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The NGOs for Social Enterprise Development launched its Social Enterprise Symposium series last September 26, 2023. Led by the NGO subsector, this monthly, online forum is an initiative under the National Social Enterprise Development Roadmap.

Dr. Ben Quiñones, Jr., founder of the Asian Solidarity Economy Council (ASEC) and Chairperson of the NGOs for Social Enterprise Development, welcomed over 100 participants to its first SE Symposium. The series is meant to provide a space for NGOs to share their experiences and best practices, in delivering both financial and non-financial programs and services, to social enterprises (SEs) and SE stakeholders.  Through this, the NGO subsector aims to connect SEs with the appropriate providers and to create shared value through their partnerships. 

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“We hope that the participants will make use of this opportunity to get to know the financial service providers and perhaps, even better, to take steps in establishing mutually beneficial business linkages,” Dr. Quiñones shared.  

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Mr. Rodmark Barriga, President of the Society for the Advancement of Professional Social Entrepreneurship, Inc. (SAPSE), then introduced the National Social Enterprise Development Roadmap to the group. Commissioned by BPI Foundation in 2021, the SE Roadmap is a five-year, nationwide strategic plan to advance social enterprises through a multi-sectoral approach. Given that the SE sector is still fragmented, the Roadmap aims to unite stakeholders in their efforts to grow social enterprises in scope, scale and socio-environmental impact. 

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Citing the research undertaken by Bayan Innovation Group and SAPSE for the SE Roadmap, Mr. Barriga shared that another challenge in advancing SEs is the varied understanding of social enterprises and prevailing misconceptions on what they are. Thus, another key objective of the Roadmap is to increase public awareness and understanding of social entrepreneurship to drive traction for this SE movement. 

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For the main program, Ms. Kathlene Joyce Bannister-Odtojan shared the work being done by the First Community Cooperative (FICCO) and her organization, FICCO Community Outreach Foundation, Inc. (FCOF), to develop social enterprises. Ms. Odtojan, Office Manager, explained how FICCO created a Cooperative Social Responsibility Fund equivalent to 4% of the cooperative’s income, which funds FCOF’s operations. Since 2012, FCOF has been incubating projects, particularly SEs, which are then turned over to FICCO once they become viable and sustainable. 

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Notable projects include rice production, which led to FICCO developing a state-of-the-art rice mill; adlai production; rice-duck farming and potato planting; the One Cooperative Marketplace, which links farmers and consumers; and engineered, custom bamboo and lumber products.

Ms. Odtojan emphasized that what they really wanted to address was the sustainability of community-based enterprises. To do so, they focused on building a sense of ownership in the communities – a shift from the traditional approach of dole-outs - which has been key in the success of their projects and in driving the cooperative economy.   

The second speaker for the symposium was Ms. Genna Mijares, Customer and Partnership Development Manager of Plastic Bank. Ms. Mijares shared Plastic Bank’s mission to stop plastic from entering our oceans and to address this global issue. There is an estimated 750,000 tons of plastic flooding the oceans every year, with the Philippines recently being named as the top ocean plastic polluter in the world. This has led to the country’s’ Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022, which holds corporations accountable for their plastic footprint. EPR requires companies to neutralize their plastic footprint, with increased responsibility to do so year on year. 

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This is where Plastic Bank comes in, helping corporate partners achieve compliance, while formalizing the informal waste sector. Through their partnerships with waste collectors and junk shops, Plastic Bank builds ethical collection communities. They enable the informal waste sector to become entrepreneurs themselves by making plastic collection a professional endeavor. Members are trained to conduct efficient collection in households, communities and Materials Recovery Facilities. The collected plastic is then turned into flakes or pellets and reused as feedstock for corporations, fueling a circular economy for plastic. Their recycling process is also fully traceable through Alchemy™, their digital ledger platform. 

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Ms. Mijares stressed that the real backbone of this circular economy is the strong partnership with the informal waste sector. Part of Plastic Bank’s training and formation is focused on helping waste collectors and junk shops appreciate the value of their work and how their role is critical to the nation. Plastic Bank also helps professionalize the informal waste sector’s work by providing tools of the trade, as well as social support benefits for a dignified livelihood. 

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Following the speakers’ sessions, Mr. Barriga facilitated a Q&A with Ms. Odtojan and Ms. Mijares, who also stand as the SE Roadmap Representatives for NGOs in Mindanao and NCR-South Luzon, respectively. Participants were keen to learn more about community partnerships, available interventions and possible linkages. 

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Dr. Quiñones then shared another NGO subsector program that is in the works: a proposed financing scheme for social enterprises - to be backed by formal financing institutions - as there is none existing. He highlighted the need to popularize financing for SEs because banks may not yet understand the SE model, similar to how financing institutions did not immediately open their doors to microentrepreneurs. But the experience with microfinancing has taught us that once the formal financing institutions understand the process, they will commit. With banks controlling 98% of deposits in the Philippines, it is imperative to convince them that financing SEs is feasible, viable and sustainable. 

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Towards this end, the NGOs for Social Enterprise Development will engage SEs and NGOs in dialogue to develop a financing scheme for SEs that can be pitched to formal financing institutions. The NGO subsector looks to develop a program that can attract capital and impact investment to drive the SE economy in a big way. 

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To close the first SE Symposium, Mr. Sixto “Dodo” Macasaet, Executive Director of the Foundation for Sustainable Society, Inc. and co-Chairperson of the NGOs for Social Enterprise Development, thanked the group for supporting this initiative and encouraged participants to use this monthly gathering as an avenue to build strategic linkages and partnerships.

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For more information on the SE Roadmap and the initiatives of the NGOs for Social Enterprise Development, connect with us through collaborate@bayaninnovationgroup.org. 

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