Electric and hybrid vehicles are typically eco-iconic in their own right, but a new program from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation aims to give them additional recognition via special license plates as well.

The Canadian province hopes to have one out of every 20 vehicles driven in Ontario electrically powered by 2020. As part of that effort, it is encouraging the purchase and use of electric cars via several incentives. First, vehicles purchased after July 1, 2010, can qualify for rebates of between CDN 4,000 and CDN 10,000. Even more eco-iconic, however, is that drivers of such vehicles will be given special, green license plates from the province starting next year. Said license plates will qualify them to use Ontario's High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes until 2015, even if there is just one person in the vehicle; give them access to provincial recharging facilities; and allow them to use designated parking spots at the University of Toronto and private companies such as Wal-Mart Canada. Particularly interesting from a crowdsourcing perspective is that the province's green license plate design was chosen through public voting from among four competing alternatives.

If there's anything more gratifying than simply reaping the benefits of an environmentally friendly vehicle, it's having that ethical purchase decision recognized and rewarded, for all the world to see. How long before every DMV under the sun has its own version of the green license plate...?

Website: news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2009/11/new-green-licence-plate-selected-by-ontarians.html
Contact: nicole.lippa-gasparro@ontario.ca

Spotted by: Monica Watkins

We've already seen the Twitter model applied to organizational employees via Yammer, which encourages coworkers to share and collaborate by frequently answering—in 140 characters or less—the question, "What are you working on?" Now Canadian startup Sprouter invites entrepreneurs to do the same thing as an opening for discussion, support and collaboration.

Toronto-based Sprouter is an online community that allows small business owners and entrepreneurs to share links, ask questions and share expertise with their peers. Whereas most social networks focus on connecting users with people they already know, the premise behind Sprouter is that it's often the people one hasn't yet connected with—but who share common goals and interests—that can be the most valuable resources. Accordingly, the site's search function can help members find not just entrepreneurs in their area or industry, but also those who are discussing a topic of common interest—funding, for example. Members of the site can create profiles and start real-time discussions around any concept, company, association or event.

Sarah Prevette, Sprouter’s founder and CEO, explains: “The power of social networking by individuals has been made more than evident, and Sprouter is striving to create that same sense of community and sharing for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs face struggles on a daily basis—from how to get funding to the best business tools to use. Sprouter can provide the forum for real-time networking and collaboration so everyone can benefit from mistakes and successes.” Sprouter is free for users, and hopes to generate income through partnerships with venture funding agencies and small business associations, Prevette told the Financial Post.

Launched to the public just this week, Sprouter also hosts monthly events to bring local entrepreneurs together for in-person networking. The site's community currently includes members from all over the world, including India, Australia, Europe and North America. One to try out for your own entrepreneurial edification...?

Website: www.sprouter.com
Contact: info@sprouter.com

Offering a professional alternative to working from the nearest Starbucks, a new service from iStopOver makes it easy for people to rent (very) short-term business space worldwide. Created by Canadian tech enterprise Brightspark, the website provides a fully-automated service that connects offices with office-needers. Listing is free for hosts, while guests are charged a 6–11% service fee.

Rental terms can range anywhere from a few hours to several months, with spaces for rent including warehouses, boardrooms, offices, desks—even parking spaces. Users can refine their search according to particular requirements, such as wifi access, phone systems, catering, etc. (The service was launched two months ago, so available properties are still limited.) Guests and hosts can communicate through the site to exchange details. The booking process is automated, and iStopOver handles all payments online, only releasing payment to the host when they enter a reservation code given to them by the guest on arrival. This acts as a security measure for guests, giving them the option to leave without revealing their reservation code if the workspace doesn't match up to its description. The benefits? Those without offices gain access to a suitable working environment and professional image, while hosts can make money from empty spaces.

iStopOver for Office Rentals is an expansion of iStopOver's original home rental model. Both share features with services we've covered before on Springwise, but iStopOver looks to be growing into a one-stop solution for short-term rentals. One to partner with regionally? (Related: Helping consumers rent out unused space, Office space rented out by the desk, Parking and zipping)

Website: www.istopover.com/office
Contact: www.istopover.com/office/contact_us

Spotted by: Mark Skapinker

Ad agencies thrive or fail by the creative ideas they come up with, and promoting themselves is no exception. What makes Montreal firm Carte Blanche's new self-promotion campaign unique is that it's also a recruitment experiment. Carte Blanche is offering one lucky (depending on your viewpoint) intern the chance to spend 30 days living in the heart of the Montreal agency's headquarters, in a fully-equipped apartment adjoining their offices. After the working day, the intern will have access to the office floor. The agency claims that this project—dubbed Dortoir (French for dormitory)—is a world's first for an ad agency.

