Romain Sion

Entrepreneur · Impact investor

FR

Let’s meet

Tag: social entrepreneur

  • Hortense Launched A Coding Bootcamp in Beirut To Support Marginalized Youth and Refugees

    Hortense Launched A Coding Bootcamp in Beirut To Support Marginalized Youth and Refugees

    Since childhood, Hortense has had a profound sense of social justice, especially when talented people cannot realize their full potential. Against the odds, Hortense quit a promising career at BCG to launch Codi, a free programming apprenticeship based in Beirut. Their mission is to use coding and digital skills to enable inclusion and employment, and as a catalyst for social innovation and diversity.

    Alongside her time with BCG, Hortense discovered the non-profit sector with UNICEF where she co-founded NEXTGeneration Europe to help educate and fundraise for the world’s most vulnerable children. Her real trigger with Codi was the war in Syria. Millions of families had to leave their homes and became refugees. Hortense could not stay behind and do nothing. She had to leverage her business skills and come up with an impactful project.

    After 4 months of research in the Middle East, Hortense chose Lebanon as a base for her project. Lebanon combined two important components: a high concentration of refugees and a nascent technology sector. She partnered with an existing French NGO called Simplon to benefit from their content and delivery. After obtaining the legal status directly from the Minister of the Interior in Lebanon, she launched Codi back in December 2016.

    At the beginning, no one believed Muslims would come to Christian neighborhoods and Lebanese would work with Syrians. Codi proved the opposite. Codi is a 6-month program teaching the full stack developer skill set. Diversity and leadership are two major pillars of Codi’s recruitment process and program. Even for established corporates, employing refugees has great benefits. One of their great strengths is resilience!

    Results are stunning! Before Codi, 70% to 100% of students were unemployed. After Codi, 89% are in employment and 8% are continuing their education. 65% of the refugees who joined Codi got a job. Codi graduates multiplied their salary by 2 to 4 times, with an average of over $900/month. Codi is even planning to develop a revenue sharing model and consulting activities.

    🌟At our own pace and scale, everyone can aspire to change the world.🌟

    Hortense Decaux Codi Technology
    Hortense Decaux Codi Technology
    Hortense Decaux Codi Technology
    Hortense Decaux Codi Technology
    Hortense Decaux Codi Technology
    Hortense Decaux Codi Technology
  • Loubna is Fighting for Inclusion by Enabling Every Woman to Live from Her Cooking Talents

    Loubna is Fighting for Inclusion by Enabling Every Woman to Live from Her Cooking Talents

    ✋Nowadays, inclusion is one of the main challenges in France🇨🇵. Many people from different social backgrounds, countries 🌍and religions do not know 🗣️each other, which often leads to misunderstandings. Back in 2017, Loubna and her two co-founders found an impactful solution💡 that could be turned into a business🚀: Meet My Mama. It is an online catering platform💻 offering cuisines from around the world.

    Loubna met Donia during her time at PwC. They got along instantly 👍 and started to get involved in social activities with refugees. Moreover, Loubna’s grandmother arrived in France more than 50 years ago and was still not able to speak, read or write French. Integration was much easier for men, who received training 👩‍🏫 and learned the language at work… But for women staying at home, integration was a different story. 🌟 However, they had one talent that had never been questioned: their ability to cook incredible dishes 🙂.

    On one side, there are thousands of Mamas 👧with incredible cooking🍽️ talents from all over the world🌍 who struggle to integrate. On the other side, thousands of corporate👔 customers are looking for 🙂👍outstanding catering services. Connecting these two worlds was the perfect opportunity to change people’s minds and prejudices🌟.

    Step by step, Meet My Mama removed every barrier🚧 that could prevent great Mamas from living off their cooking🍴 talents. They match🔗 companies looking for catering services with Mamas, train the Mamas to get their food certifications📜, have developed beautiful packaging, handle the logistics, partner with butlers and manage customer service. From time to time, the Mamas are even invited to corporate events to speak in public📣!

