DHAKA: US Ambassador to Bangladesh Marcia Bernicat Thursday said in the United States, the concept of social business is having a noteworthy impact on the formation of new enterprises and a sweeping influence on business education.

“The concept of social business applies not only to developing nations but also developed economies,” the US envoy told the audiences while addressing a programme on the occasion of the 6th annual Social Business Day.

With the theme “We Are Not Job-Seekers, We Are Job-Givers—Turning Unemployment into Entrepreneurship”, Yunus Centre started the program at Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in the morning.

She went on saying: With the establishment of Grameen America in 2008, Professor Yunus adapted solutions that were achieving results in the villages of Bangladesh to the urban neighborhoods of the United States.

Although their country has one of the largest economies worldwide and one of the highest average standards of living for its citizens, sadly, millions of Americans still live in poverty, the US envoy added.

That poverty disproportionately affects women.  More than one-third of US households headed by women are living in poverty.  As it does in Bangladesh, Grameen sees women as the economic engine in these US communities that can lift families out of poverty, she elaborated.
 
“Today Grameen America has provided nearly 125,000 micro-loans and reached more than 47,000 women,” Bernicat informed the audiences.

This approach is providing women with the network, financial training and access to capital to start small businesses in their communities and alleviate poverty, the ambassador also said.  

Grameen America now operates in 11 US cities and has disbursed more than $260 million in loans.  It measures its impact by the nearly 57,000 jobs created by the micro-enterprises it finances, Bernicat elaborated.

Quoting non-profit advisor The Bridgespan Group, she said that US business schools rapidly incorporated consideration of social benefits into their existing coursework on business decision-making and created new courses devoted to social entrepreneurship over the last decade.

Harvard Business School alone has more than 90 faculty members doing research and course development on social enterprises.  Numerous universities and top programs have academic centers dedicated to social enterprises, she further said.

A growing number of students seek and find internships at such organizations where they can refine the management skills needed to one day form their own organizations that can help solve one of the world’s problems.

Foundations and investors are following suit by scaling up the most promising solutions.  As the Harvard Business Review puts it, “MBA programs today are minting not just captains of industry, but also crusaders for social good.”

That passion, in turn, leads to the creation of new enterprises aimed at eliminating poverty and improving access to education, healthcare, clean water, information technology, and renewable energies – the foundations for a better life. 

Institutions dedicated to tracking entrepreneurship trends such as the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, the Great Social Enterprise Census and others estimate that from thousands to even tens of thousands of new enterprises in the United States consider themselves social businesses, Bernicat said.
 
She further said, “Supporting entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs is part of our mission at the Department of State.  Two weeks ago at the White House, President Obama spoke of our Spark Global Entrepreneurship Initiative – a program with the goal of raising $1 billion in investment for emerging entrepreneurs, including social entrepreneurs, by 2017.

We aim for half of the Initiative’s funds to support women and young entrepreneurs. Many of the innovations those entrepreneurs pioneer will bring social benefits to needy populations in developing countries across the globe.” 

The President reminded us of the great contribution that you here are all making to tackle the world’s toughest challenges, Barnicat said.

President Obama said, “At a time that we’re facing challenges that no country can meet by itself -- lifting people out of poverty, combating climate change, preventing the spread of disease -- helping social entrepreneurs mobilize and organize brings more people together to find solutions.”

BDST: 1745 HRS, MAY 28, 2015
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