Chelsea Koglmeier is a graduate of Duke University who worked in Uganda on a microfinance project among the refugees there. While working, she noticed that one of the most important contributions a charitable cause could give to the people there would be access to a reliable form of transportation. Specifically, bicycles had the the power to transform people's lives.
Unfortunately, she noticed that the bicycle market is oriented toward hobbyists with lots of money and time to burn. It was inappropriate for the poverty and conditions she saw in Uganda and other places. As a result she started "Bikes of Reckless Optimism," an non-profit organization that promotes the idea of a simple, low maintenance bike to give transportation to the impoverished. She is soliciting donations through indigogo.
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Social enterprise, HandiConnect, wins the Audacious-Business Idea competition’s Doing Good category. The company is spearheaded by University of Otago entrepreneurship master’s student Nguyen Cam Van.