Up-close and Personal with...

the SE Forum 2007 Speakers

Introduction
The Social Entrepreneurship Forum 2007 - "Making It Work in Asia" has
brought together a panel of engaging speakers - researchers, professors and
entrepreneurs - from around the region to share their insights on the best
practices of and challenges facing social enterprises in the region.

In this exclusive interview, we take a closer look at the personal motivations,

advice and views of these incredible people - Associate Professor Albert Teo
(NUS Business School), Ms Josephine Lee (St. James Settlement, a Hong
Kong Social Enterprise), Mr Ken Ito (Tokyo Social Ventures), Mr Jack Sim
(World Toilet Organization), Mr Chris Cusano (Ashoka) and Professor Marie
Lisa Dacanay (Asian Institute of Management).

***

Q: How did you get personally involved in Social Entrepreneurship or

the study of Social Entrepreneurship?

Albert: Last year, I was approached by the NUS Business School to be part of
the Singapore research team for the CAFO Tri-City Research Project on Social
Entrepreneurship - a survey on social enterprises in Singapore, Hong Kong and
Taipei - and immediately said "yes". I have always been interested in doing
research on the non-profit sector, having done similar research in cooperative
societies and Chinese clan associations in recent years.

I also see a very strong link between social enterprises and voluntary welfare
organizations (VWOs), as they both focus on helping marginalized
communities. VWOs occupies a very special place in my heart. Since 2001, I
have been volunteering with Patient Care Center, a social service organization
that is affiliated to the Communicable Disease Center and that runs various
support programs for people with HIV/AIDS (PWAs). I see my work with
PWAs as a calling.

Josephine: I loved being a part of the CAFO Tri-City Research as I truly

believe in Social Entrepreneurship - people working equally hard to make
profits as well as to provide social services. Social enterprise is very
meaningful as it fulfils these two double bottom lines. It was particularly
important when, a few years ago, Hong Kong's unemployment rate was a
record high and there was a critical need to find new ways to help youths and
middle-aged people

St. James' Settlement is one of the social enterprises in Hong Kong receiving
government funding. More than 30% of our services are provided on fee-
charging basis, which gives us space and freedom to spend the fund in ways
beyond the output requirement stated by the funding and service agreement of
government.

Ken: As a student, I used to volunteer in non-profit organizations for

international development and cultural exchanges between Japan and Asia.
Many Japanese NGOs were doing great work, but I sometimes felt like they
were "sprinkling the water at the desert" - full passion to change the world, but
unable to do so efficiently and effectively enough. In fact, many of my friends
from non-profit organizations eventually returned to the private sector as the
wages were not sufficient to support their life.

These experiences made me realize that financial sustainability and efficient

business models are important not only in the private sector but also in the non-
profit sector.

After working a few years in Japanese and American companies, I found many
similarities between management in non-profits and private businesses and
started thinking of combining the best of both worlds - developing innovative
business models supported by the compassion of the people.

This was how I started to devote myself to supporting social entrepreneurship

in Japan.

Jack: I never knew what I did was social entrepreneurship until the Schwab
Foundation competition came to Singapore. I was a businessman before but
became bored after attaining financial independence and a happy family.

I've always taken "Condom King" Mechai of Thailand as my model. Through

advocating condom use - a taboo subject in Thailand -, he saved many from
diseases and unwanted consequences. I am doing the same with advocating
sanitation but, comparatively, I am a newcomer.

Thinking creatively and helping others has been a family tradition and I've
adopted my grandmother's and mother's spirits of helping relatives, neighbours
and strangers despite having few resources. I hope this tradition continues with
my children.

Chris: It happened subconsciously, and in phases. I always knew that it was

my role to contribute to the public in some way—that was part of my
upbringing.

When I was in college, I began to learn about human rights and the great
disparities in the freedom and opportunities enjoyed by different peoples in
different places. After I graduated, I spent a number of years getting firsthand
experience working with indigenous people from Burma who had been
affected by the long-running civil war there.