Carte Blanche is inviting email applications from creative and passionate people, who are asked to up load up to 10MB of images, text and video to show off their talent. Dortoir seems less like a recruitment process and more like a prize competition—echoing buzz-heavy campaigns like The Best Job in the World. Similarly enliven your own recruitment process and you could find yourself with a larger pool of interesting applications to wade through, as well as plenty of free viral exposure. (Related: Job applications in 140 characters or less.)

Website: www.cbcm.ca/dortoir
Contact: dortoir@cbcm.ca

Spotted by: Khady Beye

As attractive as those tight-fitting workout clothes might be, there's not much room to carry a notebook and pencil. With this in mind, Gym Technik created a digital tool that allows fitness buffs to track workouts and analyse their progress using something they're likely to have with them anyway: their phone.

Users can set up a Gym Technik account online at home, and then use their smartphone to access routines and data while at the gym, where they can also input data on weights, sets and reps, and track their performance with progress charts and graphs. Collected data can be submitted to Gym Technik's personal trainers for advice about achieving fitness goals, and users can access an extensive library of trainer-approved workouts. Gym Technik guarantees that its basic edition will remain free, but is working on a premium (paid) service.

While similar apps are available for the iPhone, there's still room for entrepreneurs to create mobile offerings beyond the App Store, helping consumers track and improve progress towards fitness or other goals, from weight loss and healthy eating to academic development and finance.

Website: www.gymtechnik.com
Contact: www.gymtechnik.com/support.aspx?mode=contact

Spotted by: Sharad Mohan

Toronto's Beach Solar Laundromat shows how a fresh, sustainable approach can revitalize a small business. As part of a heating system overhaul in 2002/3, the laundromat's 70-year-old building was retrofitted with eight solar thermal panels that now heat its water. The refurbished system has reduced natural gas consumption by 30%. Electricity consumption per washload has fallen by the same amount, and the remaining electricity now comes from hydro and wind power.

As a result of Beach Solar's changes, not only the planet has benefited. The business has seen a 160% increase in revenue, which it puts down to a green-conscious consumer choice. As you would expect, the solar laundromat proudly displays its carbon-free credentials on its website, which allows visitors to view the energy consumption of the laundromat in real time—a good example of eco-metering (for more on that, check out the 'eco intel' section of trendwatching.com's eco bounty briefing. Consumers aren't the only ones to have noticed—the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment have recognised the building as Best in Canada for its pollution reduction measures.

While the concept of a solar-powered laundromat may not be unique, it's still far from common. And all of the above should send a clear message to small businesses everywhere: clean up your energy and the cash will follow.

Website: www.bslvideo.com

Spotted by: June Avila

It's been more than a decade since online diaries first appeared, and during that time most have transformed into communications of a much more public sort than the paper counterparts that inspired them. Aiming to restore some of the original privacy to today's ubiquitous blog, Toronto-based Penzu offers a secure online journaling medium that's private by default.

Penzu is an online diary and personal journal that is focused on privacy. The core component of Penzu's interface is what it calls "the pad," resembling a sheet of blank journal paper. Users begin by signing up—basic use is free. After that they can begin writing immediately on the pad, and Penzu saves their work automatically. Entries can be searched, sorted, filtered, renamed or discarded at any time, and photos can be uploaded from the user's computer or from Flickr. Most distinguishing of all, however, is that all entries made on the site are private by default, with an additional password-protection option for those who desire it. When users do decide to share their work, they can do so via email or a public link that opens it up to comments. The basic service is free, and there's also a premium version (Penzu Pro) that's priced at USD 19 per year. For that price, users get additional features including military-grade security and importing from LiveJournal.

While most blogging tools—from WordPress to Tumblr—let users keep their entries private, Penzu could well appeal to audiences that view privacy is a top concern. Diarists in 170 countries currently use Penzu, the company says, but the service is available only in English. One to partner with on a localized version for your part of the world...?

