CHANGE
NEWS
editor’’s note.
The Regional Social Enterprise Knowledge &
Partnership Symposium: Social Enterprise for
a Sustainable Future in Asia, held on the 15th
and 16th of November has come to a
spectacular close. I would like to give thanks
to all co-organizing partners, namely the Thai
Social Enterprise Office, the British Council,
K r u n g t h e p T u r a k i j n e w s p a p e r, a n d
ChangeFusion Institute. I believe that
Symposium will generate the essential
momentum that will drive the growth of
social enterprise sector in Asia, especially in
Thailand. Apart from being a platform where
hundreds of social entrepreneurs and
industry professionals convened to share
their ideas and experiences, the Symposium
is also a birthplace for Social Enterprise
Network Asia, which is a network that
positions itself to be the main driving force for
the growth of social enterprise and social
innovation in Asia.
content.
o5 COVER STORY:
o9 CHANGE CASE
13 CHANGE INSIGHT
17 CHANGE INSPIRE
19 CHANGE PEOPLE
21 TESTIMONIAL
CHANGE MAGAZINE
SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD OPPORTUNITIES
For the second issue of CHANGE Magazine,
we would like to share everyone the
insightful topics which were openly shared
and healthy debated at the Symposium, as
well as the direction of social enterprise in
Thailand and in other countries across Asia.
We hope that this issue of CHANGE
Magazine would inspire, and spread the
message of a sustainable future through
social enterprise from the Symposium to
everyone, both within Asia and Thailand.
Thanapon Sreshthaputra
2
Ideas Thailand: 5 top-voted winners from Thailand first
policy crowd-sourcing initiative
25 November 2010
Ideas Thailand Project has formally come to a close on
25th November 2010 with the winners of the project
having been announced. After undergoing through a
rigorous selection process, 3,000 ideas were shortlisted
into 20 ideas for people to vote for their favorite ideas.
Selected based on the number of votes from an online
poll and regular mail voting, 5 top-voted ideas have
now been provided with a research funding of 100,000
baht and various support from the Thai government to
implement these ideas. This has been the first time in
the history of the Royal Thai Government where a
policy crowd-sourcing initiative has been launched,
giving the chance for any individual to submit their
ideal solutions and dream projects to the government,
both online and offline.
For more information, please visit: http://pm.go.th/
ideasforthailand/
Future 100 Award: Celebrating the UK’s Leading Young
Social Entrepreneur 19 November 2010
The prestigious Future 100 Awards have been
announced under the exciting ‘Social Enterprise Day
2010’ event. Celebrated at the British Library, in the UK,
the award aims to raise the profile of young social
entrepreneurs aged 18-35, who demonstrates an
outstanding flair for entrepreneurship and innovation
skill. The Future 100 was organized by ‘Striding Out’, a
social enterprise established to inspire and vigorously
support social entrepreneurs in the UK.
For more information about the 100 winners, pleaser
visit: http://www.future100.co.uk/
 4

Application to GSVC South East Asia Round for The First Finnish Social Enterprise Conference; 24-25th
2010-2011 is now open! November 2010

The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) is now The first Finnish social enterprise conference was held
opened for the South East Asian participants who have on 24-25th November 2010. With the aim to generating
a strong, innovative business idea for social and inspiration for participants start social enterprise by
environmental impact. GSVC is the first competition to showing the best practices and social innovation, the
promote graduate-student entrepreneurs, initiated by event-cum-exhibition showcased many special sessions
University of California, Berkeley in 1999. Since 2007, with the keynote speakers from the UK and Finland
Thammasat University has been the first university in such as Barry Roberts of Turning Point and Nigel Lowthro
South East Asia that has partnered in hosting the of Hill Holt Wood.
competition.
For more information, please visit:
www.socialbusinessint.com/
For more information, please visit: www.gsvc-sea.org/
index.html

CHANGE
EVENT Seventh Annual Conference on Social Entrepreneurship
AKI opened the new house.

The Asian Knowledge Institute (AKI) celebrated its

This two-day conference held on 3-5th November 2010 brand-new city campus at the Interchange Building on
was an assembly of leaders in social entrepreneurship Sukhumvit Road. Established in 2009, the institute aims
such as social entrepreneurs, investors and to produce the next generation Asian business leaders
philanthropists, scholars, educators, and thought and is focused on building an extensive network
leaders. The event featured discussions of concept throughout Asia. Apirak Kosayodhin, the Founder and
and themes in social entrepreneurship research by the President of the University Committee, gave short yet
scholars in the field and the measurement of social inspirational speech on the rising of Asia, having said
impact, which has become an essential business that, “This current era belongs to the Asian. Every trend
benchmark for mature social entrepreneurship. has centralized to the region. It is time for Asia to hold
the wheel of fortune and sustainable practice as its
For more information, please visit: http:// core.”
w4.stern.nyu.edu/ Also launched at the event is AKI’s latest curriculum,
the ‘Executive Program in Asian Business Leadership’,
which is currently accepting applications and will
commence in 2011.

