Sphere: Related Content
This blog does not put all of its faith in the well meaning efforts of those trying to influence world leaders into making the responsible decisions regarding the Millennium Development Goals, and it puts even less faith in those leaders themselves.
Without a doubt, those efforts must be made and governments must be addressed and held accountable, but other (borrowing from Jeffery Sachs) innovative on-the-ground interventions addressing these challenges are also essential. The old models of aid are not only being challenged they are being supplanted by social enterprise.
A recent article from Business & Human Rights Resource Centre on 8/29/08 addressed the question of How effective is social enterprise?
[W]hat is social enterprise and can a business have an ethical dimension? [Township Trades] in South Africagives poor people in a township the chance to develop new skillsThe business[trains] localsto make soap from natural ingredients, which is then sold at market stallsJonathan Bland, the SEC's [Social Enterprise Coalition] chief executive [said] "a social entrepreneur's main aim is to use the power of business to address social or environmental issues and use the profits generated to further these goals Howeverin developing countries, where wages are lowerthere is a danger that social entrepreneurs could be viewed as using the "ethical business" tag to reduce overheads[However] Mr Blandsaid "good working conditions, a fair wage, diverse workforce, and employee empowerment are the bedrock of the social enterprise business" [also refers to Elvis & Kresse Organisation, Divine Chocolate]
