062, Aruna Raman, Acara | Global South Supporting Global South

The global south, that is countries south of the equator, are beginning to organize themselves in order to take on their own challenges. Today’s guest, Aruna Raman and I talked extensively about knowledge and talent sharing collaborations across the global south.

Who is Aruna? You may remember Fred Rose of Acara from episode 20 of Social Entrepreneur. Every summer, the Acara program at the University of Minnesota sponsors a study abroad program. When the students arrive in Bangalore, Aruna Raman is there to greet them. She introduces them to social entrepreneurs, nonprofits and government officials. She wants the students to see the truth of what it’s like to do business in a complex society like India.

Aruna also coordinates a program in the fall where students take their businesses forward to develop a viable business plan. She places these students in social enterprises to work on projects.

Aruna and I talked about the importance of local context in social innovation. Aruna also describes how being entrepreneurial is more important than being an entrepreneur.

 Social Entrepreneurship Quotes from Aruna Raman:

“Be entrepreneurial rather than being an entrepreneur.”

“I kept thinking, what is the one thing that would lead organizations to collaborate?”

“I feel that there is so much energy directed towards being an entrepreneur that the other roles are forgotten.”

“It takes a village to groom an entrepreneur.”

“Why don’t we have theories and tools that come from the developing world?”

“Bangalore is now overrun with white kids with yoga mats.”

“I thought, perhaps we can strengthen the south-south narrative.”

“I kept thinking, since India has been at the forefront, how do things work in Kenya or Latin America, and can we share our learnings?”

“We can use the collective energy of the global south to codify and document a lot of learnings and present ourselves as a formidable force as well.”

“The global south is a force to be reckoned with.”

“Never underestimate the power of good research.”

“Rapid prototyping only works when you have a firm grasp on what the problem is.”

“The more time you spend listening to people, the humbler you will become.”

“If I go to a country and I stay for a long period of time, what can the country gain from me?”

Social Entrepreneurship Resources: Acara: http://acara.environment.umn.edu Aruna Raman on LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/aruna-raman-1670b44 Twitter: https://twitter.com/SocEntButterfly Aruna on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aruna.raman eBook: Five Key Traits of Successful Social Entrepreneurs: http://tonyloyd.com/socent Try Audible and Receive Two Free Audiobooks: http://tonyloyd.com/books