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2014- 2017Act 4 YEARSOFSOCIALENTERPRISES'
SUPPORTINDEVELOPINGCOUNTRIES
Vichet Chom &MartinGiordanoSGFEfactory,PhnomPenhCambodia
Preamble
3
CYRILMONTEILLER&CÉCILEDAHOMÉCo-Founders&DirectorsofSevea
• 2.7 billion people still live with less than2.5$ per day (UNDP, 2014)
• 15% people live without access toelectricity (World Bank, 2014)
• 9% without access to improved watersource (World Bank, 2015)
Development aid results today have notbeen up to expectations especially whencompared to the billions that were invested.To tackle the incredible challengesremaining, a complementary approachseems thus necessary to further develop:
A model that places people at the heart ofthe economy of our globalized system:Social Entrepreneurship.
With our experience at Sevea, we realizedthat added-value can be brought to socialenterprises through operational support,meaning working for and within thecompany on a daily basis.
Moreover, we are aware that change cannothappen without the youth.
Thus, with the will to move forwards withthese two main actors in the same direction,the challenge was to design a project thatincludes both of them.
CONTEXT
SOCIALENTERPRISES
BIRTHOFACTPROGRAM
A social enterprise is “an enterprisecombining business know-how with thedesire to improve quality of life. It operatesfor the benefit of addressing social needs thatenable societies to function more efficiently”(Muhammad Yunus).
In other words, it is a business model thatdoes not strive only to maximize profits butrather to serve society's most pressing needs.
Like what happened in developed countries,where the initial development came fromentrepreneurship, we believe that it is bycontributing to the development of projectsof thousands of entrepreneurs that areconfident and have the desire to make thingsevolve, that this ideal where everybody hasaccess to essential goods and services can bereached.
Act
However today, initiatives that socialentrepreneurs lead are often far fromreaching scale. Focused on their social andenvironmental impact, and burdened byinherent difficulties, it is still often hard forthem to meet economic viability quicklyand increase their impact.
Table of Contents
ActProgram,avalueproposition
1 ActoverviewPresentation|Mainfigures
2
3
4
5
6
8
7
TotheEnterprise|TotheStudent
WhicharetheEnterprisessupportedbyActMainfigures|SDG|Testimonies
ActStudentsMainfigures|Testimonies
ActCaseStudy- NRGSolutions4yearsofsupportinaccesstoenergy
ActAlumniCommunityMainfigures|Testimonies
Learnings&Perspectives
TheysupportActDonors|Academicsector|Corporate
p6
p11
p22
p14
p36
p41
p31
p27
Act
6
1- ACTPROGRAMOVERVIEW
Started in 2014, Act is a Program designedto operationally support the development ofsocial enterprises.
Act Program has a double objective:boosting the scale-up of social ventures bycontributing to the development of high-educated students able to answerdeveloping countries' main challenges.
MISSION WAYOFACTING
Social enterprises are supported on a day-to-day basis through 6-month top-levelstudents’ internships. To maximize theimpacts of such internships, all students areselected and coached by consultants.
Act
GuillaumeMartinandClémentMélaye,2016’s1st semester promotionWorkshoponActProgramdevelopment at Sevea,PhnomPenh,Cambodia
The Grenoble Institute of TechnologyFoundation was established to create a newbreed of partnership between GrenobleInstitute of Technology and companies, withinitiatives spanning academics, research, andcivil society. The Foundation’s activities aredesigned to benefit all stakeholders andalign with the Foundation’s three strategicpillars: Academic excellence, Exemplarycitizenship, International expansion.
Act Overview
SPIRIT
“Dedicatedtosocialenterprises,focusedonstudents'potential“
DIMENSIONS
7
FOUNDERS
Sevea supports operationally, in developingcountries, Corporations, Organizations &Social Entrepreneurs in the development oftheir Social Impact Strategies in the sectorsof Energy & Environment, Water &Sanitation and Rural Development.
A support targeting the increase of the social enterprises’ impacts.
Strong & United community gathering like-minded social entrepreneurs,consultants, donors and students sharing the same values and strivingfor effective and sustainable change.
EcosystemenablingthedevelopmentofSocialEnterprises.
6-month immersion of a high quality student in a social enterprise,assisting the entrepreneur and his team on a daily basis in an optimalway thanks to regular coaching provided by consultants.
INTERNSHIP
IMPACT
ECOSYSTEM
COMMUNITY
1
2
4
3
Act
8
PeoplereachedbyActawareness
OPERATIONAREAS
RESULTSAFTER3YEARS
StudentsenrolledSocialenterprisessupported
Hoursofcoachingprovidedtostudents
Countriesofintervention
SchoolsSectorsofactivity
Hoursprovidedtosocialentrepreneurs
13
Since January 2014, Act has had an organic growth, thus ensuring the Program’s high quality.
