Dr. Elanie Steyn, associate professor and associate dean in the Gaylord College. Steyn is an experienced international trainer/educator with a specialization in media leadership and management. She has taught media and democracy, media and diplomacy, media management and leadership in South Africa and the U.S. and has worked on research and teaching projects in South Asia for the last 14 years. Steyn has been the PI or co-PI on more than a dozen State Department grants involving South Asia. She has worked extensively with students, media professionals and entrepreneurs in Bangladesh, Burma, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka.
Jeff Moore, I-CCEW executive director, who has overseen the commercialization activities for more than 120 entities for the university and local business partners. Moore is a co-founder of Fountain Ventures, a technology and social venture incubation and management firm, and has served as the president of an early-stage mining company, a management consultant for McKinsey & Co., and a U.S. Navy Submarine Officer. Moore places most of the foreign fellows with Oklahoma businesses and organizes the economic development curriculum.
Dr. Joe Foote, dean emeritus of the Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication, he has more than 30 years of teaching and training experience in South Asia. He began work in Bangladesh as a Fulbright professor in 1985 and again in 1992. His first visit to Pakistan was in 1985 as a USIS speaker. During the past 30 years, Foote has co-administered more than 20 State Department grants covering five South Asian countries, including Pakistan. He was the PI for a $1 million academic partnership with the University of Gujrat in Punjab state. Foote is the founder of the World Journalism Education Council, a consortium of 31 journalism education organizations globally that holds a world congress every three years.
Dr. Charles C. Self was the Founding Dean of Gaylord College at the University of Oklahoma. He is Professor Emeritus and was the Edward L. and Thelma Gaylord Chair of Journalism and Mass Communication. He is President of 227 International, LLC, an international consultancy firm based in the United States that works around the world on topics related to journalism, media, democracy, and journalism education. Dr. Self has worked with the U.S. Department of State, with the Center for International Media Assistance and other Washington, D.C. based organizations. He has briefed hundreds of journalists from around the world on U.S. media and journalism industries. He has fostered collaborative partnerships of university faculty, students, and citizens to solve problems facing communities involving media and civil society including training for journalists, citizens, and army officers.
BRAC Myanmar. Under the umbrella of BRAC International in Bangladesh and serving the same mission, BRAC Myanmar was registered and started operating in eight regions in December 2013 and provides microfinance and health programs. In addition to its country office in Yangon, BRAC Myanmar has a regional office in Bago and three branch offices in rural Yangon and Bago. BRAC Myanmar currently has the following active projects: Agriculture, Food Security and Livelihood, Disaster Reduction and Resilience Building, and Financial Inclusion. In the first quarter of 2021, BRAC Myanmar reached 154,480 people. BRAC Myanmar had been the in-country partner for PFP grants implemented by Gaylord between 2015 and 2018. More at bracinternational.org/myanmar
The Center for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) at BRAC University in Bangladesh was founded in 2011 to encourage Bangladeshi entrepreneurs through enriching entrepreneurial knowledge and skill so they can systematically develop and grow their own businesses. CED currently is and has been involved with projects that include the UNESCO Chair on “Responsible Foresight for Sustainable Development,” University of Lincoln; “Digital RMG Factory Mapping in Bangladesh” (DRFM-B); the Professional Fellows Exchange Programs; a soft-skills management training program for young and adolescent girls in the beauty industry; and a Higher Education Quality Enhancement Project funded by the Bangladeshi government. The CED had been the in-country partner for the PFP programs Gaylord has implemented since 2012. More at bracu.ac.bd/academics/centres-and-initiatives/centre-entrepreneurship-development
Entrepreneurship Development Institute India (EDII) is a national resource institution of India founded in Ahmedabad, Gujrat in 1983. The EDI’s mission is “To become a catalyst in facilitating emergence of competent first-generation entrepreneurs and transition of existing SMEs into growth-oriented enterprises through entrepreneurship education, training, research & institution building.” EDI is built upon a network of six centers that work toward achieving this mission. EDII had been the in-country partner for PFP programs implemented by Gaylord between 2015 and 2020. More at ediindia.org
Good Life X in Sri Lanka is an enabler of conscious entrepreneurship, fostering economic and social prosperity in Asia. With their international network of business experts, they foster ethical and sustainable business ideas that help to improve “The Good Life.” The business growth program is geared to support companies scale their products and services across the region and continents to achieve better health, as well as social and economic prosperity. They provide access to business-knowledge, expertise, collaboration, investment and funding.
