Impact at Scale

The Social Innovation Podcast was honored to have Sandeep Aneja and Jetu Lalvani, Managing Partners at Kaizenvest on the show. Kaizenvest is an emerging markets asset manager focused on the future of learning and work, managing private equity and private debt funds in South & Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.  Kaizenvest believes that the future of learning and work is being redefined through technological, pedagogical, and learning-engagement model innovations.

Some of the topics Sandeep and Jetu discussed:

Social Innovation Podcast welcomed Gautam Godhwani, a Managing Partner of Good Startup, to the show.  Good Startup is a venture firm focused on the alternative protein sector. It invests in entrepreneurs creating the next generation of food and materials companies.

Gautam moved to the United States with his family when he was 10 years old and settled in Silicon Valley.  Surrounded by technological innovation, Gautam studied Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and went on to found three startups prior to building Good Startup.  His first startup was sold to Netscape while his third company (Simply Hired) was acquired by Japan's Recruit Holdings.

Some of the topics covered in our discussion:

You can see some of Good Startup's portfolio companies here.

You can see some statistics on how many animals are killed for food every year here, here, and here.

The Social Innovation Podcast sat down (virtually) with Paul Ark (Polapat Arkkrapridi), an Advisor at Gobi Partners.  Paul has had an incredible and incredibly varied career, spanning investment banking, retail, venture capital, and philanthropy.  Suffice it to say that Paul and I had a great conversation filled with thoughtful insights and ideas.

Some of the topics Paul and I discussed included:

The Social Innovation Podcast was joined by Regina Larko, the Founder, Host, and Producer of #impact Podcast.  #impact is a "podcasting community built for and by visionaries making positive impacts by sharing stories that deserve to be heard."

Some of the topics Regina discussed included:

The Social Innovation Podcast was recently joined by Andre Menezes a co-Founder and the COO of NextGen Foods.  NextGen Foods is passionate about using plants to create food experiences so delicious and satisfying, it will make you forget why animals were used for food.

Some of the topics we discussed:

The Social Innovation Podcast was recently joined by Annette Werth and Jeffrey Char, co-founders of SOGO Energy, and the CTO and CEO respectively.  SOGO Energy believes that energy ventures in emerging markets have the power to create valuable, scalable businesses.  However, despite solid business models and fast-growing customer acquisition, they struggle to raise the money they need to sustain such growth.  SOGO Energy was birthed to invest in these local ventures and partner with them on management, technology, and funding.

Some of the topics we discussed:

The Social Innovation Podcast was honored to have Matthew Friedman, the CEO of The Mekong Club on the show.  The Mekong Club is a catalyst for change, inspiring and engaging the private sector to lead in the fight against modern slavery.

If you listen to this episode and are not moved, I do not know what WILL move you.

The Social Innovation Podcast had an inspiring conversation with Neha Mehta, the Founder of FemTech Partners.

Neha is a Lawyer and Fintech professional, specializing in Digital Financial Services, financial inclusion, payment systems, anti-money laundering, and terrorist financing (AML/CFT). She has worked with financial regulators across key Asian markets and assisted in developing effective policies to support diversity and inclusion.

Some of the topics we covered were:

The Social Innovation Podcast had the honor of speaking with Peetachai (Neil) Dejkraisak, the CEO of Jasberry.

Neil and Palmmy were MBA students in 2011 when they learned that Thai farmers were among the poorest in the world, earning just $0.40/day, as a result of poor yield, rising costs, and inefficient agricultural systems. This problem affects 17 million farmers in Thailand alone and it is getting worse as farmers’ debts have tripled in the last decade resulting in a multitude of social problems.

Wanting to create a sustainable, scalable, and irreversible solution to such a problem, they founded Siam Organic, a social enterprise that solves the problem of farmer poverty through innovative organic products with global appeal, starting with Jasberry® rice. Beginning with just 25 farmers in the first year, Siam Organic is now working with over 2,500 farmers, helping them out of poverty, one grain at a time.

Some of the topics that Neil and I discussed:

The Social Innovation Podcast spoke to Louis-Alban Batard-Dupre, the founder and Food Waste Fighter at Yindii.  Yindii is a marketplace connecting Bangkok restaurants and cafes’ surplus to consumers at discounted prices. It reduces Thailand's food waste and its carbon footprint, one meal at a time. The team at Yindii believes that food consumption can have a positive impact on the planet if managed properly.

Clearly, Food Waste and concerns about it are not merely a passing trend.

Some of the topics that Louis and I discussed include:

Louis-Alban Batard-Dupre can be reached here ---> [email protected]