4
4
9
34
2700
2924
Monthsofsupportofsocialenterprises
952
204
Act
Act Overview
WorkingdaysontheProgram485
Cambodia
Philippines
UgandaCameroon
France
Germany
FinancialpartnercountriesSocialenterprisecountries
Recruitmentofa toplevelandhighqualitystudent
inMaster’s degree
Selection ofapromisingsocial enterprise& Needs
identification
MATCHING
Hard&SoftskillsdevelopmentOperationaltoolsintegration
Capitalizationoftheworkdonefortheenterprise
& HandovertothenextActstudent
SOCIALENTERPRISE STUDENT
ACTINTERNSHIP
Newobjectivesdefined&Interventiontopicsprioritized
forthenextstudent
9
6MONTHSOFOPERATIONALSUPPORTINA
SOCIALENTERPRISE
TailoredCoaching
KickStartTraining
ActTools&Methodology
OperationalGuidance
Stipendto
student
RECRUITMENT
LONGTERMAPPROACH
Act
11
2- VALUEPROPOSITIONTOTHEENTERPRISE&TOTHESTUDENT
FROMTHESTUDENT
“ Sevea’s follow-up has been very useful andhas helped me organize and prioritize mywork, identify blocking points and finddocumentation and methodologies allowingme to be more efficient. ”
FROMTHEENTREPRENEUR
“ Act has been of invaluable support for us.Not only for their ability to be here on a dailybasis but also because they have provided usknowledge and guidance on how toimplement improvements into our business.”
GuillaumeLorimier,student ofthe2016’s1st semester promotion,&TimWaterfield,director ofNagaEarthNagaEarth’s factory,Siem Reap,Cambodia
Act
3,7/5 3,8/5Isthegradegiven bystudents totheProgram
Isthegradegiven byentrepreneurstotheProgram
Act Program, a Value Proposition to...
Act is a Program designed to help social entrepreneurs develop their social business and tostrengthen their competiveness in order to increase their positive impact on society. Throughstudents coached by consultants, Act Program provides tailored consulting to entrepreneurs.Students’ expenses are covered by Act, which saves the enterprise significant human resourcesexpenses and enables the student to be focused on his mission.
Excellency&tailoredrecruitmentOfastudent
WORKINGPRINCIPLES
Listen, tohaveadeepunderstandingoftheentrepreneur’sneeds
1
2 Work inaccordancewiththesocialenterprise’svalues
3 Design tailoredsolutionswithintheenterprise’sconstraints
4 Implement solutionstoboostthesocialenterprise’simpacts
DailyoperationalsupportForatleast6months
Bi-monthlymeetingswithconsultantsTofollowandfine-tunethestudent’smission
TargetedindirectconsultingThroughweeklycoachingsessionsprovidedtothestudentbyconsultants
NeedsevaluationWithconsultants
Operationalassistanceonadaily basis
HumanResourceofhighquality
Long-termsupport
3DIMENSIONS
PARAMETERS
FORTHEENTERPRISE
12
GuaranteeofqualityThankstoascholarshipstipendtothestudent,theentrepreneurcanexpectfromhimtobefullyengagedinhistasks
MonthlyprogressreportingThankstoefficientsummaries
Relevant&result-orientedstudentEquippedofmonitoring&methodologicaltools
TailoredworkshopsAccordingtosomeenterprise’sneeds,consultantsactdirectlywiththeentrepreneur
Act
Readytogetinvolved?
One of Act’s goal is to offer a highly instructive experience to the student. As he is in achallenging environment, the entire mentoring program aims at helping him structure his workand adapt his behaviour according to the situations. Thus, it also aims at maximizing hisimpact on the enterprise.
BusinessacumendevelopmentThanksforexampletoSWOTanalysis,organizationalcharts,KPIdefinition
DeparturesupportThankstoaDepartureKit,anadministrative&LogisticsupportandexperiencefeedbacksfromtheAlumniCommunity
Beingpartoflong-termprojectTransfertonewonesexperiencefrompreviousActstudents
ProjectmanagementmethodologyInparticularincludingmissionframeworksupport,actionplanfollow-up,monthlyreporting andinternshipsummary
Tailoredfollowup&feedbacksThankstoweeklymeetingswithconsultants
Immersion inasocialenterprise
International experienceindevelopingcountries
3DIMENSIONS
PARAMETERS
FORTHESTUDENT
13
Hard&softSkillsboostingThankstoevaluationswithexperiencedconsultants
Listen Observe Analyse before Acting
Result-orientedapproachImplementationofa tailored&long-termsolution,fullyadaptedtotheteam
StipendreceiptFinancialsupportcoveringdailylifecostsallowingthestudenttohavearealstatusofinternandequalityofopportunities
4PILLARSOFACTAPPROACH
Individualfollowup
Act
Readytogetinvolved?
14
3- ENTERPRISESSUPPORTEDBYACTPROGRAM
ConceptDevelopment Start-Up Early
Growth Expansion Maturity
Actisanacceleratorforsmall&mediumsocialenterprisesalreadyestablished.ActProgramhelpsthemscaleupfromtheendofthestart-upstagetothebeginningoftheexpansionone.
Act
RecycledCharcoalBriquettesProductionSGFE’sfactory,PhnomPenh,Cambodia
Act
15
Social Enterprises supported by Act
CHARACTERISTICS
1
2
3
NUMBERofENTERPRISESSUPPORTED
COUNTRIESOFINTERVENTION
ESSENTIALNEEDSTARGETEDSTAGESOFSUPPORT
NUMBEROFEMPLOYEES
DevelopmentStage
EconomicallyViable
Social&EnvironmentalImpacts
WASHWater,Sanitation
&Hygiene
76 %Cambodia
8 %
Uganda
Philippines
Cameroon8 % 8 %
Every enterprise supported by the Programhas 3 main characteristics.
