Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
SEARCH News
News Business Sports Multimedia Lifestyle Entertainment Tech Education Classifieds Motoring Property Jobs mStar Subscribe GE13
PROFIT with a conscience - that could well be the mantra for a new
kind of business taking root here called the social enterprise.
In fact, he points out, all businesses begin with some kind of social
mission in mind, like how Google was premised on organising
information on the Internet, and Ford on making cars that were
affordable to the masses.
Kal Joffres, chief operating officer of Tandem Fund, says that in any
case, there isn't enough free or donor money to go around to fix the
problems we have today. Tandem Fund is a not-for-profit venture
fund that invests in social enterprises in Malaysia.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/25/business/10792499 7/6/2013
The rise of social enterprises Page 2 of 6
Social enterprises are still at a very early stage, but they could be
very transformative for a lot of the problems we face, he contends.
In the case of Leaderonomics, which got its seed funding from Star
Publications (M) Bhd, The Star's parent shareholder, a part of the
proceeds from its training and human resources consultancy work
done for corporates is reinvested into its youth leadership-building
activities.
Social returns
They were really poor - some are single mothers, some are elderly.
And they have no other source of income, explains Mike Tee, who
co-founded Elevyn with Devan Singaram.
Even when they make it, they can't really sell it as Sabah has a very
limited market. Sze Ning was quite stumped, she had just finished
university at the time. So she came back and felt really helpless.
During one of our meet-ups, she told us this story. Since we're (Tee
and Devan) both software developers, we thought about setting up a
website that would connect producers to customers.
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/25/business/10792499 7/6/2013
The rise of social enterprises Page 3 of 6
Malaysia, while orang asli refers to those in the peninsula, Tee says.
The website, elevyn.com, sells a variety of fair trade items, and it is
worth noting that beside each product display is a box that shows
exactly what percentage of its sales price goes to the maker,
designer, reseller and to pay for materials.
We make very little money from this. That's why for this model to
work, we need scale, he says. A percentage of the profit is also
apportioned for a particular cause like school books, for instance.
Profitable venture?
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/25/business/10792499 7/6/2013
The rise of social enterprises Page 4 of 6
bonus, while the balance 10% is split the problems we face. - KAL
JOFFRES
between Wild Asia's shareholders.
Reza, who studied biology in the United Kingdom, says he found his
calling in conservation work during a gap year from university. I
wanted to be a professional beach bum, he jokes.
Having done this for a number of years, he observes that concern for
the natural world is increasing among businesses. Banks and
investment houses are starting to take notice. They might refrain, for
example, from putting their money in or lending money to companies
that deal with converted forests.
We are one of the groups they hire to verify these things. But its the
foreign banks that have specific policies on this, Reza explains.
It takes them (social enterprises) longer to grow the market, and they
often take smaller margins and do community-building activities at the
same time, he quips. Compounding this is the issue of funding, which
can be hard to come by for social enterprises.
Another issue that could curtail the growth of social enterprises is the
lack of incentives and tax breaks. They can currently only register as
private limited companies and are taxed as such, since they derive an
income from business activities.
Moving forward, the key questions for social enterprises will revolve
around how sustainable they can be, and what impact they can truly
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/25/business/10792499 7/6/2013
The rise of social enterprises Page 5 of 6
deliver. That will depend on, among others, how quickly they can
adjust their business models to respond to market forces.
Asked about Wild Asia's biggest impact so far, Reza says it has been
the cultural shift within organisations in their treatment of the
environment. He cites the example of a major government-linked
corporation they had consulted that now has its own 20-man team to
do the job internally.
There was recently an order that came in from Japan and Spain. We
told them (the producers) to ship it to these addresses and the women
were very surprised, because to them these countries are a world
apart, and yet they were interested in their products.
The impact is not just in terms of money, but also the pride that what
they're making has value.
Related Stories:
Creating an impact
Investing in the right causes
SEA says some local enterprises are ready for investors
More News
Business Headlines
Go
Page 1/2
ROSHAN THIRAN
GOOGLE INC
RHB BANK
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/25/business/10792499 7/6/2013
The rise of social enterprises Page 6 of 6
Site Map FAQ Privacy Statement Terms Of Use Write To Us Advertise With Us Careers RSS Widgets
Copyright 1995-2013 Star Publications (M) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) - Investor Relations
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/2/25/business/10792499 7/6/2013