Week 12 - SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE MIDDLE EAST

We always hear so much about social enterprises and its development in Asia, the US, the UK, certain parts of Europe and even in Africa, but hardly is there any news on the social entrepreneurship sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). MENA is made up of the following countries:

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From before, majority of the MENA countries were seen to be performing well on various different developmental fronts, showing impressive growth rates and an improving business sector of its own. However, many of those who took to the streets and have been to MENA believed that this growth only benefited a privileged minority. This article aims at looking at how the MENA region can adopt a new development model of social entrepreneurship for competitive economies to create decent jobs while promoting sustainable development, social justice and equity.

Ashoka was the first organization since 2003 to introduce the concept to the MENA region and to support Arab social entrepreneurs financially and technically. The Arab Spring had brought about much tumult to the Middle East, but the demonstrations have also resulted in new aspects to civil life in the Arab society. Researchers at Stanford University say that the Arab Spring has also been a key factor to furthering the development of social entrepreneurship in the region. According to Social Entrepreneurship: Why It Is Important After the Arab Spring, it states that "unanimously across the region, young people are more interested in improving their communities and contributing to the long-term development of their societies after the revolution."

So why then is social entrepreneurship still hardly heard of in MENA? Here are several main reasons why:

1. Lack of public awareness: The lack of exposure and knowledge about social entrepreneurship and the benefits it brings to communities means that some very good social entrepreneurs might not be known to the public. Greater exposure needs to be given to the contributions made by social entrepreneurs. Such heightened awareness would lead to greater trust and an environment that is more conducive to social entrepreneurship. In the meantime, the public remains skeptical.
2. Lack of governmental support: Although the Egyptian government has invested in development initiatives in the past, it has never prioritized social entrepreneurs. The current political environment and concurrent social instability have further complicated the situation and negatively affected a lot of development projects and activities. Increased bureaucracy and a focus on politics led to longer delays by the government in approving licenses or issuing funding approvals for not-for-profit organizations and small businesses. The media has also been attacking NGOs, accusing those who receive foreign funding of promoting foreign agendas. In Egypt, people are shutting down their organizations, not because anyone forces them to, but because they are not receiving the help and support they need. Because of Ashoka’s independence and lack of affiliation with the government, it is able to fulfill a vital role.
3. Lack of capacity: The lack of know-how is another significant challenge. What NGOs need is the transfer of know-how in order to produce the start-up project activities and organizations that are needed. As an example, social entrepreneurs who only receive a local education in the region do not have the skills to write a good investable business plan. Unless training is offered to build the capacity of local NGOs, there will be no good start-ups in the region.

But there are many opportunities coming about for the rise of social entrepreneurship in MENA, as after the Arab Awakening, an increasing number of younger people in the Arab continent have been applying for fellowships. Most applicants used to be in their thirties, but it is noted that Ashoka has been receiving many applicants who are in their early twenties. Projects are now generally more sustainable, less elitist and more geared towards the needs of the poor. Many proposals are more conscious of the real needs and priorities of the people.

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Such a change across the MENA region may just about remove the typical Arab stereotype about them being rich and selfishly spending all money they have for themselves on themselves. But this rich Arab community, geared with the right mindset, knowledge and tools of social entrepreneurship could indeed lift the entire continent out of its social unrest, and possibly even put an end to the political instability and economic discontent in time to come.   

Image from cartoonstock.com

"Social entrepreneurship can be a powerful solution for the region." - Suzi Sosa, founder and president of the MPOWER Foundation

References

Sosa, S. (2011, February 23). Why we need social entrepreneurship in the middle east. Inc: Small business resources for the entrepreneur. Retrieved on 7th January 2013 from http://www.inc.com/articles/201102/suzi-sosa-why-we-need-social-entrepreneurship-in-the-middle-east.html

Townsend, J.C. (2012, October 10). Can social enterprise contribute to inclusive growth in middle east and north africa? In Ashoka's Youth Venture. Retrieved on 7th January 2013 from http://www.youthventure.org/can-social-enterprise-contribute-inclusive-growth-middle-east-north-africa

Week 11 - HUMAN RIGHTS AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE

"Healing Human Rights Abuses with Social Enterprise" - That is the article by Janet Tafel, the executive director of Hagar USA, which supports the work that Hagar International carries out in developing countries such as Cambodia, Afghanistan, and Vietnam. The mission of Hagar is to raise awareness about Hagar's model of social rehabilitation and economic empowerment and about egregious human rights abuses suffered by Hagar's beneficiaries.

