Intro to International Business Presentation by Mpule Kwelagobe Bailey Bakshi 1/30/14
“I’m not here to give a speech, I’m here to engage in conversation” - Mpule Kwelagobe
On January 30, 2014, Mpule Kwelagobe came to Rollins College as more than just a guest speaker, but to inspire her audience. She began her presentation by discussing the “business of changing the world” and what it takes to be a social entrepreneur. In 1999 Mpule Kwelagobe won the title of Miss Universe, representing the first African woman to achieve this title. After her victory, she began a career built upon social change and entrepreneurship. She became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, and represented her native country of Botswana. When she began this path, she started with the project of HIV/AIDs, sharing the statistic that 1 in 4 pregnant women in Botswana test HIV positive, and that Botswana was the #1 country in the world to be affected by the AIDs crisis. This was her call to action. She began fostering partnerships with other foundations and corporations to help fund her work. In her time working with the people of Botswana, Mpule Kwelagobe shared a very important lesion she learned. “Success comes from a bottom-up approach. Do not enter a village “knowing” what is best for them.” This proved to be true in her field work, she would first approach the chief of a village and ask his/her opinion on what exactly the biggest problems were. Further research led her to the discovery that teen pregnancy was running rampant. Mpule Kwelagobe began a mission to visit different schools and educate young women about this topic. In her efforts to help, she explained that she encountered quite a bit of opposition. A woman in the village told her that talking about teen pregnancy was equivalent to encouraging it. Mpule Kwelagobe began a compromise in which she would always consult religious leaders and have them accompany her whenever she reached out to the youth population. Mpule Kwelagobe left her audience with the advice of creating the ultimate business: one that affects social change but still receives a financial return. She explained the business of giving a family a goat or cow. That animal will supply the family with cheese and milk, when they sell this they can create revenue for themselves and eventually turn it into a business. She discussed how we live in a culture of wastefulness, and that it should be the mission of the youth to make environmentalism more mainstream. She brought up the staggering statistic about how America represented 5% of the global population, yet uses 25% of the world’s resources. Mpule Kwelagobe was truly an excellent speaker, she used humor and wit to appeal to the crowd, and statistics as a call to action. She emphasized the importance of social entrepreneurship and how it can help change the world.
Mpule Kwelagobe's speech at Rollins was very informative and entertaining. Her story was quite influential, and I enjoyed hearing how she had gotten where she was, but also the impact of the things she is helping do. She was crowned Miss Universe in 1999. She came to Rollins to inspire conversation on business of changing the world. What it takes and we do it in a sustainable way. She was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations, focusing on youth and HIV/AIDS. She started a program the MPULE Institute for Endogenous Development that raised 100 million dollars and taught 500,000 people. She established these programs in small villages. She said she learned three main approaches from establishing the programs in villages, and those three lessons were: 1. A bottom-up approach. If they wanted to establish themselves in these communities then they had to acknowledge and respect the customs in the community. 2. Recognize and respect leaders such as the chief and religious leaders, which in return would help support them and then the whole village would support their help. 3. Form innovative partnerships.
I really enjoyed Mpule's speech and learned a lot about her life and all she is achieving with her social entrepreneurship.
Intro to International Business
ReplyDeletePresentation by Mpule Kwelagobe
Bailey Bakshi 1/30/14
“I’m not here to give a speech, I’m here to engage in conversation”
- Mpule Kwelagobe
On January 30, 2014, Mpule Kwelagobe came to Rollins College as more than just a guest speaker, but to inspire her audience. She began her presentation by discussing the “business of changing the world” and what it takes to be a social entrepreneur.
In 1999 Mpule Kwelagobe won the title of Miss Universe, representing the first African woman to achieve this title. After her victory, she began a career built upon social change and entrepreneurship. She became a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, and represented her native country of Botswana. When she began this path, she started with the project of HIV/AIDs, sharing the statistic that 1 in 4 pregnant women in Botswana test HIV positive, and that Botswana was the #1 country in the world to be affected by the AIDs crisis. This was her call to action. She began fostering partnerships with other foundations and corporations to help fund her work.
In her time working with the people of Botswana, Mpule Kwelagobe shared a very important lesion she learned. “Success comes from a bottom-up approach. Do not enter a village “knowing” what is best for them.” This proved to be true in her field work, she would first approach the chief of a village and ask his/her opinion on what exactly the biggest problems were. Further research led her to the discovery that teen pregnancy was running rampant. Mpule Kwelagobe began a mission to visit different schools and educate young women about this topic. In her efforts to help, she explained that she encountered quite a bit of opposition. A woman in the village told her that talking about teen pregnancy was equivalent to encouraging it. Mpule Kwelagobe began a compromise in which she would always consult religious leaders and have them accompany her whenever she reached out to the youth population.
Mpule Kwelagobe left her audience with the advice of creating the ultimate business: one that affects social change but still receives a financial return. She explained the business of giving a family a goat or cow. That animal will supply the family with cheese and milk, when they sell this they can create revenue for themselves and eventually turn it into a business. She discussed how we live in a culture of wastefulness, and that it should be the mission of the youth to make environmentalism more mainstream. She brought up the staggering statistic about how America represented 5% of the global population, yet uses 25% of the world’s resources. Mpule Kwelagobe was truly an excellent speaker, she used humor and wit to appeal to the crowd, and statistics as a call to action. She emphasized the importance of social entrepreneurship and how it can help change the world.
Mpule Kwelagobe's speech at Rollins was very informative and entertaining. Her story was quite influential, and I enjoyed hearing how she had gotten where she was, but also the impact of the things she is helping do. She was crowned Miss Universe in 1999. She came to Rollins to inspire conversation on business of changing the world. What it takes and we do it in a sustainable way. She was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations, focusing on youth and HIV/AIDS. She started a program the MPULE Institute for Endogenous Development that raised 100 million dollars and taught 500,000 people. She established these programs in small villages. She said she learned three main approaches from establishing the programs in villages, and those three lessons were:
ReplyDelete1. A bottom-up approach. If they wanted to establish themselves in these communities then they had to acknowledge and respect the customs in the community.
2. Recognize and respect leaders such as the chief and religious leaders, which in return would help support them and then the whole village would support their help.
3. Form innovative partnerships.
I really enjoyed Mpule's speech and learned a lot about her life and all she is achieving with her social entrepreneurship.