Graphision in Mumbai, India, is a global digital solution group focused on providing world-class web solutions and developing the latest innovative technologies. Its company philosophy is to create designs and develop software enabling technological interactivity with the most recent knowledge. Through years of experience, Graphision understands the educational and technological environment in India. This enables them to network with role-players in education, technology, entrepreneurship and government circles in India. Graphision is the in-country partner for the PFP program implemented by Gaylord from 2022. More at facebook.com/graphisionindia
Innovation District 92 (ID92) is an incubation space in Lahore, Pakistan for startups from all verticals that are seeking guidance in converting their raw business ideas to effective and profitable businesses. Innovation District 92 gives them a physical office space free of cost for 6 months where they get an opportunity to network with a pool of mentors, investors and facilitators, who in turn provide them with hands on support in developing, branding and marketing their products/services. It is a highly selective program embedded with a series of workshops to nurture the growth, learning and network building a startup requires to succeed. Innovation District 92’s platform is built on the infrastructure of global community partnerships, training and education, mentor network and effective access to capital to support entrepreneurs and their business idea. ID92 had been the in-country partner for PFP programs implemented by Gaylord between 2018 and 2020. More at id92.pk
Startup incubator ino.hub is a platform for creating and developing businesses and startups in Kazakhstan. Since its establishment in 2015, ino.hub has helped to launch more than 20 businesses, more than 30 existing entrepreneurs have brought their businesses to a new level. Ino.hub has close ties with a number of Kazakh government entities, international organizations and others. Similarly, MOST Business Incubator was established in 2011 with the aim to unite and provide support to startups and existing entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan. With strong partnerships in both private and government sectors, MOST now looks at developing startups in edtech, insurtech, travel, machine learning, IOT and mobile applications. Ino.hub had been the in-country partner for PFP grants implemented by Gaylord between 2018 and 2020. More at most.com.kz/en
Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs Forum (NYEF) is a membership based non-profit organization, established with a vision of empowering positive business thinking and with an aim of creating outstanding entrepreneurs through idea exchange, fellowships, education, training and advocacy. The forum was officially instituted by the Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) in September 26, 2003. NYEF is an apex organization of young entrepreneurs with over 300 members and 6 chapters. It is also one of the founding members of the SAARC Young Entrepreneurs Forum (SYEF), Association of Youth Organization Nepal (AYON) and the World Young Entrepreneurs Forum (WYEF) and a member of the Confederation of Asia Pacific Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) Committee on Youth Entrepreneurship. NYEF had been the in-country partner for PFP grants implemented by Gaylord in 2014 and between 2018 and 2020. More at nyef.org.np
Sri Lanka Unites strives to unite the youth of Sri Lanka from all ethnic and religious groups in a movement that provides hope and facilitates reconciliation in Sri Lanka. They believe that this can pave the way toward a peaceful and prosperous country for future generations.
Tech Valley Pakistan is a digitally enhanced social enterprise that was founded in 2015 with the mission to inculcate the culture of technology and entrepreneurship. They have worked with various partners including IT ministries, INGOs, and local and international incubation centers. To support the vision of Digital Pakistan, Tech Valley has partnered with Google for Education, Google Cloud and Google Workspace. Tech Valley Pakistan is involved with the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the tourism industry, several government-led initiatives in Pakistan, and has partnerships with Google, the World Bank Group, USAID and more. Many of their projects specifically focus on women and STEM-related opportunities, aiming to train women in the KP region of Pakistan in digital skills. Tech Valley Pakistan is the in-country partner for the PFP program implemented by Gaylord from 2022. More at techvalleyabbottabad.pk
