Sometimes it’s not the big things that make the greatest difference to the most people – sometimes it’s the littlest thing. This was demonstrated by Leila Jahan, who recently won the Heinz Award for her work as a social entrepreneur with microwork…

In 2008 she founded Samasource, a nonprofit which leverages the global reach of the Internet with their in-house technology, SamaHub, to connect people living in remote and underserved regions with “microwork”– small, computer-based tasks such as data entry, photo tagging, content management, translation and transcription. Workers earn a wage sufficient to support themselves and their families while gaining digital skills. By contracting with Samasource, large and small companies commit to the hiring and training of poor and marginalized people, mostly women and youth, to complete the work.

Samasource has grown rapidly over five years to provide work to nearly 5,000 people, lifting as many as 20,000 out of poverty.  And in 2012, Ms. Janah launched SamaUSA to offer programs to help low-income community college students in the United States build the skills needed to become employed in the digital marketplace.

It’s a great idea. I’ve been working on the Fond du Lac reservation providing technology training. I’ve marveled at the local innovation and great use of technology there, especially among people who aren’t looking for a full time but who just want to make a little more money. Folks who have small children, are retired and/or are also taking classes toward a larger goal come to mind. They have created opportunities, such as selling arts or even selling household products as a margin online. Again it’s the smallest innovation that can really make the difference to the greatest number of people – so long as they have access to broadband, a computer and knowledge to use them both.