Change Mag 02

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editors note.

content.

CHANGE MAGAZINE

SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD OPPORTUNITIES CHANGE

NEWShe Regional Social Enterprise Knowledge &artnership Symposium: Social Enterprise forSustainable Future in Asia, held on the 15th

nd 16th of November has come to a

pectacular close. I would like to give thanks

o all co-organizing partners, namely the Thai

ocial Enterprise Office, the British Council,

rungt hep Tu rak i j newspap er , and

ChangeFusion Institute. I believe that

ymposium will generate the essential

momentum that will drive the growth of

ocial enterprise sector in Asia, especially in

hailand. Apart from being a platform where

undreds of social entrepreneurs and

ndustry professionals convened to share

heir ideas and experiences, the Symposium

also a birthplace for Social Enterprise

etwork Asia, which is a network that

ositions itself to be the main driving force for

he growth of social enterprise and social

nnovation in Asia.

For the second issue of CHANGE Magazine,

we would like to share everyone the

insightful topics which were openly shared

and healthy debated at the Symposium, as

well as the direction of social enterprise in

Thailand and in other countries across Asia.

We hope that this issue of CHANGE

Magazine would inspire, and spread the

message of a sustainable future through

social enterprise from the Symposium to

everyone, both within Asia and Thailand.

Thanapon Sreshthaputra

Ideas Thailand: 5 top-voted winners from Thailand firstpolicy crowd-sourcing initiative25 November 2010

Ideas Thailand Project has formally come to a close on25th November 2010 with the winners of the projecthaving been announced. After undergoing through arigorous selection process, 3,000 ideas were shortlistedinto 20 ideas for people to vote for their favorite ideas.Selected based on the number of votes from an onlinepoll and regular mail voting, 5 top-voted ideas havenow been provided with a research funding of 100,000baht and various support from the Thai government toimplement these ideas. This has been the first time in

the history of the Royal Thai Government where apolicy crowd-sourcing initiative has been launched,giving the chance for any individual to submit theirideal solutions and dream projects to the government,both online and offline.

For more information, please visit: http://pm.go.th/ideasforthailand/

Future 100 Award: Celebrating the UKs LeadingSocial Entrepreneur 19 November 2010

The prestigious Future 100 Awards haveannounced under the exciting Social Enterpr2010 event. Celebrated at the British Library, in the award aims to raise the profile of youngentrepreneurs aged 18-35, who demonstraoutstanding flair for entrepreneurship and innskill. The Future 100 was organized by Striding

social enterprise established to inspire and vigsupport social entrepreneurs in the UK.

For more information about the 100 winners, visit: http://www.future100.co.uk/

COVER STORY:

CHANGE CASE

CHANGE INSIGHT

CHANGE INSPIRE

CHANGE PEOPLE

TESTIMONIAL

o5

o9

13

17

19

21
http://www.future100.co.uk/http://www.future100.co.uk/http://pm.go.th/ideasforthailand/http://pm.go.th/ideasforthailand/http://pm.go.th/ideasforthailand/http://pm.go.th/ideasforthailand/


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Application to GSVC South East Asia Round for2010-2011 is now open!

The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) is nowopened for the South East Asian participants who havea strong, innovative business idea for social andenvironmental impact. GSVC is the first competition topromote graduate-student entrepreneurs, initiated byUniversity of California, Berkeley in 1999. Since 2007,Thammasat University has been the first university inSouth East Asia that has partnered in hosting thecompetition.

For more information, please visit: www.gsvc-sea.org/index.html

HANGE

EVENTSeventh Annual Conference on Social Entrepreneurship

This two-day conference held on 3-5th November 2010was an assembly of leaders in social entrepreneurshipsuch as social entrepreneu rs, investors andphilanthropists, scholars, educators, and thoughtleaders. The event featured discussions of concept

and themes in social entrepreneurship research by thescholars in the field and the measurement of socialimpact, which has become an essential businessbenchmark for mature social entrepreneurship.

For more informat ion, p lease v i s i t : ht tp://w4.stern.nyu.edu/

The First Finnish Social Enterprise Conference; 24-25thNovember 2010

The first Finnish social enterprise conference was heldon 24-25th November 2010. With the aim to generatinginspiration for participants start social enterprise byshowing the best practices and social innovation, theevent-cum-exhibition showcased many special sessionswith the keynote speakers from the UK and Finlandsuch as Barry Roberts of Turning Point and Nigel Lowthroof Hill Holt Wood.

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , p l e a s e v i s i t :www.socialbusinessint.com/

AKI opened the new house.