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The genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia was a trauma that caused massive cultural, social, and psychological distress and dislocation in that country. Some of the worst victims have been women and children, who are frequently the victims of poverty, violence, and trafficking for sex among other human rights abuses. 

Tafel mentions the work Hagar is doing to help such individuals develop productive and meaningful lives. She outlines how the organization tends to physical and psychological needs first, and then provides job training and opportunities for social entrepreneurship.

This reminded me of the sharing by Ms Sylvia Lee, founder of Lotus Culture when she came down for one of Mr Damien's NPODEV classes. She spoke about Somaly Mam, a Cambodian woman who has become an advocate for human rights against women who are forced into sex slavery and/or human trafficking after having lived through such torture in her past. She set up AFESIP, an organisation that has transformed the lives of thousands of victims in the aforementioned illegal trade since it begun in 1996, and she is now regarded as one of the most prolific human rights activists fighting sexual slavery in this century. I am awed by the numerous success stories of girls that have been saved as a result of Somaly Mam's efforts. She's an amazing woman, an amazing social entrepreneur, and an amazing human rights advocate - she's become another inspiration for me ♡

Image from missrosen.wordpress.com

There is a local organisation that carries out similar work as that of Hagar International. Access to Justice Asia (AJA) was co-founded by husband and wife, Mahdev and Vinita Mohan in 2008, with an aim of providing legal aid and representation to the underserved groups of people living in the Asian region.

Image from accessjusticeasia.org

Made up of mostly pro-bono human rights defenders as well as legal scholars, it focused on justice and capacity development of those victimised as a result of large-scale crimes in Asia. Most of AJA’s efforts to date have been carried out in Cambodia, towards victims of the Khmer Rouge. Mahdev had also been appointed the international counsel for victims by the Tribunal and the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (BAKC). He is the very first Singaporean to have achieved such great authority in the legal system of Cambodia and is thus able to successfully push for human rights for the many Cambodians who have been oppressed. (Mohan, 2009). To date, AJA has managed to represent a total of 132 Khmer Krom clients before the Khmer Rouge Tribunal to date.

"The aspiration for democracy and respect for fundamental human rights is as important to the people of Africa and Asia as it is to those in Europe or the Americas. But of course, it is often those people who are deprived of their human rights who are least able to speak up for themselves. The responsibility rests with those of us who do enjoy such freedoms." - Dalai Lama

 

References

Mohan, M. (2009, January). An introduction to the khmer rouge tribunal for singaporeans. In Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved on 6th January 2013 from http://www.siiaonline.org/?q==programmes/commentary/an-introduction-khmer-rouge

Shiromany, A.A. (1995). The spirit of Tibet, universal heritage: Selected speeches and writings of HH the Dalai Lama XIV. Bombay: Allied Publishers Limited.  

Tafel, J. (2009, November 9). Healing human rights abuses with social enterprise. In Stanford Center for Social Innovation. Retrieved on 6th January 2013 from http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/healing-human-rights-abuses-social-enterprise

Week 10 - CURE TO UNEMPLOYMENT

 Image from conservativepapers.com

Unemployment is not only a serious economic issue but it is also poses to be a huge social problem. A country's unemployment rate is a social problem because it affects a large number of people within a community but has the potential to be alleviated by efforts from a separate coalition of individuals.Who might these individuals be? They are none other than social entrepreneurs.

Image from transitioning.org

A social entrepreneur for more than 20 years, Collin Crooks published a couple of articles on unemployment and the positive effect social entrepreneurship has on possibly solving this crisis. On his own website TreeShepherd.com - nurturing local solutions, he wrote this: "Inevitable economic processes create ever more desperate ghettoes of unemployment of people with low skills or complex commitments. So how do we reverse the trend and create low and semi-skilled local jobs? Enter social enterprise. Social enterprises are perverse. They deliberately choose to locate in challenging areas and are three times more likely to be based in an area of multiple disadvantage and high unemployment than their private sector equivalent (SEUK 2011).  And relative to a similar sized private firm they employ more people." (Crooks, 2012, para. 7-8).

