Social Business Earth

Samantha Caccamo - Founder and CEO

 

Born in Bologna, Italy, Samantha Caccamo holds a BA in Journalism with a Minor in Asian Studies from Pepperdine University, Los Angeles.  She became interested in Grameen's Microcredit and Social Business after reading Professor Muhammad Yunus' books and attending some of his lectures in Europe.  She then began to actively support his work and his new model of capitalism based on microcredit and social business to eradicate poverty.  She visited Bangladesh several times to participate in intensive training programs at Grameen Bank and immerse herself in the Bangladeshi culture. She learned face to face the benefits of Professor Yunus' methods in the field to empower the poor and build an inclusive system for them which provides not only microcredit loans without collateral but also healthcare, education, housing, technology and above all the chance to live a dignified life.  She has worked as a volunteer for several NGOs and hospitals in Italy to assist the destitutes, and for Banco Alimentare (Food Counter), a Non Lucrative Organization of Social Utility (Onlus), which provides free food to poor people. She is an advocate of poverty eradication through Social Business and believes that redesigning a new and inclusive economic system is the first step towards a world without poverty.

"Together we can nourish the seed of selflessness which is inherent in all of us." SC

Nana Yaa Dankyi

Consulting Assistant - Marketing Communications

Nana Yaa Dankyi was born in Accra, Ghana. She is currently getting her MSc in Economics and Communication with a Specialization  in Corporate Communication and a Minor in Corporate Social Responsibility from the Universita’ della Svizzera Italiana, in Lugano Switzerland. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Linguistics from the University of Ghana.

Nana Yaa became interested in Social Business after researching the subject and Professor Yunus. Coming from an African country, she has seen her fair share of poverty and underdevelopment. She fully appreciates the concept and believes Social Business can be a starting point and an effective tool to eradicate poverty and balance society’s disparity between the rich and the poor.  

Nadia Fuchser

Project Manager

Nadia was born in Sierre, Switzerland. She holds a BA in Social Work, Social Policy and Psychology and an MA in Social problems and Social Policy from the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). During the last few years she acquired further knowledge in different social institutions in Switzerland – e.g. regional hospital and social assistance office of Sierre (Valais), student assistant at the University of Fribourg, psycho-social office of Bellinzona (Ticino).

After several work experiences and reading about Professor Yunus’ social business approach to eradicate poverty, Nadia feels confident that social business is an effective way to solve social problems still present in Switzerland (e.g. family poverty, youth unemployment etc.) and other parts of the world.

Bianca Legorreta

Marketing & Communications Manager

Bianca holds a BA in Spanish and Communication and a MSc in Business Administration and Organizational Communication - both from Copenhagen Business School. She was born and raised in Denmark with a Danish mother and a Mexican father. With her interest in Buddhism, she was striving for an alternative mindset and was always interested in helping others. When she came across Social Business Earth, she discovered a big interest in Professor Yunus and his social business principles and saw how this alternative business model can create growth in the world.

Callie Robson

Media & Communications Coordinator

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, Callie moved to Lugano after finishing her career as a professional ballet dancer. She is currently studying Communications and Media Studies and English Language Teaching at Franklin College Switzerland. She enjoys traveling, teaching, writing, and being outside. Callie became interested in social business after meeting with a family friend who is working to end hunger in Malawi and Ethiopia. She is passionate about helping others, and believes social business is the key to creating real, sustainable change around the world. 

Liudmila Kazak

Social Business Assistant Project Manager

Central and Eastern Europe

Liudmila holds a BA degree in English Philology from Vilnius University, and an MA degree in Political Science from the Institute of International Relations and Political Science, Vilnius University. Currently she is pursuing her second Master in Public Management and Policy at the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Switzerland. She worked as a project coordinator in a youth organization ‘Youth Initiative Group’, and as information analyst at the Center of Geopolitical Studies, based in Vilnius, Lithuania. She is very enthusiastic about the idea of social business and its core values. Liudmila’s work at SBE focuses on promoting and spreading social business in Central and Eastern Europe, a region in need of a significant social change.

Katia Vitale

Graphic Designer

Katia is a Swiss graphic designer with an International reputation. She has developed Social Business Earth's logo and worked on many projects for Vogue magazine. In addition, she is a talented painter with a focus on non figurative art.

Hanieh Mousavi

Academia & Workshop Coordinator

Hanieh was born in Hamedan, Iran. She holds an MA in Business Administration and a BA in Industrial Engineering from Sharif University of Technology. She has worked as management consultant in Iran before she moved to Europe. She has lived in Finland and the Netherlands, where she started her PhD in Antwerp University. The arrival of her first baby didn’t allow her to finish her PhD and she has been living in Switzerland for two years now.

Hanieh enjoys teamwork and she hopes to continue her career as a researcher in the future. She strongly believes that working in groups creates a lot more opportunities for learning compared to working individually.  She is happy to be part of the SBE team and to work in social business.

Marìa Cecilia  Niño Dolmos

Academia & Workshop Coordinator

Marìa Cecilia was born in Lima, Perù. She is currently pursuing an MSc in Economics with a Major in Economics and International Politics at the Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland, and ASERI - Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy. During her MA program she learned about Professor Yunus’ work and was very impressed by microfinance and social business. She believes that these economic tools are the key to fight poverty and to change the traditional conception of economics, market and profit. Marìa Cecilia holds a Bachelor degree in Law from the Pontificia Universidad Catòlica del Perù.

Sabri Nazir

Sabri is our intern on location in Bangladesh. He was born and raised in Bangladesh and he is our official translator from Bangla to English. He is a true believer in poverty eradication through social business. Himself and a few friends offer computer training to the poor in Dhaka in a computer centre they established. In addition, Sabri works as a part-time interpreter in the International Department of Grameen Bank.