Category: Social Entrepreneurship

At the sidelines of the British Council’s conference on social entrepreneurship, SEDPI and CSIP signed a partnership agreement in Yangon, Myanmar on May 21, 2012. The partnership aims to strengthen the capacity of CSIP to deliver training courses on social entrepreneurship in Vietnam. Under the agreement, SEDPI will provide training of trainers, training design, training manual development and pilot testing to CSIP. The cooperation will cover two training topics on social entrepreneurship.

“We are banking on the expertise and experience of SEDPI to enable CSIP to deliver quality training courses on social entrepreneurship in Vietnam,” says Kieu Oanh Pham, CSIP’s director. SEDPI’s CEO, Mariel Vincent A. Rapisura responds, “We are honored to be of service to social entrepreneurs in Vietnam through CSIP. We hope that this initiative will also be replicated in other parts of Southeast Asia as we tap the vast network of the British Council.”

The Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) is a Vietnamese non-governmental and non-profit organization. It contributes in building up an equitable, prosperous, and sustainable society by promoting high impact social innovations. CSIP directly supports social entrepreneurs in their early stages and mobilize the participation of state agencies, other enterprises,  and surrounding communities; with the hope of the further development of social entrepreneurship in Vietnam.

The Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) is a leading capacity building institution in providing innovative and excellence-driven services on microfinance, financial education and social entrepreneurship. It has reached 1,750 development organizations that have a combined outreach of ~4.2 million households worldwide. SEDPI’s capacity building services provide stakeholders – practitioners, policy makers, donors organizations and networks – with practical and readily applicable tools that lead to better institutional and operational policies.

Both CSIP and SEDPI are participants to the British Council’s program on establishing a network for social enterprises. The program started in Bangkok, Thailand continued in Yangon, Myanmar and will culminate in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Mariel Vincent Rapisura and Edwin Salonga, President and Chairperson of the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc. (SEDPI) respectively, presented the story of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises in a seminar in Vietnam. The event aims to inspire students of the National Economics University (NEU) to support the development and explore the possibility of putting up social enterprises in their country.

Supported by the British Council Vietnam, the seminar also featured the social enterprises being supported by Gladius Kulothungan of the University of East London. More than 100 junior and senior students attended the event held on April 12, 2012 at the NEU Campus in Hanoi.

Vincent discussed that in 2004, SEDPI started out with a clear vision to be the leading capacity builder in the Philippines with regard to microfinance and social entrepreneurship. Since then, SEDPI has been able to train 7,500 individuals coming from 1,500 development organizations all over the world. It also has a program on financial literacy that targets Overseas Filipinos and their families, with the main thrust of educating them on how to manage their personal finances wisely.

Edwin focused on the growth of SEDPI Capital Credit, Inc. (SCCI) over the years. Starting out as a program of SEDPI, it has spun off as a separate organization that specializes on socially responsible resource mobilization. From having only USD 3,000 in its portfolio in 2004, SCCI now has total assets of over USD 3 million. It mobilizes investments from development institutions and Filipino migrant organizations, which in turn are converted as loans to microfinance institutions and social enterprises in the Philippines. After hearing the story of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises, the university students had numerous queries on how similar companies could be established in Vietnam.

Vincent explained that there are four key factors to success – skills, knowledge, network and luck. One of the participants emphatically asked, “what percentage of the total mix is luck?” Vincent answered, “It is not about percentage but how ready you are in terms of skills, knowledge and network when luck arrives.” He added, “one should prepare for luck to be able to seize it when it arrives.”

With the key message that a balanced outlook on the importance of financial returns and achievement of social mission is possible in social entrepreneurship, the students took home with them the possibility of another career option. As a social entrepreneur, they would be able to create successful businesses that help the marginalized sectors in Vietnam.

SEDPI President and CEO Mariel Vincent Rapisura shared the Philippine experience and recent initiatives on social entrepreneurship during the Scientific Conference on Social Enterprise Development held on April 9, 2012 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The National Economics University in partnership with the British Council Vietnam organized the conference. It attracted more than 100 academicians from various Vietnamese universities and practitioners in the field of social entrepreneurship.

The conference aims to raise the awareness of faculty members in various universities in Vietnam as regards social entrepreneurship and to inspire them to develop curricula to support local enterprise development. The event brought together experts from the United Kingdom, United States, and the Philippines as well as practitioners and researchers from Vietnam. They tackled key challenges and opportunities social enterprises face.

PGS. TS. Bui Anh Tuan, Vice President of the Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam, and Michael Gordon, Deputy Director of the British Council Vietnam delivered keynote speeches highlighting the role of the academe and the private sector in social enterprise development. As a response, TS. Nguyen Van Tien, Vice Chair of the Community of Social Issues of the Vietnam Assembly (Quoc Hoi) spoke about the role of the government and the importance of synergistic relationships in this field.

