The term “social entrepreneur” has gained popularity in recent years, and if any of you are keeping up on the subject—you will have surely heard of Ashoka—an association of the world’s leading social entrepreneurs. Ashoka selects social entrepreneurs who are viewed as “rare men and women who possess the vision, creativity, and extraordinary determination of the business entrepreneur—but who devote these qualities to introducing new solution to societal problems”, and provides networking for institutional support and financial assistance. Ashoka was founded in 1980, and has since then, pioneered the global field of social entrepreneurship. Founded on the premise that the most effective way to promote positive chance is to invest in social entrepreneurs with innovative solutions that are sustainable and replicable, both nationally and globally it has established programs in over 60 countries and supports the work of over 2000 fellows.
In 2007, the Philippines launched the Ashoka program, as one of the newest entrants in Asia. The Philippines has a long tradition of a strong civil society in which innovative ideas and trends are taking root in different areas of social need. Ashoka strives to help harness the passion, experience and expertise of these individuals by providing critical financial support and welcoming them into the global Fellowship network. However, as the global financial crisis has taken its toll on the economy, Ashoka, like all non-profits have been negatively effected. However, in 1996 Ashoka established the Youth Ventures association, a partnership organization which has taken off in the Philippines, despite the global economic slump. Youth Ventures inspires and invests in teams of young people to design and launch their own lasting social ventures. Youth Ventures assists the “Venturers” through the process of designing and launching their ventures, providing guidance, how-to’s, and a process for designing and pitching a venture idea. In addition, when the venture team is ready to laugh, Youth Ventures offers seed funding, guidance, allies and networking.
I had the chance to meet with the in-country representative of Ashoka, Tieza Santos, who explained to me the importance of Youth Ventures. I learned about the 7 ongoing Youth Ventures—four of which are non-profit and three are for-profit.
Non-Profit Youth Ventures:
- SIKAP: Groups of out of school youth with a history of drug abuse or living on the street are trained in theatre. They then write and produce plays which highlight socially significant issues and historical events.
- SIKAT-KA: A duplicate of SIKAP, but which was established by the out of school youth in response to SIKAP—where they are the producers and participants.
- To Dance to Move, Grandma/Grandpa do the Best You Can Do!: A project developed by students to address the ongoing gap between generations. Youth conduct dance competitions and work-outs with the elderly to shrink the age gap and to provide health benefits for the elderly.
- HOGSRA (Hooked to Online Gaming Reformation Activity): Computer science college students formulated training and seminars to help divert energy to other things than gaming.
For-Profit Youth Ventures:
- Internal Combustion: Used cooking oil (found at fast food restaurants or the plethora of street vendors selling fried delicacies) is transformed in bio diesel to be used in Jeepneys, a common form of public transportation.
- E-Farmers: Entrepreneurial Farmers participate in alternative livelihood activities for additional income. One of which is harvesting corn and producing an alternative form of coffee from it.
- ORENEY Candy: A community initiative in which oregano and honey are used to produce curative candies for coughs and asthma and sold at a low cost.
Despite my desire to visit all of these organizations, once again I was constrained by time, and could only hear from Tieza about their success. It was exciting to hear about these projects that are designed and implemented by youth. Throughout the years people often question who in society is the most important for development. While women are often targeted as the recipients for funding and as the forefront of change, we must never forget the importance of youth, especially in countries where the majority of the population is made up of youth. It is important for their ideas to be heard, and integrated into the forces that we expect to change society.