Website: www.penzu.com
Contact: info@penzu.com

Starting today, Canadian credit union Servus is handing out CDN 200,000 in ten-dollar bills, giving 20,000 people the opportunity to create a Feel Good Ripple by giving that money to someone else. Servus is asking customers "How will you use ten dollars to make someone's day?" Suggestions include 'buy flowers for the grocery store cashier', 'buy the coffee for the person behind you in line at the drive-thru' and 'give $10 to a homeless shelter to pay for lunch or dinner supplies'. By pledging CDN 200,00 to the effort, the company hopes to start a ' kindness movement' that will positively affect at least 20,000 people.

Servus is distributing the bills through its branches throughout Alberta, and asking participants to write up stories of their kindness—monetary or otherwise—on feelgoodripple.ca. By sharing their experience online or at a branch, participants have a chance to win one of ten CDN 500 donations to a charity of their choice. While the contest will end on December 1st, Servus hopes the Feel Good Ripple will continue long afterwards.

This type of sponsored charity—actively seeking customers' collaboration—is meant to underline the cooperative mindset of credit unions (as opposed to, say, banks). It's a prime example of a company applying the principles of Generation G, as our sister-site trendwatching.com calls the societal and business shift to a more generous mindset. (Related: Grocer lets customers direct its community giving — Customers deliver donated TOMS shoes.)

Website: www.feelgoodripple.ca — www.servuscu.ca
Contact: www.servuscu.ca/site+tools/contact+us

iStockphoto is already a familiar name to many in media and design for its low-priced stock photography, illustrations and multimedia files. Now the Canadian company is planning to expand its offerings with a line of user-generated corporate logos as well.

Late last month Alberta-based iStockphoto announced that it will soon begin providing logos that clients can download and use to brand their business or organization. The site's existing contributors can create and upload logos for sale on the site, as can professional designers, many of whom likely already have unused logo designs left over from past jobs. Logos will be sold as fully editable .eps files—a training manual for contributors is coming soon—and they will be exclusive to iStockphoto. They will be sold only once to prevent duplicate use, and so will be priced higher than other items on the site—ranging from 100 to 750 credits each, the company says. iStock is currently seeking feedback on the possibility of its acting as intermediary between artist and client for one round of changes to a purchased logo so as to allow the designer to help insert the client company's name into the logo design. iStock will pay a base royalty rate of 50 percent per logo design for the first 6 months, and designers will be able to upload an unlimited number of logos during that time. As an incentive to upload early, it's also offering a USD 5 bonus for creators of the first 10,000 logo designs to be approved by January 1, 2010, with another USD 5 if it reaches 10,000 approved logos by that time.

Much like IncSpring, which we covered about a year ago, iStockphoto's logo line promises to give creators a way to monetize unused ideas and designs while providing businesses and organizations with an affordable option for their own branding. Yet another win-win for all involved—and another triumph for the crowds! ;-) (Related: Crowdsourced graphic design.)

Website: www.istockphoto.com
Contact: help@istockphoto.com

Spotted by: David Licona

Canadian enterprise Ekomini believes that teaching kids about money is as important as teaching them reading, writing and arithmetic. As an aid to parents, the company has given the traditional piggy bank a 21st century makeover. The Ekomini Treasure Chest features a patented coin-reader technology and hooks up to a computer via USB, enabling children to keep track of their savings and learn basic financial skills. The Ekomini package gleans pedagogical credentials from resident educational consultant Dr. Daniel Racine, who designed a platform to teach kids how to plan for purchases by setting goals, completing tasks and comparing prices; as they get older, they can also learn the basics of investment. Ekomini also aims to introduce kids to social responsibility by explaining important causes and showcasing charities.

Appealing both to creative consumers and potential licensing partners, Ekomini will also manufacture a separate coin-reader unit (minus the piggy bank), so that the system can be created using any type of coin receptacle. Speaking of partners, Ekomini is casting a wide net, targeting teachers, banks, retailers, charities and other manufacturers interested in licensing their design.

While products that target children are the scourge of cash-strapped parents, one that teaches future generations the value of saving could be worth its weight in gold. The product can be pre-ordered online and will be available in major retail stores in time for Christmas. One to check out if you're involved with financial services or children's products! (Related: Financial literacy for kids — Bank run by street kids — Facilitating kidpreneurs.)

Website: www.ekomini.com
Contact: info@ekomini.com

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Amid all the many charity-focused efforts to help the people of developing African nations, others strive to provide economic empowerment and help African entrepreneurs establish sustainable businesses. We've covered several of these—including some of the microfinance initiatives that have popped up—but Canadian shoe company Oliberté is taking a different approach by sourcing and setting up its manufacturing operations in Africa instead.