39 %
31 %
Clean&InclusiveIndustry
15 %
15 %
CleanEnergy
ClimateChange
Enterprises supported work within 4 keysectors linked to the sustainable developmentgoals set by the United Nations.
The number of enterprises supported peryear follows an organic growth.
2014 2015 2016 2017
ScaleUp
BreakevenReached
<10
20<...<50
10<...<20
From incubation until the breakeven isreached, Act supports enterprises withpotential.
Enterprises supported are usually Small &Medium Businesses.
39 % 15 %
56 %
23 %
46 %
ASIA
AFRICA
Act
7 7
4
1
Incubation23 %
16
Affordable and safe drinkingwater production & distributionto the poorest communities ofrural areas.
SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENTGOALSTARGETEDBYENTERPRISESSUPPORTEDBYTHEPROGRAM
StrivingfordevelopmentalsomeanstacklingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoalstargetedbytheUnitedNations.Herearesomeconcreteexamplesfromoursocialenterprises'network.
Act
4 SocialEnterprises
1SocialEnterprise
Access to sanitation in ruralareas that provides latrinesshelters allowing households toinstall toilets with minimallabour and at a reduced cost.
2 SocialEnterprises
7 SocialEnterprises
11SocialEnterprises
Create sites of water filtrationand bottling in isolated areasand employ local people to runthem.
8 SocialEnterprises
Offer sustainable and valuablejob to women so they becomemore autonomous andconfident. Through theirempowerment, it is the wholecommunity that is strengthened.
Solar home systems distributionin off grids areas andimplementation of “Pay As YouGo” technology allowinghouseholds to have access toaffordable electricity.
Produce essential products byempowering the localcommunity and optimizing theproduction process so itgenerates as little waste aspossible.
Social Enterprises supported by Act
17Act
3 SocialEnterprises
3 SocialEnterprises
Circular economic models:100% organic and handmadecoconut based productsproduction, managing organicwaste into raw materials for anenterprise producing clean fuel.
Used cooking oil collectionrecycled into biodiesel toreduce air pollution in the city.
1 SocialEnterprise
Smart bamboo plantation toface deforestation issuesassociated to a pellet factoryensuring affordable & cleanenergy for households andindustries. 3 Social
Enterprises
2SocialEnterprises
Capacity buildings and advocacyof Civil Society Organizations inorder to maximise the impactsof climate change adaptationprojects.
Recycled charcoal briquettesproduction, essential forcooking, from coconut shells.Contributing thus to thepreservation of forests.
Moreinformation
18
TESTIMONIES
FRANKNEILYIGA
Act
In Uganda, 33 million people do not haveaccess to electricity (90% of the population).At night, people light their houses withkerosene lamps, leading to importantproblems of pollution and safety.
Anuel Energy is a social business thatresponsibly develops and deploysaffordable, reliable solar systems that meetthe needs of its consumers: households,commercial and institutional buildings.
Frank Neil Yiga co-founded Anuel Energy in2015. Anuel Energy Uganda was founded onthe premise that solar energy is the future ofAfrica's growing energy need and focuses oncustomer tailored solar energy solutions.
“Theprogramasawholewassuperb.”
Having benefited from two Act students yet,Frank testifies about Act Program:
“ Act means reducing my learning curvetremendously as a result of the knowledgeand expertise brought on board by the internof the program.The cost in comparison to the support is ahuge bargain. It’s a fraction of the costrequired to hire an expert in the field and yetthe enterprise benefits as if it were anexpert! ”
2 Students 12 Months ofdailysupport
56 Hours provided byconsultants
ACTSUPPORT
Social Enterprises supported by Act
19
Founder and CEO of Naga Earth, a socialenterprise created in 2007 and based in SiemReap, Cambodia. Engineer in the US, hechose to come in Cambodia to develop abusiness on biofuel production and wastemanagement.
Benefiting from high price of petrol, NagaEarth developed a biodiesel production &commercialization activity.“ Biofuel became popular worldwide whenthe petrol price went very high around 2010.Many corporations invested in agriculturalcrops in Cambodia to harvest vegetable oil.By contrast, Naga Earth started producingbiodiesel with the used cooking oil ofrestaurants and hotels in the eco-friendliestway possible. ”
But the petrol price drop nowadays plungedthe enterprise in a difficult situation, forcingTim Waterfield to strive to make the activity
“Acthasbeeninvaluableforus”
more sustainable. As of today, Tim hasbenefited from almost 3 years of support.
Besides the strengthening of the biofuelsupply and of the production, other activitieshave been developed in order to becomeindependent from the petrol market, bydeveloping new programs such as hygieneprogram:
“ Associated with a hygiene programproviding soap to poor communities andlocal recycling projects, Naga Earth hasreinforced its visibility while reducing thepetrol price dependency of the company. ”
TIMWATERFIELD
TESTIMONIES
Act
5 Students 30 Monthsofdailysupport
140 Hoursprovidedbyconsultants
ACTSUPPORT
20
Based in Philippines, HSSi or Hybrid SolarSolutions inc., strives for access to energy inrural areas. Tackling the last miledistribution, they provide high-qualityaffordable solar technologies to off-gridcommunities.What is essential with this model is to have astrong after-sales service, without whichpeople are not interested by this kind ofproducts.
