SOCIAL BUSINESS SUMMIT 2013 Global change-makers are coming

MANILA, Philippines -The Philippines is rising, and the rest of the world is beginning to take note.

In recent years, the likes of Bill Gates, Angela Merkel and Bono, among other renowned names from the world of business, politics and popular culture, have gathered for the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland to talk about how innovation can change the world.

This year President Aquino attended this illustrious event and was warmly received by his international counterparts after three years of honest and competent leadership.

Alongside President Aquino in Davos has been a steady contingent of Filipinos, including Bam Aquino and Tony Meloto, who demonstrate the enterprise and social innovation coming out of the Philippines.

Indeed, while neither may “move like (Mick) Jagger” (who was with them at the 2012 WEF), or display the glamour of their more eminent contemporaries, they have been steadily gaining more global attention, thanks to their work in founding Hapinoy and Gawad Kalinga, respectively.

Their presence in this illustrious gathering of the rich and famous tried to compensate for two crucial missing ingredients: the poor, and the young.

Solidarity breeds innovation

Tony Meloto explains: “We were eager listeners at the event, and met wonderful people with worthy intentions. However, the poor, who were the subject of so many of our discussions, couldn’t possibly have been further away from the lavish surroundings of Davos. And yet the poor are among the greatest innovators of them all, and their time is now.”

The second missing element were the young professionals and the graduates. “If we really wanted to see change on a massive scale, we couldn’t rely solely on the efforts of the old rich and powerful, who were responsible for the problems of the world to begin with. We needed to involve more young people with skills and aspirations who would come alongside the poor and effect change from the ground up,” explained Meloto.

Bam Aquino, the first social entrepreneur to join the Philippine Senate, highlights the important role of social enterprise because it “goes beyond the ‘dole-out’ mentality” and therefore empowers the poor. Instead of focusing on the single bottom line of profit, social entrepreneurs harness the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.

Bam attended the World Economic Forum in Davos as a Young Global Shaper due to his success in establishing Hapinoy, a social enterprise which helps small sari-sari store owners better run their micro enterprises. “The Hapinoy Program is a good example of how social enterprise can help us find longer-term solutions to poverty. As Hapinoy grows as an enterprise and offers more services, we grow together with our nanays. This way, everyone benefits.”

It was during the World Economic Forum that Meloto and Aquino first hatched the idea of making the Philippines the home of social entrepreneurs in Asia. The potential for social business to bring inclusive growth to emerging economies provides the inspiration for the Social Business Summit which will be held in the Philippines this Oct. 2-5. This gathering hopes to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor, and engage with the missing middle: the young entrepreneurs and professionals who are interested in the potential of business to address some of society’s most prominent challenges.

Most importantly, the event shall take place at the Enchanted Farm in Bulacan, a living and transforming Gawad Kalinga community of former urban settlers who are now rural farmers, skilled workers and entrepreneurs.

“If we couldn’t bring the poor to Davos, then we wanted to bring Davos to the poor instead,” Meloto said.

The Enchanted Farm, a kind of “Silicon Valley for Social Entrepreneurship,” is a point of convergence where the big and small players, the rich and poor, management experts and farmers can come together to develop their social businesses together.

Social Entrepreneurship: Where opportunity and fulfilment combine

“Visitors to the farm are surprised to see so many Europeans, but they shouldn’t be. Social business captures the mood of the times, and the Enchanted Farm Village University in Angat, Bulacan – where an informal rural community merges into a learning environment for bottom of the pyramid wealth creation and social innovation – is unique in Asia as an incubator and platform for social enterprises to grow.”

One such European is Fabien Courteille. Having heard about Meloto’s vision for the Enchanted Farm while studying an Entrepreneurship degree, Fabien became so curious that he dropped his course in France in order to learn about social business in the Philippines.

“Entrepreneurship shouldn’t just be about getting rich and living a comfortable life. It should also be about creating jobs and, ideally, contributing something to benefit society.” Fabien’s viewpoint reflects a growing trend in Europe, where a combination of high unemployment, rising inequality and unfulfilling professional careers have left many Europeans eager to seek out a career with meaning: “Social entrepreneurs I’ve met here in the Philippines, however, had a vision I really wanted to be part of.”

Compared to the limited opportunities at his disposal in France, Fabien soon became enthused by the vast opportunities he saw before him in the Philippines: “Back home, it feels like almost everything has already been done whereas here, there is so much land and so many opportunities.”

