Entrepeneur steps

In this about social entrepreneurship I want to write about how I met the school, because it was the last summer when I joined in a course about entrepreneurship by the EOI in Guadalajara, and over there is when I realized that the school and the teachers could be really useful for my professional career.

But now in this module of the IMSD about social entrepreneur I want to highlight what I learnt about what steps an entrepreneur should follow because these are the same for a social or a typical entrepreneur.

The first step is developing the idea. At this point is held business planning, the idea develops. It is essential to believe in yourself to pursue it. It is crucial that viable ideas “are not left in the drawer”.

The second step is overcoming fear. “On many occasions is the impediment of funding , but in many other raw fear and the search for security and stability ,” said to me a  teacher. Therefore, the concept of employment as we have taken so far, based on stability , not coming back , and the cost of undertaking is getting smaller, so you have to risk .

The third step is taking action. Once you have an idea and we overcome the fear, the time comes to implement it. To do this, they recommended that the structure of fixed costs should be the minimum possible to avoid that can not be offset by the lack of sales or delay in payments.

Finally each step must be done with, because it is the think that I have seen that all my teachers have in common in the school since I began the summer course and later in the master, you must do what you love and love what you do if not it is going to be an impossible mission for you to be a entrepreneur even if it a social entrepreneur or a normal one.

 

Comments Off on Entrepeneur steps / 01 Apr 2014 por marioescamilla
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When a Solution Meets a Need

We have always had social entrepreneurs among us even though they were not called by that name, many things we see around us today were done by them. The importance of its new name can been seem from their innovation. They create and solve significant social needs and bring out lasting innovation that satisfies a need.

Social Entrepreneurs solve problems that their solution is designed to address, they are reformers and revolutionaries with a social purpose as described by Schumpeter. They reduce needs rather then just meeting them and create systemic procedures in changing it, which in a way makes them pioneers for commercial entrepreneurs to follow. As a result social entrepreneurs are more analytical in the sense that they try to understand social, economic, political and cultural context of an issue or problem they are trying to solve then a traditional business person.

Even though making profit and creating wealth is good social entrepreneur looks for lasting sustainable impact rather then ripping of people without value or impact to the field that they are operating. They believe tackling the problem from its roots rather then just giving it temporary treatment.

Another interesting facts about social entrepreneurs is that even though they are very innovative not all of them come out with new invention but rather they improve on what others have created with their creativity, and the one vital key about them also have to do with their acceptance for defeat. They see failure as a process for improvement and not a destiny of disaster, and because they are long time learners they try to be academically honest about what they learn.

Social entrepreneurs are one special breed of leader, and they should be recognized as such. This definition preserves their distinctive status and assures that social entrepreneurship is not treated lightly. We need social entrepreneurs to help us find new avenues toward social improvement as we enter the next century.

I will like to conclude my points with the summary of Dees on who social entrepreneur is

1. Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector, by
2. Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value);
3. Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission.
4. Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning;
5. Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.

Reference:

http://www.caseatduke.org/documents/dees_sedef.pdf

http://www.theclinegroup.com/2014/02/12/importance-social-entrepreneurship/

 

Comments Off on When a Solution Meets a Need / 31 Mar 2014 por mavisasare
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Social Entrepreneurs and Sustainability

“Often society blames young people for instigating conflicts, when they are in reality the mirror of society. They reflect back to us what we don’t want to see, and as a society what we don’t want to aknowledge.” – Nelsa Curbelo

Nelsa Curbelo is a women that I truly admire, she was nominated twice for a Nobel Peace Prize and I had the honor to have her as a professor a few years ago in the university. She is specialized in Human Rights and conflict management, being the last one the course she gave me. She talked to us about her project called “Ser Paz” (Being Peace) and the work she does with gang in my city, Guayaquil.

Fundación Ser Paz

This NGO was founded in 1999 and works with youngsters to create the so called “Barrios de Paz” or Peace Towns, by providing them alternative roads from violence. The plan focuses on 49 blocks in a conflicting and insecure zone of the city, where around 1,000 families live and 5 different gangs are located. The gang members can participate in mediation workshops and community development training to put an end to the rivalry that lies within them. In this workshops they have to come up with ideas to bring peace to the community, but they also brainstorm to think about their future business thanks to the education they receive in microenterprises.The workshops are in school hours but Nelsa also has sessions during the weekends with the parents, informal teachers and young people who dropped out of school.

