It's business with a difference

Yunus emphasises efforts to reach out to the poor through social business and technology.

The advanced world of technology should open its doors to social business to solve some crucial problems facing the poor, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus said yesterday.

The technology-packed times of today see only moneymaking initiatives, he said. "But the same technologies can be used for social business."

In the near future, social business and traditional business will compete with one another in setting trends, he added.

"But there is no chance of a conflict between the concept of social business and corporate business," he said, adding that social business can act as an antidote for poverty reduction.

Some Grameen Group projects under the social business model are contributing to poverty and malnutrition elimination because those are run on the principle of sharing with others, Yunus said.

The social business thinker was speaking at a panel discussion of a daylong conference on Global Social Responsibility, co-organised by the German Embassy, German Technical Cooperation and Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Radisson Water Garden Hotel in Dhaka.

More than 300 chief executives and managers from both Germany and Bangladesh took part in the conference.

Yunus said there are two kinds of business: one is for making profit, while the other is social business meant to solve social problems.

Yunus countered the notion that only big conglomerates could launch social businesses. "Everybody can open a social business. Social business just needs creativity to ensure that problems are solved," Yunus said, adding that the design of the project constitutes 80 percent of initiating a social venture.

Yunus said many universities in Europe and the US have already opened schools of social business and institutes to create entrepreneurs in the field. Social business funds will come as the venture capital and many developing countries in the world are coming with such funds to start the business, he said.

Outlining the concept of social business, Yunus said even a small fruit stand could be a good example of such business, if the entrepreneur invests and reinvests to make many more such stands.

He said social businesses would run like any other business venture, but the objectives of the two would differ.

Michael Otto, chairman of German company Otto GmbH and Co KG, said the invention of social business is an important step towards the future.

"People are starving. We are looking for solutions. Social business is a way to solve the problems," Otto said.

Under the social business concept, the company makes profit, but does not pay dividend or interest to investors. "Rather, the profits are reinvested for the welfare of the community involved. The dividend is a social dividend and the profits go to the workers."

"The capital can be used for another venture," Otto added.

Commerce Minister Faruk Khan, another panel discussant, said there are some achievements that Bangladesh could be really proud of, despite many problems. "Obviously, we have shortcomings, and we are trying to rectify them."

Khan criticised international buyers who often come and complain about the factories, the working conditions, and wages standards, but refuse to pay fair prices.

"The international buyers also pressure the Bangladeshi manufactures to follow compliance issues strictly, but they do not want to leave out a single cent while fixing prices. They should follow ethical buying practices," Khan said.

The minister said the government is providing a 10 percent tax waiver on companies spending on corporate social responsibility.

The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam, who moderated the discussion, said new ideas have never been accepted instantly in the history of mankind. "We are now at that stage on the social business issue. There is a lot of confusion, hesitations and misconception around us."

Anam said the financial crisis has proven that ultimately, just profit is not sustainable, as the world has seen many growing richer and richer and the others getting poorer and poorer.

On the 'negative image' of Bangladesh, Anam said: "Time has come to take into account whatever we have achieved."

"We suffer from inferiority complex, as many just continue to say that Bangladesh is a poor country. Can we not stop saying that? We should call us a developing country."

"The world is looking at us because Bangladesh has consistently achieved around 6 percent economic growth over the last few years. We did extremely well when the economies in the developed world suffered from recession."

"Bangladesh has changed the reality of it. The world is taking note of it. Many things, such as traffic jams, have not been solved, but we have achieved many other things. We have to change the reality. If we can do that, then the image will change by itself," Anam said.

President of BASF Southeast Asia Saori Dubourg said social business can help reach out to the people to improve the quality of their lives.

BASF Bangladesh Ltd has made a foray into the social business spectrum with Grameen Healthcare Trust and set up the entity BASF Grameen Ltd.

Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=160421