For more information, please visit: www.akiedu.org/

Unleashing
Asia’s Sustainable Growth !
“The rise of social enterprises and social
entrepreneurship is significant in terms
of not only filling the gap of
governmental and market failure, but also
empowering the people’s dignity and
ingenuity to change our society for the
better.”
Buddhist Saicho, a well-known monk in
Japanese history, mentioned
"If you Light Up A Small Corner of
Society, You are the Treasure of Society."
“This is the starting point of our
conversation. May your passion and
efforts connect with other individuals and
become a synergetic stream to change
the world!!”
Hideyuki Inoue
Founder and President
Social Venture Partners Tokyo
Helping the poor while achieving financial
returns, making a living from protecting
environment, being a profitable enterprise and
contributing to the society at the same time,
these are just some of the reasons for that
social entrepreneurs has given for starting their
social enterprise. Although profit making and
contributing to society seem to be in totally
different world, in reality it has already been
proven that both concepts can go along
together. The concept is referred to as the
“triple bottom line”. Conceptually, it suggests
that there are 3 criteria in implementing
sustainable management, which consists of
social responsibility, environmental friendliness,
and financial viability.
Although not yet mainstream, it is unarguable
that nowadays many businesses nowadays
are more likely to be required to integrate
aspects of the concept of the triple bottom
line into its fundamental analysis. In other
words, sustainability has become an important
component for consideration for any business.
Therefore, it is foreseeable that social business
and social enterprise are becoming the next
big trend in the private sector. According to
the data provided by the Office of the Third
Sector in the UK, there are 62,000 social
enterprises which produces 45 billion US dollars
in turnover; that amount is equal to 1 percent
of the country’s GDP. These enterprises are not
only creating immeasurable amounts of social
impacts for the country, they are in essence
becoming a significant contributor to the
economy.
$3.6 trillion
The fact implies that the social sector
nowadays no longer solely need to rely
on grants, since with a clear revenue
generation models, social enterprise can
become self-sufficient and less
dependent on donors.
Quickly glancing across Asia, India and
Bangladesh have long been regarded as
the two most advanced countries in term
of social innovation. They have been
home to many world-renowed social
enterprises. For instance, Grameen Bank is
one of the most globally recognized
micro-finance institution, founded by
Professor Muhammad Yunus. Principle to
the foundation of Grameen Bank is that
by providing small loans, also known as
micro-finance loan, the poor are given an
opportunity to own a small business that
would allow them to establish
creditworthiness and financial self-
sufficiency. As a result, social problems
resulting from poverty would be reduce
through financial empowerment.
$553 billion Furthermore, apart from micro-financing,
Professor Yunus is also an ardent supporter
of the concept of social business and has
often engaged large corporations in
addressing social issues. As a
$424 billion consequence, Professor Yunus has taken
an initiative in establishing the Yunus
Centre around the world in order to
Agriculture Products and Food
p ro m o t e s t h i s g re a t c o n c e p t a n d
practice.
$202 billion
Low-cost Housing
Energy
A Huge Market
Source:
Harvard Business Review - September 2010
 CHANGE MAGAZINE
SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD
OPPORTUNITIES
7
As for Thailand, although the concept of
social enterprise has not yet become a
buzzword, it does not mean that social
enterprises does not exist in Thailand. One
of the most successful social enterprise in
Thailand is perhaps Mae Fah Luang
Foundation under Royal Patronage. The
foundation supports sustainable career
path for people within the Mae Fah Luang
community. Through this promotion, locals
hill-tribe villagers are prepared to become
self-reliant in terms of production planning
and business management. In the end,
after undergoing an extensive
development process, the community
was able to establish a brand of coffee,
Doi Tung, that could equally compete on
the same level with other international
and domestic coffee brands. The key
difference, however, lies in the fact that
Doi Tung coffee help enhance the living
quality of the people in the Mae Fah
Luang community, and the profits are
reinvested back to forest conservation
programs within the area.
Apart from all the disruptive innovations
that have been created, another
astonishing business concept introduced
by Ashoka, is the so called “Hybrid Value
Chains” (HVCs). Conceptually, HVCs is a
paradigm shift in how businesses operate
as well as guide businesses to profitable
niches that are highly uncontested, let
alone explored. More importantly, HVCs
represents the way by which private
sector business and Citizen Sector
Organizations (CSOs) could collaborate.
