November 2022

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 30 nov 2022

Asian Impact Leaders Network (AILN), launched by Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) in partnership with Rockefeller Foundation, intends to highlight the efforts and contributions of Asia's social leaders (social innovators, investors and policy makers). As G20 was recently hosted in Indonesia and next turn would be of India in 2023, Asian social impact leaders too require a place at global stage providing solutions to world problems. Tamara Abed, AILN member and MD of BRAC, is one such exemplary leader making an impact through Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), world's largest NGO. It was founded in 1972 by Fazle Hasan Abed with a mission to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice. BRAC launched its social enterprise Aarong in 1978 that sells products made by women and other artisans in rural areas and has become an upmarket fashion brand. BRAC Enterprises now has 10 social enterprises in its portfolio, ranging from agriculture and farming to retail and craft making. Ms. Abed started her career with Aarong in 2002 after graduating from Columbia Business School and working for a short period in investmenet banking in New York. She says, 'My hope is that with all of the things the world is going through, there's a collective realisation amongst leaders that more of the same isn't going to take us to the future, that we really need to rethink, re-strategise and re-prioritise, and redo allocations in our budgets for what's important to people - like health and education for example.' Talking about the value of AILN, she says, 'I'm excited about the Asian Impact Leaders Network because it's a good place to network with impact leaders in the region, and see what kind of opportunities and collaborations are possible. It opens up doors and it's also good to know what others are doing. It gives ideas for what can be done. It's a great way to meet, interact, network and collaborate and look at possible opportunities to collaborate.' Read on...

Pioneers Post: The Asian Impact Leaders profiles: Tamara Abed
Author: Laura Joffre

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 29 nov 2022

Branding for startups begins from the early stage when founders interact with investers, build their team and launch their product. It can be a conscious or unconsious process. Even though the success of branding efforts is hard to measure effectively while building a fast-paced startup, but Daria Gonzalez, founding partner and CEO at Wunderdogs, a brand consultancy, suggests a process that startups can keep in mind while making investments in building a brand. She says, 'Start by defining very specifically what your brand should be communicating to your audience and who this audience is. This means clearly defining the building blocks of your brand, especially your positioning, tone of voice and target audience.' She suggests developing a 'brand baseline' and answer some important questions like how audience view the brand vis-à-vis competition; how the website make audience feel; what does audience feel like coming back when they first interact; is communication giving intended results etc. Comparing the answers to ideal scenarios can provide good measure of branding progress the startup is making. In addition to qualitative measurement it is also important to consider measuring branding with quantitative data by analyzing website engagement data and social media listening. Another important success measure is getting information through direct audience interactions. This can be done by talking to customers, talking to the team and talking to investors. After establishing brand baseline it is necessary to monitor branding efforts regularly keeping in view the long-term branding goals. Read on...

Forbes: How To Measure Your Startup's Branding Success
Author: Daria Gonzalez

Mohammad Anas Wahaj | 28 nov 2022

Design experts suggest that office design plays a role in employee productivity, creativity and satisfaction. A 2015 research study, 'Does Workplace Design Affect Employee Attraction?' (Authors: Steve Coster of Hassell, Cassie Govan of Empirica), presents unique and compelling evidence that links the physical workplace (i.e. office design) to employer attractiveness and therefore successful staff attraction and retention. Steve Coster, Principal at Hassell, says, 'This study suggests that investing in workplace design and organisational culture can be a more cost effective strategy for talent attraction than offering higher salaries. The way a workplace is designed can impact on the extent to which an employee connects and identifies with their colleagues and the organisation as a whole.' In addition to proper lighting, a flexible layout and biophilic features, better furniture design is an essential requirement for good workspace. Sustainability in furniture design is an important concept to consider (8.5 million tons of office furniture finds its way into US landfills). The C2C certification, based on the concepts derived from the book 'Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things' (Authors: William McDonough and Michael Braungart), is a globally recognized measure for products that are safe, circular and responsibly made. Furniture manufacturers should follow ecodesign principles to incorporate sustainability in all stages of an object's life cycle. Read on...

Arch Daily: Sustainable Office Furniture: Promoting Circular Design in the Workplace
Author: NA