From Grameen Bank Micro-Credit to Social Business to Social Economy-Detail Proposal: a Case Study: Compare and Contrast Bangladesh and Canada Kazi Abdur Rouf
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ISSN: 2278-3369 International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics Available online at www.managementjournal.info REVIEW ARTICLE From Grameen Bank Micro-credit to Social Business to Social Economy-detail Proposal: A Case Study: Compare and Contrast Bangladesh and Canada Kazi Abdur Rouf Social Economy Centre Leadership, Higher Adult Education Department, University of Toronto, Canada. *Corresponding Author: E-mail: [email protected] Abstract In Canada, many research papers, articles and books have been written about social economy that give students, academicians, researchers and policy planners ideas about different types of social business organizations- cooperatives, nonprofit agencies, community economic development organizations, social enterprises etc. For example, Understanding the social economy: A Canadian perspective written by Quarter, J., Mook L., Armstrong A. (Eds.), (2009) and Quarter & et al (2010) is an example of a research paper that has documented different concepts of social economy and different types of social economic organizations and their diverse funding models, legal structures, functional frameworks and operational strategies, and challenges they face in the Canadian context [1- 3]. In Bangladesh, different social economic organizations and models, funding models and frameworks exist, but there is no one place where this information can be found. Such a research study could help Bangladeshi social entrepreneurs, social economists, and private sector and public sector leaders to get different ideas. Moreover, the study will compare and contrast Canadian social economic organizations with Bangladeshi social economic organizations/initiatives, helping each respective country gain insight into new ideas, policies, and lessons in order to improve initiatives in both countries. Introduction The current proposed post-doc paper focuses participate in the field of social on studying, comparing and contrasting the entrepreneurship? framework of different social-economic • How does the non-profit sector reorient itself organizations in Canada and different and started covering the costs for its services initiatives/models of micro-credit, small and from the market place? medium size (SMEs) enterprises and different • What challenges are they facing to run the innovative types of social organizations and what are the means to businesses/enterprises, especially Grameen achieve financial sustainability of the hybrid social businesses in Bangladesh. organizations? Through the case study of the social economy The study will focus on what kind of social of these two countries, the study will attempt economic organizations prevail in Bangladesh to answer the following broader questions: and in Canada. The study will help the public • What are the different micro-credit models sector, the social economy sector, educators that exist in Bangladesh? Why are micro- and students to learn about different types of credit programs very popular in Bangladesh, organizations, their scope, contributions, why not in Canada although Toronto future possibilities, barriers and limitations Employment and Social Services (TESS) has in Bangladesh. There will be in-depth case self-employment services to unemployed studies of each type of social organization like people? community micro-financing institutions- • How do social economic business Grameen Bank/BRAC/ASA; social businesses- organizations form and function, specifically Grameen Health [4], BRAC; hybrid social in terms of decision making practices and businesses-Grameen Danone, Grameen governance in Bangladesh and Canada? How Veolia Water, Grameen Mosquito Nets [4,5], can individuals prepare themselves to cooperatives-Comilla Cooperatives, Commercial Cooperatives- Mipur Cooperative Kazi Abdur Rouf|May.-June. 2012 | Vol.1 | Issue 3|66-77 66 Available online at www.managementjournal.info Market, Aziz Cooperative Market, are screaming for their loan capital [10]. Bangladesh Rural Development Board Public sector community economic (BRDB) workers/employees cooperatives- development programs are limited in Tangail Grameen Housing; social enterprises, Bangladesh. As a Bangladeshi born citizen, I trade unions, community economic have noticed that many social economic organizations, membership-based organizations and social enterprises are organizations, nonprofit mutual unable to expand their services they are organizations, professional organizations, growing in demand in Bangladesh. Bornstein joint stock companies, socially responsible & Davis (2010) mention in their book that a private sector businesses, international NGO tiny percentage of U.S. firms