Oliberté makes and sells what it says is the first line of footwear to be made from natural rubber in Liberia. Two styles of lightweight shoes are currently available: Elika for women, and Rovia for men. Both feature a rubber sole crafted naturally and fairly in Liberia along with premium goat and cow leather sewn in Ethiopia. Elika is priced at CAD 106, while Rovia is CAD 115. Oliberté ensures that farmers, factory workers and suppliers are all paid fairly and treated responsibly, and it supports local training and communities in every country it works in. It's also working in partnership with factories to improve its environmental footprint, it says. Toward that end, Oliberté even promises to take its shoes back at the end of their useful life, with plans to recycle and make them new again.

The company's website explains: "Africa is more than just poverty and Oliberté is the start of a revolution that shows, through urban footwear, this is the real Africa! With every pair of Oliberté bought, we are making a powerful statement that Africa is proud, free and full of potential. You do this all while being a hero, because you are the reason men and women from Liberia to Swaziland to Ethiopia have a job, have food on the table and can send their children to school. Oliberté is not a charity—it is a company that believes you can change how the world views Africa and help build lives every time you buy a pair of Oliberté shoes."

Oliberté's shoes are available both online and through select stores in the US and Canada. Retailers: one to offer up to your own ethical consumers...? (Related: Shoes for good — Coffee life stories — Yak down: luxury yarn with a story and a cause.)

Website: www.oliberte.com
Contact: info@oliberte.com

Spotted by: Cole

If consumers can design their own fabrics, dresses, handbags and sneakers, it stands to reason that they should be able to create their own high-heeled shoes too. Stiletto fans will surely rejoice, then, to learn of Dream Heels, a site where they can do just that—and earn some cash for their creations.

Now in beta, Winnipeg-based Dream Heels holds a design contest each month to pick a new printed high-heeled shoe to put into production. Visitors to the site can create and submit designs using its templates and 3-D Shoe Viewer software. All designs then get opened up to the Dream Heels community for critique and voting. Creators of winning designs (there's one per month) get USD 250 in cash and a USD 250 Dream Heels gift certificate as well as USD 0.50 for every shoe that gets sold in the Dream Heels shop featuring that design—up to a maximum of USD 1,500. Making even more of the site's social aspects, every member gets assigned a referral code for use when spreading the word about Dream Heels on other sites. Every time someone clicks through to make a purchase using that linked code, the member gets USD 1 towards anything in the Dream Heels store.

There are not yet any Dream Heels shoes available for purchase, as the site only just concluded its second monthly contest; pricing on the shoes has not yet been announced. Nevertheless, in addition to eventually selling its winning designs online, Dream Heels is also seeking vendors interested in selling its shoes in their boutique or shop. Retailers: time to use a crowdsourcing twist to set your store apart?

Website: www.dreamheels.com
Contact: help@dreamheels.com

Mix-ins have been a staple in many ice cream shops for years already, allowing customers near infinite possibilities in designing their own creamy confection. Now bringing comparable potential to the world of cookies is Toronto's Sweet Flour Bake Shop, which lets patrons design their own baked treats and eat them fresh from the oven just two minutes later.

More than 15,000 possible combinations face Sweet Flour customers, who begin by choosing the cookie dough base they'd like: original, peanut butter or oatmeal. From there they can choose from among more than 20 mix-ins, including chocolate chunks, dried blueberries and toffee pieces. Little patience is required after that, for Sweet Flour's baking process requires only two minutes before the customised goodies are ready to devour. Cookies are CDN 2.50 each, or CDN 19 by the dozen. Also available at Sweet Flour are customised muffin tops, cookie sandwiches and a signature homemade granola with mix-ins and fresh fruit.

Is there any food consumers *don't* like to customise in some way? We tend to think not. Keep the design-your-own innovations coming! ;-)

Website: www.sweetflour.ca
Contact: www.sweetflour.ca/our-location

Morning sickness is an unfortunate reality for many pregnant mothers, and it's often compounded by the stress of being unable to predict where or when it will strike. Aiming to do away with the frantic search for an appropriate receptacle, Morning Chicness Bags offer a way for expectant moms to always be prepared.