On one hand, the collaborations could
help the businesses expand their reach
into an untapped market of 4 billion
people who are not yet part of the
world’s formal economy. On the other
hand, firms that adopt HVCs may be able
to tackle large-scale problem that could
not have been solved by any group that
is working to solve the issue on their own.
Although the concept of Hybrid Value
Chains sounds very great on paper, the
question that needs to be asked is, “How
can HVCs be put into practice?” In order
for the two sectors to work together
effectively, the focus must be on creating
real economic value while simultaneously
creating social value. Let us take the
housing industry as an example; presently,
one-sixth of the world’s population lives in
slums and cities. This means that there are
billion of people who do not have access
to a formal housing market or do not
even have a proper place to stay. In term
of marketing, this implies that a low cost
housing market potentially worth trillions of
dollars exists out there that waiting for a
solution. In India, there are large numbers
of consumers who have a steady source
of income but lack proof of financial
stability; thus  making them ineligible for
mortgage loans. Unfortunately, for a
business acting alone, penetrating into
this incredibly large untapped market is
no easy task, otherwise this housing
market would not be left untapped until
recently. Nonetheless, with the help from
CSOs, the story for low-cost housing has
totally changed. In this particular housing
case, CSOs act as demand aggregators,
who bring groups of consumers to for-
profit developers, or as full design and
investment partner. As a result, more than
2,500 homes have been built, with 7,500
more to come in the next 18 months,
representing more than $100 million in
sales. From the story, it is more than
apparent that people at the bottom of
the pyramid, more than 50% of the world’s
population, should not be overlooked. It
has already been proven that people at
the bottom of the pyramid can be a
hidden fortune for any business.
As the world has been severely
threatened by social and environmental
problems, new innovations in combination
with entrepreneurial skills has already
been proven to address the world’s most
pressing social problems while creating
profitable enterprise. Thus, the social
sector has rapidly gain the interest of
social investors. The rising profile of social
enterprise is not happening only in the
western world, as many social ventures
funds and social investing firms  have now
been established in Asia.  According to
the information from Impact Investment
Exchange, a Singapore based company
that provides a trading platform that acts
as an intermediary between social
entrepreneurs and social investors, the
growth rate of social enterprise is
exponentially rising according to the
forecast on the first quarter in 2011 in 4
countries; Bangladesh, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Thailand. The company
expects to be able to raise capital for
more than $240,000 dollars. The amount is
not a donation but rather a profitable
investment that will give investors with
double or triple-bottom line returns; on
both financial, social and/or
environmental returns.
Unequivocally, socially conscious
individual across the world have come to
a realization that the the world is in peril;
consequences of our collective action
that has compounded into the present
social and environmental crisis. Therefore,
it should come as no surprise that social
enterprises can and will be the main
driving force to lead the fight against the
world’s impending crisis. As for Asia, while
the region’s awareness of social
entrepreneurship and the
aforementioned concepts is still in its
infancy, it is undeniable that social
enterprise is going to be the next
investment gold mine for Asia. Now, it is
just a matter of time before the social
enterprise sector reach critical mass and
flourish as the next hottest investment
opportunity that yields the triple bottom
line returns.
 10

SE in Asia landscape

Empowering disadvantaged groups has been a Kaien’s Model

central them for many companies, one unique
case is Kaien, a Japanese company which
aspires to transforms the world’s view on people Autistic People
with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) by creating
scalable job opportunities that leverage their

CASE
unique potential. Keita Suzuki, founder of Kaien,
strongly believes in harnessing the uniqueness
strengths that people with ASD have which can
contribute to society, such as ability to recognize
irregularities, acute sense of details, their Job Training with
adeptness for repetitive works, great confidence Opportunities Kaien
on rational thought and great fit with high-tech
equipment, these people are given training,
assisted with job placement and continuously
Investment Promotion Policy for Sustainable Development with counseling, these individuals are given the Kaien
rare opportunity to become contributing
SE Cases (1st pitch) members of society. This is quite significant
because such opportunities have alluded the
ASD community for so long especially in Japan, Job
where up to 85% or 150,000 people have been Placement
excluded in the opportunity to integrate with
highly homogeneous society. Built on a financial
sound business model that capitalizes on the
affirmative action policy of the Japanese Govt
government and placement fees that Corporates
corporations pay to Kaien, the venture aims to
generate $5 USD in annual revenue by 2020.

