One week left to submit your ‘Project Inspire’ entries

MANILA, Philippines - Six awards in only three years.  That’s how many times MasterCard’s annual CSR program “Project Inspire” has been recognized. Its most recent award  was a Gold Award for Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility, presented at Marketing magazine’s Marketing Excellence Awards in 2013.

Launched in 2011, the project gives 18- to 35-year-olds worldwide the opportunity to win a US$25,000 grant to assist an existing social enterprise that supports women and girls in Asia/Pacific, the Middle East or Africa.

For 2014 the project is open for submissions until June 30. So send in your five-minute pitch about your existing project to inspire people and change as many lives as you can.

In past years, top entries have come from young entrepreneurs not just in Asia but even those based in Europe and North America and whose project beneficiaries are from Asia/Pacific, the Middle East or Africa.

Bam Aquino, then president of Hapinoy and now senator, won the first grant in 2011 with his Hapinoy Philippines, a nationwide social enterprise that benefits sari-sari store owners in rural areas through the power of collective buying, and trains them in basic finance and merchandising. Hapinoy has so inspired the people at MasterCard that they were given a second grant in 2013.

“The real success and reward is to see the results of these efforts — an improvement in the quality of lives for women and girls; to see these women empowered to better the lives of their children, and inspire their communities to do the same,” says Georgette Tan, Project Inspire co-founder and MasterCard group head for communications, Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa. “The multiplier effect gets stronger as the program progresses, and continues to grow long after the initial grant from MasterCard.”

And Georgette has witnessed this firsthand with the women of Hapinoy. “The Nanays think of themselves last,” she says of her visits to the beneficiaries. “They run these stores so their children can go to school, so the family can have food on the table, and yet without proper training or guidance on the basics of store operations and finance they won’t be able to sustain their business because they do not know how to say no to people who ‘borrow’ the goods and do not pay for them.”

Last year, Hapinoy and MasterCard worked hand-in-hand to train 600 Nanays in the Bicol region through the Kayang-Kayang Kumita (KKK) sa Hapinoy program. The training focused on business financial literacy that empowers the Nanays to successfully run and grow their sari-sari store businesses.

This year, MasterCard, Hapinoy and its other partners focused on mobile technology as the next step towards greater financial inclusion. The Mobile Literacy Project enables the Nanays to utilize available technology in growing their businesses. With the modules Hapinoy developed, they are able to become more familiar with what a mobile wallet is, with Android phones and its other extensive uses beyond texting and calling. In addition, the modules expand the Nanays’ awareness of mobile-based applications that could allow her to offer banking, bills payment, remittance, and loading services in their own stores. This project does not only provide Nanay with new business opportunities but also provides her community with much needed financial services that otherwise would not have been that accessible. 

According to Georgette, despite the Nanays’ admitted unfamiliarity with mobile technology, most are interested to learn about it and experience it for themselves.

In 2012, Project Stitch won the People’s Choice Award and Back to the Roots: Women’s Empowerment through Community Farming was a finalist. Another Philippine entry, Ilaw ng Tahanan – The Shelter Foundation won the People’s Choice Award in 2013.

 â€œGlobal resources must be redirected towards finding sustainable jobs for women,” says Trina Liang-Lin, president of the Singapore Committee for UN Women. “With the global youth unemployment rate at 12.6 percent — an estimated 73 million young people — Project Inspire hopes to show social enterprise as a viable job in itself, which has exponential benefits to communities.”

“It has been three years since the day I met with Trina Liang-Lin over coffee one morning and we came up with the idea that is Project Inspire today. We were thinking how we could do something together that would benefit women and girls in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region in celebration of the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 25th anniversary of MasterCard in Asia Pacific.”

She adds, “Project Inspire continues to capture the imagination of young people who want to make a difference. However, the real success is witnessing the progress our past winners have made and the impact their initiatives have on the lives of disadvantaged women and girls and the communities they live in.”

Applicants must submit a five-minute video detailing how the US$25,000 grant will be used to improve the lives of women. Deadline is on June 30 and submissions can be made via the Project Inspire websitewww.5minutestochangetheworld.org.

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To enter, or for more information on Project Inspire, past winners and judges, along with full terms and conditions, visit:www.5minutestochangetheworld.org

Join the conversation on Twitter: @Proj_Inspire and Facebook: /ProjInspire