Category: Social Entrepreneurship

SEDPI Social Enterprise Ventures, Inc. (SSEVI), the social enterprise incubator of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises, provided capacity building to two budding social enterprises. SSEVI’s President and CEO, Mariel Vincent Rapisura, facilitated a review of Route +63’s strategic plan and provided a loan package for Solar Solutions to sell its products last January 12-13, 2013.

Route +63 aims to be the leading organizer of socially and environmentally responsible trips in the Philippines. Through its activities, it hopes to spur local economic development through sustainable tourism. Route +63 targets to serve 15,000 local and international tourists by 2017. The organization has already mounted trips to Sagada, Banaue rice terraces and Bataan. The trips had a special social, environmental or cultural agenda. The Sagada trip not only made the tourists appreciate nature but also the coffee culture of locals. Those who joined the tour in Banaue had the chance to volunteer their labor in rehabilitating rice terraces. In Bataan, the tourists protected the eggs and hatchlings of the Pawikan (Philippine turtle).

Solar solutions is a social enterprise that provides technical and expert advice on the design and deployment of renewable energy. It designs solar energy systems to homes and communities, solar-powered waste water treatment. It also undertakes research and development on solar systems. The main goal is to make renewable energy available and affordable to more people and communities.

SSEVI currently provides support services to 12 start up social enterprises all over the Philippines. Support services include assistance on business registration; setting up of accounting system; external audit support; facilitation of strategic planning; social enterprise advice; access to funds and market linkaging. It hopes to grow social enterprises to become part of its growing development portfolio

SEDPI Foundation is the latest member of the SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises (SEDPI GSE). It was registered on January 4, 2013. The foundation is part of SEDPI GSE’s vision of establishing sustainable social enterprises for the economic empowerment of the poor. SEDPI Foundation will be a support organization for social enterprises and microfinance institutions that facilitates development programs for the poor.

The banner strategy of SEDPI Foundation is the establishment of an endowment fund for capacity building to empower the poor. The other members of SEDPI GSE will donate to this endowment fund annually. The foundation will also mobilize donations from different sectors of society.

What makes the SEDPI Endowment Fund different from others?

First, the endowment fund will solely be used for capacity building to empower the poor. This could be in the form of education scholarships for the children from very poor households; conduct of trainings to poor Overseas Filipinos and their families; and technical assistance to development organizations such as social enterprises and microfinance institutions. Second, unlike other endowment funds, 100% of the corpus or principal of the endowment will be invested in development organizations that have demonstrated financial sustainability. This emphasizes the trust of SEDPI GSE on socially responsible investments. Third, only the interest of the corpus or the principal of the endowment fund will be used for capacity building activities of the foundation.

The foundation will also be the corporate social responsibility arm of SEDPI GSE and will institutionalize its outreach activities and advocacy programs. Social innovations and experiments that are not aligned in the core strategies and activities of other SEDPI GSE members will also be done in the foundation.

SEDPI Foundation hopes to be accredited with the Philippine Council for NGO Certification to enable it to have donations deductible when individuals or corporations pay for their income taxes.

Good Food Community, Inc. (GFC) was formally registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 28, 2011. GFC envisions a nationwide movement of socially responsible consumers supporting community shared agriculture. It has a total authorized capitalization of PhP4 million.

GFC aims to uplift the lives of small farmers by bringing them into community with socially responsible consumers. It invites customers to become real stakeholders in the food system by committing to purchase a share of the vegetable harvest regularly for a fixed period. In this way, farmers are assured of a more stable demand and regular income. Beyond a more humane economics, GFC aims to cultivate community between and among consumers and farmers.

In 2010, GFC won in the “I am a Changemaker” competition of the British Council. It was initated by a group of young professionals called Hungrily. Last 2011, GFC was able to reach out to 20 farmers in Tarlac and almost 100 socially responsible consumers in Metro Manila with a total sales volume of more than one million pesos.

In December 2012, SEDPI Social Enterprise Ventures, Inc. (SSEVI) conducted a study on the quality of life of the Good Food Community (GFC) farmers. The result showed that a significant number of the farmers are women. In Philippine society, farming is typically the role of the husband. Their average age is 55 years old. Two in every three farmers were able to reach high school. Three out of the four farmers own their lot while the rest are either rent or are caretakers of the land. The average land area cultivated and devoted to organic farming is 8,000 square meters.

Six in every ten farmers shared that they had increase in income because of GFC. Since joining the program, almost all of the farmers shared that their diet improved due to increased consumption of vegetables and meat. All of them are also able to send their children to school. Majority of the farmers explained that GFC was able to help them send their children to school since they are better able to provide allowance to their children and purchase school requirements. Close to three in every ten farmers were able to repair their houses and a few were able to expand their homes and installed electricity when they participated in GFC’s community shared agriculture. Almost all of the respondents attribute their ability to purchase food for their family due to GFC while majority said they are able to pay their utility bills and purchase household items due to the same.