Another interesting social enterprise from Vietnam

The shared general landscape of all the pitches presented on the 1st Pitch of the Regional Symposium that operates in the same sphere is KOTO, which
clearly illustrates the current parallelisms of the issues affecting each country across East Asia if not the stands for Know One, Teach One. Aiming to
world. From each of the presentations, central issues that were being addressed by each ventures include  tackle the problem youth problem prevalent in
empowering disadvantaged groups (through income generation and/or education), environmental the country, KOTO seeks out Vietnam’s street and
friendly products and services, establishing platforms and networks to leverage the power of networks, disadvantaged youth such as orphans, street kids
the promotion and preservation of unique arts and cultural works and lastly, providing accessible quality Resource Flow
health care. Within the eight cases, ChangeCase would like to highlight a snapshot of some of the
noteworthy cases from two common themes, the empowerment of disadvantaged groups and Financial Flow
environmentally friendly products and services, that we have witnessed in the Symposium.

and youth from poor rural and city areas provides
them with 24-month training program on
hospitality skills, English language and essential life
skills that enables graduates to acquire the
prerequisite skills to gain formal employment and
the valuable certification in hospitality from Box
Hill Institute of TAFE, Australia. From the strong
belief of Jimmy Pham, the founder of KOTO, that
street and disadvantaged youth should have
access to holistic and vocational skill
development opportunities, in a nurturing
environment, where each family member builds
self-confidence and is empowered to live a life of
dignity and happiness, KOTO is now training as
many as 200 disadvantaged youths within its
training program. Deriving most of the revenue
from the restaurant operation and support by
sponsorship, donations and educational fees,
KOTO is highly profitable and is on the verge of
expanding to across Vietnam, starting from Ho
Chi Minh City and internationally.
Environmental friendly products and services is
one of the world’s most flourishing business sector
in the world, attracting massive investments by
venture capitalists, technologists and public
sector funding worldwide. One venture that is
leading the forefront of the green energy sector
in Thailand is Supreme Renewable Energy, which
has been established in since 2007 in order to
provide turnkey services to build or operate
sub-1MW power plants using biomass gasification
technology. Gasification is a clean technology as
a power source with near-zero pollution that also
generates revenues for farmers by productively
recycling agricultural waste as feedstock.
Supreme has also secured a stable demand from
contract with the Provincial Electricity Authority to
buy all electricity produced by the company,
since it is a government’s policy that it will buy all
electricity that is produced from renewable
sources. In term of social and environmental
impacts, the company also generate significant
social and environmental impact in numerous
ways; first, the village community will benefit from
the purchasing of 4 million baht ($133,100 USD)
worth of agricultural feedstock, second, it will
reinvest up to 5% (projected at $16,650 USD) of
the profits into community projects targeting
human capital, education and health-care, and
lastly, the plant will reduce the carbon footprint
from the burning of agricultural waste. Given the
large shortfall of biomass-generated electricity in
KOTO’s Model
Disadvantage Youths Farmers
Corn Cob Silk
Certificate + Training with
Job Opportunities KOTO
KOTO
Job Thailand, large amount of government incentives
are available for renewable energy projects in
Placement
Thailand, such as an 8-year tax breaks and
“Adder” financial incentives for every kWh of
e l e c t r i c i t y p ro d u c e d , m a k i n g S u p re m e ’ s
operating margin is highly attractive at 122%. The
Other
Customers Restaurants
company’s great potential can attested by the
numerous awards it has received such as
Thailand Energy Award 2010 and the ASEAN
Energy Award 2010 for Community Based Power
Plant projects.
Another green venture with a highly promising
Supreme’s Model business model is Kokoboard, which
manufactures bio-composite boards (similar but
vastly superior to particle boards), as well as
furniture from agricultural waste, such as rice
Community
straw and coconut dust from the shell. In the past,
Association
after rice harvests, farmers in Thailand previously
burned off remaining agricultural waste in their
fields, caused excessive amounts of smoke that
disturbed nearby residents and created needless
Farmers
carbon emissions. Kokoboard’s ingenious win-win
solution to this wasteful problem while providing
an economical returns for local farmers is by
Supreme purchasing the agricultural waste to manufacture
the bio-composite board using a near zero-
Renewable
formaldehyde adhesive that emits volatile
Energy organic compounds (VOCs) in harmless amounts
as low as 10 times the amount emitted by
conventional particle boards. As a two year start
up with the small factory, though the amount of
PEA
12
KOKO Board’s Model
Market
Export
Developers
KOKO Board Architect
etc.
environmental impact may still be considered
quite small, it is quite significant compared to the
size of the facility and will continue to grow in the
near future as Kokoboard continues to expand its
facilities and reach to other communities.
