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State of Social Enterprises in the Philippines

Harvey S. Keh Ateneo de Manila University Asia Society Philippines

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this paper/presentation are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. Terminology used may not necessarily be consistent with ADB official terms.

Outline of presentation

Background of Study How is social entrepreneurship defined in the Philippines? Overview of social enterprises in the Philippines Conferences about social enterprises in the Philippines Challenges of Social Enterprises in the Philippines Recommendations

Background of the study

Conducted from August 2011 to December 2011 Profiled 18 Social Enterprises and 7 institutions that support Social Enterprises in the Philippines Interviewed resource people knowledgeable about Social Entrepreneurship in the Philippines Secondary sources of information past researches and articles written about Social Enterprises in the Philippines were also used

What is a social enterprise?

What have institutions said?

Social Enterprises

are wealth-creating institutions with development purposes.


Institute of Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA) 2010

Social Entrepreneurs

are individuals with innovative solutions to societys most pressing social problems.

ASHOKA

What have individuals said?

Social Enterprise

A social business that faces social problems and has an earned income activity.
Leland dela Cruz Director, Ateneo de Manila Univeristy Development Studies Program 2011

Social Enterprise

A business with a social mission.

Danilo Songco CEO, PinoyME Foundation 2011

Social Enterprise
A community-based social business enterprise is an institution that works towards profit and at the same time works for and with a community for social development and the preservation of our environment.

Father Xavier Alpasa, S.J. Co-Founder, Rags2Riches 2011

Social Enterprise

... adapts three objectives, or bottom lines: economic viability, social participation, and ecological soundness.

Jay Lacsamana Executive Director, Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI) 2011

Social Enterprise
... differs from mainstream businesses in three factors: its stakeholders, its bottomlines and its business philosophy The profit-making element is geared towards the fulfillment of a social mission.

Theresa Pilapil Regional Director, Oikocredit 2011

Social Enterprise

Keywords: BUSINESS: profit-driven DEVELOPMENT: driven to answer social issues

Social Enterprises in the Philippines: An Overview

Social Enterprises in the Philippines: An Overview


Rapid Appraisal (2007) by Prof. Lisa Dacanay
30,000 Potential Social Enterprises in the Philippines
Fragmented Sector
Small, medium and big cooperatives Small and big Microfinance Institutions Fair Trade Organizations NGO-initiated trading and marketing activities Small and Medium Enterprises Serve specific poverty sectors (Persons with Disabilities, Women, Children)

Potential Social Enterprises in the Philippines: An Overview

Overview of Social Enterprises Profiled for the Report


18 Social Enterprises were profiled Main thrusts: Community development (6) Agriculture sector (5) Women empowerment (2) Distribution of development-oriented goods (2) Empowerment of persons with disabilities (1) Microfinance (1) Business advocacy (1)

Main Contents of Profiles


Vision-Mission History of the Organization General Information about the Organization Organizational Structure Products and Services Strengths and Challenges Financials (if any) Future Goals and Plans

Social Enterprises Profiled

Cambuhat Enterprise Development and Fisheries Association

Social Enterprises Profiled

Social Enterprises Profiled

Social Enterprises Profiled

Agriculture Sector ( Don Bosco Foundation for Sustainable Development

KAPATAGAN Multi-Purpose Cooperative Gubat Agritech Industries Corporation

Social Enterprises Profiled

Social Enterprises Profiled

Social Enterprises Profiled

Institutions Supporting Social Enterprises

Age of Operations
Social entrepreneurship in the Philippines is a young and evolving field. Alpasa, Dacanay, Dela Cruz, and Songco

What are the characteristics of social enterprises in the Philippines?


Multiple bottom-lined: financial and social targets - Alpasa, Dacanay, Dela Cruz, Lacsamana, Pilapil and Songco Multiple bottom-lined:
Poverty-reduction Environment preservation Profitability

What are the characteristics of social enterprises in the Philippines?


Most of the social enterprises in the Philippines have the poor as their primary stakeholder. - Dacanay
Engage the poor as the primary stakeholder Role of poor as clients, workers, producers, market Engage the marginalized as owners, shareholders, officers or board members Provide transformational services: leadership trainings, access to education, values formation, health services and gender education

Strengths

Significant Social Capital Founders or leaders with backgrounds in business development Seen to be led by enterprising and persevering individuals Innovative products and services to address social issues

Growing interest in Social Entrepreneurship in the Philippines

Academic Programs and SE Competitions


Ateneo de Manila University
Development Studies Program John Gokongwei School of Management Ateneo School of Government and ISEA MPM

British Council I am a Changemaker Competition These serve as pipeline for more social enterprises and social entrepreneurs to develop in the Philippines

Conferences on Social Entrepreneurship


2011 Conference on the Issues and Challenges of Philippine Social Entrepreneurship Co-organized by the Ateneo de Manila University-Development Studies Program and Philippine Social Enterprise Network Held last August 2011

Conferences on Social Entrepreneurship

SEPTEMBER 2011

Conferences on Social Entrepreneurship

OCTOBER 2011

Conferences on Social Entrepreneurship


Public/Private Social Enterprise Partnership: Prospects for Better Services Delivery
Balay Mindanao Peace Center in Cagayan de Oro City Explored peace as another bottomline for social enterprises in Mindanao to address

OCTOBER 2011

Challenges of Social Enterprises in the Philippines

Challenges of Social Enterprises


Lack of coordination among Social Enterprises
No nationally and internationally-agreed upon definition of a social enterprise Critical mass of social enterprises can lead to legitimate policies Better coordination and minimizes competition among social enterprises

Scaling up - Expansion of Operations


Training of Human Resources Capacity Building Evolution of Business Model as organization grows Balancing profitability and social mission

Challenges of Social Enterprises

Underdeveloped systems
Some social enterprises and social entrepreneurs have little or no background in business enterprise development especially those that have come from the Non-profit sector

Challenges of Social Enterprises


Lack of support by the Philippine Government
No significant role in the development of social enterprises No coherent programs and incentives for the development of social enterprises

Lack of Access to Funding / Capital Wine glass economy


Business culture of the Philippines is not conducive for small to medium enterprises to grow. SEs are taxed the same way as business enterprises

Recommendations
Transformation in mindset
Non-Government organizations must be more entrepreneurial Traditional businesses must be more inclined to address social issues Government should support Social Enterprises - procurement

Conducive Policy Environment


Social Enterprises must continue to be united and work together to address common problems and challenges Lobbying for laws that would support social entrepreneurship Alliance of organizations called Poverty Alleviation through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) to push for the enactment of a Philippine Social Entrepreneurship Bill

Thank you very much!

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