Jaime Ayala benefited from an Act studentsupport at the crucial moment of the after-sales service development.
Founder and CEO of HSSi. He’s also the Ernst& Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year in2012 for the Philippines, as well as one of theSchwab Foundation's 24 World SocialEntrepreneurs of the Year for 2013.
TESTIMONIES
“6monthdurationofasmartandcapableresource.Enoughtimetomakeasignificantcontribution.”
JAIMEAYALA
“ Over his 6 months, Lucas was instrumentalin the development and dissemination of ourafter-sales service procedures andoperations. This has been a major issue forus, and Lucas was able to "break the back"of the problem and train our personnel onour new procedures. Our new capabilities inafter-sales service has helped build customerconfidence and demand, and have beenmuch appreciated by our partner distributorsand financiers. ”
Act
Monthsofdailysupport
Social Enterprises supported by Act
1 Students 6 28 Hoursprovidedbyconsultants
ACTSUPPORT
21
Pagna is a promising Cambodian socialentrepreneur. After a few months within theNGO WaterSHED Asia that tackles sanitationand hygiene issues, he has been chosen todevelop WaterSHED Ventures in Cambodia.
TESTIMONIES
PAGNAUKTHAUN
Act
Monthsofdailysupport
1 Students 6 28 Hoursprovidedbyconsultants
ACTSUPPORT
" It is an honour for WaterSHED Ventures tohost one of the Act’s scholar with us. We aredelighted to see how the intern is gainingexperience while appreciating Khmerworking culture and helping us with supplychain analyses. We really appreciate how Actis able to bridge the gap between theindustry and non-profit sector in Cambodiawith young, dynamic engineers from France.This Program has been helping Ventures todevelop new ideas and comprehend differentperspective from a qualified intern. Thiswould have never happened without hard
work from the Act team as a support systemto prepare and help the intern to adjust toreal work experience.
Furthermore, we believe that this greatProgram will be more impactful ifentrepreneurs can work even closer with theorganization behind Act, so both parties willunderstand better each other’s priorities. Thisway, we can work together to tailor acandidate that perfectly fits with the need ofeach work and vice versa for the intern to thecompany to create mutual impact. "
“ThiswouldhaveneverhappenedwithouthardworkfromtheActteamasasupportsystem toprepareandhelptheinterntoadjusttorealworkexperience.”
22
Thousandsofstudentsarewillingtotackledevelopingcountriesissuesandbeinvolvedinsocialinitiatives.Theywanttojoinsmallsocialenterprisestobeabletohaveasignificantaddedvalueforthe
company.Theyusuallydoitthroughinternshipsduringtheirstudies.
4- ACTSTUDENTS
University Lastinternship 1rstJob
Act
JulienTribodet,2016’s1st promotion,&hisco-workerSolarpanelsinstallationmadebyNRGSolutions,Cambodia
Act
To be an Act Student
TYPEOFINTERNSHIP
23
SCHOOLS
STUDENTS'NUMBEREVOLUTION QUALITIES
STUDIES
GapYear&Master1degreeinternship
Endofstudiesinternship
Humility
Rigour
Autonomy
Determination Pro-activity
Flexibility&Start-upMindset
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
2014 2015 2016 2017
Students are almost graduated and will soonbe on the labour market.
38 %
62 %
Up to now, Act students have mostly comefrom diversified engineering schools, but theyalso have specializations in business orpolitical sciences for example
Act requires specific profiles able to evolve in multi-cultural teams with polyvalent hard & soft skills. From thedesign of management tools to the capacity of working with local workers, an Act student needs strong listeningcapabilities enabling continuous adaptation.
Act
INNOVATIO
N
INDUSTRIALMANAGEMENT
INFO
RMATIO
NTECHN
OLO
GY
BUSINESSADMINISTRATION
POLITICALSCIENCES
ENVIRONMENT
MARKET&ENERGY
ENERGETICENGINEERING
24
NELLYVALLANCE
Nelly discovered Act Program thanks toAlumni Act students who were in herschool.She describes in a few words herexperience:“ It has been a real human experience,working with people of another culture,most of them not speaking the samelanguage. ”
After her gap year, Nelly has decided tostudy a different specialization, she explainswhy she made this choice and how Actinfluenced it.“ I did not want to study only technicalengineering, I was also interested inunderstanding a business (or other
Promo:January-June2016School:GrenobleINP- Ense³
Specialisation:ElectricalEngineering&InnovationManagement
TypeofInternship:GapYearSocialEnterprise:CocoKhmer
Sector: Clean&InclusiveIndustryCountryofintervention:Cambodia
structure), the way stakeholders interactand analysing how they can improvethemself. I hesitated before starting theProgram, but my experience reinforced mywillingness to engage in this path thanks todiscussions I had with different personsthere.
