BetterWorld.com: “The Online Bookstore with a Soul”

Industry/sector: Literacy, education, technology
Geographic Coverage: Global
Where it all started: Mishawaka, Indiana
Shop for literacy: www.betterworld.com

In a lot of ways, BetterWorld.com can be seen as Barnes and Noble and Amazon — with a mission that extends beyond maximizing economic profitability. Its core mission centers around promoting global literacy through work with its four partners: NCFL, Books for Africa, Room to Read, and the WorldFund.

Looking to sell/donate some books? You can also do it through BetterWorld.com and through their local community locations.

Plus, they offer free domestic shipping (global shipping is $3.95) that’s environmentally conscious. How? By offsetting their carbon footprints through Carbonfund.org.

Check out their informational video below:

AIMS – Next Einstein: Let Africa Shine

Industry/sector: Education, technology
Geographic Coverage: Africa
Founded in: Capetown, South Africa
Get involved: www.nexteinstein.org

Sponsored by the likes of Forest Whitaker and Stephen Hawking, the AIMS Institute aims to enable the students of Africa. Armed with the vision that Africans will be able to lead the change in finding the solutions to the continent’s ongoing challenges, it supports the academic educations of its citizens in the sciences and mathematics (as expected with sponsors like Stephen Hawking and TED Prize!).

While it is an admirable and ambitious venture by any definition of the word, I wonder if this pursuit of developing creative and innovative problem solvers with the emphasis focused so single-mindedly on the education of mathematics and the sciences will also limit its potential. Granted that these two subjects are inarguably the fundamental building blocks of any society, is it truly the right paradigm to pursue progress in the 21st century?

To truly nurture not only the Next Einstein, but the next generation of problem solvers, does NextEinstein not also need to introduce an interdisciplinary course of study and take full advantage of what we have learned in the 20th century? We have shifted away from the days when the craftsmanship of an ironsmith was a person’s sole calling.

Regardless, we will need more organizations like NextEinstein to help solve the challenges we face today that will only become more opportunities tomorrow. Like other organizations that have leveraged the opportunity to engage individuals from around the world, rather than seeking out solely large institutions as has been the more traditional model, NextEinstein encourages visitors to sponsor students and be a part of the process.

Qifang.cn – Individual-Powered Student Loans

Industry/sector: Microfinancing
Geographic Coverage: China
Year founded: 2008 — pending beta stage
Headquarters: Shanghai, China
Get involved: TBA

Not unlike Kiva, we’ve seen a recent surge in enterprises that take the same basic concept of connecting individuals and applied it to roles that have been traditionally filled by banks — small business lending, debt lending, and student loans. Funding college educations is exactly what QiFang aims to accomplish. Especially at a time where the global costs of education are rising, this will be crucial for nations like China with lower per capita GDPs to truly break into the global marketplace.

Based in Shanghai, China, the company takes what has historically belonged to group borrowing institutions to bring it to an online community. According to CrunchBase:

The company expects interest rates on most Qifang loans to be between 8 to 12 percent. The interest rate will be based on how many lenders bid on each loan. The site will recommend that lenders invest in a portfolio of loans to reduce their risk, but if they choose, each one can put all their money in a single loan. Since there is very little credit history on individuals in China, the site will use other proxies to calculate risk. Each borrower must scan in their national ID cards to verify who they are, and list their school, major, grades, hometown, parents ID cards and income. [The founder] is creating partnerships with the schools directly, so that the information students supply can be verified and so that loan payments can be made directly to educational institutions.

While QiFang is still pending release, a similar site to watch is: 51give.com

In a society that emphasizes the importance of “keeping face” as strongly as China’s, it will be interesting to see how this plays out at a time of change in an transitioning economy. Perhaps more interesting will be the dichotomy that will likely arise amongst different generations, and ideologies.

Regardless, the success or failure of companies like QiFang will undoubtedly pave the way in rethinking how we can finance the rising costs of higher education, not only in China, but in the U.S. as well.