A three-year program to promote Social Business in Pistoia has been inagurated yesterday. This program will support research, training, technical assistance for students, citizens, entrepreneurs and local authorities which want to invest in a "new economy".

Thanks to the agreement signed by the Yunus Social Business Centre University of Florence (YSBCUF), the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Pistoia e Pescia and Fondazione Un Raggio di Luce Onlus, Pistoia is the first Social Business City in Italy.

The program, for which the two foundations have committed more than 300.000 euro (for its implementation and to support setting up of 3 Social Businesses), will focus on a series of activities which will give the an opportunity to citizens, entrepreneurs and local administrators to acquire specific competencies on Social Business and to get in touch with similar experiences worldwide.

At the signing ceremony, Enrico Testi Director of International Relations of the YSBCUF said that in a crisis context where there are less financial resources, as the one in Italy, Social Business can play an important part in local development and in being a concrete alternative to the prevalent economic model.

E-Agro is a joint venture of Intel and Grameen Intel Social Business (Bangladesh). This is a model programme where an entrepreneur will be given charge of 2,000 farmers. He will be responsible for keeping database of production of last five years and provide the farmers know-how for better harvest. The database will be made in the local language so that the farmer will be able to access it. Gradually, the number of farmers assigned to each entrepreneur will be increased depending on his capacity. The entrepreneur will be backed by OUAT, Paradeep Phosphates and Intel.

"We are trying to find ways to bring technology to people. We had technology but did not have the knowledge about entrepreneurial needs. And Grameen helped us providing a complete solution," said Frank Martinez, director of Intel's World Ahead Programme.

The e-Agro initiative has been launched in 12 locations of the State as a pilot project.

"We are working on this for the last two and a half years and it is a learning process. Now is the time to scale up and expand," said K C Mishra, CEO, eKutir. De-risking is a crucial part of the programme where farmers are provided with best quality seeds, fertilisers and an advisory to minimise the chances of crop failure.

Jobs are being created at the macro level and the farmers are getting quality services for a fixed payment, said Frank.

"The e-Agro initiative is a big boon for us as it will help us gain know-how on how to grow crops better," said Charana Sasmal, a beneficiary of the programme.

Source: http://ibnlive.in.com/news/better-expertise-for-farmers-in-offing/186532-60-117.html

"Seeing the real people in this movie gives you the real experience," says Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Muhammad Yunus.

Bonsai People highlights his work offering, not only financial services, but also health services, energy, communications and more - all aimed at helping the poor. The screening is being held the day after The International Day of Peace to remind us that we need to address problems of economic disparity - as it is one of the biggest threats to peace.

Bonsai People: The Vision of Muhammad Yunus is screening through the sponsorship of The Institute of International Social Development; and The Spirituality, Values, Business and Peace Working Group of the Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns-NY.

The screening will take place September 22, 2011 from 4-6pm at Holy Family Church - 315 East 47th Street; NY, NY (between 1st and 2nd Avenues).

Speaking at his inaugural lecture in the UKM campus here today he said it was a "very special" feeling to be part of UKM's faculty and he was very happy to be able to come back to teach here.

Malaysia is also special to him because it was the first country outside Bangladesh to adopt his microfinance scheme, and he is on the board of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, a Grameen replication project.

As Laureate-in-Residence, Prof Muhammad Yunus will spend a month over the span of a year to, among others, help develop iconic research projects for UKM.

About 2,000 university students, gifted students under UKM's PermataPintar programme, students of several secondary schools in the Klang Valley, academicians and the public attended the lecture on "Social Business: A way to solve society's most pressing problems," at UKM's Dewan Tun Abdul Razak.