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Recently I was invited to teach on Business as Mission (BAM) at a Midwest Christian university.  One of the sessions was a combination of classes, plus members of the community, and I was asked to talk on trends and best practices in BAM.  There are many ways one could approach this subject, so I chose […]

Uganda is typical of many African countries in that a valuable resource is at risk. According to the ministry of Energy, “close to 100 per cent of rural households and 98 per cent of urban households” depend on firewood and charcoal, respectively, to cook food and heat water.”  However today “Uganda’s entire charcoal value chain

There are several related terms which touch on the Business as Mission world so sometimes sorting out distinctions can be helpful. Philanthropy is defined as “an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes” and “private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life”.  A recent example was highlighted in our community

A few years ago, I was invited to an event in Los Angeles, CA by Mr. Jeffrey Lee, CEO of SfK Ministries.  Since then I have followed the growth of this BAM company and the various businesses connected with it. In a recent memo I learned of Hesed Cambodia, which was started by Bong Rae

“Patient capital is money invested in entrepreneurs who are building companies and organizations that solve tough problems like healthcare, water, housing, alternative energy.”1  It is traditional investment which could be equity, debt, or other instruments and the investor is willing to forgo high financial returns in exchange for social impact with a focus on the

I was invited to give a one-hour introductory BAM workshop at a conference in the United States recently.  The facilitator, whose name was John, was very involved with and informed about BAM. He wanted to make sure I met his expectations, so he handed me a sheet of important things to keep in mind.  This

It is common in the Business As Mission world to speak of excellence as a primary value.  Certainly, we should do everything with excellence as unto God, shouldn’t we? Well ‘yes’ and ‘no’.  Here is why. In short, the point is that “perfection kills innovation”.  Entrepreneur Damon Brown spells out ‘why’ in a TED Talk

Many of the countries in central Asia are struggling to develop their economies so as to raise their GDP and improve the lives of their people.  There are many challenges, politically, socially and economically.  IBEC finds it a privilege to serve clients trying to overcome amazing hurdles as they serve the people with jobs through

My friend Tom was asked to share three lessons he learned while starting and growing a sizable manufacturing company in Asia.  I often wonder what I would pick if asked to do something like that – which three?  Why those?  How can I remember the three most important things? However, I thought that Tom’s choice

Those of us who live in northern climes, eagerly look for signs of spring about the month of March or April.  Having grown up in western and northern Canada, it became a ritual to identify positive signs that winter was waning. I now live in the northwest USA, and recently I saw some of those