Through Act Program, you will have theopportunity to support a socialentrepreneur, you can have the freedom toact where it seems the most useful for theenterprise, but you will not be alone neither,and it will make you grow as muchprofessionally as personally! ”
Act
TESTIMONIES
“Challengingandtrulyeducative. ”
To be an Act Student
25
IVANVILLAFUERTE
Promo:January-June2017School: GrenobleINP- Génie industrielSpecialisation:SustainableIndustrial
EngineeringTypeofInternship:Endofstudiesinternship
SocialEnterprise:NagaEarthSector:Wastemanagement
Countryofintervention:Cambodia
Ivan comes from Ecuador and has beenengineer there for ten years before comingin France for a specialization in sustainableindustrial management. He explains hischoice to apply to Act Program and move toCambodia:
“ In my country, I had the opportunity towork closely with rural communities and thatexperience made me realize thatdevelopment won’t only be sustainable if anycompany carries out its activities in anenvironmentally responsible way. Also,communities should be helped reducingtheir activities’ impacts over themselves andnature, sharing information and knowledge.Act Program gave me the opportunity toapply my experience in regions where it isreally necessary and where big companiesresources are not present. Currently, anyeffort doesn’t seem to be enough. Daily workwith communities and other NGOs can make
a big difference and it is our responsibility toshare knowledge for social benefit. Besides,there is no better option to understand theworld than living in other countries to learnabout different cultures and ways ofthinking.
Students have to take advantage of kind ofprograms like the Act one, because it helpsunderstand that we have to start thinking asthe human specie and not only as peoplebelonging to a country or a continent. Welive in an interconnected ecosystem, thusany impact that we produce on theenvironment affects in some way otherpeople. With Act program, the student hasthe opportunity to share knowledge. Notonly to make a company bigger or toproduce more incomes, but to help improvepeople life style, which is the ultimate goal ofa society. ”
Act
TESTIMONIES
“Startthinkingasthehumanspecieandnotonlyaspeoplebelongingtoacountryoracontinent.”
26
Promo:September2015- January2016School:Centrale Paris
Specialisation:GeneralEngineering-Entrepreneurship
TypeofInternship:EndofstudiesinternshipSocialEnterprise:Anuel EnergySector:AccesstoCleanEnergyCountryofintervention:Uganda
“ I felt really involved, it was anentrepreneurial adventure with a highlymotivated team. It was as if it was my owncompany! ”
Act
MARCLAPERCHE
Promo:March2016- August2016School:GrenobleINP- Phelma
Specialisation:PhysicalSciences- InnovationManagement- Politicalsciences
TypeofInternship:EndofstudiesinternshipSocialEnterprise:HSSi
Sector:AccesstoCleanEnergyCountryofintervention:Philippines
LUCASMIR
“ Act was tough and challenging. Nothing Iever learned was useful there, I was totallyout of my comfort zone. But then, with time,hard work and perseverance I started to bemore open and at my ease into this very newenvironment. ”
TESTIMONIES
To be an Act Student
NRGSOLUTIONS4 YEARSOFSUPPORTINACCESSTOENERGY“HelpsolveenergyproblemsinCambodiabydevelopingappropriate,reliableanduserfriendlysolarenergysolutions.”
ActCaseStudy - FocusononeSocialEnterprise
28
CONTEXT76% of the 15-million Cambodianpopulation lack direct access to gridelectricity, making access to energy one ofthe major development challenges inCambodia, fully targeted by the government.To fulfil the pressing energy needs, off-gridcommunities turn to costly andunsustainable energy sources such as diesel,kerosene, and car batteries. Solutions thatare unhealthy, dangerous and costly.
NRGSOLUTIONS-
TODAY’SMAINFIGURES
DEPARTMENTS
ENGINEERINGOff-grid&On-grid
KRUOSARSOLAROff-grid
Targeted
custom
ers
Schools,Hospitals,Hotels NGOs,directusersfromtheBoP*
SolarPanelsfrom1kWto100kW
SolarLanterns&SolarHomeSystemFrom50Wto1kW
CAMBODIA
ID CardCh
alleng
esto
overcome
EXTERNALRules&Regulationsdonotreallyenablesolarsystems
Corebusiness:Engineeringcompanyspecializedinrenewableenergysolutions
Dateofcreation:2012Headoffice:PhnomPenh
Expertise:In-officeservice,suchasConsultancyandEngineeringservices
& On-fieldservices,suchasProcurement,Installation,MaintenanceandTraining.
EXTERNALCambodian ruralcommunities alreadyhave access to basiclighting systems thanksto batteries.
Offe
r
INTERNALNo cash flow &High OPEX for thedistribution model.
&
Act
0
40
80
120
160
2014 2015 2016 2017
Evolution ofInstalledPower(kWp)&TonsofCO2savedperyearbyNRGSolution
CumulatedinstalledpowerinkWp
TonsofCO2savedperyear
*BoP:BottomofthePyramid2.7billionpeoplelivingwithlessthan$2.5perday
29
ACTMAINFIGURES
8 Students 48 Monthsofdailysupport 224 Hoursofcoaching
providedtostudentsHoursprovidedtosocialentrepreneurs
ConceptDevelopment Start-Up EarlyGrowth Expansion Maturity
4YearsofAct2014 2015 20172016
R&DDe
partmen
t
688
ActIntervention
ENGINEERING
KRUOSA
RSO
LAR
1-10kWOffGridSolarEngineering,
Procurement&Construction
Feasibilitystudyofa50kWhybridsystem
“BesidesthecoreinterventionofAct,theProgramhaspaidarealattentiontoboostteamefficiency
byimprovingorganization&managementonalongterm”
DesignSolarPumpingSystem
Userstests
ITDecisionTool
OpenERPconsolidation(Monitoring,Supplychain,Salesrecord,
CustomerRelationManagement)
Expansionofdistributionchannel
PilotofaPayAsYouGopaymentmodel
Pilotimplementationofalastmile
distributionnetwork
Beginningof2014,NRGSolutionsdecidedtoofficiallylaunchalastmiledistributionmodelofSolarHomeSystemsinruralareasofCambodiabasedonapartnershipwithaMicro-financeInstitute.Inparallel,NRGSolutionsinstallsbiggersolarsystemsthroughtheirengineeringdepartment.