Since joining GFC’s program, more than half of the farmers said that they expanded their farming activity. Based on the assessment of the farmers, their farming business improved from an average rating of 2.87 to 5.40. The farmers were asked on the condition of their farming business with 10 as the best condition and 1 as the poorest condition. Although still far from the ideal business condition, there is marked improvement in the assessment of the farmers.

The farmers were also generally satisfied with the partnership with GFC. The average satisfaction rating was 8.7 out of a possible score of ten. The farmers appreciate the presence of GFC especially that it provides them with an assured market for their vegetable produce. They said that they are able to get better price for their vegetables compared to other trades who would give lower farm gate prices. They also like that GFC provides them with seeds they can plant. What they appreciate most if through GFC’s community shared agriculture program, they are able to have steady source of income.

There are still a lot of challenges that need to be addressed to improve GFC operations. The farmers would like to increase production of their vegetables but there is currently not enough demand for organic vegetables. They also need additional financial assistance and provisions for farm equipment and green houses. GFC plans to address all of these challenges and SSEVI would be providing assistance to GFC to overcome these challenges.

GFC is a social enterprise that implements community shared agriculture. It supports around 20 farmers in Capas, Tarlac by directly linking them to socially aware and health conscious consumers in Metro Manila. GFC was the 2011 winner of the British Council’s “I am a Changemaker” Competition. Since then, SSEVI provided technical assistance to the group. SSEVI is also an equity investor in GFC.

If you are interested to join GFC community as a consumer/subscriber, sign up through this link.

“Social Entrepreneurs must choose institutions on the basis of long terms relationships rather than transactional ones”, said Mr. Edwin Salonga, SEDPI’s Chairperson, in his speech during the Ateneo De Manila University’s 3^rd Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference. The theme for the year’s conference was “Enabling social Enterprise Harnessing Opportunities for Social Impact”. The two-day conference aimed to shed light on key opportunities for social enterprises in the Philippines. It served as an avenue for stakeholders and social entrepreneurs to gauge existing opportunities in the areas of financing opportunities for social enterprises, the Social Enterprise Bill, technology and social entrepreneurship, and partnership opportunities with the government.

In his speech, Mr. Salonga talked about sifting through financing options for start up and growing social enterprises. He discussed that financing needs vary across the stages of the social enterprise. Mr. Salonga related SEDPI Capital’s experience on getting financial support which diversified as the institution transitioned from the start up stage to expansion stage.  He added that there is a wide array of financing possibilities available to social enterprises. Social entrepreneurs, then, must be able to strategically choose which among the options fit the needs of their social enterprise. Such is the key which will allow the social enterprise to get more financing opportunities as they grow. Other speakers were Mark Ruiz of Microventures Inc., Human Nature’s Anna Meloto-Wilk and Congressman Teddy Casiño were also present among others.

The two-day conference, which was held last November 8 – 9, 2012 at the Leong Hall Auditorium of Ateneo De Manila University, was co-presented by the Development Studies Program of ADMU, the Philippine Social Enterprise Network (PHILSEN), and Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Other collaborators for the event were Counselo Foundation, the Foundation for Sustainable Society, Oikocredit and Peace and Equity Foundation.

“Social Entrepreneurs must choose institutions on the basis of long terms relationships rather than transactional ones”, said Mr. Edwin Salonga, SEDPI’s Chairperson, in his speech during the Ateneo De Manila University’s 3^rd Annual Social Entrepreneurship Conference. The theme for the year’s conference was “Enabling social Enterprise Harnessing Opportunities for Social Impact”. The two-day conference aimed to shed light on key opportunities for social enterprises in the Philippines. It served as an avenue for stakeholders and social entrepreneurs to gauge existing opportunities in the areas of financing opportunities for social enterprises, the Social Enterprise Bill, technology and social entrepreneurship, and partnership opportunities with the government.

In his speech, Mr. Salonga talked about sifting through financing options for start up and growing social enterprises. He discussed that financing needs vary across the stages of the social enterprise. Mr. Salonga related SEDPI Capital’s experience on getting financial support which diversified as the institution transitioned from the start up stage to expansion stage.  He added that there is a wide array of financing possibilities available to social enterprises. Social entrepreneurs, then, must be able to strategically choose which among the options fit the needs of their social enterprise. Such is the key which will allow the social enterprise to get more financing opportunities as they grow. Other speakers such as Jaime Ayala (Ernst and Young’s 2012 Social Entrepreneur of the Year), Mark Ruiz of Microventures Inc., Human Nature’s Anna Meloto-Wilk and Congressman Teddy Casiño were also present among others.

