Challenging Systems: Partnerships between Business and Social Entrepreneurs
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Businesses and social entrepreneurs could form successful partnerships as long as their engagement is based on solid partnering principles
At a three day conference in Denver, Colorado, Muhammad Yunus (Nobel prize winner, Founder of the Grameen Bank and father of the Micro-credit movement) spoke of A World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism to a packed audience.
In his speech he gave the view that poverty was not inevitable but it was the result of the systems we have created, giving the idea that if we can un-create or alter the systems we can actually completely combat poverty.
At a follow-up workshop, Ros Tennyson, Director of The Partnering Initiative – a programme of IBLF – gave a presentation on Partnerships and Social Business.
Picking up on Dr Yunus’s theme, she positioned partnerships for sustainable development as a way to challenge and adjust systems. In her talk, she suggested that business and social entrepreneurs could become partners as long as their engagement was based on solid partnering principles (Equity, Transparency and Mutual Benefit).
Both Ros Tennyson and Muhammad Yunus were speaking at the Social Business and Microeconomic Opportunities for Youth. Read more on the event
IBLF believes that there is great potential for multinational businesses to work with social entrepreneurs, in order to help develop new products, or services and tackle development challenges.
In collaboration with Socialedge (sponsored by the Skoll Foundation), we are currently hosting an online event entitled, “Partnerships between large businesses and Social Entrepreneurs”.
The discussion forum recognises that in order for social enterprise to prosper, a better understanding is needed on how to make it sustainable in the long run, and so is geared towards discovering what is required by social entrepreneurs from big businesses to be able to grow swiftly and sustainably. Join the discussion online
Source: International Business Leaders Forum (link opens in a new window)