support
Designof1stSolarHomeSystem100W
LeanManagement
StandardizationofOffGridSolar
solutions(200W-1kW)
SmartSizingToolDevelopment forSHS
OfferDiversification
Act
Act Support
BusinessModel
IT
SHS
Solar Pumping
EPC
30
DANIEL PACHECOFounder & Director of NRG Solutions1st social entrepreneur benefiting from ActProgram in 2014.
“ From the enterprise perspective, Act givesme the peace of mind that our interns areproperly recruited, monitored throughout theprocess and transition from intern to internhappens seamlessly so that the work done bythe interns is not lost after their placement. Ithas been an invaluable Program for NRG asit has given us the capacity to build a strongR&D department that would not have beenpossible without the support of the internsand Sevea to monitor the process. ”
JULIEN TRIBODETAct Student from January to August 2016From Grenoble INP - Ense³ and specialized inElectrical Engineering & Technical InnovationManagement.
“ From the student perspective, Act willremain a great professional and humanexperience: I had the opportunity to work forNRG with a great team, that's forced me toovercome my own capacities. So I improveda lot both soft and hard skills. In themeantime I was working in a great spirit thatis a great combination between fighting in acompetitive world but always take time tostand back on how to act for a better world.”
FROMTHESTUDENTFROMTHEENTREPRENEUR
Testimonies
Act
31
After3yearsofexistence,astrongAlumniCommunityhasstartedtoemerge.Ifmostofthemarecurrentlystillstudyingasoftoday,theirActexperiencehasdeeplyorientedtheirspecializationsandinternships.Forthosewhohavefinishedtheirstudies,fromtheirActInternshiptotheircurrent
activity,theytestify.
6- ACTALUMNICOMMUNITY
Fromthelefttotherightside- AntoineDenizart,Pacco Bailly,NellyVallance,Valérie Bonnardel,LucasMir,GuillaumeLorimier,Rémi Moïse,JulienTribodet,Théo André,ClémentMélaye,GuillaumeMartinandMarcLaperche -
AttheFoundationGrenobleINPanual officialevening.
Act
32
Act Alumni Community
REACTAct is first and above all a Program of social enterprises support, but it is also provides experiencefeedbacks at schools and conferences in France about development aid and social entrepreneurship.Focus on the 2015’s conference organized by Alumni and Act students, whose theme was “A new lookon access to Energy”:
8internationalspeakers
200corporates&students
5hoursof
conference
MAINGOALS
CreateanactivecommunityofIntrapreneurs &Entrepreneurs
Buildastrongprofessionalnetwork
OffernewActstudentsmoreinformalmentoringwithexperiencedpeople
Promoteexperienceinsocialenterprises
MAINFIGURES
Alumniworkforsustainabledevelopment
Alumniworkindevelopingcountries
Asoftoday,someformerActStudentshaveenteredthelabourmarket.Therestwillenteritin2017.
“ It was the opportunity to gatherentrepreneurs, students, foundations,sociologists, teachers and large scalecompanies around the issue of access toenergy in developing countries.Beyond dealing with this problematic, one ofthe issue was to show auditors that there areas many solutions as there are problems. ”
Act
8 Alumniareonthelabourmarket
outof28
48
38
22janvier2015- Grenoble,France
outof outof
1Onlinerecordingoftheconference*
1WhitePaper*
*MoreinformationonSevea’s website
33
Country: CambodiaActMission: StructurationoftheR&Ddepartment&SolarVillageProject
Structuration
GraduatedfromGrenobleINP
Currentjob:Tendering&ExecutionProjectManageratSchneiderElectric
Expertise: ElectricalDistribution
THÉOANDRÉ
TESTIMONIES
After a entire year working in SMEs inCambodia, Théo has integrated SchneiderElectric as an international businessmanager first. Even if he’s still in the energyfield, it is in a completely different type ofstructure. He explains how Act Programhelped him get this job.
“ Back to France after a year working inCambodia, I had been able to promote ActProgram to get an internship at SchneiderElectric requesting a double degree(Engineering and Business School).This was made possible through the localapproach and the end-user focus I’d beenfaced in Cambodia.
Act
The skills developed during Act Programmade me feel comfortable and efficient veryquickly as Business Manager for electricaldistribution projects in Africa.
One year later, I’m still working at SchneiderElectric. I will leave in few months in CentralAmerica as Tendering and Execution ProjectManager operating in the Caribbean Area(English and Spanish speaking).
Not yet able to speak Spanish, the year leadwith Sevea in Cambodia let once again makeit decisive faced to the decision makers. ”
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CLÉMENTMÉLAYE
TESTIMONIES
Country: CambodiaActMission: SolarVillageImpactAssessment
GraduatedfromGrenobleINP
Currentjob:LocalCoordinatoratBenooEnergies
Expertise:AccesstoEnergy&Financeinruralareas
“WhenIjoinedActProgram,myaimwastobecome"anentrepreneur“.Inreality,Ididnotknowwhatitmeans.”