In synopsis, the most coveted ventures selected
nominated to speak on the first and second
pitching session of the Social Enterprise Network
Asia East Asia Regional Symposium shared many
common themes that each venture is seeking to
address, whether it be the empowerment of
disadvantaged groups (through income
generation and/or education), green products
and services, platforms and networks, arts and
cultural promotion and accessible quality health
care.   Moreover, all cases share many common
characteristics, not in the complexity of their
business models but by the simplicity of their
concept that has proven to be viable, lead by
social entrepreneurs brimming with sheer passion
and energy. We hope that this opportunity to
pitch against such distinguished guests will benefit
each venture in terms of financing appeal,
business partnership and international exposure
and lead each venture towards greater
confidence to move forward not as an individual
swimming in a raging sea but as a network of
social entrepreneurs that will sail together, band
together, and guide each other towards a
sustainable future because that is what this
symposium is all about.
CHANGE MAGAZINE
SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD
OPPORTUNITIES
13
ChangeInsight
Social enterprise through the eyes
of a corporate executive
Ms. Venus Asavasitthithavorn,
Communications Director,
Corporate Communication Office
SCG Group
• SCG, also known as Siam Cement
Group, is Thailand’s largest
cement company
• Founded by King Vajiravudh [King
Rama VI] in 1913
• Six core business units: chemicals,
paper, cement, building materials,
distribution and investment
• Market capitalization of $12.8
billion
• Leader in corporate governance
and sustainability  Director, Corporate Communication Office of
In 2009, a survey conducted by a notable
marketing magazine in Thailand called
“Positioning” has ranked SCG Group, one of
Thailand’s biggest diversified industrial
conglomerate, as a company that fresh university
graduates like to work for most, both males and
females alike. Key to this perception is
company's financial stability and its keen interest
in contribution to the development of Thai society.
SCG Group has proven that social responsibility
is one of the corporation's strategic priorities by
establishing SCG Foundation in order to
maximize its social impact through CSR
activities.
In this special edition of Change Magazine, we
were given a rare opportunity to ask the
corporation about the future outlook of social
enterprise in Thailand. Central questions that we
are looking to answer is: What are the
opportunities and challenges? Why does social
issue start to catch corporates' attention? and
What are the formula of growth for social
enterprises? To help answer our questions, Ms.
Venus Asavasitthithavorn, Communications
SCG Group
Q: For corporation such as SCG Group, do you 14
think that the concept of social enterprise is still in
the niche market?
A: Yes, it is. But the most important thing for this
niche market is how to bring producers and
consumers who share the same interest to meet
with each other. For example, there is a
Japanese company that sells bags made from
local products. Buyers feel that by purchasing
such product, they are helping the community
and that makes them feel good about themselves
although the price is higher than similar products
sold in the market. We have to create this kind of
market.
Q: Why has there been a rising trend of
corporations that have started to see the
importance of social development and corporate
social responsibility? Does SCG Group have any
projects that aims to address social and
“ A good intention
environment issues?
A: I believe that as companies face
environmental and social challenges in their
business operations, these issues have began to
provoke the moral reflection within corporative needs to be executed
executives. Many have started to think of how
and what they can do to help solve these through a good
problems. As for SCG Group, we focus our efforts
primarily on community development. We take business model which
care of communities surrounding our plants as if
they were members of our own family. For
instance, in the past, locals in Lampang province will create financial
used to hunt wild birds for a living. To protect
these endangered bird species, we educated sustainability as well
them about the concept of eco-tourism. By
protecting these wild birds, the villagers indirectly
protect, nurture and maintain the sustainability to
as generate the
the forest. In the meantime, locals can earn a
desired social
”
good living from eco-tourism activities. SCG
Group also tries to engage our employees in the
social development process. environmental impact.
 CHANGE MAGAZINE
SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD
OPPORTUNITIES
15
Q: Many social enterprise are founded on the
good intentions of its founder. How can we make
sure that such business becomes more
sustainable?
A: As for this question, I would like draw an
example of a student activity to answer this
question. We always see university students sell
handmade T-shirts to raise money for social
projects. But after the graduation, many of these
students are distracted by other responsibilities in
life. A good intention needs to be executed
through a good business model which will create
financial sustainability as well as generate the
desired social environmental impact. With this
concept in mind, students will encouraged to stay
true to their ambitions and eventually start their
own social enterprise.
Q: What are the most important factors in being a
good entrepreneur?
A: Money is of course an important factor.
However, knowledge is more important. Usually
we do not provide grant-based support to most
projects. This is because we do not want them to
take it for granted. Let’s look at our check-dam
construction project as an example. We did not
give those who propose the project with cash,
instead we hired them to manage the project.
