How BagoSphere is navigating the funding world — and succeeding

CANBERRA — Frontier Innovators is the first part of a 15 million Australian dollar ($11.3) initiative supporting social entrepreneurship in the Indo-Pacific through innovationXchange — an ideas hub operating within the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The 15 winners announced in April were chosen from more than 700 applicants as businesses that could impact the Indo-Pacific region. Each received up to AU$100,000 in funding, as well as support to help scale their business and create a greater regional impact. Among the winners of Frontier Innovators was a name that is becoming familiar in funding circles — BagoSphere. By identifying the needs of employers, BagoSphere aims to develop and implement experiential training programs that connect students and employers directly, providing a new way for disconnected youth to move from poverty into careers — and transform lives in the process. BagoSphere is currently operating as a talent conduit for outsourcing companies such as Teleperformance, Transcom, and Panasiatic Solutions. Since launching in 2013, they have helped almost 1,000 people find work. In addition to Frontier Innovations, BagoSphere has also received funding from the elea Foundation, Kickstart, and a range of other institutional, individual, and private funders from the Philippines, Singapore, and Switzerland. In 2017, BagoSphere was a finalist in the Youth, Skills, and the Workforce of the Future Challenge, which took them to New York to pitch their concept in front of Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan and Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective. BagoSphere Chief Executive Officer Zhihan Lee spoke to Devex and explained what sets them apart in the eyes of funders. Tailoring the pitch “People give to people, not necessarily to causes, especially in the beginning. So it’s about making a personal connection, then understanding, and communicating.” --— BagoSphere CEO Zhihan Lee Lee explains that BagoSphere has a “hybrid for-profit and nonprofit model” — meaning they tailor pitches to investors and funders, while making sure there is an alignment of story on both sides. “BagoSphere has decided on a hybrid model so that we can leverage on more types of funding, but that shouldn’t distract the story that we have an entrepreneurial solution to skill, upskill, and reskill thousands of young, disadvantaged people,” Lee said. Institutional funders, he continued, “usually have very clear guidelines, and so we know whether we make a fit quite early on.” BagoSphere also works with individual funders — noting that in the United States, 80 percent of philanthropy comes from individuals. “Fundraising from individuals is a very personal affair,” Lee said. “It works to my favor because, being an introvert, I like having that personal connection with people. There’s a wide spread of interests, but they are generally interested in the personal story of how we started BagoSphere, the lives we impact, and the innovative factor of the entrepreneurial solution,” he explained. “A fellow social entrepreneur Karim Abouelnaga once taught me that people give to people — not necessarily to causes, especially in the beginning. So it’s about making a personal connection, then understanding, and communicating. And continuing to follow up.” Benefits beyond financial contributions As a growing enterprise, money is important to BagoSphere — but even more important is the experience and assistance a funder can offer. “The most valuable thing that funders can do is to spend time with you to move the organization forward,” Lee explained. “We don’t expect something game-changing to happen just because a funder can spend an hour or two with us. Building an enterprise is hard work, and so [the] best funders recognize that and spend time with you and your team.” Communicating with friends and colleagues, as well as contracts within government, can help transform ideas into action. And being available for support can help with corporate challenges. For BagoSphere, identifying the value of support beyond finances sets them apart from other applicants — including those seeking support through Frontier Innovators. BagoSphere is fully aware, however, that funding can be erratic, and in the long run, they will have to find a more sustainable model to continue linking youth and jobs, and vice versa. One new approach to grow programming is linking disadvantaged youth to NGOs working in microfinance. The idea is for youth to have access to affordable student loans, which they can then use to enter the organization’s short programs. “We have always seen all funding as catalytic in nature, for us to build a runway to sustainability and scale,” Lee said. Jenny Lei Ravelo contributed reporting from Manila.