To help social innovators in the new normal, Globe has partnered with The Spark Project in providing free learning opportunities that will further enable them to take advantage of technology to create social good.

“Globe believes in digital transformation and the benefits it brings to the country. We need to educate and upskill our social innovators to strengthen the Filipino startup community and help them gain access to vast opportunities for growth using technology,” said Globe SVP and Chief Sustainability Officer Yoly Crisanto in a press statement.

Digital community hub

Globe, through its Globe Future Makers Program (GFM), aims to build an ecosystem of support for social innovators that will allow them to discover and create new solutions for the benefit of society.

With the GFM’s annual startup competition being put on hold this year due to COVID-19, Globe has decided to tap The Spark Project to hone the capabilities of social innovators through knowledge and network building.

The Spark Project was one of the Top 5 GFM finalists in 2018. A pioneer in the local crowdfunding scene, it is dedicated to enabling Filipino creativity and innovation through its website and various community learning events.

Under the partnership, The Spark Project’s sparkability.org serves as a digital community hub and learning platform for GFM Masterclasses, GFM Workshops, and GFM Webinars to capacitate social innovators. Sparkability.org is The Spark’s Project’s main website meant to bring together a community of social innovators for a constructive exchange of ideas and support to thrive.

“For social innovators and entrepreneurs, it’s challenging to find the right training resources online that understand and promote the pursuit of profit and purpose in business. That’s why we created sparkability.org, to help entrepreneurs and changemakers during these unprecedented times. To spark a better normal, not just for themselves, but for the communities they serve through their businesses,” said The Spark Project Founder and CEO Patch Dulay,

Solving social issues

The GFM Masterclasses are intended for self-paced learning and are meant for in-depth concepts and topics. On the other hand, the GFM Workshops provide an interactive avenue for ideas exchange and learning. Also part of the support for GFM are live webinars intended for knowledge building to help social innovators navigate their enterprises in these times. The webinars serve as an avenue for discussion with various industry experts to further guide them in their challenges.

So far, The Spark Project has conducted GFM live webinars, workshops, and masterclasses discussing topics such as Financing for Social Enterprises (Oct. 8), Design Research for Startups and Social Entrepreneurs (Oct. 15), Creating a Healthier Team Culture (Oct. 22), Social Media Marketing and Planning (Nov 5), Financial Planning: Vital Signs (Nov. 12), Business Review: Surviving 2020 and Rehabilitating in 2021 (Nov 19), and Financial Planning Modeling Exercise (Nov. 26). Over 500 startup founders, CEOs, and managers registered for the said events, with 59% currently doing work in the social impact space either as a social enterprise, tech for good, or non-profit organization.

Future Makers is the social innovation program of the Singtel Group of Companies within the Asia Pacific region. It was launched in 2016 in Singapore and Australia and followed by the Philippines in 2017. It seeks to recognize the most innovative technology-enabled solutions focused on solving social issues. So far, Globe has supported a number of social innovators involved in learning and education, health and well-being, and climate change and displacement.

GFM brings to life the company’s commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 9, which calls for investment in infrastructure and innovation to find lasting solutions to both economic and environmental challenges.