Title of the Session: Capacity Building- the role of intermediaries

Summary of Session Content:

The session discussed the specific challenges faced by each of the organizations in their journey to
provide capacity building to social entrepreneurs as well as the various different ways in which they
overcame these difficulties. The intermediaries also shared the challenges they face moving forward
and provided useful advice to those organizations that would also like to engage in the sector.
Speakers:
Krisztina Tora (GSEN)
Pooja Warier (UnLtd India)
Vipul Kumar (Ennovent)
Ranchan Rashika (Tote Board)
Nanako Kudo (Nippon Foundation)

Major Conclusions of the Session:

It is essential to take into account the needs of each social entrepreneur when developing capacity
building programmes and selecting the right intermediaries. The chemistry between social
entrepreneur and mentor is equally important.
There needs to be honest conversation between funders and social entrepreneurs. Building this trust
takes time and requires both sides to be accountable to each other in a language comfortable to
both parties.
The venture philanthropy sector needs to devise ways to tackle systemic barriers that social
entrepreneurs face. In particular, we need to find, attract, train and retain talent.
Question and Answers:
Question 1: There are a few hundred million living in poverty in the region. How can we build a
sustainable programme of getting talented youth to join the NPO sector and get large
corporations to increase the percentage they commit to foundations? Can we be bold to make a
systemic change in VP?
Rashika Ranchan
Volunteerism and creating opportunities for them to engage with the non-profit sector helps. We
also need collaborations between the non profit and private sectors.
Jenny Everett
We need a culture change, and we need to work together to do that. UK UnLtd is working with
schools and helping universities start SE programmes. There is a lot of pressure on the youth in Asia

to start working in corporates. It may not be realistic to catch them immediately after university, but
it is important to build awareness so that they may eventually return to the sector.
Pooja Warier
Scale will not happen overnight. Each journey takes about 20 to 25 years. It is not realistic for VPs
and funders to show up suddenly with a lot of money. We cannot search for quick fixes. So instead
of complaining that theres no pipeline, do something to build the pipeline.

Questions 2: From a funders perspective, we need a lot of patience to do capacity building and
build trust. Our staff are often demotivated as the SEs are by nature bull-headed and do not listen.
Vipul Kumar
Using a one-month trial to ascertain the match between entrepreneur and mentor has worked.
Pooja Warier
SEs need to be headstrong. The question is how do funders show tough love. There must be
practical things to show that the funders are there to support and add value to the SEs. The capacity
building team needs tools, but the entrepreneurs must also have respect for the team.
Question 3: In the last 60 years, clusters of sectors have developed around aid to developing
countries. However, the social sector does not seem to be learning from existing practices that
have lifted entire supply chains. SMEs are entrepreneurs and the social / aid sector can draw from
their experiences.
Jenny Everett
GSEN is trying to tackle this, as a centre of excellence for how to best support SEs by working with
many types of organisations with different models and collaborating with other philanthropic
networks. There are also important differences in the SE sector to take into consideration.
Pooja Warier
If you look at individuals and organisations, a lot of learning occurs informally. There is cross-sector
learning.
Question 4: As organisations grow, the percentage of funding and what can be funded varies. How
can organisations reach out to funders and get access to resources, such as funding for overheads?
Is there a funders forum?
Rashika Ranchan
The Enabling Lives initiative supports different elements that most projects find challenging
(overheads, impact assessment, manpower, etc.). As for funders forums, networks like AVPN exist
to put more info out there, as a platform to share information and foster collaboration. But we do
need to be more out there with the information.

Question 5: Talent is a constraint to scale. Two components of a persons decision to enter at a

young age are compensation (low in this sector) and the opportunity to learn (organisations that
have great training programmes). In the private sector like consulting and banking, there are great
training programmes that develop both hard and soft skills.
Jenny Everett
More leadership programmes need to be developed. Relevant large-scale training programmes
require pooling resources together. In the On Purpose programme in the UK, people from traditional
companies with 5 to 8 years experience get to spend one year in the social sector. They get two 6month placements and high-level training. Many end up moving to the social sector, or to CSR
departments in corporates.
Pooja Warier
Retention is more important than attraction. Training is important part of the work. UnLtd India
dedicates 1 day per month to training. Employees were willing to take a pay cut, as they learnt skills
that are taught in MBA programmes. So the organisation developed a structured programme for
internal staff and other young people. It is about how to use our work to build their potential; not
how they can help us do our work.
Question 6: VPs start with the intention to tailor non-financial support. However, over the years,
they develop expertise on the kind of support to provide. This expertise may even become the
screening criteria whereby they choose organisations where they can offer a particular type of
support.
Nanako Kudo
Nippon Foundation does not have much expertise in HR and business support, so they make
partnerships with consulting, professional and social investment firms. They make sure that
investment managers are organising and overseeing everything so that they can understand the
priorities of the organisations and invite pro bono partners or other stakeholders through the
network of the VP.
Vipul Kumar
VP is not about developing capacity building in-house, but building a network of mentors to
diagnose what is needed.