What makes an entrepreneur a SOCIAL entrepreneur? According to Sarah Clark, its about social responsibility or “the responsibility of individuals to give back to their communities”. Entrepreneurs from low-income communities “[pull] whole
communities out of poverty” by creating more job opportunities for others
in their area (S. Clark, personal
communication, August 5, 2011).
As part of a Social Welfare class 2 years ago, I had the opportunity to interview Sarah Clark - the Director of Development and Communication at ANewAmerica. This non-profit organization in Berkeley (just a few blocks off campus) assists new immigrants and refugees in America to develop small businesses through a 3-year training program so that they could better integrate themselves into American life. They also opened offices in other communities with a large immigrant population living in poverty such as Oakland, San Jose, and Richmond.This organization's intervention model is very similar to the social entrepreneurship program of my PE org, Gawad Kalinga, that aims to mold entrepreneurs from low income communities in the Philippines.
One of the main differences between the two programs is their target clients. When asked why this organization chose to focus on helping immigrants and “new Americans”, Clark answered by saying, “the barriers for immigrant entrepreneurs are unique”. These barriers such as educational, language and cultural barriers are all examples of problems that “new Americans” face in their efforts to adjust to a new society (S. Clark, personal communication, August 5, 2011). Although their immigrant clients have successfully entered the "land of opportunity," many of them slip into poverty because they are unable to navigate the job market with their unrecognized background experience or lack of knowledge on American culture, financial practices and business skills. This lack of income also translates into their inability to attain assets that help them live a comfortable life in American society such as proper housing and access to technology. These are problems that face the whole community. Although ANewAmerica is only able to train a handful of these community members who sign-up for the program, the impact of these businesses are able to ripple out to the rest of the community.
ANewAmerica uses a Virtual Business Incubator model of development. This model points out three different aspects where immigrants could work on improving their lives and the lives of people around them. These aspects are known as the “ABCs of AnewAmerica”: Asset Building, Business Incubation and Social Responsibility (AnewAmerica Community Corporation, 2010). This model translates into a three year program which consists of a six month planning period and two and a half years of implementation alongside the mentorship of staff and volunteers that facilitate workshops which focuses on specific business skills. Similarly to Gawad Kalinga's model, this program also trains their clients to be not just entrepreneurs, but "social entrepreneurs" by addressing social issues through the business models they develop. In the case of ANewAmerica, most of their enterprises receive credibility as a “Certified Green Business.”
Entrepreneurship training is often seen as a form of "empowerment" - a way for the poor to pick themselves up and out of poverty, but is it also a way to prove ones nationalism? It is interesting to note that both ANewAmerica and Gawad Kalinga tie entrepreneurship to being a good productive citizen of their respective countries. It seems like the social aspect of being a social entrepreneur isn't only that these businesses give back to society, but that they assimilate themselves further into society and the capitalist behaviors it follows.
--Dominique Martinez
------------------
As part of a Social Welfare class 2 years ago, I had the opportunity to interview Sarah Clark - the Director of Development and Communication at ANewAmerica. This non-profit organization in Berkeley (just a few blocks off campus) assists new immigrants and refugees in America to develop small businesses through a 3-year training program so that they could better integrate themselves into American life. They also opened offices in other communities with a large immigrant population living in poverty such as Oakland, San Jose, and Richmond.This organization's intervention model is very similar to the social entrepreneurship program of my PE org, Gawad Kalinga, that aims to mold entrepreneurs from low income communities in the Philippines.
One of the main differences between the two programs is their target clients. When asked why this organization chose to focus on helping immigrants and “new Americans”, Clark answered by saying, “the barriers for immigrant entrepreneurs are unique”. These barriers such as educational, language and cultural barriers are all examples of problems that “new Americans” face in their efforts to adjust to a new society (S. Clark, personal communication, August 5, 2011). Although their immigrant clients have successfully entered the "land of opportunity," many of them slip into poverty because they are unable to navigate the job market with their unrecognized background experience or lack of knowledge on American culture, financial practices and business skills. This lack of income also translates into their inability to attain assets that help them live a comfortable life in American society such as proper housing and access to technology. These are problems that face the whole community. Although ANewAmerica is only able to train a handful of these community members who sign-up for the program, the impact of these businesses are able to ripple out to the rest of the community.
ANewAmerica uses a Virtual Business Incubator model of development. This model points out three different aspects where immigrants could work on improving their lives and the lives of people around them. These aspects are known as the “ABCs of AnewAmerica”: Asset Building, Business Incubation and Social Responsibility (AnewAmerica Community Corporation, 2010). This model translates into a three year program which consists of a six month planning period and two and a half years of implementation alongside the mentorship of staff and volunteers that facilitate workshops which focuses on specific business skills. Similarly to Gawad Kalinga's model, this program also trains their clients to be not just entrepreneurs, but "social entrepreneurs" by addressing social issues through the business models they develop. In the case of ANewAmerica, most of their enterprises receive credibility as a “Certified Green Business.”
Entrepreneurship training is often seen as a form of "empowerment" - a way for the poor to pick themselves up and out of poverty, but is it also a way to prove ones nationalism? It is interesting to note that both ANewAmerica and Gawad Kalinga tie entrepreneurship to being a good productive citizen of their respective countries. It seems like the social aspect of being a social entrepreneur isn't only that these businesses give back to society, but that they assimilate themselves further into society and the capitalist behaviors it follows.
--Dominique Martinez
------------------
AnewAmerica
Community Corporation. (2010). AnewAmerica. Retrieved August
8, 2011 from http://www.anewamerica.org/.
Clark, S. (2011, August 5). Personal interview.
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