Center for Innovation
and Entrepreneurship

East Meets West Foundation’s new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) is a program to develop innovations that solve development problems for the poor and disadvantaged people in developing countries. The program is designed to attract the attention of inventors, innovators, development specialists and anyone with a brilliant idea that could be turned into a solution that actually works in practice.  The CIE will be implemented initially in Vietnam.

The CIE will provide small grants to help encourage innovation. The guidelines are as follows:

1. The CIE is looking for design solutions to development problems. Applicants should identify the problem and show how their solution could solve it.
2. The CIE is a project of the East Meets West Foundation. Applicants should identify how the proposed idea fits with the current programs of the East Meets West Foundation. Other ideas that are outside EMWF programs could also be considered.
3. Applicants with some funding or product orders are preferred.
4. A high priority will be placed on creativity and appropriateness.

The CIE will provide the following to successful applicants:

• Funding in small amounts.
• Introductions to NGOs, government agencies and other parties in Vietnam who might be interested.
• Setting up test or pilot projects in Vietnam.
• The integration of the idea into existing EMW programs, or the expansion of those programs to include the concept.
• Public relations and promotion in Vietnam and the U.S.

Components of A Successful Proposal

• Provides an immediate solution to real-world problems faced by poor people
• Low-cost technology
• Creative
• Broad-reaching
• Costs of the initiative will be shared between EMW and partner
• Easy to implement
• Can be built locally
• Easily maintained
• Easily scaled
• Fits with local customs and ways of working

How It Works

The CIE will develop and help materialize promising innovations and technological solutions using the infrastructure and local networks already established by EMW in Vietnam. When a promising solution is proposed to the CIE, East Meets West will seek funding to help bring these entrepreneurial projects to fruition. Cost-sharing and partnering initiatives willing to take some funding responsibility are especially encouraged. Solutions will be initially tested in Vietnam with the possibilty of being scaled regionally and globally. The CIE’s goal is to make these solutions available to non-governmental organizations and private companies who can use them in the field to solve various social, economic, health, environmental and other problems.

The CIE will also foster ideas that relate to the core program areas that East Meets West already implements in Vietnam in the fields of medical intervention, education for the disadvantaged, and public health issue of clean water and sanitation so that EMW can help meet more development challenges in Vietnam.

Examples of successful proposals might include solutions to challenges related to potable water, medical care (see case study on reverse), technology, climate change, electricity, and agricultural solutions, to name a few.

Submit a proposal

To submit a proposal or for more information about the CIE, please contact:

USA
Minh Chau Nguyen
minhchau@eastmeetswest.org
202-460-2995

Hanoi
Nguyen Minh Thu
thu@eastmeetswest.org.vn
84-4-834-7790