    The business side of Meet My Mama could not perform well without its NGO 🌟arm, called Empower My Mama. The “Inspire My Mama” groups are support groups where Mamas can gather, talk about their challenges and encourage 🙂each other. At the Mama Academy👩‍🏫, Mamas can earn their certificates🎓, improve their soft skills and receive practical training.

    Today, Meet My Mama is a team of 16 full-time employees👨‍💼👩‍💼 and 250 Mamas from all over the world🌍. They are close to €1M🌍 in revenue and are planning to scale🕸️ the service to other cities very soon! The mission will remain the same: enable every woman to live from her cooking talents & make catering more sustainable🌟, inclusive🌟 and responsible🌟.

    🌟🌟🌟At Our Own Pace and Scale Everyone Can Aspire To Change The World!🌟🌟🌟

  • Hubert, The Mission Driven Man Who Recycles Bicycle Tires With Disabled Persons

    Hubert, The Mission Driven Man Who Recycles Bicycle Tires With Disabled Persons

    👋Two years ago, Hubert identified🎯 a major pain point. In France🇨🇵, more than 400,000 disabled♿ people were looking for a job and 10M old bicycle 🚲tires were burned every year. Can we combine social & environmental impact in a single company? YES! In 2017, La Vie Est Belt was born as a socially and environmentally friendly brand producing made-in-France fashion accessories.

    Hubert is an engineer with a passion for product development. He started his career at Decathlon as a textile product engineer in France 🇨🇵and China🇨🇳. He loved♥️ the adventure, but he noticed that he was working in the 2nd most polluting industry in the world🌍. To finish his studies👩‍🎓, he spent a few months in Bogotá, where he discovered another face of the country. Every Wednesday, he organized activities 🏃‍♂️for young disadvantaged children in the middle of a slum.

    When he came back to France with the desire to launch a business🚀, he knew one thing: the mission of his company could not only be money💰. It would have to be aligned with his values and his quest for purpose. To identify the products he would focus on, he did his research, which led him to two discoveries🔭: more than 320 tons of tires⚙️ were burned every year, and thousands of motivated disabled people were struggling to find a job. That was the beginning of La Vie Est Belt!

    Hubert spent the first 5 months of the adventure in his garage trying to design✍️ the first prototypes with a shoemaker 👞as his mentor. Belts were a good choice for a first product. The first 2 objectives were: developing a belt combining functionality, style & price, and selling 100 belts to customers 👨to validate their interest. He partnered with 3 concept stores and sold out everything in 3 days.

    Now, Hubert employs 🚀6 people, 50% of whom are disabled. They all share the same passion and vision, and wear the same belt. 🙂So far, they have produced thousands of products and generated hundreds of thousands of euros in revenue💰. Next year, Hubert plans to double revenue and grow the team! Combining impact and business is possible! At La Vie Est Belt, one motto: all actors of a better world! 🌟

    🌟 🌟 🌟 At Our Own Pace And Scale, Everyone Can Aspire To Change The World 🌟 🌟 🌟

    • La Vie Est Belt -
      La Vie Est Belt –
  • After Overseeing Hollywood Movies Such as X-Men and Star Wars, Scott Neeson Quit Everything to Support Marginalized Kids

    After Overseeing Hollywood Movies Such as X-Men and Star Wars, Scott Neeson Quit Everything to Support Marginalized Kids

    👋Have you ever heard 👂of the Steung Meanchey garbage dump🗑️ in Cambodia🇰🇭, also called Smokey 💨Mountain? Until 2009, hundreds of children👩‍💼👨‍💼 were picking through garbage to sell for recycling♻️ on this 6-hectare dumping ground. It was one of the most toxic☣️ environments imaginable. Since 2004, the Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) has been fighting to transform impoverished kids into tomorrow’s leaders👨‍💼👩‍💼.