The two-day conference, which was held last November 8 – 9, 2012 at the Leong Hall Auditorium of Ateneo De Manila University, was co-presented by the Development Studies Program of ADMU, the Philippine Social Enterprise Network (PHILSEN), and Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Other collaborators for the event were Counselo Foundation, the Foundation for Sustainable Society, Oikocredit and Peace and Equity Foundation.

Social entrepreneurs have the best chance of combining social issues and business solutions to bring about greater change in our society today. The challenge, however, is to encourage more people to join the social entrepreneurship sector and equip them with the skills necessary to run successful social enterprises.

One institution that has risen to the challenge is Center for Social Initiatives Promotion or CSIP. CSIP, in partnership with SEDPI, conducted a training course on Start Your Social Enterprise. The training was held in Hanoi, Vietnam from October 11 to 13, 2012. There were 25 participants from 9 different social enterprises. The training gives a brief introduction into the world of social entrepreneurship and discusses different operational models that their SEs can utilize. The training also presents different tools that the participants can use in identifying opportunities, analyzing stakeholders, and recognizing resource needs. By the end of the three-day training, participants presented their social enterprise plans. The social enterprise that was most innovative, viable and high impact would be awarded prize money. The panel of judges were made up of SEDPI and CSIP staff who journeyed with the social entrepreneurs throughout the course.

CSIP is a non-government organization that supports social entrepreneurs in Vietnam. They provide support to social enterprises that are in their start-up and expansion by looking for different kinds of funding to sustain their operations and they harness networks that can offer technical support to these SEs. CSIP aims to raise awareness and mobilize government, other enterprises and surrounding communities to collaborate for the social entrepreneurship sector.

The recently concluded training course is part of the SEDPI-CSIP partnership to strengthen the capacity of CSIP to deliver training course on social entrepreneurship. Under the agreement, SEDPI will provide training of trainers and assist in the training design, module development and pilot test of their SE training courses.

During the three-day training course, both SEDPI and CSIP delivered sessions to the participants. SEDPI sent President and CEO Mariel Vincent Rapisura and Program Officer Denise Subido to train the social entrepreneurs in Vietnam. SEDPI hopes that CSIP can learn different training techniques that will aid them in the delivery of the next training courses.

A total of 36 faculty members and administrators of the Ateneo de Davao University (AdDU) attended the “Capacity Building on Resource Mobilization” held on September 14-16, 2012 at the Pinnacle Hotel, Davao City. The training aims to develop the skills on resource mobilization of AdDU centers, institutes, departments and offices for a sustainable community engagement and advocacy work with partners and service users.

The training included an orientation on the programs and portfolios of donor agencies; explored new and creative techniques on resource mobilization; and guided the participants to write capsule proposals, which are to be submitted to participating donor agencies.

Mr. Edwin Salonga and Mr. Vincent Rapisura facilitated the three-day training. They shared practical experience in proposal writing as well as preparing for negotiation with various project stakeholders.

AdDU engages instruction and formation, research and community service in order to spread the tradition of academic excellence and greater service. It aims to form students and leaders who contribute to and engage in nation-building, most especially for Mindanao. The University also promotes social justice, gender equality, good governance, the creation of wealth and its’ equitable distribution. The AdDu community also reaches out to local communities and institutions in order to achieve its’ mission. Lastly, the University forms students into “persons-for-others” by engaging them in formation activities and student-centered programs.

Twenty three Lumad students from University of Mindanao attended the Social Entrepreneurship training course last August 11 – 12, 2012 held in Davao City. The training equips budding social entrepreneurs with information on getting started in their social enterprise ventures by providing tips on business strategies, planning, marketing and resource mobilization. It highlights that social enterprises, like business enterprises, is also concerned with financial sustainability. Modules integrate the use of management practices (human resource, marketing, operations and finance) with sustainable development.

The training course was requested by University of Mindanao’s Office of Student Affairs specifically for Paglaum, a college organization whose members are mostly Lumad. The Lumad are the indigenous people in Mindanao. Paglaum plans to launch a social enterprise that can help finance the miscellaneous expenses of the Lumad scholars. Paglaum means “hope” in the vernacular.

Their social enterprise is in its’ planning phase, making the delivery of the training very timely. In the course of the training, the students were encouraged to refine their social enterprise product and define who the stakeholders are. By the end of the training, the students were able to define their product and social enterprise idea. They plan on conducting urban container gardening, planting mostly organic vegetables that they can sell to vendors in their cafeteria and to UM faculty and students. At present, they have began planting eggplant and snow cabbage or petchay.

SEDPI Program Manager Emilenn Kate Sacdalan and Program Officer Denise Subido facilitated the training course. The training and the trainers were well-received and were rated excellent. The participants found the training very helpful, with one students saying that her understanding of social enterprise widened. Another student said that he is, “being open about opportunities because now I know how and where to find solutions for our financial problem.”