The Asian Knowledge Institute (AKI) cebrand-new city campus at the InterchangeSukhumvit Road. Established in 2009, the into produce the next generation Asian busiand is focused on building an extensithroughout Asia. Apirak Kosayodhin, the Fo

President of the University Committee, gavinspirational speech on the rising of Asia, that, This current era belongs to the Asianhas centralized to the region. It is time for Athe wheel of fortune and sustainable pracore.Also launched at the event is AKIs latestthe Executive Program in Asian Business Lwhich is currently accepting applicatiocommence in 2011.

For more information, please visit: www.akie
http://www.akiedu.org/http://www.akiedu.org/http://socialbusinessint.com/2010/10/the-first-finnish-social-enterprise-conference-on-24-25th-nov-2010/http://socialbusinessint.com/2010/10/the-first-finnish-social-enterprise-conference-on-24-25th-nov-2010/http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/berkley/social.cfm?doc_id=100537http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/berkley/social.cfm?doc_id=100537http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/berkley/social.cfm?doc_id=100537http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/berkley/social.cfm?doc_id=100537http://www.gsvc-sea.org/index.htmlhttp://www.gsvc-sea.org/index.htmlhttp://www.gsvc-sea.org/index.htmlhttp://www.gsvc-sea.org/index.html


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UnleashingAsias Sustainable Growth !

The fact implies that the socinowadays no longer solely neeon grants, since with a clear generation models, social enterbe c om e s e l f - s u f f i c i e nt adependent on donors.

Quickly glancing across Asia, IBangladesh have long been regthe two most advanced countriof social innovation. They hahome to many world-renoweenterprises. For instance, Grameeone of the most globally remicro-finance institution, fou

Professor Muhammad Yunus. Prthe foundation of Grameen Baby providing small loans, also micro-finance loan, the poor areopportunity to own a small busw o u l d a l l o w t h e m t o ecreditworthiness and financsufficiency. As a result, social resulting from poverty would bthrough f inancial empowFurthermore, apart from micro-fProfessor Yunus is also an ardent of the concept of social businesoften engaged large corpora d d r e s s i n g s o c i a l i s s u econsequence, Professor Yunus han initiative in establishing thCentre around the world in promotes this great concepractice.

Helping the poor while achieving financialreturns, making a living from protectingenvironment, being a profitable enterprise and

contributing to the society at the same time,these are just some of the reasons for thatsocial entrepreneurs has given for starting theirsocial enterprise. Although profit making andcontributing to society seem to be in totallydifferent world, in reality it has already beenproven that both concepts can go alongtogether. The concept is referred to as thetriple bottom line. Conceptually, it suggeststhat there are 3 criteria in implementingsustainable management, which consists ofsocial responsibility, environmental friendliness,and financial viability.

Although not yet mainstream, it is unarguablethat nowadays many businesses nowadaysare more likely to be required to integrateaspects of the concept of the triple bottomline into its fundamental analysis. In otherwords, sustainability has become an importantcomponent for consideration for any business.Therefore, it is foreseeable that social businessand social enterprise are becoming the nextbig trend in the private sector. According tothe data provided by the Office of the ThirdSector in the UK, there are 62,000 socialenterprises which produces 45 billion US dollarsin turnover; that amount is equal to 1 percentof the countrys GDP. These enterprises are notonly creating immeasurable amounts of socialimpacts for the country, they are in essencebecoming a significant contributor to theeconomy.

The rise of social enterprises and socialntrepreneurship is significant in terms

of not only filling the gap ofvernmental and market failure, but alsoempowering the peoples dignity andngenuity to change our society for the

better.

uddhist Saicho, a well-known monk inJapanese history, mentioned

"If you Light Up A Small Corner ofciety, You are the Treasure of Society."

This is the starting point of ourconversation. May your passion and

forts connect with other individuals andecome a synergetic stream to change

the world!!

Hideyuki InoueFounder and PresidentSocial Venture Partners Tokyo

A Huge Market

$202 billion

$424 billion

$553 billion

$3.6 trillion

Low-costHou

sing

Energy

AgricultureP

roductsandFood

Source:Harvard Business Review - September 2010


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for Thailand, although the concept ofcial enterprise has not yet become azzword, it does not mean that socialterprises does not exist in Thailand. Onethe most successful social enterprise inailand is perhaps Mae Fah Luangundation under Royal Patronage. Theundation supports sustainable careerath for people within the Mae Fah Luangommunity. Through this promotion, locals

-tribe villagers are prepared to becomef-reliant in terms of production planningd business management. In the end,te r unde rgo i ng an e x te n s i ve

evelopment process, the communityas able to establish a brand of coffee,oi Tung, that could equally compete one same level with other international

d domestic coffee brands. The keyference, however, lies in the fact thatoi Tung coffee help enhance the living

ality of the people in the Mae Fahang community, and the profits arenvested back to forest conservationograms within the area.

