OXFORD, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Apr 8, 2014) - iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS), providing cost-effective Wi-Fi access around the world for enterprises and telecom service providers, and the Skoll Foundation, the world's leading social entrepreneurship and social innovation organization, today announced they have joined forces to provide mobile connectivity solutions to help Skoll Social Entrepreneurs tackle some of the world's most pressing problems.
The iPass-Skoll Foundation initiative is being introduced at the annual Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship, which runs from April 9 through April 11 in Oxford, England. The Forum brings together nearly 1,000 distinguished leaders from the business, government, and civil society sectors for three days and nights of debates, discussions, and work sessions designed to promote innovative solutions to global challenges. High-profile speakers include Malala Yousafzai, the renowned human rights activist who was shot by the Taliban at age 15 and later established The Malala Fund, dedicated to promoting education for girls around the world.
At the Forum, iPass will provide more than 100 Skoll Foundation Social Entrepreneurs with iPass Wi-Fi service free of charge for one year. With the iPass service, entrepreneurs will be able to stay connected wherever their work may take them as they tackle critical social issues and visit beneficiaries and stakeholders. During the coming year, several Social Entrepreneurs will share their stories through blogs detailing how iPass Wi-Fi and other technologies are helping them stay connected while they travel.
Skoll Social Entrepreneurs who will be blogging about their respective organizations and use of technology during the year include:
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Bart Weejens, Corporate Affairs of APOPO -- APOPO is a social enterprise that breeds and trains Mine Detection Rats (MDRs) to provide a cheap, efficient, and effective solution to the global landmine problem. APOPO also trains rats to swiftly and efficiently evaluate sputum samples for tuberculosis. A trained rat can evaluate a lab technician's daily output in 10 minutes. APOPO is a Belgian NGO, with headquarters in Tanzania and operations in Mozambique, Thailand, Angola and Cambodia.
http://www.skollfoundation.org/entrepreneur/bart-weetjens/
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Jim Fruchterman, President, CEO & Chairman of the Board of Benetech -- Benetech is a different kind of tech company -- a non-profit -- with a pure focus on developing technology for social good. Benetech leads multiple program areas and initiatives to advance technology solutions that work and have the potential to become financially self-sustaining.
http://www.skollfoundation.org/entrepreneur/jim-fruchterman/
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Andrea Coleman, Co-Founder and CEO of Riders for Health -- Riders for Health is an international non-profit organization that provides health care to rural African villages using motorcycles and motorcycle ambulances. The project has resulted in reducing disease and illnesses by getting patients much-needed medicine in a reliable and cost-effective way.
http://www.skollfoundation.org/entrepreneur/andrea-and-barry-coleman/
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Willy Foote, Founder and CEO of Root Capital -- Root Capital is a nonprofit social investment fund that grows rural prosperity in poor, environmentally vulnerable places in Africa and Latin America by lending capital, delivering financial training, and strengthening market connections for small and growing agricultural businesses.
http://www.skollfoundation.org/entrepreneur/william-foote/
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Ned Breslin, CEO of Water for People -- Water for People is an international non-profit organization dedicated to providing access to improved water and sanitation systems and services in developing countries. Water for People brings together local entrepreneurs, civil society, governments and communities to establish creative, collaborative solutions that allow people to build and maintain their own reliable safe water systems. http://www.skollfoundation.org/entrepreneur/ned-breslin/