Social Enterprises: Seeing business opportunities where others see challenges
- Jessica Oyarbide
- Oct 6, 2024
- 3 min read
The business world is evolving. The focus is no longer solely on increasing profitability, but on caring for and regenerating the planet, reducing inequality, and improving people's well-being.
The business landscape is changing radically. Instead of focusing solely on maximizing profits, more and more companies are seeking to care for and regenerate the planet, reduce inequality, and improve people's well-being. This approach is reflected in the rise of social and triple-impact enterprises, which generate not only financial benefits but also social and environmental benefits.
Let's imagine, for a second, what it would be like if dusk fell and we had no light to illuminate us. What it would be like to live with intermittent power, not allowing us to do our chores late into the night or charge our cell phones. This is a reality that persists in hundreds of communities in Argentina and Latin America.
Bunker Roy was born in 1945 to a privileged family in India. He had the opportunity to attend university and decided to dedicate himself to working with rural communities. He saw the great vulnerability of many communities mired in extreme poverty, and inspired by Gandhi's philosophy of self-sufficiency and promoting community-based development, he founded the Barefoot College Social Enterprise in Tilonia, in the state of Rajasthan, India. The goal was to leverage ancestral and local skills and knowledge to create solutions that would allow people to supply themselves with basic supplies such as clean water, solar energy, and access to healthcare.
One of its iconic programs is "Solar Mamas," which seeks to empower rural women, primarily grandmothers, to become solar engineers. For six months, these women learn to build, install, and maintain solar panels, without needing to know how to read or write. They then return to their communities to implement sustainable energy solutions. This program not only provides access to renewable energy in remote villages but also promotes women's economic independence and gender equality. This program began with women in India, but quickly expanded globally, and has already welcomed women from more than 20 countries, who live and learn together.
Identify opportunities to expand them
EKHOS is dedicated to promoting the development of impact ecosystems that lead to the creation of Social and Impact Enterprises. It conducts immersion trips to learn about business models focused on positive impact, so that people from Argentina and Latin America can find solutions for their region. On one of its iconic trips to India, it visited Barefoot College, and upon returning to Argentina, it formed a partnership so that four women from rural communities in the Puna region of Jujuy could receive training there. In partnership with the Indian government, it secured an Argentine presence at this empowerment center. Today, it is in a new phase of the project to continue advancing and support women in bringing light to their communities.
Finding opportunities in shared challenges
India and Latin America face similar challenges: the need to optimize their harvests, provide access to basic services for people in vulnerable situations, reduce and recycle their waste, and more. Social and Impact Enterprises are helping to address these challenges sustainably.
If you'd like to be part of the next immersion trip to India to discover business opportunities and impact, the GIBEF forum is taking place in February 2025.
The GIBEF (Global Businesses and Ecosystem Forum) is a meeting place for all stakeholders in the impact ecosystem from India, Latin America, and the United Kingdom. This forum seeks to catalyze the creation of impactful markets and business opportunities, foster the exchange of social and environmental innovations, promote knowledge generation, and mobilize investment and financing across regions.
The event will take place in New Delhi, India, from February 18 to 21, 2025, and is expected to welcome individuals, businesses, private organizations, and government agencies from 12 countries. No prior experience in the subject is required to participate.
To participate, please visit https://gibef.com/ and explore the different packages and participation options. You can attend only the forum or participate in the full Impact Route. Download the program at https://ekhos.org/india
For more information, please contact gibef@ekhos.org .
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