part from all the disruptive innovationsat have been created, anothertonishing business concept introduced

Ashoka, is the so called Hybrid Valuehains (HVCs). Conceptually, HVCs is aaradigm shift in how businesses operate

well as guide businesses to profitableches that are highly uncontested, letone explored. More importantly, HVCspresents the way by which privatector business and Citizen Sectorganizations (CSOs) could collaborate.n one hand, the collaborations couldlp the businesses expand their reacho an untapped market of 4 billion

eople who are not yet part of theorlds formal economy. On the othernd, firms that adopt HVCs may be abletackle large-scale problem that couldt have been solved by any group that

working to solve the issue on their own.

HANGE MAGAZINE

OCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD

PPORTUNITIES

As the world has been threatened by social and envirproblems, new innovations in cowith entrepreneurial skills hasbeen proven to address the wopressing social problems while profitable enterprise. Thus, thsector has rapidly gain the insocial investors. The rising profileenterprise is not happening onwestern world, as many socialfunds and social investing firms hbeen established in Asia. Accthe information from Impact InExchange, a Singapore based that provides a trading platformas an intermediary betweeentrepreneurs and social inve

growth rate of social enteexponentially rising accordinforecast on the first quarter in countr ies ; Bangladesh, MIndonesia, and Thailand. The expects to be able to raise cmore than $240,000 dollars. The anot a donation but rather a pinvestment that will give invesdouble or triple-bottom line reb o t h f i n a n c i a l , s o c i a l environmental returns.

Unequivocal ly, soc ial ly coindividual across the world havea realization that the the worldconsequences of our collectivthat has compounded into thesocial and environmental crisis. it should come as no surprise thenterprises can and will be driving force to lead the fight agworlds impending crisis. As for Athe regions awareness oe n t r e p r e n e u r s h i p a naforementioned concepts is infancy, it is undeniable thaenterprise is going to be tinvestment gold mine for Asia. just a matter of time before tenterprise sector reach critical flourish as the next hottest inopportunity that yields the tripleline returns.

Although the concept of Hybrid ValueChains sounds very great on paper, thequestion that needs to be asked is, Howcan HVCs be put into practice? In orderfor the two sectors to work togethereffectively, the focus must be on creatingreal economic value while simultaneouslycreating social value. Let us take thehousing industry as an example; presently,one-sixth of the worlds population lives inslums and cities. This means that there arebillion of people who do not have accessto a formal housing market or do noteven have a proper place to stay. In termof marketing, this implies that a low costhousing market potentially worth trillions ofdollars exists out there that waiting for asolution. In India, there are large numbers

of consumers who have a steady sourceof income but lack proof of financialstability; thus making them ineligible formortgage loans. Unfortunately, for abusiness acting alone, penetrating intothis incredibly large untapped market isno easy task, otherwise this housingmarket would not be left untapped untilrecently. Nonetheless, with the help fromCSOs, the story for low-cost housing hastotally changed. In this particular housingcase, CSOs act as demand aggregators,who bring groups of consumers to for-profit developers, or as full design andinvestment partner. As a result, more than2,500 homes have been built, with 7,500more to come in the next 18 months,representing more than $100 million insales. From the story, it is more thanapparent that people at the bottom ofthe pyramid, more than 50% of the worldspopulation, should not be overlooked. Ithas already been proven that people atthe bottom of the pyramid can be ahidden fortune for any business.


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CASEInvestment Promotion Policy for Sustainable DevelopmentSE Cases (1st pitch)

The shared general landscape of all the pitches presented on the 1st Pitch of the Regional Symposiumclearly illustrates the current parallelisms of the issues affecting each country across East Asia if not theworld. From each of the presentations, central issues that were being addressed by each ventures includeempowering disadvantaged groups (through income generation and/or education), environmentalfriendly products and services, establishing platforms and networks to leverage the power of networks,the promotion and preservation of unique arts and cultural works and lastly, providing accessible qualityhealth care. Within the eight cases, ChangeCase would like to highlight a snapshot of some of thenoteworthy cases from two common themes, the empowerment of disadvantaged groups andenvironmentally friendly products and services, that we have witnessed in the Symposium.