Another way of offering non-violent activities is through sports. With the creation of the program “Tarjeta Roja a la Violencia” (Red Card to Violence) the youngsters play street football with their own made-up rules approved by all players. There is no referee, they have to comply with the rules or raise the hand when somebody is not following them. The objective is to evaluate their performance based on values and not goals, to reach agreements, to respect the rules and your apponent, just to name a few.

There are other programs and ideas to be developed, but the two mentioned before are the main ones. If you are interested in learning more about Fundación Ser Paz (in spanish), please click here.

The lady behind the idea

Nelsa Curbelo is Uruguayan-Ecuadorian, she is a charismatic 71 year-old woman with a vibrant spirit. Former nun and school teacher, has worked with indigenous, young people and communities during her life. In 2000 she was recognized by Ashoka as Social Entrepreneur and then named as “fellow” for this reason. Her work and effort was compensated with many other recognitions and awards, like Dra. Honoris Causa by the Universitat Ramon Llull (URL) in Barcelona.

She sees in young people the future, but in Ecuador the majority live in poor conditions and expelled from society. For her is important that people understand that not every gangster is a criminal, some are just looking for someone to care about them and that provides a sense of belonging. She want to use the positive characteristics of their beviour like team work, frienship and solidarity, as drivers of social change. In the following video Nelsa explains why gangs are formed.

How sustainable is the NGO?

From the 60,000 gangsters in the city, she has helped around 5,000 and now other cities and countries want to start a similar project. Pizza places, music studios, hair salons and 7 other microenterprises have been created. Everything seems to work, but I have identified a few issues.

Nelsa has the social entrepreneur profile: the motivation to solve a social issue, passionate, visionary with holistic solutions, innovative, determined, and persevering. Her idea is replicable and scalable, nevertheless I don’t think is economically sustainable. She mostly relies on the Ministry of Labour to provide the funding for the workshops and the microenterprises and in 2009 they almost had to close the foundation because the government stopped giving them money despite the written agreement. Apparently in the end they didn’t close because there are recent articles about Ser Paz.

Hopefully this will not happen again, but unless they manage to generate their own income, the odds are probably not good. This is why business skills are imporant for a social entrepreneur. Maybe the people who manage to create their businesses can start paying back with small montly contributions, and people who attend the workshops can do the same. The government can hire gang members to work as advisors for decisions in policy-making, or even with local police to create a bond between them find, analyze the insecurity issues and work together in the solutions. The mediation workshops and the experience of bringing together the rival gangs will be useful in this case.

Another issue that I see is sustainability in terms of leadership. Can they continue without Nelsa? She is the mind, heart and soul of the NGO, she is known as the “grandma of the gangsters” because that is how close their relationship is. They really care about her and would literally die to protect her. She has gone throught many dangerous situations, but her strong character has saved her every time. She is training teachers and doing many things to expand the project, but she also needs to find someone who can walk at her side and win the respect of the gangs.

 

Comments Off on Social Entrepreneurs and Sustainability / 28 Mar 2014 por yvonneroca
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Why did I not think it myself?

The potential of the Social Enterprise to turn social issues into resources

One of the main reasons why I came here to do the IMSD Master is that I wanted to focus my career on something I felt more passionate about, to give a new “meaning to my Monday mornings”. Something really motivating and engaging would be to find a job whose outputs are useful to the society. A dream. Well, I recently found out that this dream might have a name: it’s called social enterprise.

The Social Enterprise starts from a really powerful and game-changing approach. The perspective is radically different: rather than looking at opportunities to find a successful business idea, why not to look at one of the (unfortunately many) social problems in order to tackle it through an innovative business idea?

The message I got is very strong: you can succeed in turning issues into resources and generate revenue streams out of it. How? Focusing on a social issue through a creative and innovative idea (even more, it must be a dream, a vision of change), the highest motivation (as high as putting your life at stake for it), a holistic approach (targeted to the root causes of the social issues) and the right capacity and capability to implement it and make it scalable and replicable. Moreover, it should be social in the end as well as in the means.