employ almost organizations, Bangladesh Chamber of half of the nation’s salaried workers [4]. Commerce, foundation trust and networking Corporations have grown immensely apex organizations-NGOS bureau, and Palli- powerful. Three hundred multinational Karma Shahag Foundation (PKSF).In corporations control roughly a quarter of the Bangladesh, MFIs are popular while world’s wealth [4]. In Bangladesh, the Dhaka Canadian Charitable organizations, civil Stock Exchange, and the Chittagong Stock society organizations, farmers’ cooperatives Exchange are setting the Securities and and credit unions are providing services that Exchange Commission Rules in Bangladesh meet the needs of the citizens. In Canada, and corruption, mismanagement, tax and many social organizations and community share scandals, and poor corporate economic programs get funding from the governance are the dark stories of the public sector, which happens less in the Bangladesh stock market [7,11]; National Bangladesh context. Currently, many in the Daily Newspapers Bangladesh, dated private sector have opened foundations and January 15-24, 2011). Grameen Bank micro- funds to do work with a social mission in credit innovation has massively created Bangladesh and Canada. The study will focus hundreds of micro-finance institutions (MFIs) on how various types of social economy in Bangladesh who have served more than 30 organizations form, function, and make million marginalized poor people in decisions. It will also look at the governance Bangladesh (Yunus 2011), which has helped of these organizations, their sources of millions become self-employed and addressed funding, sources of revenue, public sector, and the issue of poverty, revitalizing local living board design. economics and empowering them Statement of the Problem economically and socially. Hundreds of MFIs in Bangladesh generate millions of social In Bangladesh millions of peoples are businesses and green businesses in rural suffering from poverty, poor health care Bangladesh. According to Jack Quarter services, child malnutrition, and lack of safe (2011), these MFIs are social economy drinking water. The urban poor are living in organizations that have a social mission in unhygienic conditions in the urban slums addition to their economic services. Vancity (World Health Organization 2009). Necessary community micro loan funds in Canada has commodity prices are sky rocking. The private more than 500 micro-borrowers in Vancouver sector is focused mainly on maximizing profit and are well known all over the world. [5,6]. Government funding is limited and to Moreover, the Ottawa Community Micro- obtain it is a lengthy, complicated process. Loan Funds in Canada are different from Donor funds are decreasing and public sector traditional banking in these two countries corruption is increasing [7], Amnesty [12-15]. Moreover, Toronto Employment and International Bangladesh 2010]. Foreign aid Social Services (TESS) provide services to is channeled almost exclusively through marginalized people to be employable in their governments. Nevertheless, today donors give unemployed transitional crisis periods, which more resources directly to citizen is absent in Bangladesh. The Immigrant organizations in Bangladesh [4,8,9]. Employment Loan program operates under Microfinance played a major role in Alterna Savings in partnership with the accelerating this trend. However, many MFIs Maytree Foundation in Canada and offers Kazi Abdur Rouf|May.-June. 2012 | Vol.1 | Issue 3|66-77 67 Available online at www.managementjournal.info immigrants and refugees loans for training or these examples of social entrepreneurship are upgrading their skills to increase the a team approach to social economy. likelihood of finding a job in Canada in their Social enterprises have accessed capital from field of expertise [ 13,16,17]. These Canadian impact investors, but markets for this kind of micro-finance projects are managed in such a financing are still in their embryonic stages. way that micro-borrowers become economic Social entrepreneurs running small or actors, social actors and community medium size organizations pursue development actors. Unfortunately, although government funding with reluctance [21-23]. the size of the social economy has increased in To qualify for funding, groups may have to Canada, this sector is underrepresented in reshape themselves to fit standardized businesses and economic textbooks. guidelines. Hence social entrepreneurs prefer [18].These MFI organizations/projects have to raise money from philanthropists. But each both a social agenda and require economic philanthropist has unique application performance. Yunus (2010) regarded MFIs as procedures and reporting formats. Moreover, social business organizations, social fund raising is time-consuming and enterprises and community-based economic expensive. Social