SE in Asia landscape

Empowering disadvantaged groups has been acentral them for many companies, one uniquecase is Kaien, a Japanese company whichaspires to transforms the worlds view on peoplewith autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by creatingscalable job opportunities that leverage theirunique potential. Keita Suzuki, founder of Kaien,strongly believes in harnessing the uniquenessstrengths that people with ASD have which cancontribute to society, such as ability to recognizeirregularities, acute sense of details, theiradeptness for repetitive works, great confidenceon rational thought and great fit with high-tech

equipment, these people are given training,assisted with job placement and continuouslywith counseling, these individuals are given therare opportunity to become contributingmembers of society. This is quite significantbecause such opportunities have alluded theASD community for so long especially in Japan,where up to 85% or 150,000 people have beenexcluded in the opportunity to integrate withhighly homogeneous society. Built on a financialsound business model that capitalizes on theaffirmative action policy of the Japanesegovernment and placement fees thatcorporations pay to Kaien, the venture aims togenerate $5 USD in annual revenue by 2020.

Another interesting social enterprise from Vietnamthat operates in the same sphere is KOTO, whichstands for Know One, Teach One. Aiming totackle the problem youth problem prevalent inthe country, KOTO seeks out Vietnams street anddisadvantaged youth such as orphans, street kids

Autistic People

Kaien

Corporates

Govt

Training wi

Kaien

Job

Opportunities

Job

Placemen

Kaiens Model

Resource Flow

Financial Flow


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and youth from poor rural and city areas providesthem with 24-month training program onhospitality skills, English language and essential lifeskills that enables graduates to acquire theprerequisite skills to gain formal employment andthe valuable certification in hospitality from BoxHill Institute of TAFE, Australia. From the strongbelief of Jimmy Pham, the founder of KOTO, thatstreet and disadvantaged youth should haveaccess to hol i s t ic and vocat ional sk i l ldevelopment opportunities, in a nurturingenvironment, where each family member buildsself-confidence and is empowered to live a life ofdignity and happiness, KOTO is now training asmany as 200 disadvantaged youths within itstraining program. Deriving most of the revenuefrom the restaurant operation and support bysponsorship, donations and educational fees,KOTO is highly profitable and is on the verge of

expanding to across Vietnam, starting from HoChi Minh City and internationally.

Environmental friendly products and services isone of the worlds most flourishing business sectorn the world, attracting massive investments byventure capitalists, technologists and publicsector funding worldwide. One venture that iseading the forefront of the green energy sectorn Thailand is Supreme Renewable Energy, whichhas been established in since 2007 in order toprovide turnkey services to build or operatesub-1MW power plants using biomass gasificationtechnology. Gasification is a clean technology asa power source with near-zero pollution that alsogenerates revenues for farmers by productivelyrecycling agricultural waste as feedstock.Supreme has also secured a stable demand fromcontract with the Provincial Electricity Authority tobuy all electricity produced by the company,since it is a governments policy that it will buy allelectricity that is produced from renewablesources. In term of social and environmentalmpacts, the company also generate significantsocial and environmental impact in numerousways; first, the village community will benefit fromthe purchasing of 4 million baht ($133,100 USD)worth of agricultural feedstock, second, it willreinvest up to 5% (projected at $16,650 USD) ofthe profits into community projects targetinghuman capital, education and health-care, andastly, the plant will reduce the carbon footprintfrom the burning of agricultural waste. Given thearge shortfall of biomass-generated electricity in

Thailand, large amount of government incentives

are available for renewable energy projects inThailand, such as an 8-year tax breaks andAdder financial incentives for every kWh ofelectricity produced, making Supremesoperating margin is highly attractive at 122%. Thecompanys great potential can attested by thenumerous awards it has received such asThailand Energy Award 2010 and the ASEANEnergy Award 2010 for Community Based PowerPlant projects.

Another green venture with a highly promisingbus i ne s s m ode l i s Kokoboard , wh i c hmanufactures bio-composite boards (similar butvastly superior to particle boards), as well asfurniture from agricultural waste, such as ricestraw and coconut dust from the shell. In the past,after rice harvests, farmers in Thailand previouslyburned off remaining agricultural waste in theirfields, caused excessive amounts of smoke thatdisturbed nearby residents and created needlesscarbon emissions. Kokoboards ingenious win-winsolution to this wasteful problem while providingan economical returns for local farmers is bypurchasing the agricultural waste to manufacture

the bio-composite board using a near zero-formaldehyde adhesive that emits volatileorganic compounds (VOCs) in harmless amountsas low as 10 times the amount emitted byconventional particle boards. As a two year startup with the small factory, though the amount of

environmental impact may still be cons

quite small, it is quite significant comparedsize of the facility and will continue to grownear future as Kokoboard continues to expfacilities and reach to other communities.

