Snapshot of Business

SE 101: Upholding Community Well-Being Through Business

Ever heard of businesses that are changing the world for the better? If not, then allow us to introduce you to Social Enterprise. Social Enterprise is a business with a primary social and/or environmental purpose, which reinvests its profits to advance its primary purpose or mission. It “[favors the] inclusion of the most vulnerable and marginalized and provides an avenue for those left behind –a platform for voice and economic participation.”

As Rotaractors, we are committed to upholding the well-being of communities, and Social Enterprise is a field that we can venture to practice this commitment even more as it is sustainable and more impactful. Social Enterprise and volunteerism definitely work hand in hand since improving lives and advocating for social and environmental development are the common denominators of a volunteer and a social entrepreneur.

Rotaractors in SE

Coleene and I share an interest and experience with social enterprise. Her’s thrives in the field of education while mine is focused on water sanitation. We thought that sharing the stories of how our respective social enterprises came about; the challenges we encountered along the way; and where we are right now can, hopefully, inspire you to immerse yourself in social entrepreneurship and start your own social enterprise.

by President Derique Casio and Deputy DRAR Coleene Villanueva Rotaract Club of Manila Metro Rotaract Club of RCDM Scholars

LakanTubig

Lakan Tubig envision a future where all families have access to affordable water. No one should compromise drinkable water in light of any expenses. Lakan Tubig intends to make this future a reality by distributing affordable and high water filtration devices.

When I was in third year, I was planning to relive my fun days as a volunteer, amidst joining college organizations and focusing on academics. I was surprised that a perfect opportunity showed itself in my university email blast. It called for students to join Lasallian Social Enterprise for Economic Development (LSEED) Program, a social enterprise incubator program, with an intention to connect students and partnered communities for an opportunity to start a social enterprise together. I was hooked. This was more than volunteering. I brought my friends and we were set to face the social entrepreneurship journey together. The LSEED program was an opportunity to dive in the problems of society. This program allowed my group to partner with community leaders from Kasamahan ng Bagong Barrio (KSBB). Everyone has gotten closer with the amount of time spent in ideation sessions, tours, and discussions. It was a purpose driven project, as both the groups came in sharing their experiences and knowledge to figure how to solve a social problem and merge business ideas in the hopes of making a real impact. It was in these sessions that we became our social enterprise.

Under the guidance of the LSEED mentors, the team identified a problem with water, particularly the low satisfaction with the current system of drinkable water within the community. The KSBB leaders doubted the quality of service from the water stations due to personal experiences and observations with the placements of the directpipelines going to these waterstations. Often, they resorted to purchasing filters or boiling of water to ensure safe drinking. Further investigation shed light to how costly potable water is to local communities, especially with the common demographics of unstable jobs and rampant femaleunemployment.

Lakan Tubig served as a solution to the woes ofthe communities of KSBB. Lakan Tubig envisions a future where all families have access to affordable water. With the tagline “Malinis na tubig, Malinis na trabaho (Clean waters, honest jobs),” Lakan Tubig achieves this by becoming a distributor of water filtration devices, while providing honest work to its struggling communities. With these goals, our mission is to provide access to affordable clean water for 100,000 families at the end of 2022 by distributing water potability technologies to struggling communities.

Unlike our competition, we’re a social enterprise which aims to solve the communities’ water problem. Our advocacy is more than just selling, rather it’s becoming closerto ourbeneficiaries and resolving the waterproblem. Our priority is their access, and we plan to implement financial aids/programs to make our products as affordable. Moreover, our diverse founders, both students and community leaders, have an equal say in the decision making board, which allows multiple possibilities and perspectives.

Right now, we’re still developing our social enterprise, connecting with our partners, and finalizing our business model before we go outin the world. Expectus to be rising soon.

INSPHERO: Rekindling Hopes of Young Filipinos

“Rekindled hopes of young employed Filipinos towards completing a college degree,” is the vision ofINSPHERO - a freshly built social enterprise that designed an alternative college completion pathway for employed Filipinos who were forced to drop out of college without having to leave theirjobs.

The whole idea sprouted from an in-depth research we have conducted about the drop out and employment statistics in the Philippines. We found out that in 2018, out of 42 million Filipinos employed, 4.2 million are college dropouts. This number has significantly increased since then. On top of this is our advocacy of advancing the quality of higher education to be at par with the demands of modern industries.

Hence, leveraging the Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency Program (ETEEAP) - a college completion program initiated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) that gives equivalent academic credits to work experience - INSPHERO designed enhancement courses that will guarantee participants not only a college degree but a learning experience that is valued in the workplace and community, and will enhance their personal and professional careers.

Our courses are designed similar to Coursera but are exclusively offered to business-processing output (BPO) employees at the moment. The college program we are currently offering is also limited to Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. However, we plan to expand this with the help of further partnerships in the industry and academe; and with enough profit at hand, we plan to reinvest in technology and create scholarship opportunities in order to deepen and widen our impact.

Setting up INSPHERO was not as easy as it sounds. Currently being operated only by two people, we needed more than just grit in order to function. In our case, financial and technical resources were essential in building up the company. Establishing it also took a huge amount of time dedicated to brainstorming and non-stop revisions of ideas. The process is iterative and is all about improving the business framework, ensuring that it remains aligned with the vision, and enlarging the impact we create day by day. Truly, the key in maintaining a social enterprise is to remember to always go back to your “why”. For us, it is our desire to provide an opportunity to realize dreams for a college completion and cultivate a culture of gratitude and paying forward among those whom we will be able to help. Moreover, it is also crucial that you develop your social enterprise with people who can put equal dedication to the work and share the same vision as you. In terms of people to work with, quality matters more over quantity.

Critically crafted and developed for almost three years, INSPHERO has finally launched its courses last August 2020 and is hosting the college completion of 50 participants by July 2021 . For us who work at INSPHERO, that is already 50 dreams coming true, and there are millions more to go.

To know more about the work we do, Facebook page at @InspheroPH. you may visit our