I have discovered many examples of success stories and what was striking is that many of them were not made of rocket science, they were very pragmatic, made of basic building blocks, so straightforward that you could ask yourself: why did I not think it myself?

Well, a social enterprise might be made of basic blocks but they are composed in such a way that they change the usual framework and the traditional pattern. A social enterprise works across the traditional sectors breaking down the classic separated silos of economy and social: it creates blended value, mixing social and economic benefits.

To make it economically sustainable you could/should find as many revenue streams as possible. To do so you can try to involve many stakeholders aligned with your vision, for instance linking the social issue at the base of your project to other issues they are interested to. Yet, at the end, the measure of the success is more the social impact than the money generated.

Another major difference of the Social Enterprise is that the way the work is carried out is all about sharing and collaboration. The final goal is simply to improve the solution and spread it as much as possible to reduce the impact of the social problem. And today’s technology offers many online platforms or “glocal” (global and local) places where to get connected, share and find the inspiration for new ideas.

A social enterprise should be innovative also for the tools used in the phase of the promotion of its vision: being where the crowd is – on the social media – and promoting it through an open, assertive and constructive dialogue, not through the old-style monologue of a website.

Finally, what matters most for a social enterprise is that it focuses on something real, not on numbers, indexes or percentages. It is a completely different layer: the social enterprise is not serving customers, it is serving people.

Comments Off on Why did I not think it myself? / 28 Mar 2014 por guidopreti
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No Longer Business as Usual

Social entrepreneurship – seeds of opportunity…

 

The 2008 financial crisis brought corporate greed to the fore.  The amplitude of huge bonuses, unsustainable business models and high level risks made in the name of profit were revealed to the disbelief of the general public.  Furthermore,  the repercussions of the crisis and ensuing austerity measures brought to light the extent of which our society has been divided and, that deep inequalities deprive many people of access to basic services. Corporations were seen to have acted in their own interest and put profits in front of consumers and those stakeholders indirectly affected by their actions.

As the saying goes “in every crisis lies a seed of opportunity” – it could be argued that this is the catalyst that social enterprise needs to become more widely recognised in mainstream society. On the back of general disillusionment of traditional business models and prevalence of poverty and social exclusion, there is a widening niche for business that look beyond short term profits and consider their social impact as important as their shareholders’ pockets.  Often mistaken for charities or non-for-profit organisations, social enterprises earn their money through trade – they use business methods and principles and therefore aim for longevity. However, rather than being driven by profit, their agenda is to advance social, environmental and human rights campaigns.  A social enterprise allows profits to be levelled out so that they can be widely distributed to projects or campaigns close to the company’s cause.

Social enterprises can be active in many sectors however they are characterised by having a close connection to communities as well as their most important stakeholders.   This results in a constant hands-on approach which can bring about greater impact than, for example, a one-off charitable donation.

While the concept of social enterprise has been discussed for many years, the arguments in favour of a more social approach to business are now louder than ever.  In Europe it can be said that social enterprises are still very fragmented, often operating independently of one another.  As social and digital media become increasingly powerful tools, it would not be surprising if this helps social business to unite.  After all, social enterprise place much emphasis on a participatory approach – therefore creating a culture of accountability and business standards which were lacking by many corporations so badly affected by the financial downturn.

 

Sources

http://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2014/mar/21/circus-social-enterprise-developing-world?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/freeing_the_social_entrepreneur

http://www.theguardian.com/social-enterprise-network/2011/nov/23/europe-financial-crisis-social-business-initiative

Comments Off on No Longer Business as Usual / 28 Mar 2014 por davidthorpe
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Two big problems in Spain; two entreprenurial solutions

The concept of social entrepreneurship is a relatively new one but one that is going to become more common in the years to come. Identifying and addressing social needs with an entrepreneurial approach can be an easy way to define the term. I have to say that I have enjoyed a lot the lessons learned during the sessions of this module. I believe it has given me the motivation and courage to apply the knowledge learnt in a near future.

