HP/Global Poverty Project collaboration boosts entrepreneurial e-learning

Giving people access to education gives them control of their lives. I’ve seen it many times with my own eyes—once someone receives a good quality education, they can lift themselves up and determine their own destiny.

Beyond school qualifications, however, many people still need to acquire computing and business skills. As we often witness in deprived or developing communities all around the world, people are not short on entrepreneurial ambition and ideas, but many lack access to the necessary skills and the opportunity to turn their ideas into a better life.

With this in mind, HP has recently joined with The Global Poverty Project to extend the reach and impact of the HP Learning Initiative for Entrepreneurs (HP LIFE ). This is one of our flagship initiatives—preparing entrepreneurs for small business success—and it has already touched more than 2 million people, and created over 57,000 jobs.

Now, with HP LIFE e-Learning for Entrepreneurs, virtually anyone, anywhere, anytime can access this cloud-based, free business and IT skills training, and a global community of like-minded people. In addition, HP employee volunteers offer support as e-mentors. The aim is to empower would-be entrepreneurs to start or grow their own businesses, create jobs, and build a more prosperous society.

The Global Poverty Project—which works to catalyze the movement to end extreme poverty—and HP share a common vision and a belief in the power of technology to affect social change. In September, this international education and advocacy organization will host the Global Citizen Festival, a free ticketed concert in Central Park, New York City. But to get a ticket you have to take social action.

You can enter the draw to win two tickets to the festival by earning eight Global Citizen points. How do you earn points? Register for HP LIFE and earn three points. Complete an HP LIFE module, and earn not only a certificate of completion from HP but also five points. Those two actions alone earn you enough points to enter the draw. And you can enter the draw up to six times so, as you take more HP LIFE modules, you can earn more points to increase your chance of winning tickets. You can also earn two more points by visiting the Global Citizen website to vote for and share your favorite HP LIFE entrepreneur stories—all of which are hugely inspirational.

It’s a unique idea, and we are enjoying our collaboration with the Global Poverty Project. We are bringing together the power of people and technology to help accelerate the movement to end extreme global poverty.

And I invite everyone to sign up for an HP LIFE module. You’ll be joining more than 60,000 registered e-learners from over 200 countries around the world, and you’re sure to find useful topics in multiple language versions: take a look at the module choices, and discover how some HP LIFE entrepreneurs have already turned their dreams into reality.