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QUINN SCHOOL ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR
‘The cycle is complete. Here we are
having made money as entrepreneurs,
empowering women to borrow money
for start-ups and to build businesses’
onlinebrokerinthecountry,thatstrategicallymadealotmoresense todayprovidesmicroloansintwokeyareas.“Oneisinagriculture
thantryingtogopublicandbuildoutthiswholeplatform. – farmers can borrow the money for irrigation equipment so that
“Anditwasatypicalinternetvaluation,”addsBerber.“Meaning theycanturnfieldsofrockandrubbleintofieldsofgreen,sothat
that the offer of half a billion dollars was more than enough to theycaneatandselltheexcesscropsinthelocalmarkets.
incentiviseustosellandmerge.” “The second area is start-ups and enterprises, which is kind of
funny–thecycleiscomplete.Hereweare,havingmademoneyas
New awareness entrepreneurs, giving money out as loans, and in particular em-
Afterselling,hestayedonforexactlyoneyear.“Whathappenedin poweringwomentoborrowmoneyforstart-upsandtobuildbusi-
betweenwasextremely significant,” heexplains.“Aroundthetime nesses.Financialempowermentcreatespersonalempowerment.”
wesoldCyBerCorp,Donnawasalreadyoffdownadifferentpath, Thisyear,halfofthemoneybeinginvested(aroundUS$8mor
and that was to see how we could do something more purposeful US$9m) in Ethiopia by A Glimmer of Hope will be donated.
withournew-foundwealth.Shehadalreadystartedwiththeidea High-profiledonorsincludeMichaelandSusanDellandAustin-
offormingafamilyfoundationandhadcomeupwiththename‘A headquartered Whole Foods Market, as well as other wealthy
GlimmerofHope’,andherpathledhertoEthiopia.” American philanthropists. Equally, around US$2m is raised
After about six months, Berber spent a week in a very remote annuallythroughfundraisers,organisedbyschoolsandchurches,
rural poor community in south west Ethiopia. “And it was there andfromonlinedonations.
that I saw and I felt and I touched and I smelt rural poverty in a Berberseeshimselfaspartofthenewbreedofsocialinvestors
formthatIhadnoideaevenexistedonthisplanet.AndsothereI andsocialentrepreneursseekingsocialprofit.“Ithinkwereflect
wasononehand,thisinternetsuccessstory,thisovernightsuccess the opportunity for Irish entrepreneurs and business people to
after20years,thissuddenlywealthyindividual,andI’mspending continue the Irish tradition of reaching out and giving of our
mytimewiththepoorestofthepoor.Anditstruckmethatthere gifts,ourtime,ourtalentsandourmoneyinawaythatbusiness
wasagreatimbalanceandamoralinjusticeinourworldthatIhad peopleandentrepreneurialpeoplereallycanmakeanimpactful,
suddenlybecomeawareof. efficient and effective impact in the lives of Africans and others
“In that moment, I lost any interest in furthering a commercial livingindevelopingnations.”
career, and joined Donna and dedicated myself with her to help
relievesomeofthepainontheplanet.Donnawasshowingmethat Next generation
therewassomethingfarmoreimportant,farmorepurposefulfor Berber’s propensity for giving back has extended to UCD,
metodowiththerestofmylife.” where he contributed to the building of the Quinn School and
The foundation has grown significantly since 2000 – over is supporting a five-year chair for the new entrepreneurship
US$30m has been invested into Ethiopia and directly impacted programme run by one of those who inspired him during his
over two million people during that period – but its core purpose time there, Prof Frank Roche.
has remained the same. “I would describe it as a bottom-up “Being one of the 30 people in that very first enterprise devel-
approach to international aid, whereby we start in the villages, in opment class was hugely inspirational for me and changed
the communities, asking them what it is they need and want. prettymuchthecourseofmycommercialcareer,”hesays.“So,to
Fundamentally, what we do is we fund and work with local com- be able to come back years later and to help the next generation
munitiesinordertohelpthemhelpthemselves.” ofyoungIrishBCommmenandwomenhavetheopportunityto
Berber stresses that the head office in Addis Ababa is run and fully explore entrepreneurship was every bit as important as the
staffed by Ethiopians rather than ex-pats. The foundation has bricksandmortarofthebuilding.
worked on numerous water, education and healthcare projects. “Growing up in Dublin and having the opportunity to go to
Berberisparticularlycommittedtotheideaofeducationasapass- UCD and to attend the BComm and be informed and inspired
porttoabetterfutureforthenextgenerationofEthiopianyouth. bythelecturersthattouchedmeonmyjourney,sowedtheseeds
for me to go on the entrepreneurial rollercoaster and later on
Completing the cycle this philanthropic life that has been so rewarding for me, and I
Thesecondphaseofthefoundation’sworkiswhathedescribesas continuetobedeeplygratefulforthat.”
providing “a hand up as well as a hand out”. A Glimmer of Hope Grainne Rothery
12 UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
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