What is an NGO Doing at Europe's Biggest Startup Event?

You might have already come across this banner welcoming participants to the fourth startup and investor conference Slush in Helsinki. Slush attracted 17,000 participants from around the world to discuss the latest about startups, social enterprises, cutting edge technology and design, bringing together people representing private sector, angel investors, financial institutions, governments, small and large corporations, startups and social enterprises. One group, however, was mostly missing in action: only a handful of non-governmental organizations and civil society groups were present. It might seem like this event isn’t really relevant for most NGOs anyways, so why make the investment of participating?

So why was Plan International represented by a group of around 10 people from Finland, Ethiopia and Pakistan? Let me explain - and also share why I think more NGOs should perhaps make this investment in the years to come.

First, the work of NGOs is rapidly changing. Especially big NGOs like Plan International are realizing that the way we work needs updating. There are new actors entering the space we work in: Local startups and entrepreneurs are tackling issues like education, water and sanitation, access to medical services, political participation - and often, this work involves the use of technology. Whether it be using self-made drones to deliver medicine to remote areas, an online tutoring platform to boost school performance, or using sensors to optimize crop irrigation, local actors are coming up with creative solutions to tackle some of the most pressing challenges in their societies. At the same time, new challenges are emerging in Europe with the refugee crisis and climate change. The nature of our work and the role of NGOs in the west is also therefore going through a transformation, and we no longer need to look across the sea for humanitarian crises - it is now at our own front door.

Second, many of the technologies and solutions presented at events like Slush are relevant to our work. NGOs can be slow to adopt new technologies and see the relevance of things like blockchain, 3D printing, drones or virtual reality - and of course they aren’t applicable to all aspects of our work. But there is space for curiosity and inquiry into how these technologies can facilitate our work, make us more efficient and transparent, help us reach more people and increase our impact. Slush is an excellent place to be exposed to the latest in technology, test new devices and gadgets, talk to people from different backgrounds and hear what they have to say about the applicability of their work to ours. Could we use virtual reality to teach children about the impact of climate change? Could 3D printing help in humanitarian crisis? Can drones help us reach remote areas with goods and services? Absolutely, and all this is already happening! We just need to become more bold with testing out new technologies to really be able to identify where they add value and can increase our impact.

Third: Events like Slush expose us to new partnerships, new ideas, new ways of thinking - they shake us out of our comfort zone, out of the often slow-paced, conservative and rigid world of funding applications and processes slowed down by layers of bureaucracy. We can learn from the fast-paced and brave mentality of new startups and entrepreneurs, and while we can never become quite as agile and flexible, we can at least aim to move a bit more to that direction - and perhaps encourage some of the big government donors and funding instruments to move along with us.

While Slush’s primary focus is not on social impact, this year the conference program had a substantial amount of time dedicated to topics like building sustainable societies, role of basic income, technology and education, and the role of diversity and inclusiveness in venture capital. There was a whole pitching segment dedicated to startups with a social impact angle, most of them coming from developing countries and spearheaded by passionate young locals, eager to come up with creative solutions to tackle some of the most pressing challenges. The Slush Global Impact Accelerator program supports startups that aim to solve some of the biggest problems faced by societies around the world, and this year one of the pre-conference events was the Slush Impact Day that aimed to “...dig deeper into what impact means for all these startup ecosystem players and to find collaboration and funding opportunities that create sustainable solutions for the wellbeing of societies and people around the world.”

Clearly, these are things that bear great relevance to the work of NGOs like Plan - and perhaps the next step for us is to find new ways to engage with these local startups and entrepreneurs and learn how we can act as facilitators for the work they are doing, enabling more local people and communities to find their own solutions to the challenges they face. Technology also clearly plays a role in awareness raising and advocacy efforts, human rights education, campaigning and activism, and in influencing and inspiring people - especially young people. NGOs have to be able to stay on top of the latest in technology and digital platforms, because those are the venues for reaching youth and mobilizing them. As my colleague Sajid from Pakistan put it:

This experience was one of the highlights of my life. How technology is advancing, the ideas, the people – this is what continues to inspire me in my own work!

Some of the brightest out-of-the-box thinkers, change makers and misfits can be found right there, in the tech, startup and social enterprise space - and that is where we also need to look for fresh ideas, new perspectives, innovative approaches. Business as usual won’t cut it - so next year, when Slush is approaching, the question for NGOs to ask is not whether they can afford to make the investment to attend. It’s whether they can afford not to.