Considering the amount of social problems that are arising in Spain due to the 2008 economic crisis, it is obvious that the country needs social entrepreneurs more than ever. The first step to become a social entrepreneur is to be motivated to solve a social problem, which “luckily” Spain does not lack at the present time. I have identified a couple of present issues and developed two possible social enterprises that can tackle the problem:

· Hunger: According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), 21.8% of Spanish households are at risk of being below of what is considered to be the poverty line (those in poverty risk line are earning less than 427€ per month). This leads to economic problems which ultimately can lead to hunger. Despite the inaccuracy from different sources, it is roughly estimated that between 2 to 3 million kids in Spain are suffering from hunger at least one time a day. This seems quite unconceivable in a European country, however this is the reality of the situation and it is an opportunity for philanthropists to take action.

 

“Salvamercados”: Ever wonder the amount of food waste supermarkets generate on a daily basis while there are people suffering from hunger? As a result of this social injustice, the social enterprise “salvamercados” intends to form a partnership with well-known supermarkets in the district of Tetuan (Madird) in order to save food waste generated at the end of the day and giving it back to families with more than four children (after making sure that their quality is in accordance to consumer regulations).

 

· Evictions: The role of a government is to ensure basic needs to its population: shelter, clothing, food and jobs. Well, it seems that nowadays they give priorities to the banks, by using public money to pay their debts while their population is being evicted from their houses and unemployed. This is an area of concern where social entrepreneur can focus their efforts, skills and knowledge.

“NO+DESAHUCIO” A social enterprise aimed to provide shelter to those families affected by evictions in the city of Madrid. Nowadays there are a lot of buildings that are empty due to the housing crisis, while lots of families are left on the streets as they cannot pay the mortgage. Why not use the empty space in the city to provide shelter for those in need of one? “NO+Desahucio” gets in contact with local neighborhoods where there is availability of space for people evicted to inhabit, and makes sure that the community agrees that these empty buildings can be inhabited by these people. Like this, possible conflicts are avoided and a growing social problem is solved.

(Used buildings: 88%, Not used: 12%. source: financialred.com)

 

The two projects mentioned above are only initial ideas but can act as an inspiration or milestone for future social enterprises as the problems they intend to solve have huge socio-economic implications. I am sure that they will receive the approval of civil society and will capture the interest of philanthropic institutions (i.e.Caixa Forum). Like this they will receive funding and support from the population, two key factors for a social enterprise to perform well.

REFERENCES

http://www.deltaworld.org/economy/21-8-Of-Spaniards-are-below-the-threshold-of-risk-of-poverty/

http://financialred.com/nueva-ley-del-alquiler-desahucio-en-10-dias-0-impuestos-para-las-socimis/

Comments Off on Two big problems in Spain; two entreprenurial solutions / 28 Mar 2014 por alvarohernandez
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Blended Value: a new outlook on business

The growing number of social enterprises indicates a change in public perception of the value created by businesses. The focus has traditionally been on the provision of products and services for certain target groups, generally those who from the middle and upper income brackets, in order to make a profit. Unfortunately, traditionally this goal has been pursued without much thought for other impacts, particularly those that constitute negative social and environmental externalities. The concept of “blended value” has emerged, where the success of an organisation (civil or private) is measured through the added social and environmental value as well financial gains.

This simple idea has huge implications for billions of people, particularly those the bottom of the pyramid (BoP) who have been marginalised from traditional business models because of their lack of financial capacity to participate in the market. If we broaden our definition of value to include social and environmental factors as well, products and services for the 4 billion people at the BoP become a potential source for a wide variety of commercial activities.

In Spain, cooperatives have been leading the way on this front, combining profit with the pursuit of social good through a fresh outlook on societal problems, and possible market-based solutions. Cooperatives like Mondragón, Grupo Asces and Eroski have demonstrated the profitability of these kinds of organisations, and today socially oriented cooperatives have managed prove that you can make profit while striving to rectify social ills (Rebel, 2013).

In times of crisis, any success is miraculous, and if cooperatives and social ventures have been able to prove their financial viability, reason dictates we stick to what works. And if you can kill two birds with one stone, even better.

