INSPIRED IMPACT is an ongoing blog series that gives voice to social entrepreneurs and leaders of mission-driven organizations who are making an impact in their communities and industries.
Devin Hibbard is the CEO of Street Business School (SBS). Follow them on Facebook and learn more at streetbusinessschool.org.
WHAT DO YOU DO?
We provide highly specialized entrepreneurial training for women living in deep poverty, allowing them to triple their incomes. Our signature combination of teaching practical business skills and confidence building will empower one million women to lift their families from poverty by 2027. To scale globally, we use a social franchise model to partner with other NGOs in severely impoverished communities who want to add a proven poverty eradication program to their toolkit. Each organization learns SBS, customizes it to their own community, and then delivers it to boost people’s confidence and income.
WHY DO YOU DO IT?
Our vision is to end poverty in our lifetimes by providing our transformational entrepreneurial training on a global level. We believe that every woman has within her a sense of possibility and pride, and that when given the smallest opportunity, can turn her spark of hope into a fire of purpose.
WHAT IMPACT ARE YOU MAKING?
Graduates of our program go, on average, from earning $1.35/day to $4.19/day (an increase in their income of 211%). Eighty-nine percent of graduates have businesses two years later. Women who enter the program earning less than $.65/day are increasing their income by 15X (1,462%).
WHAT (OR WHO) INSPIRES YOU TO MAKE THIS IMPACT?
The women we work with are our inspiration. They are some of the hardest working women you’ll ever meet, who are rising from the most unimaginable circumstances. Imagine a woman who, today, can’t afford to feed her children even a simple meal. She often feels ashamed and is full of despair. But as she enters Street Business School, she meets other people just like her who now have thriving businesses. Six months later, she has her own business, but more than that, she has pride and confidence in her eyes. By building human dignity and the belief in themselves, women are ensuring that their families are out of poverty. Forever.
WHAT’S YOUR BIG DREAM FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND THE IMPACT YOU WANT TO MAKE?
We want to end poverty in our lifetimes and achieve our goal of reaching one million women (or more!) by 2027. We believe the best way to achieve huge impact is by sharing what we are best at – entrepreneurial training for women living in poverty – with others who are the true experts – local organizations who know their own communities. We want SBS to be much bigger than just us – we envision a worldwide movement of hope and action led by our partner organizations around the world.
WHAT RESOURCES DO YOU NEED TO MAKE THOSE DREAMS COME TRUE?
We invite people to join us:
1) GIVE – make a donation to support our work. It costs us $5,000 to train one partner, who will reach more than 440 women and benefit 2,200 children. Or, $346 will educate one woman.
2) REFER – other NGOs who would benefit from SBS training
3) SHARE – share our story with your networks, spread the good!
WHAT IS (OR HAS BEEN) YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE?
As we scale SBS, we are confronted with many new challenges that we haven’t faced in the past. We need more opportunities to let organizations know that SBS exists and that they don’t have the reinvent the wheel. We are looking for funding to expand our good work and help support organizations/other NGOs, who will amplify their mission by bringing SBS to their communities. We are facing these challenges head-on. With a decade of experience, we have always known that we can do things differently and have learned from our mistakes and challenges along the way. And, we are growing like wildfire!
WHAT WORDS OF ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER LEADERS LOOKING TO MAKE AN IMPACT?
At first, I was terrified to try to scale SBS. I was afraid that I might fail. What I’ve learned is that the goal is not to avoid fear. The goal is to feel afraid and keep going anyhow.
HOW CAN OTHERS SUPPORT YOU OR YOUR CAUSE?
We invite others to JOIN US by making a gift, referring Global Catalyst Partners or sharing our story with the world. We have important work to do and look forward to welcoming more to our movement!
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