Is social entrepreneurship the rich saving the poor?

Is social entrepreneurship the rich saving the poor?

I agree with this article, that social entrepreneurship should not just be about the rich saving the poor, it should be a lot more than that. Social entrepreneurship should not just be able giving back to the society, it should be about empowering those in need, so that they can learn to help themselves and others. 

This picture below, from the article, highlights what social entrepreneurship should be about.

I agree with this viewpoint, that social entrepreneurship should not be teaching people a certain skill or giving them with money, it should be about empowering them to help themselves. Some of the social enterprise I have experienced, no doubt have the passion to help those who are in need. But some of them often do it in a wrong way. They merely provided jobs, and expected that the beneficiaries would change as a result. While it is important to provide job training and job opportunities, Social enterprises should not just take these as a measure of success. They should also learn to impact and transform each beneficiaries into being independent. I feel that it all social enterprises are able to do that, their beneficiaries would have been impact in the most beneficial way, by learning to be independent and learning to survive in the society.

Best places for social entrepreneurs: Singapore, Silicon Valley, London

Today I will be sharing about how Singapore is viewed as one of the best places for social entrepreneurs.

In this article, the author mentioned on his thoughts that Singapore has the potential to be one of the best places for social enterprises. After reading on the article, I have to say i agree with the points made by the author, Even though Singapore does not have the direct market for some social enterprises, such as poverty, diseases etc. Singapore is still one of the best countries to start up a social enterprise. The article shares with us various reasons, such as the access to funding, supportive environment, good business climates and etc.

Personally, I feel that the article might be right. Singapore does have it's advantage, of being a regional hub for business. So it has the potential to be the same for social enterprises. I agree with some of the points that the article mentioned, I feel that it would be important for the Singapore Government to establish a legal structure of entity for Social enterprises in Singapore. In some countries, social enterprises have a legal structure, known as B corps, where they are more easily identified, and have better access to funding and grants. I feel that such a system would be beneficial to social enterprises in Singapore. Social enterprises in Singapore often have to start as a regular business, where they are subjected to stringent checks, and many requirements to apply for grants and loans. By having a B Corps or similar status, it can open up more opportunities for social enterprises, and encourage more people to start up social enterprises. I feel that it would also allow the public in Singapore to better understand the definition of social enterprises, and not be confused by the term.

In conclusion, I feel that although Singapore is not the best place for social enterprises yet, it has the potential to be in the near future, but there are things that could be improved on first.

Study shows low public awareness of social enterprises in S'pore

Study shows low public awareness of social enterprises in S'pore

This article shows how the public in Singapore as low awareness of what a social enterprise is. The article mentioned that out of 2000 respondents, only 13% knows what a social enterprise is. With the increasing amount of social enterprises in Singapore, I feel that this is a worrying statistics. One of the key advantages of being a social enterprise, is the added social value that the business brings along.

However, it is important to educate the public on social enterprises, before they realize the importance, and the added social value that comes along with it. As mentioned in the article, most people do not realize what a social enterprise is, and they do have the misconception that it is similar to a charity.

 As a BZSE student, i feel that there's a need for social enterprises to step up and make social enterprises well known in Singapore.

Despite the low awareness, more than half of the respondents indicate that they were willing to support social enterprises.

 During my time volunteering at Bakery Hearts, I find it to be true. Most of the our customers were willing to support our products once they were explained the mission and the social impact of Bakery Hearts. However, I find that it would be better for social enterprises, if the concept of social enterprise was to be more well known in Singapore. I feel that social enterprise is a good concept, and it is certainly able to make a change in Singapore. In order to do that, I feel that both the government and social enterprises should try and increase their outreach, not just to their beneficiaries, but also to the public and let them know exactly what is a Social enterprise.

Corporate social responsibility could swamp social enterprise in 2013

This article talks about how the author thinks that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) could swamp social enterprises in 2013.

The article mentioned how starbucks, offered to pay $20 million in taxes over the next two years. It also raises the point of how large corporate companies, such as starbucks, is able to make a difference with the amount of money they are able to come out, with little effort. With corporations like starbucks, they could easily afford millions of dollars to spend on CSR. Even though the author of the article has the view that social enterprises are not able to compete with companies such as Starbucks, I  beg to differ.