After 6 months within Sevea working onaccess to energy issues, Clément has foundhis vocation. He works today as a localcoordinator in Togo for a French socialenterprise.
He explains how Actmade him grow.
“ I am working on my own in Togo. Thus, agood communication with my managerslocated in France is a key factor of success.
Act
Communication is a skill I dramaticallyimproved during my Act Program, because Ihad this bad habit to hide my mistakes ormisunderstanding. Even if sometimes thishabit tries to come back, I remember Cécile’sadvice during my Act evaluation:
“Be sure to understand what we want fromyou or ask for details, be result-oriented &never forget that we are not judging you!”.What was a flaw is now a strength as myteam told me! ”
Act Alumni Community
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Country: CambodiaActMission: Cleanenergyandclimate
changeadaptationprojects
GraduatedfromGrenobleINP
Currentjob:EntrepreneurinFrancewithinB&LEvolutionandconsultantatSevea
Expertise: Climatechange
GUILLAUMEMARTIN
TESTIMONIES
Guillaume already had an entrepreneurprofile before coming at Sevea and has beenoffered a job proposition after his internshipthere. Today, he is consultant on climatechange issues in France within Sevea.
He explains how Act has made evolve hisvision and understanding of the society’sissues regarding environment, climate,energy or development challenges forinstance:“ Since high school, I believe that mygeneration could not stand by and watchour world collapsing because of climatechange, natural resources rarefaction oreconomic inequality. During 8 months inCambodia, I’ve observed one of the worstcountry in terms of poverty or climatechange impacts.
But it also enabled me to discover a newculture, a new way of life and to meet veryinspiring social entrepreneurs ready to tacklethese challenges by implementing newinclusive business models. Now, I’ve decidedto stay in France in order to try to change theway we do business and how we organizeour society in developed countries. Butworking closely with Cambodia throughSevea reminds me every day why it is sourgent and so important to do it.
Balancing between France and Cambodia isalso very inspiring and helpful for mypersonal development and the achievementsof my work. It enables me to see the sameproblem with two different insights: as wesee it in France and as it would be seen in adeveloping country as Cambodia. ”
Act
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7- THEYSUPPORTACT
Act
FOUNDINGPARTNER FINANCIALPARTNERS
Fromthelefttotherightside- HaraldSchutzeichel,ChristophePoline,Valérie Bonnardel,Jean-FrançoisSimon,EdouardDahomé,CyrilMonteiller,CécileDahomé,DanielPacheco,AntoineDenizart-
AttheFoundationGrenobleINPofficialevening.
Valérie Bonnardel istheonewhoenabledActProgramtoexist.AsoneofthefoundersanduntilrecentlydirectorofGrenobleINPFoundation,sheistodayalotmorethanafinancialpartner.SheisalsoaninspiringadvisoroftheProgramwho,thankstohertruevisionofthefuture,helpsmakeitgrow
inainnovativeandsustainableway.
VALÉRIEBONNARDEL
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I know no one that looks at our changingworld and thinks « there is nothing I can doabout it ». On the contrary, everybody feelsat least that he is part of this world and has acontribution to it. Good start but it is ourresponsibility though to have the mostefficient and positive contribution possible inorder to make this world a better place tolive for all human beings now, tomorrowand for the future generations. Easier sayingthan doing… Indeed! But there are ways tocontribute, especially for us, engineers, if wehave faith in the power of people to shapetheir future once they are given the righttools to do it. Social entrepreneurs keep thatin mind, as well as they believe that socialdevelopment and business are definitelywords that should come together and not beopposed to one another.
I believe in that, Sevea believes in that, andmany more do. We have created ActProgram to link social entrepreneurs andyoung engineers who bear the same valuesand to ensure there will always be asustainable and local solution to socialneeds. The success of our Program for thepast four years is comforting that this is theright path to follow. There is still a long wayto go but we are confident that more peopleshare our beliefs and values. I hope that theProgram, its achievements and thetestimonies of all Actors can convince thatnow contributing to a sustainable world isas easy to say than to do.
Remain humble, open-minded, dedicated topeople and environment, and join us: Act!
“ WhatActProgramisdoingisneededeverywhere.”
They support Act
DONORS
Act
They support Act
DONORS
38Act
“ Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) area fundamental part of the economy indeveloping countries and they play a crucialrole in furthering growth, innovation andprosperity. But support for youngentrepreneurs needs to be tailored andcannot be standardized. Act Program followsthis strategy and has helped several SMEsalready in their business development.
Stiftung Solarenergie - Solar EnergyFoundation established a program forentrepreneurs in the energy access sector ofEast Africa.With the strong and reliable support of Act,
HARALDSCHÜTZEICHELFounderStiftung Solarenergie
SolarEnergyFoundation
we were able to empower a local energyaccess SME in Uganda: two interns havebeen sent on-site for several months as anefficient and professional help for thecompany and moreover as a big motivatorand mentor for the founder as well. He got asparring partner for his problems, ideas andactivities, which is a big help for anyentrepreneur who is used to work as a lonefighter.
