How can NGOs pivot towards innovation, agility and impact? Social Impact Pioneers Isaac Nyangolo of Zeraki and Paul Ronalds from Save the Children’s Global Ventures share their journey.
Faced with a rapidly changing world and the tremendous need for systemic reform, NGOs like Save the Children are venturing beyond the bounds of traditional funding models and approaches. Navigating the tumultuous waters of non-governmental organisation funding, they’re pivoting towards innovation in order to achieve their ambitious missions.
Paul Ronalds joins the conversation to share why Save the Children, went on a brave journey of transformation beginning by recognising the growing limitations of traditional philanthropy and grants. Paul shares how they embarked on a mission to explore new territories—impact investing, technology, and social enterprise and in the process set up Save the Children Global Ventures (SCGV).
SCGV is the dedicated entity created to explore innovative finance funding mechanisms and take new technologies to scale. The venture has helped generate significant traction for organisations like Zeraki Analytics, a Kenyan-based ed-tech firm that not only proved to be a sound financial investment, but also aligned with the mission of Save the Children.
Meet Isaac Nyangolo, social innovator, entrepreneur, CEO and Co-Founder of Zeraki. There have been great strides taken in getting children some education, but more than half all 10-year-olds from poor and middle income countries are unable to read and understand a short age-appropriate text. With the predictions of climate related disasters and migration becoming a reality, the access to quality education may well slip further. Isaac is on a mission to democratise education and create access to quality learning through online tools and data. During our conversation he advocates for agile support from funders and supporters to scale and grow economically sound, lasting and impactful solutions.
Prepare yourself for a good dowse of inspirations coupled with practical ideas and insights as Paul and Isaac share their warts and all journey.
Links:
Save the Children Global Ventures
Zeraki
UNESCO, The World Needs Almost 69 Million New Teachers to Reach the 2030 Education Goals
Holon IQ, $10tn global education market in 2030
Save the Children, Impact Funds
Kevin Starr & Sarah Miers, “No Where To Grow”, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Oct 2020
Greg Coussa, “To Impact Millions, the Social Sector Needs to Scale Up Scaling Up” Stanford Social Innovation Review, Jan 2019
Global Partnership Education Data Highlights
