Market for Change

Vision and Scope

Millions graduate from sub-Saharan Africa's tertiary institutions each year and face unemployment rates of over 60%. Educated young people have two options: either stay in their home countries and face unemployment, or go overseas and contribute to the "brain drain."

Outsourcing customer support and back office functions has provided over a million jobs in India, China and the Philippines. We believe the same thing can happen in Africa, if two major hurdles are addressed: negative perceptions of the continent (fueled by a belief that all countries and locations carry the same risks) and of outsourcing in general, and structural problems with current business models for brokering outsourcing deals to Africa.

Market for Change aims to tackle these challenges by:

1.Developing a global set of quality and fair trade/social impact ("Responsible Outsourcing") standards designed for small and medium-sized companies in developing countries

2.Creating a web-based brokerage and escrow service that screens vendors according to these standards and acts as a legal and financial intermediary between US clients and African firms

3.Showcasing social impact with a custom-built wiki for content generated by students and workers in the industry

Opportunities for Graduate Students

We are looking for students for a range of roles. Most critically, MfC needs help developing a marketing plan to pitch outsourcing services to non-profits and socially-responsible businesses in the US. We are also looking for help with our financial plan and revenue model (based on commissions from the brokerage service).

Contact Information

Leila Chirayath
Founder
Market for Change | www.marketforchange.org
mobile: +1 917 856 9933
skype: leila.chirayath