This is a package of six feature stories about minority-owned businesses in Chicago, written for the Focus section. Breaking out of the niche Crain’s Chicago Business. November 24, 2008. James Cabrera had a choice to make. “There were only two ways to go in my business,” says the president of United Building Maintenance Inc., which [...]
This profile appeared in the annual “40 Under 40″ issue of the Focus section of Crain’s Chicago Business. 35 President, Spaan Technology Inc. Smita Shah is a self-proclaimed math geek. As a fifth-grader in west suburban Willowbrook, she sat with friends in the back of class converting word problems into algebraic equations. “I was such [...]
Originally posted on Worldchanging.com. With about 300 million people living below the poverty line in China, microfinance — most commonly defined as small loans for impoverished individuals to help them achieve financial self-sufficiency — is an attractive option. Wokai.org, “a capital-contributing microfinance intermediary,” is trying to bring money to Chinese entrepreneurs who want to set up [...]
Crain’s Chicago Business. September 29, 2008. Olympics expert Ed Hula is the editor and founder of AroundTheRings.com, a Web site that provides news and information about the Winter and Summer Olympic Games. In a Crain’s video interview, he analyzes the pros and cons of each host city candidate for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games: Tokyo, [...]
Originally posted on ResponsibleChina.com. The co-founders of bambu, a so-called “renewable ideas company” based in Shanghai, brings “responsible manufacturing” to market with bamboo housewares, kitchen products and tabletops. Listen: The ResponsibleChina Show: Jeff Delkin and Rachel Speth, bambu
Taiwan Business TOPICS. June 2008. Get an introduction to Taiwan’s aboriginal culture with this suggested three-day tour starting in Pingtung in the south and heading north along the East Coast to Hualien. Since the late 1970s, the Taiwan aboriginal revitalization movement has contributed to a rise in indigenous cultural tourism. Popular sightseeing destinations include the [...]
Originally posted on Worldchanging.com. A group of foreigners doing business in Shanghai recently hatched a new idea to bring “design with a conscience” to the China market. NEST, as the retail collective is called, aims to unite “intelligent design” with “responsible manufacturing” through collaboration among eight different brands selling sustainable products, including Wobabybasics organic baby clothes; AOO [...]
Taiwan Business TOPICS. April 2008. Taiwan’s recycling program has gradually shifted from private management to government control. Experts debate what direction it should take in the future. “People should stop looking at it as waste, and start looking at it as a resource,” says Chang Wen-cheng, manager of E&E Recycling, one of approximately 15 electronics [...]
Originally posted on Intelligent Traveler. WWF China recently created the Go For Gold campaign, an initiative that that encourages Olympic athletes, National Olympic Committees, and individual tourists to offset the carbon emissions from their air travel to Beijing for this summer’sOlympic Games. Before you hop on that plane, consider that a round-trip journey from New York [...]
Originally posted on Intelligent Travel. IT contributor Erica Schlaikjer will be attending the World Summit of Indigenous Cultures, and offers an invitation to anyone else able to attend. For those of you traveling to Asia this month, consider attending the World Summit of Indigenous Cultures, which will be held in Taiwan from April 12-17. The two-day conference [...]
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