- Faith in Nature putting nature on the board:
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There are many examples of businesses that have implemented social innovation in their operations.
One of the most well-known is Patagonia, a clothing company that has a strong commitment to environmental sustainability. Patagonia has implemented several social innovation initiatives, including a program to reduce its carbon footprint and the creation of a fund to support grassroots environmental organizations.
Another example is Unilever, a global consumer goods company that has made a commitment to sustainable living. Unilever has implemented several social innovation initiatives, including the development of sustainable products and the creation of partnerships with NGOs to promote sustainable agriculture.
The last one, IKEA, the worldās largest furniture retailer, has implemented several social innovation initiatives to promote sustainable living, including the development of sustainable products, the use of renewable energy, and the promotion of sustainable consumption.
I want to highlight examples of businesses that I have seen first-hand in action and who have been innovative and that have built on their core business strength to support social innovation.
Global Financial Institution - Revolving Facility Fund
One of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs and small businesses is exclusion and significant barriers to access traditional financial services. YBI has collaborated with a large global financial institution to pilot a unique financial product and set of business services for underserved female entrepreneurs in Kenya. The programme will support low-income entrepreneurs aged 18-35 from marginalised communities in Kenya, providing access to financial support needed to sustain and grow their businesses. It will target 90% female entrepreneurs and 10% entrepreneurs with a majority female workforce.
The revolving fund will provide loans between US$1,000-US$25,000 and a 5% interest per annum. Repaid capital will be released in subsequent rounds as a revolving fund, which will then be reused to support additional entrepreneurs. This model will allow entrepreneurs previously excluded from the financial landscape to access capital and grow their businesses into commercially viable and investable models, whilst replenishing the loan fund through repayments for investment in further businesses.
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And most especially, my company, Gesego Games. It is a prime example of a business that has implemented social innovation in its operations. By creating an interactive game, Seventeen, that educates players about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Gesego Games is using innovative means to promote education, awareness, and engagement with the SDGs. This unique approach of using games as a tool for promoting social impact demonstrates how businesses can leverage creativity and technology to address social and environmental challenges.
Gesego Games has also taken steps to expand the reach of Seventeen by partnering with governments to make the game available in institutions such as NYSC camps, CDS groups, and universities. This strategic partnership approach allows Gesego Games to leverage existing infrastructure and networks to reach a larger audience and create a more significant impact on the SDGs. By targeting young people through partnerships with institutions like NYSC camps and universities, Gesego Games is empowering the next generation to learn about the SDGs and take action in their communities.
Through our innovative game product, Seventeen, and our strategic partnerships with governments, Gesego Games exemplifies how social innovation can be integrated into business operations. By utilizing games as an educational and engagement tool for the SDGs and collaborating with key stakeholders, Gesego Games is making a positive contribution to society and promoting sustainable development in a creative and impactful way.
I agree that needs to be stressed more for more businesses to adopt social innovation. I think it is a matter of time until core aspects of social innovation, particularly in terms of the environmental impact, will become lawfully enforced. History shows this tends to be the case once the problem has escalated to the panic stage where the consequences are most obvious and concerning. Thus, businesses that are ahead of the game are bound to hugely benefit in the long run.
Global consulting services company
YBI has worked with a large global consulting services company to help build and strengthen our capabilities in key strategic areas. This involved leveraging their skilled workforce to deploy best practice private sector approaches and methodologies to develop our capabilities around core elements such as digital transformation. This global consultancy has a dedicated team who work with NGOs, charities, academia and public sector institutions in a similar way. Itās a great example of leveraging their core competency and providing an avenue for their employees to participate in social impact projects.
Iād like to share five case studies on examples of businesses that implemented gender lens in their operations ā these case studies explain how the companies designed their innovation and also shares the benefits of doing so.
Digicon Technologies Ltd (Bangladesh, Business Services)
INSOTEC (Ecuador, Financial Services)
Nova Coffee (Rwanda, Food and Agriculture)
Hi everyone,
Ed here from the Learning Planet Institute in Paris. LPI is at intersection of research, entrepeneurship and programmes around building learning communities to tackle major challenges. I work especially on co-running our global community of young gamechangers (LearningPlanet Youth fellows) who are working on social innovation accross learning, health, sustainability and rights. You can find me here : https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardstevenette/
Connection into this topic : helping organisations, businesses, networks and institutions to co-construct solutions with youth for social innovation. As part of this really recognise need for :
- Establishing middle grounds of communication (what are the common interests? What are the skills coming into this space? Who are the central stakeholders?)
- Learning by doing (how can we ensure this process is iterative, active learning-centred, and geared towards improving and building on solutions for social innovation by learning from successes, but more importantly, from what hasnt worked?)
- Learning community centred (How do we ensure that an ecosystem / movement / sustainable community emerges from these collaborative actions, to ensure that the insights, actions and impact is gathered and fed into future actions?)
In Kenya, Mobile banking has been on the rise; people have been able to make payments from the comfort of their homes since Vodafone launched the mobile wallet M-Pesa in Kenya in 2007. It was a successful social innovation that provided millions with financial services, allowing them to make fast and secure payments with their mobile phones.