Among those who shared their insights and experiences during the conference were ThS. Luu Minh Durc (Researcher at the Department of Business Environment of Central Institute for Economic Management), Ba Pham Kieu Oanh (Executive Director of the Center for Social Initiatives Promotion), Gladius Koluthungan (Professor at the University of East London), and Michael Goldberg (Professor at the Case Western Reserve University in the US).

SEDPI founders Mariel Vincent Rapisura, Edwin Salonga, and Raquel Reyes led the delivery of a 3-day workshop on Social Entrepreneurship in Vietnam. Gladius Kulothungan of the University of East London served as co-facilitator in the event. The National Economics University (NEU) in partnership with the British Council Vietnam, organized the workshop. The workshop focused on the importance of integrating social entrepreneurship into the curricula of various universities in Vietnam.

Held from April 9 to 11, 2012 at the NEU Campus in Hanoi, 49 academicians and practitioners attended the workshop. The workshop aims to enrich the participants’ understanding of social entrepreneurship, gain support in its development, inspire university faculty to write and publish academic research work, and develop a curricula that will cater to students and practitioners alike.

The workshop discussed key concepts, models, and strategies of social entrepreneurship. It provided a venue to clarify the difference of social enterprises from traditional businesses and charitable work. The characteristics and motivations of social entrepreneurs were likewise tackled during the event. Stakeholder analysis, financial and social performance management, and social enterprise product development provided operational tools that participants could use in developing social enterprises.

The facilitators used several case studies to highlight key messages in the workshop. Among those discussed were Good Food Company (community shared agriculture) and Klinikalusugan (community health clinic) in the Philippines. The participants shared that these enterprises could be replicated in Vietnam given similar contexts between the two Southeast Asian countries.

A farewell dinner for the facilitators was organized by NEU. During the closing ceremony, the lead faculty of various universities as well as social entrepreneurs who attended the 3-day event gave overwhelming accolades for the design, content, and delivery of the workshop. Dr. Pham Quang Trung, Vice President of NEU, presented the facilitators with local Vietnamese products as token of the university’s sincere appreciation of the event’s success.

To promote sustainable development amongst young people in the Philippines, British Council and CSR Asia jointly organized CSR Forum on “Investing in Young People – Employability and Entrepreneurship for Tomorrow’s Leaders.” The event discussed how educational initiatives can maximize employability and develop entrepreneurial talents. The theme addressed how businesses and non-government organizations (NGOs) can become involved in achieving sustainability in the workplace and helping the next generation entrepreneurs.

SEDPI’s Chairperson, Edwin Salonga and President, Mariel Vincent Rapisura were speakers in the event. They shared practical steps for making social enterprises work – from concept to production. They shared the success of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises as an example on how to start up social enterprises. They also showcased two social enterprises SEDPI is currently supporting – Good Food Community (GFC) and KliniKalusugan (KK). GFC implements community shared agriculture to improve the quality of life of farmers. KK is a community health clinic that provides health care services in urban poor communities.

Richard Wilford, Chairman of CSR Asia, delivered his keynote address on the recruitment challenges for businesses in asia. Cases were shared during the forum showcasing how education can maximize employability. Roberto Nazal, Head of CSR of Globe Telecom; Janine Carreon, Talent Management Head of Manila Water Company, Heidi Calo Program Director of GoNegosyo; and Caroline Burns, Executive Director of the Institute of for Social Entrepreneurship Education led the case sharing. Brian Belen, Vice President of Bato Balani Foundation, also talked about corporate volunteers as mentors. Amanda Burrell, Director of British Council Philippines, closed the event.

The British Council and Rappler organized an event entitled “Communicating for Social Change” on March 24-27, 2012. The event was held at Discovery Suites in Pasig City. The objective of the event is to train young leaders who want to affect change and achieve great things not only for themselves, but for the wider public.

The event revolved around four topics: effective communications strategies; championing your cause; getting support and funding; and utilizing new media. SEDPI founders, Mr. Vincent Rapisura and Mr. Edwin Salonga, joined the impressive roster of speakers such as Maria Resa, Patricia Evangelista, John Silva, Chay Hofileña, Michael Josh Villanueva, and CNN reporter Steve Lunt.

Vincent and Edwin were tasked to deliver social marketing. Vincent explained that social marketing is about changing behaviors for the good of individuals, groups or the public. He provided a framework of analyzing stakeholders in organizations to determine what behaviors to change to achieve organizational objectives. The participants were divided into groups that allowed them to share the different stakeholders and dynamics behind these stakeholders. They were able to identify the challenges their stakeholders face and behavioral changes needed to address these challenges.

Edwin continued on the discussion and provided concrete examples on how to design social marketing campaigns. He provided strategies on how to get the community on board to support advocacies, campaigns and causes. After the session, the participants were able to design simple social marketing campaigns that they could implement in their organizations.