In synopsis, the most coveted ventures senominated to speak on the first and spitching session of the Social Enterprise NAsia East Asia Regional Symposium sharedcommon themes that each venture is seeaddress, whether it be the empowermdisadvantaged groups (through ingeneration and/or education), green prand services, platforms and networks, arcultural promotion and accessible quality care. Moreover, all cases share many cocharacteristics, not in the complexity obusiness models but by the simplicity oconcept that has proven to be viable, lesocial entrepreneurs brimming with sheer pand energy. We hope that this opportupitch against such distinguished guests will beach venture in terms of financing abusiness partnership and international ex

and lead each venture towards gconfidence to move forward not as an indswimming in a raging sea but as a netwsocial entrepreneurs that will sail togethertogether, and guide each other towasustainable future because that is whsymposium is all about.

Disadvanta e Youths

KOTO

OtherRestaurantsCustomers

Training with

KOTO

Certificate +

Job Opportunities

Job

Placement

KOTOs Model

PEA

Farmers

Supremes Model

Community

Association

Supreme

RenewableEnergy

Farmers

KOKO Boards Model

KOKO Board

Corn Cob SilkExport

DevelopersArchitect

etc.

Market


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HANGE MAGAZINE


PPORTUNITIES

3

ChangeInsight

Q: For corporation such as SCG Group, do youthink that the concept of social enterprise is still inthe niche market?

A: Yes, it is. But the most important thing for thisniche market is how to bring producers andconsumers who share the same interest to meetwith each other. For example, there is aJapanese company that sells bags made fromlocal products. Buyers feel that by purchasingsuch product, they are helping the communityand that makes them feel good about themselvesalthough the price is higher than similar productssold in the market. We have to create this kind ofmarket.

Q: Why has there been a rising trend ofcorporations that have started to see theimportance of social development and corporatesocial responsibility? Does SCG Group have anyprojects that aims to address social andenvironment issues?

A: I bel i eve that as compan ies faceenvironmental and social challenges in theirbusiness operations, these issues have began toprovoke the moral reflection within corporativeexecutives. Many have started to think of howand what they can do to help solve theseproblems. As for SCG Group, we focus our effortsprimarily on community development. We takecare of communities surrounding our plants as ifthey were members of our own family. Forinstance, in the past, locals in Lampang provinceused to hunt wild birds for a living. To protectthese endangered bird species, we educatedthem about the concept of eco-tourism. Byprotecting these wild birds, the villagers indirectlyprotect, nurture and maintain the sustainability tothe forest. In the meantime, locals can earn agood living from eco-tourism activities. SCGGroup also tries to engage our employees in thesocial development process.

Social enterprise through the eyesof a corporate executive

In 2009, a survey conducted by a notablemarketing magazine in Thailand calledPositioning has ranked SCG Group, one ofThailands biggest diversif ied industrialconglomerate, as a company that fresh universitygraduates like to work for most, both males andfemales alike. Key to this perception iscompany's financial stability and its keen interestin contribution to the development of Thai society.SCG Group has proven that social responsibilityis one of the corporation's strategic priorities byestablishing SCG Foundation in order tomaximize its social impact through CSRactivities.

In this special edition of Change Magazine, wewere given a rare opportunity to ask thecorporation about the future outlook of socialenterprise in Thailand. Central questions that weare looking to answer is: What are theopportunities and challenges? Why does socialissue start to catch corporates' attention? andWhat are the formula of growth for socialenterprises? To help answer our questions, Ms.Venus Asavasitthithavorn, CommunicationsDirector, Corporate Communication Office ofSCG Group

A good intentionneeds to be execut

through a goodbusiness model wh

will create financiasustainability as w

as generate thedesired social

environmental impa

Ms. Venus Asavasitthithavorn,Communications Director,

Corporate Communication OfficeSCG Group

SCG, alsoknownasSiamCementGroup, isThailandslargestcementcompany

FoundedbyKingVajiravudh [KingRamaVI] in 1913

Sixcorebusinessunits: chemicals,paper, cement, buildingmaterials,distributionandinvestment

Marketcapitalizationof$12.8billion

Leaderincorporategovernanceandsustainability


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HANGE MAGAZINE


PPORTUNITIES

5

Q: How do you see social enterprise ifrom now? What are the opportunchallenges you foresee for the industry?

A: I personally believe that social entecontinue to grow and will still be in market but with a stronger network of c

and producers. The challenge is whethcommunicate with the world to make thand understand the concept social eMedia can play a significant role in thmeantime, producers should try to difthemselves. I think that the trend wtowards the growing of organic produceis that is more important is how we comthe story of the product and how we cathe emotionality of buyers.

What we learned from this one-hour inthat social issues are gaining incprevalent in our society, both in Thailanworld. Time and time again, businesexperts and industry leaders say that wseek opportunity from crisis. Howevercases, opportunities can spring out of innovation and the passion to make thin

Q: Can you suggest on how corporations cansupport social enterprise?

A: While we can help in communication strategy,which is one of our core competencies, I believethat we should not interfere with socialenterprises internal process too much since itcan make them lose their identity. We can alsosupport social enterprise in terms of being theircustomer. If these ventures have product thatmatches the need of our activities or production,then we may buy the product from them insteadof buying mass produced item availableelsewhere in the market. We may also be able tohelp social enterprise in terms of capacitybuilding or business planning.

Q: Are there any marketing strategies that youbelieve to be crucial and necessary for socialenterprise to undertake?

A: Market research is critical. As for myself, I ama health conscious person. But my busy scheduledoes not allow me to luxury of time to beselective in quality of the food that I consume. Ido not have time to make a glass of herbal drinkand therefore, I would be much happier to see acertified herbal or organic products available inthe market. Remember that there is always asilver lining and if you can find opportunity fromany challenges, then anything is possible. Weneed to have a positive mindset. We need abalance between social impact and financialreturns as it will promote the growth andsustainability of the business.

Remember that there

is always a silver liningand if you can find

opportunity from anychallenges, then

anything is possible.

Many social enterprise are founded on theood intentions of its founder. How can we makeure that such business becomes morestainable?

As for this question, I would like draw anxample of a student activity to answer thisuestion. We always see university students sellandmade T-shirts to raise money for socialojects. But after the graduation, many of theseudents are distracted by other responsibilities ine. A good intention needs to be executedrough a good business model which will createancial sustainability as well as generate the

esired social environmental impact. With thisncept in mind, students will encouraged to stay

ue to their ambitions and eventually start theirwn social enterprise.

What are the most important factors in being aood entrepreneur?

Money is of course an important factor.owever, knowledge is more important. Usuallye do not provide grant-based support to mostojects. This is because we do not want them toke it for granted. Lets look at our check-damnstruction project as an example. We did not

ve those who propose the project with cash,

stead we hired them to manage the project.his helps them learn about management andficient resource allocation. As for this case,

ecause there is only five pick-up trucks withinat village, villagers had to learn how to delegateork so that everyone within the community canontribute to the project and earn the livingually. By doing so, they will become a goodtrepreneurs.


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CHANGE MAGAZINE


PPORTUNITIES

e overwhelming amounts of waste hasng been one of the worlds mostessing issues, especially in big cities.rtunately, there are still several differentoups of people who are concerned

bout this ticking timebomb, especiallycial entrepreneurs. Although living infferent countries and had never comecross each other, with the passion inaking their society a better place, manycial entrepreneurs have taken antiative in collecting wastes foundound their own communities and

nding way to transform them intoaluable products. Although most of theentures activities have to do with turningaste into products, many of their

ctivities are not only limit to thenvironmental impact as what eachenture is doing are also bringing aboutgnificant social impacts. In this secondue, CHANGE Magazine will delve intoe profiles of these recycled-productsntrepreneur, shedding light into the innerorkings of their business and theirotivations that drives them what toake their society a better place.

Invisible Sisters is a social enterprise basedin Philippines, which has been supportedby Asian Social Enterprise Incubator(ASEI). With the goals of reducing plasticwaste and providing income opportunityfor poor urban woman, Invisible Sistershave come up with an simple idea ofcollecting plastic waste in the communityand turn them into chic designed purses.Currently, with the cooperation from thelocal recycling industry, Invisible Sisters hasestablished over 30 collection points andhave recycled more than 800,000 plasticbags, which in turn has providing extraincome to as many as100 families.Although, nowadays Invisible Sisters is stillunder the support of ASEI, the venture is

expected to spin-off and become asustainable social enterprise by 2011. ASEIare also expecting that in the near future,the work of Invisible Sisters wouldgenerate a sustained impact for a betterenvironment as well as put more smiles onthe most destitute Filipinos. (For moreinformat ion, p lease v i s i t : h t tp :/ /invisiblesisters.org/whatwedo.php )

In Thailand there is also a grouwho share the same passion idisadvantaged group of peopsociety as well as cleaning the coDriven by their passion to helpBrittany Fox, a volunteer from thePanida Ponkampin (Tukta), stRamhkamhaeng University, haveto take action in an entrepreneuriathat does not only help to recycleBangkok, but also empoweimpoverished group of ladiecommunity. In order to achieve tin 2009 they start an enterprise cSong Fairtrade that would supplement the womens group inthese women, the venture actingand marketing organization fproductsproducts which are craplastic bags. Currently, while Thastill in a start-up stage and has on

with one community, Thai Songexpand and work with more coi n the ne ar fu tu re to heunderprivileged women who aneglected in Thai society. (i n fo rm at i on , p l e as e v i s i t :thaisongfairtrade.org/ )

Although these two venture are juof ordinary individuals living in bcities, both of social enterprise ssame passion and goals in makina better place. They have shown matter who you are, as long as yothe inner calling to make a diffewell as are willing to act upon yothere will be a viable business opeven in the most destitute armaterials which other people cgarbage.