Act as a Program for SME is definitely a bigadvantage for any company that is able tojoin this activity! ”
39Act
ACADEMICSECTOR
YVESMARÉCHALDirectorofGrenobleINP- Ense³
Today’s world is facing tremendouschallenges: climate change for futuregeneration’s life and peace, sustainability ofhuman activities, clean energy, water andtransportation systems, access to health,food, information and knowledge, andpreservation of wild life and flora in a longterm vision.
Facing that, we need to change direction,we need new solutions, and we need newactors. Together with Sevea, at Ense3 weconsider that Engineers are the key actorsof these changes.
Engineers of a new kind, masteringscientific, technological as well as socialissues; engineers of the transition thatconsider the long term impact of their
design activities engineers and entrepreneurs,creative and innovative, acting in traditional orsocial business; engineers and makers,confident with both conceptual and practicalaspects, engineers and managers caring abouttheir staff, engineers and citizens, willing toshare benefits of technology.
Act program contributes to make thatengineer of a new kind. For us, it isempowering our young engineering students,gives them concrete expertise ofentrepreneurship in a cross cultural contextand on the top of that, offers an unforgettablehuman experience.
Proud to be part of that program, Ense3 ispromoting, supporting and engaging itsstudents in Act.
Actprogramcontributestomakethatengineerofanewkind.
40Act
CORPORATES
They support Act
“ I’m very happy to see Act Programdeveloping, as I was involved in the veryearly stages with INP and Valerie Bonnardel,by welcoming Antoine Denizart withinSchneider Electric. I fully concur with theidea of Sevea which consists of supportingentrepreneurs to develop employment and asustainable local economy. Training andeducation combined with operational actionplan are key to ensure economicalsustainability.
It’satrueWin-Winapproach
by offering the students both a fantastichuman experience and real opportunities toserve underprivileged populations andmeanwhile, offering entrepreneurs a greatopportunity to create and develop socialbusinesses. ”
JOËLLELOSTECOffercreationdirector– AccesstoEnergy–
SchneiderElectric
ACADEMICSECTOR
BRIGITTEPLATEAUPresidentofGrenobleinstituteofengineering
Univ.Grenoble Alpes
... is part of the education spirit GrenobleINP wants to deliver to its student. With thecrucial importance of curiosity, open-mindness and humanism. Some of ourstudents catch this beyond our expectationsand get involved into exciting adventures.For this, and together with the Foundationof Grenoble INP, Sevea is definitively areliable key partner. All these entrepreneuractions contribute, modestly but very surely,to the economical, ecological and socialglobal transition we are searching for. ”
“Actasanengineercitizenoftheplanet
Learnings & Perspectives
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ANTOINEDENIZARTActProgramManager
LEARNINGS
Over the past 4 years, Act has discovered adiversity of inspiring social entrepreneursproposing innovative business models andtechnologies serving the most vulnerablecommunities from developing countries andnurturing greener solutions for ecologicaltransition.
Through Act, Sevea & students have alsobeen able to experience the main challengesand opportunities faced by theseentrepreneurs, and how we could deliverconcrete solutions to mitigate risks in theirdevelopment. Generally, enterprises arestruggling financially to meet their social orenvironmental mission. To scale up, theyneed both technical assistance and access tofinance. Act Program is one additionalresource now available in the socialentrepreneurs’ toolbox to develop theirvision, and implement it into reality.
Students are often the direct second hand ofentrepreneurs. This has been one of the keyfactors in boosting their learning curve. Ourcoaching is focused on challenging thequality of their deliverables but also theiroverall approach within the social enterpriseand its team. The empowerment of their softskills has been essential to improve theirperformance. As a result, our impact onstudents has exceeded our expectations.
PERSPECTIVES
We now wish to continue developing theprogram in order to bring more added valueto all the parties involved.
Our priority is to improve the quality of thesupport delivered to both students andsocial entrepreneurs. To stay close and beable to adapt to specific entrepreneur needsand student profiles in our coaching, wewant to keep the program at a human scale.The quality of an enterprise’s humanresources is a key success factor in itsdevelopment. This is why we want topropose more diversified profiles and skillsto better meet each enterprise’s specificities.
Moreover, Act is for now a program onlydirected at top quality students fromdeveloped countries. The next logical step tomaximize our impact on a local and long-term development is to train and supporthuman resources directly in developingcountries. To do so, we want to incubate anew pilot program in order to assist andstrengthen the new generation of localchange makers in taking the challenges ofdeveloping countries into their own hands.In the end, none is better fitted than localhigh-quality human resources to strive forthe welfare of their society and with thisnew branch of the program, Act can work asa cornerstone of this development.
Eventually, from innovative trainingplatform to synergies facilitation with thefinancial and academic sectors, the overallecosystem around Act program will bestrengthened to bring more efficientsolutions to accelerate both the enterprise’sand the student’s development.
Hence, whether you are a donor, a socialentrepreneur, a student, a representative ofthe academic or financial sectors, or reallyanyone who feels like he can play his part inthe program, just hop on this adventure withus and Act!
Act
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CONTACT
172ChemindeCugnet73800LesMarches,France
MOREINFORMATION
CREDITS
CécileDahoméCyrilMonteillerAntoineDenizartJeanneSaintilan
DESIGN&PRODUCTION:©Sevea
PICTURES:©Sevea
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