Comments Off on Blended Value: a new outlook on business / 28 Mar 2014 por asyamarhubi
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Social Enterprises in Times of Crisis

We are witnessing a rapid growth in the number of social entrepreneurs in Spain in the recent years as never seen before. At this moment, Spain is facing a desolate social and political situation: unemployment rate has surpassed 26% (more than 55% per youth), public budget cuts are constant, a number of national banks have collapsed, an increasing dissatisfaction with the public authorities exists… This context has resulted in an opportunity for social entrepreneurs, who have been attracted by the challenge of solving social problems and helping more vulnerable groups in times of crisis.

According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) [1], there were 747 social entrepreneurs in Spain in 2009. That was equivalent to 0,53% of the working population, a low figure compared to other countries such as UK or EEUU. Despite the fact that finding official data regarding the people working in that sector in Spain is difficult, there is evidence that the number social entrepreneurs have increased; which vary from small companies selling organic food to enterprises that employ disable people.

As example of the growing role of social entrepreneurship in Spain; Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka, received the Prince of Asturias Award for International Cooperation in 2011. “There are at least three times more Ashoka Fellows in Spain than in any other sovereign debt countries: Spain is beginning to call social entrepreneurs to action, and they are responding”, Bill Drayton said [2]. Ashoka is an international network which supports projects that cause positive social impact. The election of Bill Drayton can be seen as the recognition of the key role that social entrepreneurs are playing in Spain during those years of economic crisis; filling a gap that traditional companies and the State have abandoned. This way, social enterprises are considered agents of change, for the reason that they could lead to a more sustainable economy; as they are based on values of solidarity, cohesion, inclusion empowerment and innovation.

On the other hand, the European Union has also recognized the importance of the social economy. This sector employs more than 11 millions of workers in the EU, accounts for 4.5 % of the active EU population and contributes for 10 % of the European economy (GDP) [3]. On the other hand, the President of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso said “Social business can be indeed a very powerful agenda for change. To deliver better outcomes for the common good. To show that it is possible to do things more responsibly and more fairly, whilst still being a success on the market. And to become a real engine of growth in the EU. Europe must not only be part of these changes. Europe should be in the lead.”

For these reasons, the European Commission recently approved the “Social Business Initiative”; which aims to support the creation and development of social enterprises, focusing on facilitating the process of finding funds.

Pinche aquí para ver el vídeo

Therefore, social entrepreneurs are crucial actors in today’s context, as they are helping to create a more inclusive society and to promote sustainable growth. This way, social enterprises are likely to become indispensable players in the near future, not only increasing its number but its relevance.

References:

[1] Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (2011) Report on Social Entrepreneurship: Executive Summary

[2] https://www.ashoka.org/story/spain-social-entrepreneurship-finding-strength

[3] European Commission (2014) The Social Business Initiative of the European Commission

Comments Off on Social Enterprises in Times of Crisis / 28 Mar 2014 por martagomezmanchon
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Making money out of the poor

30 years ago, pursuing the social good and making money out of it was unthinkable, even blasphemous. Social work and business were apart, divided by a wall which few dare to cross. The role of businesses was just philanthropy: giving money away for projects without more involvement beside a certain level of results follow-up. The social workers’ role was the other way around: they were recipients of money from donors (public, corporate or private) and their job was to make the biggest impact possible with it.

But in the last few years this wall has crumbled down and the line diving social good and business is fading.  And it is happening because of the social entrepreneurs, people that create their business not looking for profit but to have a positive impact on society (and earning a living, of course). It’s not the return on investment (ROI) what matters to them, what matters to them is the social return on investment (SROI).

And then raises the question: is it fair to make money out of the poor? It depends (as a teacher of mine once said, you can answer any question with “it depends, because of China or the Internet). It depends on the way they earn the money. If it is creating value in both sides, the customer (the poor) and the company, it is not only good, but the best way to work pursuing the social good.

Those social enterprises that are self-sustainable in economic terms will be the ones with more chances to create a bigger social impact, escalate and be prone to replication, becoming real change-makers.

