tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post1092456350103994908..comments2024-03-27T15:36:44.737-07:00Comments on Haq's Musings: Social Entrepreneurship in America and Developing WorldRiaz Haqhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-67353031299605259542014-10-16T08:34:42.802-07:002014-10-16T08:34:42.802-07:00The term social enterprise may be relatively new i...The term social enterprise may be relatively new in Pakistan but it is gaining popularity in its areas of development.<br /><br />While it may be an unfamiliar concept for many engaged in local grassroots businesses they can nevertheless see the potential of engaging in ventures which have a social impact.<br /><br />According to the Opportunity Pakistan Report – produced by i-genius, an initiative supporting social entrepreneurs worldwide – despite the country’s social and political unrest, it offers opportunities for investment and innovation.<br /><br />“Countries experiencing transition are fertile places for new ideas to thrive”, said Shivang Patel, commission coordinator of i-genius. “Despite media attention in the west on all things bad in the region we found a country progressing through slow but significant positive reforms. There is considerable untapped potential for social businesses”.<br /><br />A new wave of creative and confident young entrepreneurs has emerged developing innovative start ups in areas such as environment, health and skills. Scores of young women and men from remote areas of Pakistan are becoming social entrepreneurs.<br /><br />A longstanding lack of investment in Pakistan’s public sector has prompted local business leaders to invest in ideas which tackle issues such as water and sanitation problems as well as those which can address its energy and environmental concerns.<br /><br />One such example is Pharmagen Water. Established in 2007,it aims to provide poor communities in Pakistan’s second largest city, Lahore, with affordable clean and purified drinking water. It is supported by the Acumen, which invests in entrepreneurs and creates venture capital which can provide solutions to causes of poverty.<br /><br />Another business offering a solution to parts of Pakistan’s energy strapped areas is SRE Solutions. Established just last year with Acumen’s support it offers to harness solar energy for off-grid customers in districts of Punjab and Khayber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.<br /><br />Similarly a low-cost engineering and construction enterprise, Ghonsla, was set up in the aftermath of Pakistan’s devastating earthquake in 2005. With 73,000 people killed and large parts of its cities and villages destroyed in the north by the disaster, the plight of 2.5 million people left homeless hung in the balance<br /><br />The initial funding for Ghonsla’s pilot project came from Seed, Social Entrepreneurship and Equity Development, a venture which supports startups and grassroots innovations.<br /><br />Its incubation centres in Pakistan provide opportunities for young entrepreneurs in their early years of startup.<br /><br />http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/oct/10/social-enterprise-is-an-emerging-force-in-pakistan<br /><br />http://www.i-genius.org/Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-91982524575334401482010-10-12T23:01:52.946-07:002010-10-12T23:01:52.946-07:00Here's the story of how Acumen's Jacquelin...Here's the story of how Acumen's Jacqueline Novogratz got into microfinance, as published by <a href="http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_42/b4199104788033.htm?chan=magazine+channel_etc." rel="nofollow">Businessweek</a>: <br /><br /><i>I was an accidental banker. To please my parents, I went for an interview with Chase Manhattan Bank in 1983. They promised to send me into their offices in more than 40 countries and essentially audit the practices. It was an extraordinary job.<br /><br />I had an epiphany in Brazil. We had made a $100 million loan to an airline owner who immediately moved the money to the Cayman Islands. Yet I saw all these people in the favelas who were incredibly productive but had no access to capital. I decided to leave Chase to work with a group that wanted me to help create credit systems in Africa.<br /><br />As I was preparing to leave, though, the COO offered me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work directly with him. He made it clear that, in a few years, I would be able to write my ticket on Wall Street. I was torn. No one wanted me to go to Africa: not my family, my friends, or my employers. But I thought, "If I don't go now, I might never go." So I quit.<br /><br />I ended up going to Rwanda in the late 1980s to set up a microfinance institution and a bakery. I came back to the U.S. to get an MBA and work at the Rockefeller Foundation before returning in 1996. When I got back to Rwanda, all the women from the bakery had been killed. Of the other women I'd worked with, one was killed in the genocide, another saw her family killed, and another was a perpetrator who was sentenced to life imprisonment.<br /><br />The aid system was broken. The financial markets alone weren't going to solve the problem. I wanted to invest in entrepreneurs who could see the potential of the very poor. The poor want to produce and consume and solve their own problems. In 2001, I started Acumen as a nonprofit venture capital fund. Instead of giving their money away, philanthropists could invest it in businesses. Now it's a $50 million fund that has leveraged another $200 million of capital and created 35,000 jobs. My dream is to build this into a more powerful asset class. Everything comes at a price. I have to say no to a lot of things I love to do. But we have the potential to help build businesses that change lives. </i>Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-63254952685821814272010-09-21T20:57:54.325-07:002010-09-21T20:57:54.325-07:00CK Prahalad's theory on the purchasing power a...CK Prahalad's theory on the purchasing power at the 'bottom of the pyramid' (BOP) has set the MBA circles buzzing about the big corp making money off the poor people in India by selling products to them.<br /><br />Recently, Indian govt tried giving away cell phones to the poor in India who wondered out loud what they'd do with them. They'd rather have food rotting in govt warehouses given away to them so they can fill their hungry stomachs to survive.<br /><br />Michigan professor <a href="http://nbis.org/nbisresources/sustainable_development_equity/bottom_of_pyramid_debate_with_prahalad.pdf" rel="nofollow">Aneel Karnani</a> calls Pralahad's BOP theory "at best a harmless illusion and potentially a dangerous delusion".<br /><br />His new working paper, Fortune at the bottom of the pyramid: a mirage, really takes late Professor Pralahad to task.<br /><br />Karnani argues that "the best way for private firms to help eradicate poverty is to invest in upgrading the skills and productivity of the poor, and to help create more employment opportunities for the poor".Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5848640164815342479.post-17563109838478815502010-07-12T08:08:12.522-07:002010-07-12T08:08:12.522-07:00There are more poor people in 8 Indian states than...There are more poor people in 8 Indian states than all of Africa, according to a recent <a href="http://business.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/jul/12/slide-show-1-more-poor-people-in-8-indian-states-than-in-all-of-africa.htm" rel="nofollow">report</a>. It is based on a new measure, called Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI), that was developed and applied by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support.<br /><br /><i>Acute poverty prevails in eight Indian states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, together accounting for more poor people than in the 26 poorest African nations combined, a new 'multidimensional' measure of global poverty has said.<br /><br />The new measure, called the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI), was developed and applied by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative with UNDP support.<br /><br />It will be featured in the forthcoming 20th anniversary edition of the UNDP Human Development Report.<br /><br />An analysis by MPI creators reveals that there are more 'MPI poor' people in eight Indian states (421 million in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal) than in the 26 poorest African countries combined (410 million).<br /><br />The new poverty measure that gives a multidimensional picture of people living in poverty, and is expected to help target development resources more effectively, its creators said.</i>Riaz Haqhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00522781692886598586noreply@blogger.com