Social Enterprise Development Partnerships, Inc.

The fifth annual National Social Entrepreneurship Conference held last November 20 and 21, 2014 at the Escaler Hall of the Ateneo de Manila University revolved around the theme of the role of universities in social entrepreneurship and innovation. Topics discussed were in the areas of research, incubation and opportunities for partnership between the academe and other organizations.

One of the speakers on the first day, Dr. Ed Morato gave a comprehensive overview of the genesis of social entrepreneurship in education as well as a forecast on what foreseeably social entrepreneurship in education will look like in the future. Another speaker, Dr. Lisa Dacanay, presented research she has undertaken on social enterprises with the poor as primary stakeholders whilst giving a glimpse of what social enterprises in the Philippines look like today.

The conference also played host to a variety of esteemed international speakers like Dr. Hoang Van Phu of the Thai Nguyen International School in Vietnam, Pamela Roussos from the Global Social Benefit Institute (GSBI) in Sta. Clara, USA, and Dr. Mark Hayllar from City University in Hong Kong and Dr. Maria Nindita Radyati from Triskati University in Indonesia.

Drs. Phu and Radyati talked about how their universities incorporate social entrepreneurship in their curricula while Pamela Roussos shared their incubation and accelerator models for social enterprises at GSBI. Of interest is Dr. Hayllar’s presentation of a social enterprise endorsement (SEE) mark they had developed for Hong Kong which aims to provide, among others, an increase in competitive advantage for social enterprise products and services in the market.

The conference participants were also glad to hear about social entrepreneurship initiatives by guests from other universities outside of Manila like Central Mindanao University’s Mount Kalayo Institute for Social Enterprise Growth (MKISEG) represented by CMU President Dr. Luisa Soliven, where MKISEG is being touted as the Enchanted farm of Mindanao and Fr. Rene Tacastacas SJ of Xavier University who discussed their agri enterprise projects with farmers in nearby communities.

Also at the conference were Dr. Ofreneo and Professor Pagaduan from the University of the Philippines’ College of Social Work and Development as well as Ateneo de Manila’s very own Dr. Darwin Yu presenting the John Gokongwei School of Management’s future plans for social entrepreneurship education and Danilo Ocampo of the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSEnt) on services offered for social enterprises in the start-up, incubation and scale-up stages.

An inspiring moment at the beginning of the conference was delivered by Ateneo de Manila University President, Fr. Jet Villarin SJ on how at the heart of all social enterprises should be mission and that all social enterprises regardless of size, location and circumstance should have this as the very reason for being.

This year’s conference was mostly attended by members of the academe from universities around the country as well as some members from the NGO sector and some practicing social entrepreneurs. It was made possible through the help of co-organizers the Philippine Social Enterprise Network (PhilSen) and the Foundation for a Sustainable Society Incorporated (FSSI) with support from the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI) and We Effect (Swedish Cooperative Centre).

On November 20 and 21 the 2014 Social Entrepreneurship Conference on Social Enterprise and Innovation: The Roles of Universities will be held at the Escaler Hall of Ateneo de Manila University.  This conference is co-presented by the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSENT) at the John Gokongwei School of Management, the Philippine Social Enterprise Network and the Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI), in collaboration with the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI).

Speakers at the conference include Pamela Roussos of GSBI, Sta. Clara University, Dr. Joseph Thomas of the India Institute and Dr. Mark Hayllar of the University of Hong Kong. They will also be joined by Mr. Antonio Yap Founder and Chairman of the Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation, Dr. Darwin Yu Dean of the Ateneo John Gokongwei School of Management and Mr. Danilo Ocampo Director of the Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship among others.

The conference will discuss four key areas of involvement of the academe in social entrepreneurship. These include social entrepreneurship education, social entrepreneurship research, social enterprise incubation and partnership between universities and other key players. It will feature panel discussions on each of the four key areas, and break-out sessions on social entrepreneurship curriculum development, network building for collaborative engagement between universities and other stakeholders.

By: David Lozada

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippines – Social enterprise has been a buzzword in business and development in the past decade, as some experts would argue. The overarching concept is to involve marginalized communities in doing good business that would profit both the entrepreneur and the community.

But how does one go about starting a social enterprise? The biggest challenge, as some successful social entrepreneurs would say, would be finding the financial resources for the business. This, along with developing a product, are the first steps.