7

Photo by:

Shreyans Bhansali
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigdurian/http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigdurian/http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigdurian/http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebigdurian/http://thaisongfairtrade.org/http://thaisongfairtrade.org/http://invisiblesisters.org/whatwedo.phphttp://invisiblesisters.org/whatwedo.phphttp://invisiblesisters.org/whatwedo.phphttp://invisiblesisters.org/whatwedo.php


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HANGE MAGAZINE


PPORTUNITIES changepeople

Vishnu Swaminathan

Senior Change Leader (Director)Ashoka

Vishnu Swaminathan is currently the Senior Change Leader (Director) of the Housing For Allprogramme under the Full Economic Citizenship initiative of India. The Full Economic Citizenshipinitiative aims to end economic exclusion for two thirds of the world's population by market-based

solutions to provide basic needs. Vishnu was also Director of a leadership school in Pune, India, andfounded the Centre for Social Development and Governance. He has been an honorary advisor tomany educational institutions in the area of international student relations, entrepreneurship andsocial venture.

Hideyuki InoueFounder and President, Social Venture Partners TokyoAssociate Professor, Keio University, Graduate School of Policy and Media

Inoue is a founder and president of Social Venture Partners Tokyo and Associate Professor at KeioUniversity, Graduate School of Policy and Media. In 2001, Inoue has joined Entrepreneurial Trainingfor Innovative Communities (ETIC), a non-profit organization which foster s entrepreneurship amongpeople in their 20s. He also established a fund called Social Venture Partners Tokyo to whichindividual partners contribute their time, knowledge and funding in order to nurture socialentrepreneurship.

Joan YaoInvestment Manager Southeast AsiaLGT Venture Philanthropy

Joan Yao is Investment Manager for Southeast Asia of LGT Venture Philanthropy, a non-profitventure fund supporting scalable, sustainable, and entrepreneurial solutions to social problems.Previously, Joan worked at the investment banking division of Credit Suisse and equity researchdivision of UBS, Philippines. Joan holds a degree in Management Engineering with a minor in EnglishLiterature, cum laude, from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.

Dr. Riaz KhanDirector, Yunus CenterThe Asian Institute of Technology

Before moving to Bangkok from Dhaka, Dr. Khan was Advisor to the Governing Body of BRACUniversity. Dr Khan has extensive experience in rural development projects in Bangladesh due to hiswork in Bangladesh as a manager of Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). Dr. Khan also servedas the Executive Director of CEGIS in Bangladesh, an organization that specialises in waterresources management, environmental impact assessment, remote sensing, geographicalinformation systems, and spatial databases. Dr. Khan graduated from Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT) with a BS in Mathematics, and then gained his Ph.D. in Mathematics from theUniversity of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Watanan PetersikBoard memberCIMBT and CIMB

Watanan Petersik worked in the investment banking industry for over 20 years. She still does somepart-time advisory work for a US private equity firm, and sits on the boards of CIMBThai Bank andCIMB Group Holdings in Malaysia. Since her retirement, Watanan has been involved withorganizations supporti ng social entrepreneurship and enterprises, including Ashoka, the globalassociation of social entrepreneurs and Impact Investment Shujog in Singapore. She is also a SeniorModerator for the Aspen Institute, active primarily in South Africa and the US, and she is an AspenGlobal Leadership Network fellow.

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Zulfiqar AhmedDirector of Programmes and DevelopmentUnLtd UK

Zulfiqar Ahmed is Director of Programmes and Development. Joining UnLtd UK sincresponsible for business development and the delivery of awards and support prograNorth of England, Midlands and Northern Ireland. He has worked as a systems analysbank; on agriculture and infrastructure programmes in Pakistan before establishing Equaa boutique consulting firm specialising in IT solutions supporting voluntary organizachange, and helping public bodies to improve the impact of their work with micommunities.

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M.L. Dispanadda Diskul

Chief Development Officer, Doi Tung Development ProjectMae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage

M.L. Dispanadda Dis kul is a Chief Development Officer for the Doi Tung Development Fah Luang Foundation, a development foundation founded by Her Royal HighSrinagarindra, the late mother of His Majesty the King of Thailand. Dispanadda was onfigures in setting direction and realizing the Foundations involvement as a rural developinternationally. Prior to that, he worked as Director and Marketing Manager at DoDepartment. Dispanadda graduated from Brandeis University (Massachusetts, USA) wEconomics, and earned his MBA from SASIN Graduate Institute of Business AChulalongkorn University in 2005.