Those seven years were my real education in the citizen sector. I was involved
in several kinds of work: community education, adult literacy, and human
rights documentation and learnt the importance of working with people with
initiative and strong commitment to their community, as well as the disruption
and risk associated with bringing outside resources into poor communities.

When I began working with Ashoka, in 2000, I learned how to apply these
principles on a global level.

Lisa: Since I was a student back in the 80s, I was already concerned about the
plight of poor people. We had classroom discussions and exposure programs
then that sensitized me about the problems of the poor in the rural and urban
areas. I questioned why some people had so much while others had so little and
I wanted to find solutions to poverty and underdevelopment.

When I left university, I got attracted to the work of non-government

development organizations. So when I was invited to work with the Philippine
Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM) in 1988, I thought it was a perfect
fit. I was attracted to the idea and fell in love with taking on "Development
Management" as a lifetime commitment. At that time PRRM was engaged in a
pioneering program creating models of sustainable area development in
farming, fishing and indigenous communities. This entailed evolving creative
approaches and strategies to improve the quality of life of the poor - including
efforts in livelihood and enterprise development. This continued when I
became Project Manager of an Asian Development Bank-funded project
involving agrarian reform beneficiaries or landless farmers' who were awarded
land titles and needed to make their lands productive. So in a manner of
speaking, I was a practitioner for many years before I became a mentor of
social entrepreneurs.

Social entrepreneurship was my favorite elective when PRRM sponsored my

studies (Master in Development Management) at the Asian Institute of
Management in 1996. So when I came back to AIM in 2001 to set up its Social
and Development Entrepreneurship Program, it was like going full circle.

My passion for social entrepreneurship therefore is deeply rooted in practice

and a commitment to do my share of working for a sustainable future. Only
this time, I'm now mentoring social and development entrepreneurs.

Q: What excites you about Social Entrepreneurship?

Albert: What's really exciting about Social Entrepreneurship is its potential to
empower marginalized communities, raise the level of their self-esteem and
improve their socio-economic condition.

Josephine: Three things: finding innovative ways to generate services and

employment opportunities for people in need; the fight for business survival in
an uncertain economic environment and the continuous search for a
competitive business edge!

Ken: Social entrepreneurship is the source of social innovation. People

often think about how to change social systems to make society more inclusive,
but it's not possible to change the whole system at a time. Instead, we should
start from our own community - try a new methodology to solve a social
problem by establishing a business. It's this step-by-step process of social
progress that's exciting - once a new model is established in a place, other can
replicate the method to solve the similar problem in the other parts of the
society, thus perpetuating a virtuous cycle.

Jack: The success of turning dreams into reality, the knowledge that this work
is wide reaching and the realization that there's something more to life than the
rat-race!

Chris: What excites me about - or at least attracts me to - social

entrepreneurship is its inclusiveness. There is often a strong tendency for
people working on social causes to work in isolation, only communicating and
collaborating among themselves. At the same time, those outside the social
sector often have a disparaging attitude towards “do-gooders” or idealists.

Social entrepreneurship has the power to resolve both of these negative

attitudes and replace narrow-mindedness with an inclusive vision for how
people from all walks of life: business, social work, students, citizens and
government, can work together.

The key here is that inclusiveness is not achieved by finding the least common
denominator among them—sticking to safe issues and backing away from
human rights. Instead, social entrepreneurs lead these various sectors by
helping them find their place in social movements based on important human
values: justice, equality, respect, peace.

Lisa: I'm excited about changing the way the market operates to help solve the
problems of poverty, social inequity and environmental degradation. At the
moment, the market is seen by many as a place for exploiting the poor, where
ordinary people are victims of big businesses that are just concerned with
profit.
I would like to push for a movement that would create new benchmarks for
doing business that would promote the idea that businesses need to incorporate
social and environmental goals, that market players should concern themselves
with pursuing sustainable development.

