Square One

Square One consists of CSB/SJU students that seeks to create lasting micro-business ventures in developing countries. Each year, a team of students travels to a developing country with the goal of empowering an impoverished community through sustainable business. Square One is a student-run organization that operates like a non-profit. It is a spin off of a student organization called Enactus, which is a global network of students dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship.  

     

Each sustainable business venture is designed to financially support an educational institution serving an underdeveloped community so that more children can go to school, using education as a way to break free from the cycle of poverty.

Square One has developed a three-step process for its program:

  1. The Discovery Phase: Students are sent to our designated destination in search of pressing issues that exist in the area and look for ways that we can solve those issues. We must assess the needs of the underdeveloped community in order to create a project directed towards their needs.
  2. The Implementation Phase: Students begin and finish the project in about two weeks. The business is established in this stage and the locals are able to run the business on their own.
  3. The Reevaluation Phase: Students are sent back to the site to ensure that our project is sustainable and positively affecting the surrounding community. In this phase, we can provide incentives and make improvements to make our projects more sustainable.