Career Trend - Empowering the Poor

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This global economic recession is a blessing in disguise. This recession is an chance to re-structure the world economy.

Previously, products and services had been geared to the "Have-Lots". 1/8th of the world's people today (The "Have-Lots") consume and control 7/8ths of the globe resources leaving 7/8ths of the world's many people (The "Have Nots") only 1/8th of the world's resources.

Soon, the economy will be directed to all of humanity. India is taking the lead by designing goods for its lower middle class. In 2010, Tata Motors rolled out its Nano car that sold for only $2,500! The Indian government asked its IT engineers to come up with an inexpensive laptop. HCL Infosystems developed a PC that sells for $225.

The online has transformed society. Significantly like the invention of Gutenberg's printing press, the online has transformed society. As globe citizens, we are all searching at a great deal the identical factor on-line. Desires have been whetted desires: everyone desires a Nano, an iPhone and a iPod!

Passionately want to end poverty
Not only do the poor of the world want a "piece of the pie" but the generation in college now passionately desires to assist the world's poor get out of poverty.

When Muhammad Yunus got the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for advancing micro-finance, there was a stampede of young consumers headed into micro-finance to "bank on the poor".

Initially, I tried to direct visitors from my role as an international career counselor. "There aren't quite a few jobs in micro-finance it is a lot more a movement than an employer." But seeing the passion of so numerous, I predict that his upcoming generation will end world poverty in your lifetime.

We will see the end of economic colonialism. Like the fall of apartheid (the institutionalization of racism in South Africa), I predict that we will see the finish of economic colonialism. Moreover, it will no longer be in anyone's self interest to strip resources as it is not in sync with a growing environmental consciousness.

It is in a business' self-interest to empower those who are presently poor. To empower the poor makes new consumers and new markets.

Tongue in Cheek
Lily Tomlin mentioned it nicely in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe. When Lily was in character as Trudy, the crazy lady, she was consultant to Nabisco crackers:

"I stated, "Mr. Nabisco, sir! You could be the first to sell the concept of munching to the Third World. We got an untapped industry here! These countries got millions and millions of folks don't even know exactly where their subsequent meal is coming from. So the idea of eatin' between meals is somethin' just in no way occurred to 'em!"

Necessity is the Mother of Invention
This economic recession will spawn new organizations with a new ethos. Historically recessions give birth to new providers and start off-ups. If there are not jobs to be had, then individuals invent them. What is the secret to achievement? Founders identify new market needs and then fill that have to have.

Examples of now globe wide corporations that launched for the duration of recessions:
The Hyatt hotel chain and Burger King each grew out of the economic slump in 1954-7. The economic recession associated with the international "oil crisis" in 1973 spawned the legal research service, Lexis Nexis, and FedEx. MTV was launched in the economic slump of 1981.

Common Electric was established in 1876 in the middle of a six year recession by Thomas Edison, the inventor of the incandescent light bulb. GE is now the third largest organization in the globe.

Hewlett Packard was launched at the finish of the Wonderful Depression. HP now gives much of the hardware to the ICT boom and operates in nearly every single nation in the globe.

What are the Type of Providers that People are Inventing? Where Will Jobs Be in the Near Future?

Spin-offs of Micro-finance
Lots of men and women 1st heard about microfinance following Muhammad Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Yunus' Grameen Bank in Bangladesh which proved to the world that the poor are a superior credit risk has generated various applications of micro-credit.

One spin-off is the Village Telephone program via which females entrepreneurs can begin a company delivering wireless payphone service in rural locations of Bangladesh. In addition, Grameen Energy is making it feasible for once-poor villagers to afford electrical power.

Micro-insurance is a new field that aims to deliver medical insurance and insurance against crop failures to the poor. Micro-insurance is growing from the ground up and the best down. Allianz, a global insurance company, now sells micro-insurance to the poor in Indonesia, recognizing that they will then have loyal consumers when the poor turn into middle class.

Social Enterprises
There are additionally techniques that the economically disenfranchised are becoming empowered.
There is an emphasis shift from "hand-outs" to "hand-ups." (The allure of micro-finance to a number of folks is that it is not a hand-out but a hand-up.) Social enterprises are gaining prominence.

What is a social enterprise? Social enterprises marry a social mission with a profit enterprise. Rather than get dollars from a foundation or donor for humanitarian work, a "hand out", a social enterprise employs persons in local enterprises. Excellent examples of social enterprises are the private, for-profit organizations that marry microfinance (or finance) and clean energy, e.g. "E+Co" which makes clean energy investments in developing countries.

A social enterprise that is gaining globe attention is The Globe Toilet Organization (!?). If you have ever been to parts of Indonesia or India that are dotted with human feces, then you know the urgent need to have that WTO is addressing.

Jack Sim of Singapore, spurred by the sanitation crisis throughout considerably of Asia and the accompanying cholera, dysentery and infant diarrhea, has launched a for-profit enterprise that aims to get toilets exactly where there are none. Jack contends that the most viable way to spread the word and the toilet is to have villagers sell and install toilets. Therefore a lot more and even more for-profits have humanitarian goals.

Humanitarian
I might possibly be biased because I spend so a great deal of my time talking with consumers interested in doing international humanitarian work. But from my perch, there is growing interest in international humanitarian function.

This fascination with humanitarian work, with helping the disenfranchised, is making new jobs. The non-profit sector is growing 3 times as fast as the home business sector in North America.

Empowering the Poor: the Poor will be in Power
Most international humanitarian organizations have a mandate to do "capacity creating." That is to create the skills of the beneficiaries so that they can eventually take over. When consumers ask me about getting a job in international development, I say "It is very competitive. All the capacity creating has borne fruit. Persons in the Philippines, Nepal, Brazil, Indonesia...you name it...have gotten superior experience in these international NGO's. (non-government organizations.) So now you compete with individuals from all over the world."

All of the capacity developing has genuinely empowered the poor, like it was intended to do, although not on the scale that was hoped. They now are not just beneficiaries but the staff of micro-finance, social enterprise and humanitarian organizations.

What will that mean for your job prospects? It means that applying to existing humanitarian jobs is and will be rather competitive. But not to worry if you are creative and passionate: invent a new enterprise that addresses the veer-changing requirements in how we genuinely help the world's folks.

Summary
Like the stampede of men and women headed into micro-finance and finance to support the world's poor, new opportunities are getting and will be created in humanitarian work. Like home business get started-ups that are developed in recessions, I predict that we will see even more social enterprises and humanitarian start-ups that emerge to meet the ever-changing challenges of our time.