State of Social Enterprises in the PhilippinesHarvey S. Keh

Ateneo de Manila UniversityAsia 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.

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

Outline of presentation

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

Background of the study

What is a social enterprise?

What have institutions said?

“…are wealth-creating institutions with development purposes.”

Institute of Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA)2010

Social Enterprises

“…are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems.”

ASHOKA

Social Entrepreneurs

What have individuals said?

“A social business that faces social problems and has an earned income activity.”

Leland dela Cruz Director,

Ateneo de Manila UniveristyDevelopment Studies Program

2011

Social Enterprise

“A business with a social mission.”

Danilo SongcoCEO, 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 LacsamanaExecutive Director, Foundation for a Sustainable Society (FSSI)

2011

Social Enterprise

“... differs from mainstream businesses in three factors: its stakeholders, its bottom-

lines and its business philosophy… The profit-making element is geared towards the

fulfillment of a social mission.”

Theresa PilapilRegional Director, Oikocredit

2011

Social Enterprise

Keywords:BUSINESS: profit-driven

DEVELOPMENT: driven to answer social issues

Social Enterprise

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)

Social Enterprises in the Philippines: An Overview

Potential Social Enterprises in the Philippines: An Overview

18 Social Enterprises were profiledMain 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)

Overview of Social Enterprises Profiled for the Report

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

Main Contents of Profiles

Social Enterprises Profiled

Cambuhat Enterprise Development and Fisheries Association

Social Enterprises Profiled

Social Enterprises Profiled

Agriculture Sector (

Social Enterprises Profiled

Gubat Agritech Industries Corporation

KAPATAGAN Multi-Purpose Cooperative

Don Bosco Foundation for Sustainable Development

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, DelaCruz, Lacsamana, Pilapiland 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

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

Academic Programs and SE Competitions

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

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

Conferences on Social Entrepreneurship

OCTOBER 2011

Challenges of Social Enterprises in the Philippines

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

Challenges of Social Enterprises

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

Recommendations

Thank you very much!