Ghanaian Microloan Pioneer Kwabena Darko – True Life Character from the Book One Hen – Visits Massachusetts Schools to Inspire Social Entrepreneurship

Will receive Babson College award and speak at One Hen, Inc. fundraiser May 4 to celebrate five years of educational nonprofit, and milestone of 5,000 children served through its One Hen Academy

BOSTON (April 22, 2013) – Kwabena Darko, whose real-life entrepreneurial success inspired a children’s book and social entrepreneurship nonprofit, will visit Massachusetts April 29-May 6 to celebrate One Hen, Inc.’s milestone of serving 5,000 children through its financial literacy program, as it heads into its fifth year. His visit coincides with Financial Literacy Month.

Massachusetts-based One Hen, Inc. has used microfinance principles and web-based resources to teach entrepreneurship and giving back to more than 32,000 users of onehen.org resources across 142 countries, including curriculum, lesson plans, role plays and virtual microloan market. The nonprofit is also empowering kids in a hands-on way through the One Hen Academy to become social entrepreneurs. The academy program, used in after-school programs, summer schools, charter schools and public school districts, spurs kids to form business teams, receive small loans and create a product they sell to raise money for a local or global need (after paying back their loan with interest). The academy has been implemented in classrooms across 10 US states, with a focus on disadvantaged communities and grades 4-6. Four values anchor all One Hen programming: financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back.

The nonprofit was inspired by Ghanaian Kwabena Darko, who helped his family out of poverty as a young boy by starting a backyard chicken farm. With a small loan, he grew his enterprise from 100 baby chicks to a multi-million dollar poultry empire. The experience moved him to finance other small businesses through his Sinapi Aba (Mustard Seed) loan fund, and inspired Katie Smith Milway to write “One Hen: How One Small Loan made a Big Difference.”  After the book launched in 2008, SapientNitro built an award-winning, interactive website based on it. In 2009, in response to demand from educators, Milway established One Hen, Inc. in an MBA workroom at Babson College with co-founders Amma Sefa-Dedeh, Monique Muri, Erika Eurkus and Karen Schultz all of whom remain board members or advisors.

On May 4, Babson College will host a celebration of One Hen, Inc.’s impact, with outgoing president Len Schlesinger officiating. Cheryl Kiser, director of Babson’s Lewis Institute, will honor Darko with a Social Innovation Award.

“Having Kwabena Darko with us as we celebrate five years and 5,000+ kids will be a real honor,” Milway said. “He is the real life ‘Kojo’ – the main character in ‘One Hen’ – and the inspiration behind our work, which is motivating so many young people worldwide to entrepreneurship with a social purpose. We look forward to reaping the benefit of his expertise and experience, as he visits Babson College and our local school programs.”

During his week-long visit, the farmer, ordained minister, philanthropist and former Ghanaian presidential candidate will visit One Hen school and community programs in Wellesley and Dorchester, making a special stop at the first school to launch a grade-wide One Hen program – John F. Kennedy Elementary School in Canton, whose fourth graders were featured on an ABC World News segment when the book became an educator movement. In addition, Darko will participate in discussions with agri-business entrepreneurs and MBAs at Babson, join a microfinance practitioners round table at  Fletcher School’s Extreme Inclusion conference at Tufts University, and  attend a new ventures competition and reception at Harvard Business School.

One Hen, Inc.’s annual celebration is planned for 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. on May 4 at Babson College’s Knight Hall. Tickets are $125 and include a buffet dinner, drink and dancing to the tunes of LiveWire. To purchase tickets, go to www.oneheninc.org  or email One Hen, Inc. executive director Helen Rosenfeld at helen@onehen.org.

Corporate sponsors include Wellesley Bank, First Commons Bank, Whole Foods, Baker Design Group, Congress Wealth Management, Nixon Peabody, FUEL, Shared Learning International, The Wellesley Rotary Club, Wellesley Gentleman’s Society, Hoffman Insurance, Tiger Presentations and Birch Tree Promotions. The Monique Muri Foundation is matching corporate and family sponsorships to help scale One Hen’s impact.

About One Hen, Inc.

One Hen, Inc., launched in 2009, equips educators with curriculum, lesson plans, and interactive media to teach kids basic business skills while inspiring them to four values: financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back. Our mission is to empower all kids to become social entrepreneurs, who make a difference for themselves and the world. One Hen: Microfinance for Kids introduces a compelling social issue, around which we provide entrepreneurial ways to make a difference through flexible curriculum resources, lesson plans, interactive games, and hands on projects. To date, over 32,000 site visitors from 142 countries and across the U.S. have used One Hen resources, while more than 5,000 have participated in One Hen Academy through schools, after school and summer school programs. Visit www.oneheninc.org to learn more or watch this TEDx video.