In this sense, I believe social entrepreneurship should not just be about creating
enterprises that have social or environmental objectives. Successful social
enterprises should be used as springboards for advocacy. More than that,
successful social entrepreneurs need to band together to influence governments
to create an enabling environment for social entrepreneurship to flourish, and
to work with the corporate sector so that corporate social responsibility is not
just about charity or image building but about incorporating social and
environmental goals in their core business.

Q: What advice do you have for people who have a passion to affect
positive change?

Albert: If your heart is stirring and leading you to make a positive impact on
others, act on the urge right away! Never procrastinate or tell yourself that this
calling can wait till after your education, your career or retirement. There is
much community development work to be done and many people who
desperately need help.

Josephine: Be prepared for long-term commitment. In the social enterprise

sector, it typically takes 3-5 years to reap returns and those involved need
patience and tolerance. Also, when you start doing something you love, start
from your core strengths rather than something totally new.

Ken: Think of how you can make the best use of your resources to make
systemic changes. And ... join Social Venture Partners!

Jack: If you see a social need and wish to solve it, don't think about whether
you'll succeed or fail. Having self-doubt is a waste of your energy. Just decide
that it has to be done - and do it.

Chris: The first and most important thing to be aware of is that change is about
people, and therefore you need to understand the lives and aspirations of those
who seek to improve their lives. Ultimately, the change is in their hands, not
yours.

Also, do not assume that the skills you have are necessarily applicable to every
situation. Approach new problems and situations with an open and creative
mind, rather than with the belief that whatever you already know is all you
need.
Social entrepreneurs never set out to "be" social entrepreneurs - they are guided
by their passion and conviction to do something concrete: to see more children
go to school, to replace corruption with transparency, to see poor farmers gain
a foothold in the market, etc. Then someone—usually Ashoka—taps them on
the shoulder and says, “Hey, did you know that you are really a leading social
entrepreneur?” And they say, “Really? That’s great!” And then they continue
following their dreams and ambitions.

Lisa: Singapore is one of the more affluent countries in Asia. In this social
setting, many social entrepreneurship initiatives are about social inclusion of
disadvantaged sectors like the disabled, single mothers, former inmates,
victims of drug abuse, persons living with HIV-AIDS or immigrants. These are
legitimate causes. But maybe social entrepreneurship should also explore
economic linkages between the developed and developing countries of Asia. In
this regard, exploring fair trade between Singapore and the rest of Asia is a
good starting point.

Overall, I'd like to encourage the youth in Singapore who have a passion to
affect positive change to broaden their perspectives and see what role
Singapore is playing and can play in the region. For example, amidst the
prosperity and growth in Singapore and the other affluent societies of Asia, the
region is home to 7 out of 10 of the world's poorest. 24 of the 25 most polluted
cities in the world are in Asia. These are challenges that all Asians need to be
concerned about.

Q: Any personal quotes that you would like to share with us?

Albert: Many people think that volunteer work and community service is all
about giving. I strongly disagree. Ultimately, the volunteer gains much more
than he/she gives. From interaction with the beneficiaries and their
loved ones, the volunteer can gain invaluable lessons on selfless and
sacrificial love, humility, patience, fortitude, and the indomitable
human spirit.

Josephine: “God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference”.
(Reinhold Niebuhr)

Ken: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled." (Matthew 5:6)

Jack: "To know is genius, but to do is virtue." When you act, you assume
leadership and people will be inspired to follow you. That way, you'll be able
to get people who are much more capable than you to support your cause.
Chris: “An ideal society should be mobile, should be full of channels for
conveying a change, taking place in one part to other parts. In an ideal society
there should be many interests consciously communicated and shared. There
should be varied and free points of contact with other modes of association.
Democracy is not merely a form of Government. It is primarily a mode of
associated living, of conjoint communicate.” (Dr. B.R Ambedkar, The
Annihilation of Caste)

Lisa: "The future is not some place we are going to but one we are creating.
The paths to it are not found but made. And the making of those pathways
changes both the maker and the destination." (Quote from the Australian
Commission for a Sustainable Future)

End