Press

Opportunities Without Borders Kicks off First Year

FORT COLLINS - Opportunities Without Borders (OWOB) announced the beginning of its innovative online network on March 15. Based in Fort Collins, Colo, USA, the OWOB network connects universities and global market resources focusing on small and medium sized businesses in developing economic sectors.

“OWOB recasts communication in business and entrepreneurship higher education,” says Chris Fry, OWOB Executive Director. “Not only will it promote hands-on learning rather than case-study out of a book, OWOB offers an platform for students from around the world to collaborate on projects.”

Jim Epstein, OWOB Co-founder and current Board of Directors member adds that the venture’s timing could not be better. “OWOB is launching just as social entrepreneurship is picking up steam in higher education. Many institutions around the world are producing creative new programs teaching students to employ the tools of business to help developing markets. OWOB will give these students the opportunity to work together.”

OWOB’s collaborative model has already seen succes. In late 2008, PowerMundo, a for profit clean energy distributor business based in Fort Collins, used OWOB to pair with another student team from Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana, and gained access to necessary resources. “The market research we received from the Ashesi team would have been very difficult for us to collect on our own,” said Jacob Castillo, PowerMundo co-Founder and team member. “Working with OWOB has helped us solidify our plans for the West African market.”

Fry says that during its initial year, OWOB will be working to build its membership both at the institutional and individual levels. “Lots of university, faculty and student members is the key to our network’s success.” Fry reports that he has had a positive response to the start-up network from all universities contacted from Ghana, India, Mexico and the USA. “I’m excited to see the interest from the groups we’re trying to serve. OWOB has a bright future and I’m pleased to be a part of it.

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About OWOB: OWOB’s Board of Directors formed the organization in 2006 on the premise that helping to strengthen developing economies leads to greater social and economic cohesion world wide. OWOB received official Non-Profit status from the USA government in March 2009.