This helps them learn about management and
efficient resource allocation. As for this case,
because there is only five pick-up trucks within
that village, villagers had to learn how to delegate
work so that everyone within the community can
contribute to the project and earn the living
equally. By doing so, they will become a good
entrepreneurs.
Q: Can you suggest on how corporations can 14
support social enterprise?
A: While we can help in communication strategy,
which is one of our core competencies, I believe
that we should not interfere with social
enterprise’s internal process too much since it
can make them lose their identity. We can also
support social enterprise in terms of being their
customer. If these ventures have product that
matches the need of our activities or production,
then we may buy the product from them instead
of buying mass produced item available
elsewhere in the market. We may also be able to
help social enterprise in terms of capacity Q: How do you see social enterprise in 5 years
building or business planning. from now? What are the opportunities and
challenges you foresee for the industry?
“Remember that there
Q: Are there any marketing strategies that you
believe to be crucial and necessary for social A: I personally believe that social enterprise will
enterprise to undertake? continue to grow and will still be in the niche
market but with a stronger network of consumers
A: Market research is critical. As for myself, I am
a health conscious person. But my busy schedule
is always a silver lining and producers. The challenge is whether we can
communicate with the world to make them aware
and understand the concept social enterprise.
does not allow me to luxury of time to be
selective in quality of the food that I consume. I and if you can find Media can play a significant role in this. In the
do not have time to make a glass of herbal drink meantime, producers should try to differentiate
and therefore, I would be much happier to see a opportunity from any themselves. I think that the trend will migrate
towards the growing of organic produce. But what
certified herbal or organic products available in
the market. Remember that there is always a challenges, then is that is more important is how we communicate
”
silver lining and if you can find opportunity from the story of the product and how we capitalize on
the emotionality of buyers.
any challenges, then anything is possible. We
need to have a positive mindset. We need a anything is possible.
balance between social impact and financial What we learned from this one-hour interview is
returns as it will promote the growth and that social issues are gaining increasingly
sustainability of the business. prevalent in our society, both in Thailand and the
world. Time and time again, business gurus,
experts and industry leaders say that we should
seek opportunity from crisis. However, in some
cases, opportunities can spring out of creativity,
innovation and the passion to make things better.
 CHANGE MAGAZINE
SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD
OPPORTUNITIES
17
The overwhelming amounts of waste has
long been one of the world’s most
pressing issues, especially in big cities.
Fortunately, there are still several different
groups of people who are concerned
about this ticking timebomb, especially
social entrepreneurs. Although living in
different countries and had never come
across each other, with the passion in
making their society a better place, many
social entrepreneurs have taken an
initiative in collecting wastes found
around their own communities and
finding way to transform them into
valuable products. Although most of the
venture’s activities have to do with turning
waste into products, many of their
activities are not only limit to the
environmental impact as what each
venture is doing are also bringing about
significant social impacts. In this second
issue, CHANGE Magazine will delve into
the profiles of these recycled-products
entrepreneur, shedding light into the inner
workings of their business and their
motivations that drives them what to
make their society a better place.
Invisible Sisters is a social enterprise based
in Philippines, which has been supported
by Asian Social Enterprise Incubator
(ASEI). With the goals of reducing plastic
waste and providing income opportunity
for poor urban woman, Invisible Sisters
have come up with an simple idea of
collecting plastic waste in the community
and turn them into chic designed purses.
Currently, with the cooperation from the
local recycling industry, Invisible Sisters has
established over 30 collection points and
have recycled more than 800,000 plastic
bags, which in turn has providing extra
income to as many as100 families.
Although, nowadays Invisible Sisters is still
under the support of ASEI, the venture is
expected to spin-off and become a
sustainable social enterprise by 2011. ASEI
are also expecting that in the near future,
the work of Invisible Sisters would
generate a sustained impact for a better
environment as well as put more smiles on
the most destitute Filipinos. (For more
information, please visit: http://
invisiblesisters.org/whatwedo.php)
Photo by:
Shreyans Bhansali
In Thailand there is also a group people
who share the same passion in helping
disadvantaged group of people in the
society as well as cleaning the community.