OK, a part of me when reading what Crooks had written could not help but wonder... If social enterprises are doing so much, including hiring more people to help the issue of unemployment as compared to a private firm of the same size and capacities, the social enterprise as an entity would have to cover so much more expenses than an ordinary firm and this could in turn lead to the inability to sustain itself in the long run. Even more so if the social enterprise has to compete with other ordinary firms. This is where the government and authorities should step in and provide aid to social enterprises because if not, they're competing in an unfair game - winning socially but losing profitably.

Then I came across an article in The Guardian written by Crooks three months after the previously mentioned article by him. In it, what was written served as the perfect follow up to where we left off ... how social enterprises can help society's issues like unemployment and also the need for aid from governments and other larger organisations.

"But to do it on the scale that is needed we need to do two things: Firstly, we need to recruit more social entrepreneurs. To do this we need to work directly with those local people who do have ideas and can provide services and give them the tools to enable them to make the difference. Secondly, we need to persuade councils and businesses to buy services from social enterprises as a defined part of their general spend. My challenge therefore to government, local government and business is to spend 5% of their procurement budget in areas of high deprivation and critically with companies dedicated to creating work for the people that live there even where they if that commitment was made it would be possible to establish the businesses to meet the demand." (Crooks, 2012, para. 9).

Image from agorapartnerships.org

With the two above needs being met, social enterprises will truly live up to its cause for existence. And true enough, just a couple of days ago, the new year brought about great news for Spain. Spanish social entrepreneurs are making great change in their country amidst all the economic and political issues that are still apparent there. "With all eyes on its government finances and rate of unemployment, the dominant view of Spain is that it will be in dire economic straits for a long time to come. Few people know that there is also a flip side: new forms of social innovation and a range of social approaches to business are to taking root in Spain's economic and political fissures." (Rebel, 2013, para.1). There is still much hope for the country though.

In the growing social enterprise sector of Spain, there are many different entrepreneurial spirits coming together trying to form something innovative that would help to rebuild Spain's economy. All of these look to solving the most crucial Spanish social issues, such as widespread youth unemployment and an aging population that depends heavily on purely their state pensions. One such success story is the Spanish co-operative MONDRAGON. For more information on this upcoming world leader in the co-operative movement, as well as the seventh largest business group Spain has, click on the link below. MONDRAGON is an extremely relevant example of how social enterprises not only develop an economy, but put a stop to unemployment too.

Image from mondragon-corporation.com

The MONDRAGON Cooperative Experience: Humanity at Work

References

Crooks, C. (2012, July 25). Social enterprise and the unemployment crisis. In TreeShepherd. Retrieved on 5th January 2013, from http://www.treeshepherd.org.uk/social-enterprise-and-the-unemployment-crisis/

Crooks, C. (2012, October 12). Thinking positively about solving the unemployment crisis. In theguardian. Retrieved on 5th January 2013, from http://socialenterprise.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2012/oct/12/thinking-positively-solving-unemployemnt-crisis

Rebel, C. (2013, January 2). Spain's entrepreneurs carving a new path amid economic crisis. In theguardian. Retrieved on 5th January 2013, from http://socialenterprise.guardian.co.uk/social-enterprise-network/2013/jan/02/spain-enterpreneurs-economic-enterprise-cooperative

Week 9 - ARE YOU A SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR?

Firstly, I must apologise for being missing in action on here. I was in India for the second half of December 2012 and I spent the first few days of January 2013 very ill upon my return back to Singapore. Back in not quite the best of health, nevertheless I'm back in the best of determination to make the India post-trip social enterprise showcase a success. What there is planned now is an event to showcase the work carried out in India as well as the pre-launch of the social enterprise which would provide for an education fund for the NGO Children of Mother Earth.