Vancouver, B.C.-based Morning Chicness Bags come in six attractive designs that any mom would be proud to include in her purse. All are made of sturdy paper with leak-proof polyethylene lining and horizontal closure clip. Measuring 5 by 3 by 9.5 inches, the bags are priced ranging from USD 7.50 for a pack of 10 bags to USD 27.50 for a pack of 50. Morning Chicness Bags are available both online and through select stores in Western Canada and Oregon. International shipping is available.

And here's where we repeat one of our favourite refrains: everything can be upgraded! Whether it's vomit bags or toilet seat covers, you can bet there will be consumers willing to shell out a little more for a nicer alternative, particularly when there's a social angle involved. What other seemingly lowly necessity could stand a fresh—and premium—redesign... ? (Related: In-hospital spa services for new moms.)

Website: www.morningchicnessbags.com
Contact: info@morningchicnessbags.com

Spotted by: Sandy Manners

Helping readers take blogs offline, Zinepal lets any user convert their favourite online content into ebooks and printable, magazine-style PDFs.

Users of British Columbia-based Zinepal begin by selecting content they like from blogs, Atom/RSS feeds and other websites. Zinepal then reformats that content into a printable PDF and ebook format for use with the Amazon Kindle and other electronic readers. Users can preview and edit or reformat the resulting "zine," even adding a title and logo of their own to customize the publication. Advertising images can also be included at the bottom of each page. Once their zine is complete, users can print it or request an e-mailed copy; they can also request that new zines be automatically created each day or week from the content they choose. Zines can be made public on the site for sharing and searchability; zine feeds, meanwhile, provide a way for users to offer subscriptions to their publications. There is currently no charge for using Zinepal. A video on blip.tv explains how the process works.

Similar also to BlueMailCentral, Peggy Mail and other tools that help forge the OFF=ON connection, Zinepal gives readers one more choice in deciding how their content is delivered. Even beyond that, though, it has the potential to spawn a whole new generation of small, niche publications similar to the (discontinued) The Printed Blog but put together by independent thinkers, organizations or even brands. One to try out! (Related: Magazine publishing for everyone and every niche.)

Website: www.zinepal.com
Contact: info@zinepal.com

Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel

A while back, we featured MyCricketCoach, which provides long distance cricket training by web. While there are benefits to picking a niche, a different website allows athletes and coaches of all sports to give and get online coaching.

The online community at Upmygame helps athletes gain advice from professional coaches and other users. At sign-up, participants are asked to specify whether they're an ‘athlete’ or a ‘coach’, although both parties can give and receive advice. Critiquing takes place via short videos uploaded by athletes, containing footage of them practising their chosen sport—anything from football to yoga. Frame-by-frame playback allows for precise commentary in the form of diagrams and text. Bringing an authentic coaching experience to the web, any coach with a mic on their computer can also upload a recording of their advice. Although the site places an emphasis on its ability to help athletes improve, it also acts as a money-making platform for coaches who wish to charge for their insight.

Whereas all of MyCricketCoach’s advice came from one coach, Upmygame acts as a broker for advice, turning it into a P2P marketplace—an Etsy for coaching, if you like. Now that services can be sold online as easily as products, what gaps can you benefit from bridging? (Related: Sell what you say — Hair salon offers Skype consultations.)

Website: www.upmygame.com
Contact: info@upmygame.com

Back in 2007 we wrote about EarthFriendlyMoving's Recopack containers, which offer an alternative to traditional cardboard boxes for moving. Bringing the concept out of California comes Frogbox, a Canadian contender that currently serves the Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., areas.

Very similar to Recopacks, Frogboxes are green, industrial-strength plastic containers that are available in standard and wardrobe sizes. Consumers simply order the boxes they need, and Frogbox drops them off at their home using its biodiesel delivery truck. Pricing is by the week, and the company also picks the boxes up once the moving is all done. Moving dollies and packing paper are available as well. Frogboxes can be used hundreds of times before they get recycled, says the company, which thoroughly cleans them between uses. A one-bedroom bundle of 25 Frogboxes and one dolly is priced beginning at USD or CDN 79 for one week—the company charges in the customer's local currency—plus a delivery fee that ranges from USD or CDN 30 to 50, depending on the address. In much the manner of Save Your Logo, Frogbox donates one percent of its gross revenues to frog habitat restoration.

Cardboard and paper waste make up an estimated 18 percent to 26 percent of landfill material, Frogbox says, so it's nice to see the spread of reusable plastic alternatives. The company is planning an expansion across North America; time to introduce "frogs" to your neck of the woods...? ;-)

Website: www.frogbox.com
Contact: www.frogbox.com/contactus.php

Spotted by: Murray Orange

Out to help those looking for a quick relaxation fix, a new drink from Canada offers ‘an acupuncture session’ in every can. An antidote to energy drinks like Red Bull, Slow Cow was developed to help people de-stress.

