Edward developed an online platform aimed at selling the products of social entrepreneurs struggling to find a marketplace or lack marketing skills necessary to succeed. He believes that people want to purchase products made by social enterprises with the intention of empowering small communities, but lack access to a place to find these types of products. He used grant funding to develop a smartphone app and website.

Five-Year Project Goals:

• Connect every rural social entrepreneur to a global audience
• Establish a logistics system or partnership that will transport goods from these rural locations around the world

Organization Information: StoreRies

Social entrepreneurship is on the rise in many countries throughout the world, with Southeast Asia being no exception. However, social entrepreneurs struggle to reach customers for products (made in communities they are trying to empower) and they lack effective marketing knowledge to sell products online. StoreRies is an e-commerce platform dedicated to selling the stories and products of social enterprises. It is free and foolproof for entrepreneurs to set up and connects them to a large audience across Southeast Asia. The platform focuses on tugging the heartstrings by selling primarily the story rather than the product. This is made possible by helping the entrepreneurs create bite-sized content that can be shared and consumed easily on social media. The intended outcome Is to increase the demand for these products so that the local communities may be empowered through greater revenue and employment.