September 19, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
The solution to society’s problems lies in collaboration between corporations and social entrepreneurs and organizations to reshape old markets and create new ones, two officials from Ashoka argue in the September issue of the Harvard Business Review.
The partnerships offer promise because of the complementary strengths of the business and nonprofit worlds, write Bill Drayton, Ashoka’s chief executive, and Valeria Budinich, head of the organization’s Full Economic Citizenship Initiative. Ashoka is an international charity with headquarters in Arlington, Va., that supports people who are developing new approaches to tackling social problems.
“Businesses offer scale, expertise in manufacturing and operations, and financing,” they write. “Social entrepreneurs and organizations contribute lower costs, strong social networks, and deep insights into customers and communities.”
As an example, the authors point to a partnership between Amanco, a company that makes irrigation products, and grass-roots groups in Mexico that help farmers gain access to the loans they need to buy drip-irrigation devices, install the systems, and then promote the technology. The company gets a new market for its products, and the farmers gain higher and more-consistent crop yields.
Entrepreneurs who start ventures that provide products or services that benefit poor people in developing countries need to be ready to adjust their plans on the fly, advises another article in the issue written by James D. Thompson and Ian C. MacMillan, of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
“Of course, you must delineate the initial business model, the delivery mechanisms, and the value proposition for customers,” the authors write. “But you’re probably going to be wrong.”
Although the articles are available only to subscribers of Harvard Business Review, previews of the pieces are available online. Go to: http://hbr.org/magazine.
