Social Entrepreneurship at Home & Abroad

 You may not have realised it but social entrepreneurs are all around us. However, many social entrepreneurs do not identify as themselves as such. Even those who embrace the term differ their definitions, values and visions of success.

 Semantics aside, in this article I will highlight some popular global examples of social entrepreneurship including some that originate here in the Caribbean.

Needless to say, it was a bit arduous to find Caribbean examples which led me to reach out to my networks: Twitter and Linkedin.

There was some confusion as persons thought that a social business is one which uses social media as a major part of its overall business operations. Just to recap from my previous article:

Social entrepreneurship is the art of creating a profit oriented business that solves social and environmental problems. To put simply, it’s an organisation that combines the goals of a non-profit company with the bottom line results of a for-profit

 Social entrepreneurship spans a wide range of industries from micro-financing to solar energy to medical services. This industry is primarily made up of SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) as opposed to conglomerates or large companies.

Let me start with the most popular international examples of social entrepreneurship

Grameen Bank Project (Bangladesh)

Founded by Professor Mohammed Yunnus, Grameen Bank Project was born in the village of Jobra, Bangladesh, in 1976. In 1983 it was transformed into a formal bank under a special law passed for its creation. It is owned by the poor borrowers of the bank who are mostly women. This operation singlehandedly created micro-financing as we know it today.

The bank lends to villagers money to fund their businesses at low interest rates with no collateral. Grameen is strict in that all participants must partake in weekly finance classes and that each member is held responsible for ensuring everyone in the community repays the loans.

Today, Grameen Bank is located in over 2,100 branches around the world. Its success has inspired similar projects in more than 40 countries around the world and has made World Bank to take an initiative to finance Grameen-type schemes.

 Ashoka: Foundation 

Founded by Bill Drayton (U.S.A) aka  "the godfather of social entrepreneurship," Ashoka is one of the largest and most social entrepreneurship iniativies.

It invests in social entrepreneurs around the world. Ashoka is the global association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs—more than 2,500 men and women with system changing solutions for the world’s most urgent social problems. 

It continually refers to its members and enthusiasts as change makers

Planned Parenthood

The organization was established to lead family planning efforts around the world. It's a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services at lower costs than regular hospitals.

Planned Parenthood has grown to have over 820 clinic locations in the U.S., with a total budget of approximately US $1 billion. PPFA provides an array of services to over three million people in the United States, and supports services for over one million clients outside the United States.

Examples in our backyard (regional)

 In the Caribbean by far the most popular sector in the social entrepreneurship industry seems to be the renewable energy sector in particular solar energy with most companies operating out of Jamaica and Barbados.

Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are well you guessed it, renewable (i.e naturally replenished).

Jakes’ Resort + B.R.E.D.S Project  

An inspirational young man, Jason Henzell, has been running the B.R.E.D.S project, a clinic at the local hospital assisted by a team of Doctors from the US army and Peace Corp. He's  kind of a Florence Nightingale of the South Coast.

Medical aid is provided by the troops that would usually be unobtainable by the local community. B.r.e.d.s has developed a way to consistently benefit, preserve, and empower the Treasure Beach, Jamaican community.

Past projects have focused on improving the lives of residents through education, healthcare, environmental protection, hurricane relief, and safety initiatives which works along with Jakes’ resort.  

In fact, the B.R.E.D.S project is getting support from none other than game changer Mr. Chris Blackwell.

Dr. Henry Morgan (Jamaica)

From offices on West Road, in Arnett Gardens aka Trench Town, Dr. Morgan consults with corporate clients on a daily basis, on topics ranging from organisational development and institutional building to strategic planning.

However, that’s just his day job. When everyone is on their way home from a day at the office, instead of corporate clients, he is welcoming community youths, advising on any number of issues ranging from how to apply for their first job to accessing capital for a promising business idea.

Unlike other social entrepreneurs which give services such as health and education, Dr. Morgan strongly believes that huge benefits can accrue to a country and community when business principles are used to give a lift to the most socially disadvantaged groups within its midst.

Challenge yourself: Based on social ills you recognize within your community, which area of social entrepreneurship do you think would be best suited? How can you become a change maker? 

 About the authour: 

Michelle A. Kandasammy is the Co-Founder/Director of The Backpack Project, a non-profit organisation aimed at promoting health and education among Caribbean students from low income families between the ages of 5 to 18. To learn more, LIKE The Backpack Project Fan Page on Facebook. www.facebook.com/TheBackpackProject

 If you find Michelle interesting, follow her @DouglaDuchess on Twitter