“Is Asia up to the challenge?” This is the theme of the Asia Summit on Social Entrepreneurship. Seventy four delegates from 17 countries in Asia attended the event in Bangkok, Thailand on March 1-2, 2012. As the fastest growing region in the world, the summit aims to examine the potential for social innovation and how social entrepreneurship can be raised to an even higher level.

Dr. Kriengsak Chareonwongsak, Chair of Social Entrepreneurship Institute in Thailand delivered the keynote speech to open the summit. In his speech he stressed the importance of social entrepreneurship in contributing to the development of Asia as a region. I-genius’s CEO and summit organizer, Mr. Tommy Hutchinson presented the asia wide survey results on social entrepreneurship. He highlighted that social enterprises in Asia have a positive outlook since they generally expect higher sales, create employment and improve impact in the coming years.

The summit provided a platform to surface and respond to seven challenges. Mr. Romy Cathyadi, director of Provisi Education in Indonesia, facilitated the first challenge which identified the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of Social Entrpreneurship in Asia. In brief, the strengths include a strong demand for social enterprise products and services; a few countries, such as South Korea, Singapore and Thailand, recognized social enterprises as agents for social development. The weaknesses include lack of management skills, limited market understanding and limited finance. Increasing interest from the government, civil society and the consumers to support social enterprises is the most pronounced identified opportunity. Lastly, threats include lack of regulatory framework; competition from traditional businesses; and varying definitions of social entrepreneurship hinders collaboration, policy creation and access to resources.

Sunit Shrestha, director of  Change Fusion in Thailand and Vincent Rapisura, CEO of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises facilitated the second challenge: Customers First. The session stressed the importance of market orientation to sustain social enterprises and making sure that institutional capacity is developed to provide the preferences of the market. Vincent Rapisura stressed that, “there is no such thing as competition in social entrepreneurship.” He explained that social enterprises offering the same products and services have the same vision or mission towards social development and therefore should collaborate to achieve each others vision or mission. “In a world where poverty is high and the environment is compromised, competition in social entrepreneurship should be transformed to collaboration,” he added.

Yuan Gu, founder and CEO of Aha Social Innovation Center, drew from the participants the third challenge on skills and know-how. His session highlighted the need for continuous innovation to provide products and services to the market.

The fourth challenge on finance and investment was presented through active participation. Mr. Edwin Salonga, Chairperson of SEDPI Group of Social Enterprises, and Vincent Rapisura teamed up to facilitate the session. They shared myths and facts in resource mobilization as well as shared their actual experience in raising capital that grew their social enterprise from a mere USD 500 company to an almost USD 3 million company in seven years. Mr. Alan Johnson, a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust fellow wrote, “Brilliant! Great fun!” in his evaluation of the session.

Penny Low, President and Founder of Social Innovation Park in Singapore, stressed the important role of the government as enabler and as an entrepreneur in supporting social enterprises. She presented the fifth challenge on designing a legal and regulatory framework for governments. Ed Rebusch director of the Centre for Social Enterprise of Thammasat Business School in Thiland tacked the sixth challenge on developing networks, partnerships and engaging stakeholders. He emphasized the importance of the entrepreneur as the “middle person” in bridging the gaps of seemingly polar ideas, actors or events. HOP – Happy, Optimistic and Personal was the main message of Kristine Oustrup, CEO of Qi Global in Singapore. She delivered the seventh challenge on good communications.

The summit also presented actual social enterprises from China, Philippines and Thailand. Huang Ke of China presented her social enterprise in transforming building roofs in Shanghai to green gardens. Orapin Sinamonvech of Thailand showcased Kokoboard Company as a producer of furniture and construction boards from rice husks, peanut shells, coco fiber and other indigenous materials. Roberto Crisostomo of the Philippines presented how his social enterprise on Cocoa farming could benefit farmers. All of the cases presented were winners of competitions on social entrepreneurship that the British Council organized.

View photos of the summit here.

Mr. Edwin Salonga, Chairperson of Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc (SEDPI) motivated young business and management students in the 8th Mindanao Business & Management Youth Congress held February 17-19, 2012 at the Grand Caprice Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro City.

The Mindanao Business and Management Youth Congress or MBMYC is an annual congress of young leaders and entrepreneurs in Mindanao, organized by the School of Business and Management of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan. On its 8th year, the chosen theme of the congress was “Moving Towards The Paramount of Infinite Possibilities through Unified Diversity”, highlighting the role of business and management in creating more opportunities and uplifting the quality of life in Mindanao.

Mr. Salonga shared the SEDPI experience on Social Entrepreneurship. Other speakers include Inspirational Speaker Bo Sanchez, DOT Secretary Mon Jimenez, Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez.