DATE& TIME
Wednesday, March 2
10:00 EST I 4:00 GMT
LOCATION
Zoom
Are you an aspiring entrepreneur? Do you have an impact-driven idea that could solve regional and global challenges? Join Mercy, Maggie and Erna for an interactive session to learn:
- Introduction to the Halcyon incubation program
- What is social entrepreneurship
- How to develop a problem-solving mindset
- Defining the value proposition and customer pain points 101
- How to understand your market and potential customers
- Live Q&A from the audience
This session is organized by Halcyon, a community supporting impact-driven businesses and their founders through space, community, and access. Their programs offer fellowships for social entrepreneurs and funding vehicles to help them scale their ventures.
About Maggie Goff:
Maggie (she/her) believes anyone, anywhere, from any background can change the world with an innovative idea and the right support. In her role as Program Coordinator, she supports day to day operations of the incubator program with current fellows and alumni, and the application process. She also writes grants and co-authors the Social Enterprise Ecosystem Report. Prior to joining Halcyon, she was a Research Analyst at Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center; where she conducted program evaluations related to reentry, work readiness for returning citizens, and victim services for incarcerated women. She holds a Master’s degree in Justice Studies from Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Youth Advocacy, a major she self-designed at Manhattanville College. When she’s not working, she can be found doing yoga, reading, or playing with her mischievous cat.
About Mercy Erhiawarien:
At Halcyon, Mercy supports the daily operations, design and implementation of Halcyon domestic and international intensives ensuring that Halcyon’s Fellows have the resources that they need to thrive. Her passion is to mobilize people to transform and impact their own communities. She is a social innovator and organizer with a mission to broker partnerships to strategically address development challenges by enhancing development focused organizational capacity in sub-Saharan Africa and mobilizing others to work towards African led social impact in Africa. Prior to Halcyon, Mercy worked as an international development and project management practitioner, with her field experience spanning Africa and the United States. In doing so, she leveraged her extensive experience to help build programs, policies, and processes that help organizations raise funds and improve program performance. Mercy has a MPhil in Public Policy from Cape Town University in South Africa and a B.A. in International Development from Queen’s University in Canada.
About Erna Redzepagic
Erna’s passion for using business principles to solve social and environmental issues brought her to Halcyon. She joined the team to expand the recruitment efforts of talented social entrepreneurs across the world and support their journey after the fellowship.
Before joining Halcyon’s team, she worked in the philanthropic sector managing corporate partnerships and working on CSR communication campaigns. She holds a master’s degree in social entrepreneurship from the University of Southern California and has worked as a business developer at a startup created at USC, which provides access to vital information for displaced people. She is particularly interested in ideas that support minorities & displaced people and provide them with opportunities to thrive.
She is originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina and has lived in five countries. She enjoys connecting with people from all walks of life and exploring new countries. In her spare time, you can find her creating digital art, reading thriller novels, playing tennis, and searching for new stand-up shows in D.C.