What is social-enterprise?
Social-business, social-enterprise, micro-credit/lending - these are a few of the terms being used to describe the movement within the field of economic and social development towards profit driven activity for the social good. It’s the old ‘if you teach a man to fish’ analogy - but in this model we also buy the boat, nets, bait and sails. We then set-up a bank account, register the fishing business and connect the fisherman and his family to local and international fish markets to ensure long-term sustainability of the business and family income. Often done as a micro-loan which can be easily paid back after the business has reached sustainability, micro-credit programs have proven to be extremely effective in lifting small scale entrepreneurs out of poverty. Most well known and certainly the pioneer of this shift in development process is Muhammed Yunus, creator of the Grameen Bank which has been providing micro-credit (and securing an extremely high repayment rate from female entrepreneurs) for the past thirty years.
What does it have to do with G.R.O.?
In the spring of 2008, as an extension of the G.R.O. Lesotho education programs , G.R.O. launched two start-up social-enterprise businesses. Rather than focusing on micro-credit, G.R.O. focused on locating existing but struggling local entrepreneurial projects (two small women’s collectives) and providing targeted capital infusions for business start-up, early stock and overhead costs as well as market access. By having G.R.O. personnel ‘on the ground’ in Lesotho, we’ve been able to facilitate connections to international markets, ensure the separate enterprises were supporting each other, and ensure our supporters funds were used directly on programs and in a targeted way to ensure business sustainability. From Spring 2009 through Spring 2010 the G.R.O. Artisans collective increased their sales by 1400%, opened a retail location, and have received special orders from the Queen of Lesotho. The G.R.O Grannies poultry project was started independently by a group of Basotho elderly women in 2006 (as the Lisemeng II Poultry Project) - but was losing profits due to inadequate chicken rearing facilities and a few key business challenges. Two key G.R.O. investors provided funding for refurbishment and winterizing of their facility, poultry training, water catchment system and business training. The grannies’ project is now capable of producing 200 chickens every four weeks and has been connected to the Eastern and Southern African Small Scale Farmers Forum ESAFF for long-term market sustainability. Both of these G.R.O. Lesotho projects, while completely separate in terms of financial needs and existing capacities; demonstrate the low-cost / high-impact nature of the social-enterprise approach.
In short: G.R.O. is utilizing the power of local and international markets to drive programs that support social welfare, help protect the vulnerable, and aims to empower people so they can lift themselves out of poverty - for good.
Why have you focused on female entrepreneurs to date? Will G.R.O. support a male led business?
Here are some realities:
1. Women in the developing world have extremely limited access to credit, bursaries or other start-up capital.
2. Female-entrepreneurs in the developing world have demonstrated an extremely high repayment rate on micro-credit loans and investments.
3. It has been proven time and time again that if you empower one woman, you are also empowering her whole family and potentially her entire community.
Does this mean you won’t support male entrepreneurs?
Of course we will. Socially engaged men have an incredibly important role to play in creating gender and social equality within their communities. G.R.O. does not discriminate on gender lines and we seek to involve men who challenge inequality in all of its forms. G.R.O. has recently been involving men in the local community in ‘Men as Partners’ trainings which seek to challenge social inequality and arm men with the tools to become supportive, empowering and equal partners to their wives and girlfriends.
Global Relief Outreach is currently operating three grassroots community projects in Lesotho. Powered by local creativity, we support sustainable social, health and education initiatives that have been empowering communities since 2005. Read More »
The Oatway Family Scholarship, and subsequent creation of G.R.O, was funded by Sharon Oatway and family in honour of her parents John and Alice Oatway (Canada). Honoured with numerous awards for social commitment and volunteerism across Canada, the Oatways have demonstrated a giving spirit and compassion for humanity that sparked G.R.O. as an extension of their ideals. Read More »
Social-business, social-enterprise, micro-credit/lending – these are a few of the terms being used to describe the movement within the field of economic and social development towards profit driven activity for the social good. It’s the old ‘if you teach a man to fish’ analogy – but in this model we also buy the boat, nets, bait and sails. Read More »
In May of 2008, G.R.O. Director James White met with members of the Lisemeng II Poultry Association, a collective group of grandmothers and women in their community, who were keen to start a small-scale poultry project in order to alleviate poverty in their community. Read More »
Started by ‘Me Mamabula Selia-lia in early 2007, the G.R.O. Artisans is a handicraft collective of women affected by HIV/AIDS. As a social-enterprise project the program was initiated with capital infusions of funds provided by generous G.R.O. supporters as the business has developed over the past three years, nine women have joined the collective. Read More »