business in 48 hours; or planning a local wedding; or renovating a restaurant for reopening. The three judges weigh in. They consider issues like how well the contestant knows his market; or how viable the business plan is; or what kind of jobs she is trying to create. The final three episodes film the three remaining contestants as they launch their “Mashrouas” (Projects). Television shows need real drama, real action to win audiences, after all. The goal is to stoke innovation and provoke the attitude change that may become behavior change. Help (how to take out a loan, go to a workshop, find a mentor, register a business) is available directly from the program Web site and from more than 60 civil society partners in the entrepreneurial ecosystem for anyone who wants to take a project from idea to action. About becoming a social entrepreneur, Anna says, “The first couple of years are about learning, learning, learning—then developing resources, then scaling. Egypt has so many active agendas, deep-rooted systemic problems, profound economic challenges and social disparity. People are desperately looking for a way out of this quagmire, and the West is not really an example. Class segmentation is intense, the economy is largely informal, and gender affects every part of the fabric of society. Figuring it all out is tough. In the end, all this is embedded in a TV show, which we have to cast and shoot in real time, with contestants (characters) who are both acceptable to social norms and challenge the status quo enough to open some eyes.” Bringing an idea to life from the ground up calls for skills, passion and courage. Listening is the essential but often missing
“For the series that aired across 13 weeks in 2008, 20 contestants from all over Afghanistan—including a fish farmer, a hotel manager, and an aspiring tailor—were filmed in real time as they worked with seasoned mentors to build their enterprises.” —from Fast Company’s series called “Innovation Agents,” October 13, 2010
ingredient that Anna highlights. “A dynamic must exist between listener and storyteller in order for the story to come alive. The storyteller has to create space for that listening to happen; the listener has to be open, and access the space, in himself, for that story to take root. “Our target audience is youth,” Anna explains, “people 14 to 35. Research shows that 13-year-olds are already heavily influenced by screens. We want to get to young people before they go to university. When they come out, they’ll have few realistic options, and they will need to create their own opportunities.”
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