Check out the high quality kicks from Oliberte.com an African company making a difference, learn about them and 4 other companies in this article was written by Brent Freeman, the founder of Roozt.com.

A new generation of consumers, influencers, and entrepreneurs has come of age, and its outlook on doing business is revolutionary. Millions of children born between 1980 and 2000, commonly known as Generation Y, have matured into adulthood with a unique worldview that is firmly entrenched in the beliefs that anything is possible and anyone can make a difference.

This is a generation that had front-row seats for the crumbling of “secure” institutions, people who saw firsthand how the greed-mongering practices of Bernie Madoff and others ruined the lives of thousands.

Gen Y fundamentally knows that there is a better, more ethical way to do business – and its everyday behaviors reflect this mindset. From college dorm rooms to apartment “offices” across the country, Gen Y entrepreneurs are building new businesses with social responsibility infused directly into the DNA of their business model, as a forethought, not an afterthought. Thousands of these business launch every month, all with the goal of making a difference and a profit.

FIVE THAT INSPIRE ME

As founder of Roozt.com, I sell products from some of the most inspiring social entrepreneurs across the country. The following brands are shining examples of just some of the social-entrepreneurial brilliance we are seeing out there in today’s environment. They already inspire me. I hope they also provide you with inspiration and motivation to harness the power of your business to make a difference in the world.