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Pham Kieu OanhFounder and DirectorCentre for Social Initiatives Promotion

Pham Kieu Oanh is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Social Initiatives PromoHanoi, Vietnam. She is a pioneer and an expert in social entrepreneurship developprotection, and womens rights. Pham is also the co-founder of Social Enterprise Asiamember of Asian Venture Philanthropies Association, and founder of Vietnam Social EClub. In the past 20 years, she has undertaken various positions in Governmeninternational non-governmental organisations and UN agencies. Oath has a BA in PhilHanoi University and an MA in Sociology and Anthropology from Monash University, Aus

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Abigail Jung

Chief Investment OfficerSow Asia Foundation

Abigail (Abbie) Jung is an international development professional with over 10 years oin public health, humanitarian aid and economic development. At Sow Asia, she minvestment portfolio and oversees all aspects of the investment process from deal soudiligence to investment management. Abbie holds a BA in Neurobiology from the California at Berkeley and an MPH in Population and Family Health from Columbia Univ

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Komal SahuDirector of Strategic PartnershipsImpact Investment Exchange Asia

Komal Sahu is building a network of ecosystem partners for Social Enterprises (SEs) inKomal is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Accountants and an Associate member oof Taxation in the UK. She was previously a Senior Manager with KPMG in London. Pr ioworked for the British Civil Service as a tax investigator in the City of London. During years, she has helped various charitable organisations in India and assisted with funeducating HIV- positive children.

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HANGE MAGAZINE


PPORTUNITIES

1

Testimonial

e regional SE symposium inangkok was one my favoritevents of the year. The speeches;e pitches; the networking; alleautifully integrated into anvent that lived up to it's promise

bring together, build capacity,nd support social entrepreneursorking to change the world.eing able to pitch our project

as a major plus; after theeech, we were approached

y 10 different organizations whoanted to know more about us,nd offered their valuabledvice and support.

rch Wongchindawest,

ounder, mysocialmotion

Markus Dietrich, Co-founder

and Director, Asian Social

It was inspiring to be part in thisfirst effort to bring together thesocial entrepreneur space inSouth East Asia. I was not onlyable to present my organization'sapproach to incubation but alsoto network, to learn and to havefun.

Zulfiqar Ahmed, Director of

Programmes & Development,

UnLtd UK

Developing effective networks,sharing experience and enablingpeer-peer support across SouthEast Asia is a key part offacilitating the growth of socialentrepreneurship in the region.The Regional Social EnterpriseKnowledge and PartnershipSymposium was an excellentcatalyst towards achieving this

a i m , a n d h a s l a i d f i r mfoundations though connectingsocial entrepreneurs, supportagencies, and investors who areconcerned with bui lding apeople powered movement forsocial change in the region.

Yuttana Saithai, Managing

Director, Supreme

Renewable Energy Co., Ltd.

SE Asia 2010 conference is a wellorganized and a very good startfor SE community in Thailand andAsia. It draws several people who

have the same interest toward SEdevelopment and investment toshare their expertise as well asprovide number of interestingshow cases f rom di f ferentcountries in Asia. I am lookingforward to participate again nexttime.

Saumil Shah, Managing

Director, EnerGaia Co., Ltd.

The symposium was a nice eventto begin creating a socialenterprise support network inAsia. I look forward to seeingfurther progress in 2011 towardshelping SE's start-up and grow inthe region.

Abigail Jung, Chief

Investment Officer, Sow

Foundation Asia

The regional SE Symposium inBangkok presented a greatopportunity to meet other like-minded social investors ands upport i ng o rgan i za t i ons .However, it is increasingly clearthat much work needs to bedone to clarify and map out thedifferent support ecosystems (i.e.,financing, capacity building,

access to networks) needed tosupport the range of socialenterprise models in Asia.

Hideki Hara, Director

Europe, Middle East and

Africa Section, Japanese

I feel very much privileged to bepart of this symposium andwitnessed an important first steptaken toward the creation ofAsia-wide network of socialentrepreneurs. I wish the networkcreated this time would prosperas the one that is wide enough tocompare commonalities anddifferences in the operations ofsoc ial bus iness across thecountries, but also deep enoughfor the members to understandthe nuances of a wide variety ofissues afflicting the region andempathize with the people theircolleagues are trying to help.


13/13

Change Mag 02

Documents

Transcript of Change Mag 02