 

Comments Off on Making money out of the poor / 28 Mar 2014 por juancarlosgomezmartin
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Frogtek: Helping Shopkeepers in Mexico and Colombia

Frogtek is a social enterprise which helps small shopkeepers in emerging markets in Colombia and Mexico to control and improve their business by tools in mobile devices. Frogtek main product is called Tiendatek, which consists of a tablet or a mobile phone and a barcode scanner, which register transactions and provide metrics.

Frogtek main objective is to help shopkeepers to better manage their inventory and improve their profits. Currently, there are about 800.000 shopkeepers in Mexico and 500.000 in Colombia. They are usually micro entrepreneurs without education, purchase power and business knowledge. Most of them cannot afford a cash register or other electronic tools. This way, they cannot record their transactions or track their sales or expenses despite they use a notebook. As a consequence of these limitations, shopkeepers generally do not know how to optimize their decisions and improve their profits. Moreover, this lack of technology also creates management problems with suppliers and customers.

For these reasons, Frogtek designed Tiendatek, a simple Android app which offers various services to store owners. This product allows shopkeepers to record their expenses and revenues, track their inventory, register card payments, manage supply orders and access to financial personalized recommendations. The latter works with a Marketing Analytics tool, which provides answers to critical business questions and procures data to evaluate their competitive position. To obtain this product, micro-retailers have to pay around 300€ by installments for the equipment and the training to use it. Besides, Frogtek has a partnership with Kiva, which allows shopkeepers to receive funds to acquire the product through crowdfunding initiatives in the whole world.

The project was launched in 2008 by David del Ser while he was a student at Columbia Business School, based on a collaboration with Women’s World Banking. David is a Spanish social entrepreneur who has been named Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum. During 2008, Frogtek formed its team and was looking for potential customers and funding. The second year, the prototype was created and they started working with shopkeepers in Bogotá. In 2010, Frogtek started offering the service and launched its first big project in México. In 2013 they had almost 300 active users, registering half a million sales each month. Currently, they have presence in around 700 shops in Mexico and Bogota. Frogtek’s team is formed by more than 35 people working from Mexico, Colombia, Spain and the United States.

Pinche aquí para ver el vídeo

During this process, Frogtek main partners have been mobile operators, hardware providers, integrators, banks (BBVA-Bancomer), payment providers, consumer-goods companies (Unilever or Bimbo) and shopkeeper associations. One of their most important partnerships is with some consumer-goods companies, as they are trying to contact new shopkeepers through them and ease the selling process. For the upcoming years, they are planning an international expansion to new countries. Regarding the fund collection, economic resources come from the selling process and from the different awards which they have received during those years. Some of them are Echoing Green Fellow 2009, Open Talent BBVA 2010, Vodafone Mobile Clicks 2011 or GSMA’s Global Mobile Awards Women Base-of-the-Pyramid Apps Challenge in 2011.

The stakeholders  benefited more from Tiendatek are shopkeepers. However, Tiendatek also influences positively to their customers and suppliers, as Frogtek seeks to target the entire value chain. On one hand, customers are receiving more advanced development techniques when acquiring goods at these shops. On the other hand, suppliers get more reliable and up-to-date information about what to provide to their clients. Additionally, Frogtek have always been directly working close to micro retailers, including their suggestions and experiences into their strategy. This way, Frogtek tries to achieve the best bottom-up approach possible. Other stakeholders are their partners, the shopkeeper’s employees or their donors.

As a result, important improvements have been achieved during those years. Firstly, shopkeepers know best their needs and command their business. Having more control over their inventory has allowed them to maximize their profits. Secondly, they know who the best suppliers are; and who offer the best and the cheapest product. Moreover, as a result of the knowledge that Tiendatek provides, they have more ability to negotiate with them than before. Thirdly, micro-retailers have improved their image towards its customers, as they are seen as “modern businesses”. Additionally, robberies from their employees have decreased as a consequence of the greater control over their products.

Nevertheless, the short life of the project needs to be taken into account to measure Frogtek success. This way, it is important to analyze how the impacts of this product on micro-retailers evolve, promoting a real change on how shopkeepers operate during the next years and achieving to empower them.

Comments Off on Frogtek: Helping Shopkeepers in Mexico and Colombia / 27 Mar 2014 por martagomezmanchon
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