In the first months, over 1.1 million people started using the service, and $87 million had been transferred. In just two years, more than 8.5 million Kenyans were using the service, transferring US$3.7 billion (10% of Kenyaās GDP).
They later expanded this service to new markets in Africa. In 2013 they launched their service in India, but they failed to repeat the success in Kenya. M-Pesa worked so well in Kenya because of the early market penetration. By the time they expanded to the Indian market, startups had already started to take over.
I also advocate organisations bringing in more of a coaching style of leadership. Accepting they donāt have all the answers. Fostering greater transparency. Unlocking potential in the others.
Co-coaching within a team or organisation is a fantastic ā and free! ā way to challenge, support and hold to account.
A coaching style of leadership takes a little bit of effort to set up, but reaps benefits which ripple throughout the organisation. Coaching conversations are often the fertile ground for new thinking, new ideas, new initiatives
Other examples worth highlighting
I also want to highlight a couple of examples from other businesses that I have not seen first-hand but that I think are excellent case studies and exemplars - P&G and Vodafone. P&G through their open innovation platform has partnered and collaborated with many stakeholders, including suppliers, academic institutions, NGOs, government agencies, to deliver innovation solutions that deliver both business performance and social impact e.g., sustainable packaging, provision of safe drinking water and many other examples. Vodafone was instrumental in testing and launching M-Pesa which has had an enormous impact in terms of providing millions of people with access to financial services. The impact it has had on peopleās lives, including entrepreneurs and small businesses, is truly impressive. Both excellent examples of win-win in terms of business and social impact.
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Surprisingly there are many small businesses in India who have incorporated social innovations in their businesses and this has become their way of doing business and also unique selling point of doing business with purpose.
Some examples : Dressfolk : due to their amazing supply chain and close connect with artisans they have doubled the income of artisans in just few years.
Jaipur Rugs: A luxury rug company who keeps artisans and their innovations at heart
Bare Craft bridges the gap between rural artisan communities and global fashion and lifestyle SMEs through supply chain innovation integrating United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
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- SAP: This is a company that has been leading the Dow Jones Sustainability Index as the #1 company for the last 10 years. They look at every aspect of their business: their technology and data centers are carbon negative, their products help other companies achieve carbon neutrality and other ESG targets, and their staff is encouraged to keep learning and integrate ESG into their work. Itās totally integrated into how this company operates and its employees love them. And during the time of crisis - especially in the last months of recession fear - investors love it, too, and it keeps growing instead of losing value. MovingWorlds developed a case study on how SAP, through their work with social enterprises, increased employee engagement and retention, new perspectives and insights gained feed directly back into the way the company operates as a whole, fueling new innovations, partnerships, and initiatives that embed sustainability insights back into the heart of the business.
My second advice, is to benchmark and understand best practices in competitors/businesses of similar sizes regarding the social matters that impact their business, supply chains, etc, and the social matters that are more impacted by their business, supply chains, etc (double materiality)
To expand on the main points I have replied to the previous question, I have included examples below:
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Culture of innovation: Patagonia provides paid time off for employees to participate in environmental campaigns, and many employees are involved in advocacy and lobbying efforts.
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Collaborating with external stakeholders: Unilever has committed to sourcing all of its tea, palm oil, and other key agricultural ingredients, sustainably by 2023. To achieve this goal, the company has formed partnerships with organizations like the Rainforest Alliance, a non-profit that works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods.
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Provide resources and support: : BMās Corporate Service Corps (CSC) programme sends teams of IBM employees on pro bono consulting assignments to work with non-profit organizations, government agencies, and small businesses in emerging markets.
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Measure and communicate impact TOMS, a footwear and eyewear company, operates on a āone-for-oneā business model. For every pair of shoes or eyewear that a customer purchases, TOMS donates a pair of shoes or eyewear to a person in need. TOMS has been able to build a strong reputation as a socially responsible company and attract customers who are looking for products that have a positive impact.
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integrating social innovation into core business strategies and operations: Manufacture 2030, as reflected in the platformās name, helps businesses track their carbon footprint. The aim is to encourage and aid businesses to achieve the 2030 standards set by the UN.|
- Unilever integrated social innovation into its core business through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan. They committed to growing their company while tackling environmental issues and social inequalities. To do so, they integrated CSI into all their business operations: product design, marketing, sourcing, customer engagement, etc. Their ambition to grow is supported by innovation and their strategy includes goals like reducing their environmental impact by half by 2030 and improving health and well-being for 1 billion people.
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Google is also using the power of innovative partnerships to help refine products like Google Earth and Google Maps. They teamed up with local NGOs, universities and World Bank to support their goals (track environmental degradation, spread of viruses, community mappings etc.) which in return gives Google more accurate information that improves their services.
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Thatās really interesting - I feel like the general pattern is that smaller or family businesses make the most efforts to incorporate social innovation, yet have the least resources to do so.
ā¢ Social enterprises, Bcorps, many Family Businessesā¦ some mentioned already above
ā¢ Many companies that have innovation teams are in fact implementing social innovations projects and partnerships ā some of the most visible include Acceleration programs
In the future all Innovation will be Social Innovation or Societal Innovation.
Hopefully soon!
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