Firstly, I feel that these two should not be seen as competitors. While it is true that large corporations are able to easily spend the money and produce the impact that small social enterprises might take years to produce, I feel that they should be complimenting each other, instead of being competitors. To begin with, social enterprises are business that were created with the purpose of helping the society, the extent of their impact might be further than a company with CSR. Hence, I do not think that they be seen as competitors, instead, i feel that large corporate companies could introduce programs, grants or loans that can help small social enterprises as part of their CSR program. This way, they are not only helping the society, they are also able to help other social enterprises.

Could social enterprise be an answer to the Greek crisis?

This article talks about the Greek Crisis in Greek, where a large percentage of people are unemployed, and the debt level is 160% of the country's GDP. This article also talks about how social entrepreneurship, can be the solution to financial crisis such as the one occurring in Greek.

Being a third year student, I have witnessed on how social enterprises are able to help provide job opportunities for the disadvantaged. This article raises a good point, that social entrepreneurs might be able to help their own countries through a similar approach. This articles also highlights the importance of support by the government, in starting up social enterprises. In Greece, where such financial crisis is occurring, it is important for the government to provide support for such social enterprises.

I feel that social enterprise might be able to resolve the financial crisis. The article also states that the crisis in Greece is not just a financial one, it is also a political one and there needs to be a long term solution to it. I feel that this situation shows how important social enterprises be, they need not solve problems such as hunger or child mortality rate, a simple social enterprise that provides jobs opportunities can be useful to individuals and to the economy of the country. Social enterprises can be a sustainable and impactful solution, even for developed countries. Even though Singapore is financially secure for now, we still need to be prepared for any unexpected crisis. 

The Social-Enterprise Approach to Job Creation

In this week's posts, I will be sharing an article about how a social enterprise helped in job creation.

Article

The article starts off with the story of David, who was addicted to drugs, and ended up in jail. The article then tell us of how David had managed to get help at Community Housing Partnership, or CHP. CHP is a social enterprise that provides accommodation and skills training to their beneficiaries. By doing so, CHP provided David with a job, a place to stay, and they helped him to get off drugs.

The article provides great example of how social enterprises like CHP is able to help the society. The article explains that by providing employees such as drugs addicts, ex offenders with jobs, they are reducing their dependency on government assistance, while at the same time the employees are able to pay taxes.
The author also mentioned how an organization he funded, the Roberts Enterprise Development Fund, is able to help fund start ups for various social enterprises. The author also mentioned, that their motivation for helping social enterprises is to give people hope. He explains that when the social enterprises are providing employees with jobs, they are actually giving them hope to look towards the future.

My opinion

After reading this article, I can agree with what the author is trying to emphasis. He is trying to explain to us how social enterprises can be a viable way to create jobs, while at the same time reduce social issues such as drug addictions. During my first year, I managed to get the opportunity to interview an executive director of Breakthrough Missions, a social enterprise where they rehabilitate ex offenders. As such, I can say that I agree with the points that the author stated in the article. I also hope that in the future, there will be more such social enterprises, who not only help ex offenders, but also provide job opportunities to people such as the mentally challenged, or drug addicts. I feel that everybody deserves a second chance, and realistically, corporate companies would only want to hire the best with a clean record. It is important for social enterprises to provide the opportunities for the needy, and to provide them with hope.

References

Robert. R. George. (2012, September 26). The Social-Enterprise Approach to Job Creation. Retrieved 3rd January 2013 from: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444032404578010862607298532.html

Bakery Hearts

Today i would like to post about my experience this semester in volunteering with Bakery Hearts.

So what is Bakery Hearts?

Bakery Hearts is the social enterprise that my group had chosen to volunteer with.

It is a social enterprise aimed at helping low-income mothers supplement their income through providing them with jobs and training.
At Bakery Hearts, the beneficiaries learn various soft skills, such as baking skills, communication skills, learning how to do sales and conflict resolution.
While it may seem like an easy job, I learnt a lot during my time volunteering there.

Firstly, I learn a lot through my interaction with the beneficiaries. Even though the social enterprise is a simple one, by providing them with jobs, I am able to experience and see just how much it impacted their lives. Some of them have been housewives for nearly a decade, so this helps them to gain the exposure and confidence to go back to work in the society.

Secondly, I also learnt the hardships of running and managing social enterprises like these. Through our volunteering experiences, we have to contact and manage the work schedule for the beneficiaries. One of the hardest part, was to communicate with the beneficiaries and ensure that they listen to us. Volunteering also gave me the experience to be at the booth, where I managed to learn a lot and interact with the beneficiaries.

Overall, I'm glad to be able to have the chance to volunteer at Bakery Hearts, I find the job that they do very interesting and meaningful, and im glad that I managed to learn from my experience.