135: How to Fight Global Poverty with Technology with Leila Janah of Sama Group
A lot of people can recognize an opportunity, but what separates an entrepreneur from the rest of us is the ambition and courage to seize on that opportunity. The opportunity Leila Janah recognized was enormous. Lucky for her, and the rest of us, she had the ambition to match it. Her goal? Fighting world poverty. Ever since founding Samasource in 2008, Janah has impacted the lives of more than 30,000 people, raising thousands up from the poorest parts in India, Haiti, Uganda, and more. Janah has been internationally recognized for her work, with accolades coming from the world's most prestigious universities and publications like the New York Times, Fortune, and Entrepreneur. The opportunity Janah saw was a simple one. There was a trend in the globalizing economy of companies looking to outsource their work, and she wanted to tap into that trend by giving people living in extreme poverty the training and skills needed to fill these jobs. With the idea that by providing people with the right skills could help them rise out of poverty, Janah managed to pioneer a unique and inspiring social enterprise. In taking on such a massive problem, Janah has faced virtually every hurdle that can be faced in her eight-year journey as a social entrepreneur, and it looks like nothing is going to keep that bold ambition in check. In this week's episode you'll learn: The business of tackling the world's largest problems How to find and instill passion into the people who work around you The strategy of divide and conquer when it comes to nonprofits How to keep it simple with project management and personal goals What you can accomplish as a social entrepreneur if you put your mind to it & much more!