Joining the dots between social entrepreneurs and traditional business

My Ashoka colleague Felix Oldenburg recently argued that for organisations to remain competitive they need a social model which gives people a reason for engaging with them. And at the the core of such model is the ability for organisations to encourage changemakers: the co-creators and creative doers who in essence are responsible for propelling organisations with social purpose forward.

Having worked with some of the world's most innovative and social and business leaders for the past seven years, I couldn't agree more. Organisations with social purpose written into their business models already exist and their leaders are acting and adapting fast. Among other things their businesses remain relevant, competitive, engaged with their communities, and open to new markets and consumer bases.

Most of us would agree that we live in a world that is more complex and better informed and connected than ever before. As a result, traditional dynamics of employment, profitability, economic and political models face daily challenges and questions. Organisations and industries struggle and fail to survive within this intricacy of changes. The demise of companies, governments, high-street household names or established brands is hardly even news anymore.

On the flipside of this scenario, are the organisations and institutions that continue to flourish, grow, and apparently seamlessly morph into hybrids and different types of organisations where profit is not the only driver. A closer look at them reveals that far from undergoing huge make-overs they have in fact made clever adjustments based on key insights about their place in the world and how they want to engage and interact with it. For many such businesses, these adjustments have stemmed from the need to stay competitive, genuine curiosity and a desire to understand how they impact and serve their communities. Social entrepreneurs are well placed to answer some of these questions and help implement and refine the processes required to reach these new operating frameworks.

Through Ashoka's business supporters, I have come across an increasing number of business entrepreneurs who have been challenged by social entrepreneurs to discover a new way of looking at a problem, a value chain, a consumer base, a product or service. Social entrepreneurs often hold the key to understanding people and their eco-systems better than anyone else.

In one conversation I learned how an established Irish company in the sports, leisure and entertainment industry did just that. At a typically rainy and muddy Glastonbury, the company's CEO was exposed to the reality of the disabled people attending the music festival who were pretty much locked in their tents for long periods of time while the grounds were flooded – completely unable to move. This triggered an idea and the drive to understand and solve a problem which he could apply to his own company.

Back in Ireland, he began asking questions, meeting people and learning as much as possible about the issue. Eventually, he was introduced to social entrepreneur and Ashoka Fellow Caroline Casey, founder and CEO of Kanchi. Caroline told him that not only were most entertainment and leisure facilities not accessible to disabled people, but that these businesses were actually creating barriers for people with different needs and by extension their families and friends were also excluded.

Guided by Caroline's insights, he created an industry working group and began to implement changes in his facilities. He quickly began to see the return on his investment as more people were able to enjoy the services he offered. By understanding a fuller range of his customer's needs, he created a business that was more suited to them. By working with a social entrepreneur, he was challenged to think differently about disabilities and the role his business played in this context.

Another example involves a large French gardening and landscaping business. Disillusioned with traditional philanthropy, the owner of the family business understood his impact could be far greater if he somehow integrated his charitable actions with the business. He initially partnered with Ashoka fellow Guillaume Bapst, founder of ANDES, the national association of solidarity food shops, to generate more jobs for the local economy. Currently he is entering into a brand new partnership with Siel Bleu – an organisation that specialises in developing and providing adapted physical activities for the elderly, ill and vulnerable population in France – increasing their independence, well-being and quality of life. Siel Bleu's track record of positive results have earned them contracts with private and government care homes. Together with the landscaping business, they are rebuilding healthier living and exercising spaces.

These entrepreneurs are responding to the evolving complexity of our social reality. Yes, they are socially-minded, but they are also pragmatists. Much more than embracing the sustainability agenda, they have taken on the challenge of making sustainability profitable and redefining value.

Silvia Giovannoni is the director of the Ashoka support network – a network of business leaders and entrepreneurs who actively engage with social change.

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