Fabien’s attentions eventually settled on the toy industry, a multimillion-dollar industry dominated by cheap, poor quality imports. “I was amazed to discover that seven out of eight toys in this country contain toxic plastic additives, while 30 percent contain toxic metals.” When he suggested the idea to his mentor Meloto, the latter’s response was to lay down the gauntlet: “If you don’t do it, who will?”

Fabien saw the opportunity to team up with nanays from the local community (many of whom had lost their jobs in the local garment factory after production was moved abroad) and set up Plush and Play, a social enterprise which makes hand-stitched soft and stuffed toys. Operations began slowly, with Fabien and his eager rag-tag team of mothers experimenting with different designs and testing them with Meloto’s grandchildren as the first customers, among others. Eventually they settled upon veggie-themed stuffed toys, whose names resemble Filipino icons, such as Manny Pakwan and Jessica Saging. In recent months, business has begun to pick up steam. “Currently we provide an income to 10 families in this community. However, my mission is to help at least 500.”

When I visited Fabien at the farm, he had just finished having breakfast with Tita Fe and her family. The Enchanted Farm, I come to discover, is where everyone, rich or poor, Filipino or foreign, is expected to engage with each other as equals. “Fabien treats us as a partner in his business – we treat him as family,” Tita Fe tells me.

As for Fabien, he may share differences of culture, language and even character reflecting the fact that he grew up on the other side of the world. However, he also shares a deep appreciation of the Filipino, and a determination to help the Philippines become the hub for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia. “I’m here because I genuinely believe that together we can build something that will change the world,” Fabien tells me.

I met Fabien at the Enchanted Farm, selling his products to 300 Assumption College students from San Lorenzo, Makati on their exposure trip to the vast career opportunities in social entrepreneurship. Judging by the enthusiastic response he received from these young students, the Filipino consumer is increasingly willing to support products which are locally made and provide a livelihood to previously marginalized communities. As long as the product itself is of a high standard, social enterprises with strong advocacy to help the country seem to be blessed with a considerable advantage due to the growing patriotism and pride in being Filipino.

In addition to soft toys, Fabien sees great opportunities to make safe and environmentally friendly children’s toys from bamboo. “Bamboo is such a versatile and underdeveloped resource. Through Karpentoys I want to showcase 2,000 years of Filipino traditions and talent in carving and carpentry industry.”

Developing an industry almost from scratch, however exciting, will not come without its challenges, according to Fabien. “My Master’s degree in France hasn’t prepared me for even half of the challenges I have faced out here. I have traveled all around to some extremely remote mountainous regions, just to find sources of bamboo. As you can imagine, most people are quite curious to suddenly see me show up in their village. However, when they find out what I’m doing, they always want to help.”

Many want to help social entrepreneurs succeed because profit means greater social benefit to people and planet.

The Philippines: An emerging regional hub for social business

The task of making life easier for social entrepreneurs is being led by Bam Aquino. “At the start of the 16th Congress, we filed a Social Enterprise Bill that aims to provide greater support to social enterprises so that they can scale up and achieve greater impact. To be frank, social enterprise is a new animal for most people in government – or even for other sectors, for that matter. There is a great opportunity to educate our fellow lawmakers, our public servants, and the greater public about the possible impact of social enterprises, although a lot more still needs to be done.”

The government’s economic cluster, headed by Secretary of Finance Cesar Purisima, has established a working committee to oversee the government’s facilitation of social entrepreneurship, with Bam in charge of legislation and Meloto taking the lead in promoting mentorship.

“We have a vision to create 500,000 social entrepreneurs by 2024. These entrepreneurs will have fulfilling careers which develop industries and create jobs for the poor. I’m willing to bet on this vision, and to sacrifice for it. We hope that the new graduates will find it more exciting to be wealth creators and job generators in the Philippines than to be job seekers abroad,” Meloto adds.

A final thought: the next time you see a seemingly misplaced Westerner walking through the provinces, be extra kind.

After all, he might not just be looking for the beach. He might, just might, be a budding social entrepreneur looking to fulfil his dreams with the rising poor in the Philippines.

Join him and other global change-makers at the Social Business Summit 2013 on Oct. 2-5 at the Enchanted Farm for a life-changing experience. For more information, visit the website www.socialbusinesssummit.net .

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Thomas Graham is a British journalist who came to the Philippines on a job assignment but eventually decided to stay to volunteer for Gawad Kalinga and other social causes. He is currently writing a book, “The Genius of the Poor,” about his journey with many living heroes in the Philippines.