Address social issues with social enterprises

“Social enterprises are businesses that employ both financial and non-financial resources such as technology and knowledge to solve social and environmental issues,” said Bodin Unakul, senior executive vice president and head of the Sustainable Development Division.
“They are established with clear goals but integrate standard operations that ensure sustainable financial gains.
“Supporting them can then solve social issues in a sustainable way. This can ease negative impacts or create positive impacts,” he said.
Some 50 SEs are listed on www.setsocialimpact.com, the site that offers guidance to individuals who want to start their own enterprises, besides workshops and seminars.
SET Social Impact Day was hosted in July when the founders of some select enterprises showcased their ideas and products.
Lessons from Divine Chocolate resonated at the event, as a successful SE established in the UK to help cocoa farmers in Ghana and distribute chocolate products to the world.
In West Africa where over 15,000 children were used as slave labour in cocoa farming, some farmers in Ghana decided to unite in a cooperative called Kuapa Kokoo.
In 1998, their produce – the best fairly-traded cocoa beans – was turned into chocolate products under the Divine Chocolate brand.
In return, these farmers own 45 per cent of the company’s stake and reap annual dividends.
The first dividend was paid out in 2007 and the proceeds were used to improve wells in the community.
“The goal was to improve the livelihood and opportunities for small-scale cocoa farmers in West Africa,” said Bob Doherty, professor of marketing at York Management School at the University of York.
As head of sales and marketing of Divine Chocolate, aside from goals, he stressed that all SEs must have clear positioning.
This is the case for Divine Chocolate, which sets out to compete in the United Kingdom’s saturated confectionery market.
It is essential that the brand contains an interesting story, along with enticing logo and packaging. Marie Claire and food magazine reporters were flown to Ghana.
Doherty stressed that the story can be a selling point. The owner of a supermarket chain in the UK admitted it was the first time he saw a cocoa bean. Within weeks, Divine Chocolate appeared in all 200 outlets of his chain.
The customer target must also be clear. For the chocolate company, chocolate lovers – mostly women aged 25-54 – are the targets.
This fits with the fact that 33 per cent of farmers are women.
The company also works with Oxfam International to establish connections with Fairtrade supporters. The bars are also sold at Starbucks in Europe.
These customers are not shy of spending US$3.99 (Bt139) for a 3.5-ounce chocolate bar.
Doherty cited a Globescan survey that showed that more companies in Asia have increasing interest in being more socially and environmentally responsible.
Meanwhile, 70 per cent of consumers in Asia showed interest in learning how companies work to be more socially and environmentally responsible, compared to 60 per cent in 2010.
“Don’t expect social enterprises to develop cheap products. Consumers are ready to buy something to make a difference. They want to buy premium products,” he said.
SEs have opportunities to fare well in Thailand, particularly those related to travel and communities.
“The mission inspires people but you have to consider how to attract people with social passion and commercial skills.
“To make an impact, what’re necessary are also a strong message to society, premium products and partnership,” he said.
Among the 22 local enterprises that tended to make an impact on the 1.4 million people joining SET Social Impact Day was HiveSters.
Founded by two sisters whose family operates a tour company, HiveSters set out to entice those with a passion for cultural travel who share the goal of sustainably benefiting communities they visit.
Activities are developed with local experts, for example, retro wakeboarding with fishermen during the low season, organic rice farming and local food cooking.
It is now supporting a UN Development Programme and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration project called “Appear”, which promotes cultural tourism in six old communities in Bangkok including Bang Lamphu and Nang Lerng.
“Our goal is to help create and select activities that generate benefits to travellers, the environment and society.
“Travellers gain new experiences, the locals earn more income and HiveSters gets a management fee,” said Ashi, one of the founders.
Sidekick was established by a veteran journalist as the first Thai creative agency to help SEs communicate messages to target groups.
For about two years, it has reached out to communities and built networks with organisations dedicated to developing communication campaigns that create a positive impact on people’s lives.
This year, its helmet safety campaign for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration was kicked off following a survey that found that out of the 1.3 million students travelling to schools by motorcycle, only 7 per cent wore helmets.
“My goal is to establish a social network with 60-70 parties to support my dream of changing conditions in the city.
“Our enterprise has plenty of room to grow if we can win more sponsorships,” said Tul Pinkaew, Sidekick founder.
SET’s Bodin noted that the SET Social Impact Day’s main goal was to raise awareness of tools that can address social issues in a sustainable way.
Consumers do have a choice to consume products made by social and environmentally friendly companies.
This message will be repeated, as SET Social Impact Day will become an annual event.
Despite the trend, there is a long way to go, he admitted.
At this stage, the exchange’s support does not warrant a direct fund-raising channel for SEs.
“Whether there will be a trading sector for social enterprises depends on the enterprises’ strengths,” he said.