    I would be surprised 😯if you have never heard of🎥 X-Men, Star Wars, Braveheart or Titanic. The man behind them is Scott Neeson, former President of 🎞️20th Century Fox International. Before starting a new role at Sony in 2003, he took a 5-week🧳✈️ trip to Cambodia🇰🇭, where he discovered children🎞️👨👧 working everywhere on that garbage dump. He could not let that go. One year later, he sold his fancy cars🚗, yacht🛥️ and house 🏠to relocate to Phnom Penh and started the Cambodian Children’s Fund.

    CCF aims🎯 to provide best-in-class education 👩‍🏫to marginalized children living near the dumping 🗑️ground. Their outreach teams 🌟create the right environment for education, with support for basic needs such as housing🏠, food🍏 and health⚕️. Then, they provide access to their own primary and secondary schools 🏢with one objective: support students all the way to university 💪and make sure they can become the leaders of tomorrow👩‍💼👨‍💼.

    Their secondary school is impressive🌟. It looks like a top-tier private school🏢, but it is located in the middle of one of the poorest areas in the country🇰🇭. Since its🚀 inception, they have trained 💪😀1,898 students, provided 461 homes and distributed 45 tons of rice at a heavily subsidized price.

    🌟🌟🌟At Our Own Pace And Scale, Everyone Can Aspire To Change The World🌟🌟🌟

  • Moussa Trains the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs To Fight For Social Integration

    Moussa Trains the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs To Fight For Social Integration

    ✌️In sensitive 💥urban areas in France🇨🇵, the unemployment rate is twice📈 the national average. For Moussa, economic integration is the cornerstone of social success🚀. In 2015, Moussa launched Les Déterminés, a mission-driven🌠 NGO🌠 that supports entrepreneurs from sensitive💥 urban and rural areas.

    Self-taught👨‍🏫 and resolutely audacious, Moussa started his career as an entrepreneur in the telecom ☎️industry at 21. Without support 💁or a network🕸️, he discovered how hard⛰️ it was to create a company. At the same time, he saw countless young talents👦 full of ambition and energy 💪but lacking the skills, knowledge and network to launch a successful business.

    To fight for a brighter☀️ future in sensitive 💥areas, Moussa sees entrepreneurship as a powerful weapon. Les Déterminés is a free 🆓program for young entrepreneurs, with an application process 100% based on determination💪😀. It provides personalized training around 2 main pillars: knowledge and network.

    Within 4 years, Les Déterminés has trained 10 cohorts of entrepreneurs across 5 French départements✌️😀. After this successful milestone, Moussa now aims to scale🚀 the program nationally. Do you know why none of the 144 participants dropped out before completion? Because they are Determined🌠!

    🌠🌠🌠At our own pace and scale, everyone can aspire to change the world.🌠🌠🌠

    Moussa Camara Les Déterminés 5
    Moussa Camara Les Déterminés 3
    Moussa Camara Les Déterminés 4
    Moussa Camara Les Déterminés 6
    Moussa Camara Les Déterminés 2
    Moussa Camara Romain Sion Les Déterminés

  • Mesut Is Disrupting The Scholarship System With a Cutting Edge Technology Platform in Turkey

    Mesut Is Disrupting The Scholarship System With a Cutting Edge Technology Platform in Turkey

    👋Did you know that in Turkey🇹🇷, 40% of young graduates 👨‍🎓👩‍🎓are unemployed? Many promising students work hard ⚒️to make sure they can get a job 👨‍💼👩‍💼after graduation. However, being accepted into a top Turkish 🇹🇷or international🌍 university is not enough. They need to pay💰 the tuition fees, and many of them cannot afford it😟. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Turkish students apply for scholarships.

    A few years ago, Mesut was a brilliant 🌠🌠student at Galatasaray University. His dream🚀 was to become a computer💻 science engineer, but he needed a grant💰. After many time-consuming & inefficient applications, he finally obtained one and successfully attended great 💪universities such as Galatasaray, La Sorbonne and Boğaziçi University😀. During that process, he noticed that every foundation or institution had its own internal process, which was complex and tedious.