Driven by their passion to help society,
Brittany Fox, a volunteer from the US, and
Panida Ponkampin (Tukta), student at
Ramhkamhaeng University, have decided
to take action in an entrepreneurial initiative
that does not only help to recycle waste in
Bangkok, but also empowering an
impoverished group of ladies in the
community. In order to achieve their goals,
in 2009 they start an enterprise called Thai
Song Fairtrade that would serve to
supplement the women’s group income for
these women, the venture acting as a sales
and marketing organization for green
products—products which are crafted from
plastic bags. Currently, while Thai Song is
still in a start-up stage and has only worked
with one community, Thai Song plans to
expand and work with more communities
in the near future to help more
underprivileged women who are being
neglected in Thai society. (For more
information, please visit: http://
thaisongfairtrade.org/)
Although these two venture are just groups
of ordinary individuals living in big, urban
cities, both of social enterprise shares the
same passion and goals in making society
a better place. They have shown us that no
matter who you are, as long as you possess
the inner calling to make a difference as
well as are willing to act upon your ideals,
there will be a viable business opportunity
even in the most destitute areas using
materials which other people consider as
garbage.
 change people
CHANGE MAGAZINE
SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD
OPPORTUNITIES
19
Hideyuki Inoue
Founder and President, Social Venture Partners Tokyo
Associate Professor, Keio University, Graduate School of Policy and Media
Inoue is a founder and president of Social Venture Partners Tokyo and Associate Professor at Keio
University, Graduate School of Policy and Media. In 2001, Inoue has joined Entrepreneurial Training
for Innovative Communities (ETIC), a non-profit organization which fosters entrepreneurship among
people in their 20s. He also established a fund called Social Venture Partners Tokyo to which
individual partners contribute their time, knowledge and funding in order to nurture social
entrepreneurship.  bank; on agriculture and infrastructure programmes in Pakistan before establishing Equal Consulting,
! a boutique consulting firm specialising in IT solutions supporting voluntary organizations through
Vishnu Swaminathan
Senior Change Leader (Director)
!
Ashoka
Vishnu Swaminathan is currently the Senior Change Leader (Director) of the Housing For All
programme under the Full Economic Citizenship initiative of India. The Full Economic Citizenship
initiative aims to end economic exclusion for two thirds of the world's population by market-based
solutions to provide basic needs. Vishnu was also Director of a leadership school in Pune, India, and
founded the Centre for Social Development and Governance. He has been an honorary advisor to
! many educational institutions in the area of international student relations, entrepreneurship and
social venture.
! Department. Dispanadda graduated from Brandeis University (Massachusetts, USA) with a BA in
Joan Yao
Investment Manager Southeast Asia
LGT Venture Philanthropy
Joan Yao is Investment Manager for Southeast Asia of LGT Venture Philanthropy, a non-profit
venture fund supporting scalable, sustainable, and entrepreneurial solutions to social problems.
Previously, Joan worked at the investment banking division of Credit Suisse and equity research
division of UBS, Philippines. Joan holds a degree in Management Engineering with a minor in English
Literature, cum laude, from the Ateneo de Manila University, Philippines.
! protection, and women’s rights. Pham is also the co-founder of Social Enterprise Asian Network, a
Dr. Riaz Khan
Director, Yunus Center
The Asian Institute of Technology
Before moving to Bangkok from Dhaka, Dr. Khan was Advisor to the Governing Body of BRAC
University. Dr Khan has extensive experience in rural development projects in Bangladesh due to his
work in Bangladesh as a manager of Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). Dr. Khan also served
as the Executive Director of CEGIS in Bangladesh, an organization that specialises in water
resources management, environmental impact assessment, remote sensing, geographical
! information systems, and spatial databases. Dr. Khan graduated from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) with a BS in Mathematics, and then gained his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the
University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Watanan Petersik
Board member
CIMBT and CIMB
Watanan Petersik worked in the investment banking industry for over 20 years. She still does some
part-time advisory work for a US private equity firm, and sits on the boards of CIMBThai Bank and
CIMB Group Holdings in Malaysia. Since her retirement, Watanan has been involved with
organizations supporting social entrepreneurship and enterprises, including Ashoka, the global
! association of social entrepreneurs and Impact Investment Shujog in Singapore. She is also a Senior
Moderator for the Aspen Institute, active primarily in South Africa and the US, and she is an Aspen
Global Leadership Network fellow.  !
20
Zulfiqar Ahmed
Director of Programmes and Development
UnLtd UK
Zulfiqar Ahmed is Director of Programmes and Development. Joining UnLtd UK since 2002, he is
responsible for business development and the delivery of awards and support programmes in the
North of England, Midlands and Northern Ireland. He has worked as a systems analyst for a major
change, and helping public bodies to improve the impact of their work with minority ethnic
communities.
M.L. Dispanadda Diskul
Chief Development Officer, Doi Tung Development Project
Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage
M.L. Dispanadda Diskul is a Chief Development Officer for the Doi Tung Development Project, Mae
Fah Luang Foundation, a development foundation founded by Her Royal Highness Princess
Srinagarindra, the late mother of His Majesty the King of Thailand. Dispanadda was one of the key
figures in setting direction and realizing the Foundation’s involvement as a rural development player
internationally. Prior to that, he worked as Director and Marketing Manager at Doi Tung Food
Economics, and earned his MBA from SASIN Graduate Institute of Business Administration,
Chulalongkorn University in 2005.