Vincent Rapisura, president and chief executive officer of the Social Enterprise Development Inc (SEDPI), speaking to young entrepreneurs during the British Council’s I Am A ChangeMaker ideation camp, said business startups are always challenging.

“We started SEDPI 10 years ago with the vision of addressing the capacity-building needs of development organizations in the field of micro-finance. It has gone a long way but it wasn’t easy,” one of the founders of the social enterprise said.

SEDPI is a capacity-building institution that trains other groups in micro-finance, financial literacy, and social entrepreneurship. From an initial capital of P45,000 (US$1,027),* the financing company now has P195 million ($4.45 million) based on audited financial statements in the past year. It has an annual turnover of P12 million-P15 million in the past 3 years.

“We’ve estimated that we reached out to a million households in the Philippines by building the capacity of development organizations that directly help them,” Rapisura added.

Rapisura gave tips to young social entrepreneurs on how to go about and finance their business startups:

1) Use your money first

According to Rapisura, social entrepreneurs should not immediately focus on the return of their investments. They should instead concentrate on developing their products and studying their market. This requires a lot of financial resources.

“They should focus more on their market rather than focusing on where to get their investment back. Give focus on product development and really make sure that they address the needs of the markets that they want to reach out to. The enterprise is not about you, it’s about the target market,” he added.

2) Establish credibility, partnerships

In light of the recent corruption scandals that involved development organizations, though not directly social enterprises, Rapisura said it becomes even more challenging to establish a company’s credibility.

“You have to establish your track record. That’s the main thing in establishing your credibility. You have to prove to yourselves that your model works,” Rapisura said.

SEDPI hired professionals for bookkeeping and to come up with good documentation. They eventually partnered with SGV & Co, an established professional services firm, as their auditor to establish more credibility.

Rapisura shared how it was difficult to establish the SEDPI brand, given that he had a small network at the start.

“I started this when I was 25 years old. It’s very difficult to establish a name, especially if you’re not well-known. I come from a middle-class family and no one knew about me. What I did was to hone my skills, knowledge and to establish my network.”

He added: “A lot of those that helped me would be my link with Ateneo de Manila University and my partnership with the British Council. You have to align yourself with organizations and people that already have established brands.”

3) Invite your immediate network to invest

Rapisura said that he and his co-founders invited their immediate family and friends to invest in their business after they were able to prove that their model works. They remain SEDPI’s largest investors.

“It’s actually a misconception to think that your goal is to repay the investments. You have to show your capacity that you can repay the investments. But the goal is to actually entice them to invest more because they believe in your cause and business model,” he added.

After the initial investments, SEDPI was able to attract outsiders to invest.

Rapisura added: “We started to attract philanthropists and young professionals. Now, overseas Filipino workers, international development organizations and commercial banks are investing in us.”

4) Train and trust the right people

Rapisura said that it is important for social entrepreneurs to realize that they cannot do things alone, even if it often seems that they have to do everything at the start.

“Focus on the training. It’s difficult for entrepreneurs not to do the work ourselves, our tendency is that we want to do it to make sure it’s correct. But you have to get out of that shell if you want to grow. I delegated work and started to train people so that the quality they produce would be to my liking,” he said.

A recurring tip during the ideation camp was for social entrepreneurs to be practical in trying to solve social problems, that they cannot solve every problem they see. (READ:#ChangeMaker2014: Young entreps help in Sendong rehab)

“You have to build partnerships because collaboration and cooperation will make things easy for you. That entails a lot of emotional stability because you deal a lot with people and a lot of creativity as well,” Rapisura said.

On startups

Rapisura said there are 4 main ingredients to achieve success in business startups – skills, knowledge, network, and luck.

“If you have the first 3, you can take advantage of the 4th one. You can’t take advantage of opportunities that come your way if you are not prepared in terms of your skills knowledge and you don’t know people who can make you realize your dream,” he added.

He said social entrepreneurs need to be more practical than idealistic so as not to raise false expectations.

“Make your dreams an inspiration but don’t be very idealistic. Don’t pressure yourselves if you don’t make your targeted goals. You have to learn to celebrate small wins,” Rapisura concluded.

The British Council’s ideation camp concluded Friday, October 24, with 5 groups receiving seed funds of P100,000 ($2,300) each to fund their startups. – Rappler.com

http://www.rappler.com/business/features/73131-tips-young-entrepreneurs-finance-startups?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rappler+(Rappler)