Under the premise that caffeine-packed drinks tend to increase anxiety, Slow Cow contains theanine, chamomile, valerian, passiflora and other ingredients known for their calming effects. The beverage is meant to increase mental awareness while improving relaxation, without the post-hit dip that caffeine and other stimulants cause.

Slow Cow, whose tongue-in-cheek logo apparently did not amuse Red Bull, might have found a gap in a market saturated with energy drinks of every possible variety. It's not the only beverage to position itself as a relaxation drink, mind you, (Drank is another), but Slow Cow gets our vote for best branding. Seems like a natural fit for spas, hotels, airlines—or anywhere else consumers could use a serving of relaxation.

Website: www.slowcowdrink.com
Contact: www.slowcowdrink.com/english.asp?no=116

Spotted by: Sylvie Lafave

There's nothing original about canned food—except when it's the restaurant that comes in a can. Sitting in Montreal's old shipping port, the Müvbox is a standard shipping container that's 8ft deep and 20ft long. The wonder moment comes when it is miraculously turned from a container into a 'chic fast food' restaurant in 90 seconds at the touch of a button.

Müvbox features a fully functional kitchen with enough space for four members of staff and a wood-fired pizza oven. The walls of the container collapse to create a covered patio with enough room to serve 28 people, half of whom can be seated at small bistro tables. The concept has some laudable eco features, too: the structure is a reused container and little construction is needed to install it. Müvbox's floor is made from recycled tires and its roof contains solar panels to provide up to 40% of required energy. And it's easily shipped by land or sea. The food is mostly local, too, serving lobster rolls, seafood pizza and other local lobster dishes.

Müvbox wasn't developed as a one-off restaurant: it's a business concept that can be used the world over. The price of the unit comes in at USD 150,000, and the basic design can be tailored to other business's needs. (Related: In Malaysia, shipping containers pop up as budget hotel rooms — Pop-up nightclub — Shop-in-a-box.)

Website: www.muvboxconcept.com
Contact: info@muvboxconcept.com

Spotted by: Daniel Jusseaume

We've already written about a few microfinancing platforms focused on the developing world, including Kiva and C4-World. Next up is Mobile Movement, a Canadian initiative we just learned about that works via mobile phone.

Few young social entrepreneurs in the developing world have computers, so Mobile Movement provides mobile phones and training to foster both micro-funding and professional advice via SMS, MMS and email. Through a collaboration with UN-HABITAT, Microsoft Research India and the Vancouver-based Environmental Youth Alliance—with funding from the MacArthur Foundation—Mobile Movement's first prototype project is currently under way in Kenya, where it is working with 15 youth groups from the slums and low-income neighbourhoods of Nairobi that are part of UN-HABITAT's Urban Entrepreneurship Program. One such group aims to open a tailoring school for at-risk youth, for example; another hopes to build an urban agriculture project. Last fall the groups were given mobile phones and trained in their use, allowing them to begin taking photos and sending emails and texts soon afterwards. Thanks to Mobile Movement's storytelling website and videos, several groups began to secure funding for their projects earlier this year, and a creative business partnership was formed between a bone-craft collective in the Kibera slum and a New York City jewelry designer.

Potential donors of funds or advice begin by reviewing the groups' project descriptions online. When they find one that interests them, they can write a comment on the group's page, and it will be sent directly to the youth group's phone. The group will respond via text message or email, and Mobile Movement will notify the donor that the youth group has responded. From there donors can offer creative business ideas or mentoring as well as microfinancing loans and community grants, sent via PayPal or CanadaGives. The Environmental Youth Alliance and UN-HABITAT manage and administer funds raised; 90 percent of proceeds go directly to the youth, while 10 percent is reserved to administer the fund and maintain the website.

Ultimately, Mobile Movement hopes to get companies to use its platform as a way to personalize their employee charitable donations programs. For the next phases of its test project, it seeks technological, management and marketing experts to help improve its current system. Later this year it hopes to expand to additional East African cities, followed by a broad public launch in early 2010. More information can be found on NetSquared; one to join up with, participate in, or be inspired by!

Website: www.mobilemovement.tv
Contact: team@mobilemovement.tv

Spotted by: Darren Roberts