Pham Kieu Oanh
Founder and Director
Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion
Pham Kieu Oanh is the Founder and Director of the Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP) in
Hanoi, Vietnam. She is a pioneer and an expert in social entrepreneurship development, child
member of Asian Venture Philanthropies Association, and founder of Vietnam Social Entrepreneurs
Club. In the past 20 years, she has undertaken various positions in Government agencies,
! international non-governmental organisations and UN agencies. Oath has a BA in Philosophy from
Hanoi University and an MA in Sociology and Anthropology from Monash University, Australia.
Abigail Jung
Chief Investment Officer
Sow Asia Foundation
Abigail (Abbie) Jung is an international development professional with over 10 years of experience
in public health, humanitarian aid and economic development. At Sow Asia, she  manages the
investment portfolio and oversees all aspects of the investment process from deal sourcing to due
diligence to investment management.  Abbie holds a BA in Neurobiology from the University of
! California at Berkeley and an MPH in Population and Family Health from Columbia University.
Komal Sahu
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Impact Investment Exchange Asia
Komal Sahu is building a network of ecosystem partners for Social Enterprises (SEs) in the region.
Komal is a Fellow of the Institute of Certified Accountants and an Associate member of the Institute
of Taxation in the UK. She was previously a Senior Manager with KPMG in London. Prior to that, she
worked for the British Civil Service as a tax investigator in the City of London. During the last few
years, she has helped various charitable organisations in India and assisted with fundraising and
educating HIV- positive children.
 CHANGE MAGAZINE
SOCIAL INNOVATION, REAL WORLD
OPPORTUNITIES
21
Testimonial
Arch Wongchindawest,
Founder, mysocialmotion
The regional SE symposium in
Bangkok was one my favorite
events of the year. The speeches;
the pitches; the networking; all
beautifully integrated into an
event that lived up to it's promise
to bring together, build capacity,
and support social entrepreneurs
working to change the world.
Being able to pitch our project
was a major plus; after the
speech, we were approached
by 10 different organizations who
wanted to know more about us,
and offered their valuable
advice and support.
Abigail Jung, Chief
Investment Officer, Sow
Foundation Asia
The regional SE Symposium in
Bangkok presented a great
opportunity to meet other like-
minded social investors and
s u p p o r t i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s .  facilitating the growth of social
However, it is increasingly clear
that much work needs to be
done to clarify and map out the
different support ecosystems (i.e.,
financing, capacity building,
access to networks) needed to
support the range of social
enterprise models in Asia.
Zulfiqar Ahmed, Director of
Programmes & Development,
UnLtd UK
Developing effective networks,
sharing experience and enabling
peer-peer support across South
East Asia is a key part of
entrepreneurship in the region.
The Regional Social Enterprise
Knowledge and Partnership
Symposium was an excellent
catalyst towards achieving this
aim, and has laid firm
foundations though connecting
social entrepreneurs, support
agencies, and investors who are
concerned with building a
people powered movement for
social change in the region.
Yuttana Saithai, Managing
Director, Supreme
Renewable Energy Co., Ltd.
SE Asia 2010 conference is a well
organized and a very good start
for SE community in Thailand and
Asia. It draws several people who
have the same interest toward SE
development and investment to
share their expertise as well as
provide number of interesting
show cases from different
countries in Asia.   I am looking
forward to participate again next
time.
Saumil Shah, Managing
Director, EnerGaia Co., Ltd.
The symposium was a nice event
t o b e g i n c re a t i n g a s o c i a l
enterprise support network in
Asia.   I look forward to seeing
further progress in 2011 towards
helping SE's start-up and grow in
the region.
22
Hideki Hara, Director
Europe, Middle East and
Africa Section, Japanese
I feel very much privileged to be
part of this symposium and
witnessed an important first step
taken toward the creation of
Asia-wide network of social
entrepreneurs. I wish the network
created this time would prosper
as the one that is wide enough to
compare commonalities and
differences in the operations of
social business across the
countries, but also deep enough
for the members to understand
the nuances of a wide variety of
issues afflicting the region and
empathize with the people their
colleagues are trying to help.
Markus Dietrich, Co-founder
and Director, Asian Social
It was inspiring to be part in this
first effort to bring together the
social entrepreneur space in
South East Asia. I was not only
able to present my organization's
approach to incubation but also
to network, to learn and to have
fun.