All this talk about setting up social enterprises, I cannot help but wonder if I am really cut out for it. I am playing a key role in the setting up of this social enterprise for the education fund of the NGO, and it still is a dream of mine to set up my own social enterprise fashion boutique, but I have to be a little more realistic here. It is not all about what I WANT to do, it is about what I NEED to do and let's be honest, the need does not lie in opening a fashion boutique (although with a boutique I could provide employment opportunities and retail skills to a community of women who are in need of jobs!) While my dream of venturing into the fashion industry remains a sandcastle in the air, my dream of setting up a social enterprise is still in sight with the India post-trip social enterprise showcase.

Let's make a checklist and see if I as well as you or any other person aspiring to be a social changemaker fits the qualities of a social entrepreneur...

What makes a social entrepreneur? 

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Social entrepreneurs are:

• Social Catalysts – They are visionaries who create fundamental social changes by reforming social systems and creating sustainable improvements. According to J.Gregory Dees, “though they may act locally, their actions have the potential to stimulate global improvements in their chosen arenas, whether that is education, health care, economic development, the environment, the arts, or any other social field.”
• Socially aware – Social improvement, as opposed to the creation of profit, should be the ultimate goal of the social entrepreneurs. The success of their endeavors is measured by their social impact, not by the amount of profits generated. (I question though, how accurately social impact can actually be measured without being subjective) 
• Opportunity-seeking – They pursue their goals relentlessly, seeing every obstacle as an opportunity to develop and fine-tune their business models. 
• Innovative – They are creative, willing to think outside the box and ready to apply ideas to new situations. They understand that not every innovation will be a success, and they see failures as learning opportunities even as they strive for success.
• Resourceful – Their visions are not limited by the resources that they have. Besides optimizing the use of existing resources, they actively expand their resource pool through collaboration with others.
• Accountable – Social entrepreneurs are accountable to their beneficiaries, and they often ask themselves, “Am I creating value for the people I am serving? Do I understand their needs?” This is because social entrepreneurs want to know that they are actually making an impact. They are also accountable to investors who want to know that their contributions are indeed stimulating social improvements as promised by the social entrepreneurs. 
• Highly innovative – Well, of course, they are. But what's interesting is that out-of-the-box, creative thinking is a natural for them. They're always searching for new ways of doing things, and when something fails they.. 
• Have found a cause that inspires them – It might seem obvious, but each is fully committed to and believes in what they're doing. They may come at it from different experiences (something from one's childhood, maybe because of a chosen career path, or even a personal tragedy, that had happened... whatever it may be, each is passionate about their cause)
• Are persistent – They keep trying until it works. And, they never let road blocks, obstacles, or naysayers deter them. It's their can-do attitude that keeps them moving forward -- no matter what.
• Have boundless energy – I'm not sure if the work creates the energy or the energy keeps the work going. Probably a bit of both, but social entrepreneurs always have limitless amounts of energy!
• Are exceptionally collaborative – In every case, these social innovators are masters of seeking out partnerships that support the work they're doing, help spread the work, and make it sustainable. 
• Visionary – There's not a gloomy Gus in this bunch. No matter how daunting the social problem (85% illiteracy in Afghanistan, one billion victims of mass violence) that some might call "hopeless", they see the possibility and the potential for change and are hopeful and optimistic about the future. - This relates back to an older post of mine, where in an interview with a Harvard Business School professor, he mentioned visionary as one of the key qualities of social entrepreneurs. Read the post here.

(Dees, 2009).

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"In How To Change The World, a book that The New York Times called a 'bible' in the field of social entrepreneurship, explains six qualities of successful social entrepreneurs; which are the willingness to:

• Self-Correct

• Share Credit

• Break Free of Established Structures  

• Cross Disciplinary Boundaries

• Work Quietly"

- David Bornstein

References

Dees, J.G. (2009, June 8). The meaning of social entrepreneurship. Retrieved on 4th January 2013, from  http://www.caseatduke.org/documents/dees_sedef.pdf

Palmer, S. (2009, March 30). 6 qualities of successful social entrepreneurs. The center for social leadership. Retrieved on 4th January 2013, from http://www.thesocialleader.com/2009/03/6-qualities-successful-social-entrepreneurs/ 

Schreiber, L. (n.d.). The six qualities of successful social entrepreneurs. In What's Next. Retrieved on 4th January 2013, from http://www.whatsnext.com/content/six-qualities-successful-social-entrepreneurs