    After graduating🎓, Mesut decided to digitize the scholarship system by launching a technology platform called E-Bursum, which seamlessly connects international 🌍donors with the most promising Turkish🌠 students. To make the process more efficient & trustworthy, he integrated artificial intelligence & machine learning. For example, the platform can run full background checks through government databases and calculate precisely how much a grantee really needs…

    ➡️And it works! 🌠300,000+ students are currently registered on E-Bursum. Since 2015, E-Bursum has distributed more than🌠 $5M to thousands of Turkish students. Mesut and his team are now targeting🌠 $10M by the end of the year.

    🌠🌠🌠At our own pace and scale, everyone can aspire to change the world

  • To Fight Pollution and Sanitation Issues, Odgerel Is Building Sustainable Community Infrastructures

    To Fight Pollution and Sanitation Issues, Odgerel Is Building Sustainable Community Infrastructures

    🙌Why do Hundreds of Children 👦👧die 😥every year in the Ger Areas around Ulan Bator in Mongolia🇲🇳?

    There are two major issues💥: Heavy pollution 🏭& Sanitation ⚕️issues due to the absence of public infrastructures🏨. 60% of the Ulan Bator population👨 live in Ger Areas which are disorganized housing🏘️ areas built with very limited urbanization facilities (limited electricity access, no sewer…) People still need to use coal⛰️ heating, dig toilets🚽 on their small parcels… Can you imagine what is happening during winter, when hundreds of thousand people switch on their coal heating at the same time? 💨💨💨You can not even see 15 meters in front of you👓 because of the heavy smoke which is very dangerous ☢️for young children👶.

    To fight⚔️ both challenges, Odgerel who is currently running a profitable company👔 selling & installing electrical portals decided to launch an NGO🌠🌠 called EcoTown which aims at building👷 sustainable community infrastructures. Due to the limited funding 💰access in Mongolia🇲🇳, Odgerel has made a choice. He is using the profits💵 he is making from his company to fully finance EcoTown😃.

    To address the coal heating issue, Odgerel is developing🔎 new isolation materials in partnership with international 🌍universities 🎓to reduce coal consumption. On average, each family👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 consumes around 3 tons of coal per winter❄️. Regarding the lack of urbanization infrastructures, Odgerel is creating sustainable community models for the Ger area districts. For example, with his team, he had just finalized a community building where local people could meet, organize workshops, grow fruits 🍎& vegetables.
    🌠🌠🌠At Our Own Pace And Scale, Everyone Can Aspire To Change The World!🌠🌠🌠

    Odgerel EcoTown Mongolia 2
    Odgerel EcoTown Romain Sion Mongolia

  • Sarah and Her Impact-Driven Team Support 77,000 Disadvantaged People in Bulgaria

    Sarah and Her Impact-Driven Team Support 77,000 Disadvantaged People in Bulgaria

    A few years back, Sarah would never have imagined launching the Trust for Social Achievement, a leading organization in Bulgaria with an ambitious vision: help Bulgaria’s most disadvantaged achieve educational & economic success. After working for a decade in large US institutions, she had the opportunity to conduct research on social inclusion in Bulgaria. Her lifetime mission became clear! In 2012, she founded the Trust for Social Achievement. With her team of 30 mission-driven employees, she focuses on developing innovative & data-driven approaches that increase self-sufficiency & improve life outcomes for Bulgaria’s poor, with a focus on the Roma. Here is one of their most impactful successes. They noticed that due to the lack of a national policy on kindergarten, only 45% of Roma 3–6-year-olds attended kindergarten, even though quality early education improves later school performance. Hand in hand with the World Bank’s team of experts, they conducted the first randomized controlled trial impact evaluation in 240 settlements with the help of 23 NGOs. Results were stunning! Thanks to a change in the law, welfare payments raised Roma kindergarten enrollment to 68%, and it should reach 85% once kindergarten fees are fully removed. A great example of how data-driven approaches can drive massive change across a country! https://socialachievement.org/en

    👉The Trust for Social Achievement is: 4 program areas / 257 projects funded / 77,000 beneficiaries / +$12M raised over the past 6 years

    🌠🌠🌠“At our own pace and scale, everyone can aspire to change the world”🌠🌠🌠