽, Belinda did not forget🔙 where she came from. Every day, she comes back training🏃♀️ with her previous team🏁. Located in Kibera🇰🇪, the largest urban slum in Africa, she wants to empower and teach younger kids👦👧. Belinda is 19 years old and 3rdborn in a family of 4👨👨👧👦. When she was younger, she…
They Teach, Empower, Console, Encourage, Teachers are True Heroes
Teachers 👨🏫are a cornerstone of our society. We all remember a great teacher who encouraged us during hard⛰️ times, who told us that we could make it or who punished 😢us for a reason that we understood few years later. They are true 😎💪heroes! I will never forget my discussion with the head teacher of…
Entrepreneur & Immigrant, Asmaa Uses Cooking as Powerful Weapon to Fight Prejudices
👋Can you imagine cooking 👨🍳as a powerful weapon🚀 to fight cultural 📚prejudices? That is Asmaa’s secret weapon! Born in Morocco🇲🇦, she studied accounting before immigrating to France🇨🇵. Without the right diplomas & cultural codes, her integration was a challenge ⛰️but she did not give up. After several jobs in accountability and telemarketing, she decided to…
Bulgarian Immigrant & Entrepreneur,Plamen Wants To Change Perceptions About His Country
👉Plamen is a Bulgarian immigrant & entrepreneur 👔who moved back to Bulgaria🇧🇬 with a bold purpose driven🚀 project in mind. Born👶 & raised in Bulgaria, he immigrated to Spain 🇪🇸when he turned 16 due to family reasons. After his bachelor degree, he spent a few years climbing the corporate ladder where he discovered that, he…
Sofiane Leverage Theatrical Improvisation at the Olympia to Empower Disadvantaged Youth
👋Have you already been on stage at the Olympia🎫? Sofiane did better than that. Last year, he brought a whole team of young artists💃 from Sport dans la Ville for a theatrical improvisation on stage at the Olympia in front of 2000 spectators. 😎✌️ With Sofiane, we met on the side of a football⚽ training of…
Faith – 17 Years Old, Mother, Student & Young Leader in the Largest Urban Slum in Africa
👋How would you react if a 17 years old joyful girl👧 tells you that few years back, she wanted to kill☠️ herself because of her pregnancy👶? It was a Thursday at 5.30am. After a 20 minute walk across metal sheets barracks, Faith welcomed🙂 us in her tiny 12m2 family house🏠. While washing her daughter clothes,…
Sarah and Her Impact Driven Team Support 77 000 Disadvantaged in Bugaria
Few years back, Sarah would have never imagined launching Trust for Social Achievement a leading organization in Bulgaria with an ambitious vision: Help Bulgaria’s most disadvantaged achieve educational & economic success. After working a decade in large US institutions, she had the opportunity to conduct research on social inclusion in Bulgaria. Her lifetime mission became…
Aleksandar Co-Founded the Largest Bulgarian Media For Positive & Inspiring News
👉Who is fed up reading news🗞️ every morning 🥐about violence💥, sex 🔞 and drugs 💊across the world🌍? Personally, I am!😐 Especially when I know that so many inspiring known & unknown leaders are fighting⚔️ to make the world🌐 a better place! In Bulgaria 🇧🇬, I spent one evening🍺 with Aleksandar, the 🚀co-founder of Uspelite🚀, the…
Fany – Mother & Hard Working She wants a better life for her daughter
👋 Hi Everyone, I had the chance🤩 to stay a week in Cuzco 🌎. Every morning, I used to go to El Mercado San Pedro 🛒for my breakfast 🍊. Imagine, hundreds of small shops selling similar products in a not only friendly 🤗 but also ultra-competitive 🏁 atmosphere. This is how I met with Fany at…
Bob – CEO of the largest East African company fighting hard for transparency
Hi everyone,👋 Do you know Bob? 👋Bob is the CEO👨⚖️ of Safaricom🛰️, the largest company🏨 in East Africa. I met with Bob in Nairobi🇰🇪 to discuss about purpose💫, transparency & corruption. He is not only one of the most successful🚀 leader in Kenya but also an inspiring activist capitalist. For him, corruption is currently pretty rough💥…
Peggye- Born in a small village in Madagascar, she became a role model for her community
👋👋Hi Everyone, 👋👋 Have you already met with Peggye? She is a mission driven, brilliant 🌠 and humble woman 👩 living in Paris 🇫🇷. Impressive story 📝! Peggye was born in a small village 🏠 of 34k inhabitants in the northern part of the Madagascar 🇲🇬 where 72% of the population live with less that…
Peter wants to rebuild the slum of Kibera with decent homes
👋Hi Everyone👋, Have you met Peter? Peter is a young Kenyan 🇰🇪 leader with a BIG dream. He was born in the middle of Kibera, one of the largest African slum located in the south of Nairobi. Living in Kibera was his biggest challenge 💥 in life. He said: “You do not have dreams, you…
Omar – Father, Electrician, Ex-Military & Refugee
Hi Everyone, Last Thursday I finished late and I was looking to grab sushis 🍣 on the way back home. Nearby the shop 🏬, I met with Omar. He did not ask for money 💰 but just something for dinner 🍴. I offered him to order with me and we finally spent the all evening…
Paul Duan — Data Science Genius Fighting against unemployment
Hi Everyone👋, I had the chance to meet with Paul Duan👨, the inspiring founder of Bayes Impact, the Y Combinator-backed NGO which builds citizen-led public services to create a fairer and inclusive future for our societies. By leveraging data science 💻, they achieved outstanding impacts: 800 police agencies 👮use their tool to reduce violence 💥…
“Hello”, So simple but also so important!
Hi Everybody, Do you know La Nuit de la solidarité? It’s a survey 📝launched by Anne Hidalgo to count and profile homeless people in Paris 🇨🇵 in order to improve social services. Last Thursday was the 2nd edition. Clément, one of my colleague suggested our team to join as volunteers. Our mission: count and survey…
Andi Develops 3.0 coding classes to train people for the new economy
Hi Everyone, Most developers and tech guys in Romania live in Cluj-Napoca which is also called the Silicon Valley of Romania. Willing to better understand the ecosystem, I met Andi a young and ambitious full stack developer 💻. Few months before, he had quited his well-paid job to join Carmel as a Co-founder 🚀. Carmel…
The World is getting better but most people ignore it!
Hi Everyone, Few days ago, I had the chance to be 100m below the sea 🌊 level to visit the massive mines ⛏️of Salt in Turda Transilvania 🇷🇴. Launched in 1271, the salt was all extracted manually ✊ by workers 👨and horses 🐎 working in horrific conditions. For example, after two weeks, horses were becoming blind and after 6 months, they had to retire….
#StrongerTogether 5 NGOs 5 Countries 1 Project
Hi Everyone, During my stay in Cluj Napoca, I had the chance to spend one afternoon with a group project led by the city hall of Cluj Napoca. 5 NGOs from Roumania 🇷🇴, Albania 🇦🇱, Poland 🇵🇱, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 and Portugal 🇵🇹 focusing on social and economic inclusion of young children 👦👧 with disabilities gathered together. They started the preparation of…
Civil War Refugee at 14 to Entrepreneur
Hi everyone, This week end, I decided to stop by Cluj-Napoca in Transylvania 🇷🇴. City well known as the economic heart of Romania. Exhausted due to my flight delay ✈️, I arrived very early in the morning at my hotel. After a 15 minute nap, I was awake by Bala, my roommate. A 50 years old man…
