Social Business

I am back in Dhaka, very proud of the incredible women I met. I am so happy that words are not enough to describe my feelings.
I was 4 days in the north of the country. I visited Bogora and Solonga. The itinerary began in Bogora, where Grameen has to 2 social companies. Let me explain a bit about this new concept developed by Prof. Yunus. According to Yunus, it is possible to create companies that aim to eradicate poverty or to improve the situation of millions of poor. These companies work as any other company with the only difference that they do not distribute dividends and all earnings are invested again in the company. A company that address 51% or more of their earning to social development for the poorest can also be considered a social business. I promise I will tell you the details about this idea later on, I’m sure you are full of questions but now I would like to focus on the wonderful days I had spent at the branch.
On Sunday I visited a Danone Grameen industry, a joint venture that belongs to Grameen and Danone (50-50). This company began in 2006; it cost 1 million American dollars and produces 8.000 yogurt jars per day. The main consumers of this product are the children of Bogora. The idea is for them to get the proper vitamins every kid needs during childhood per 5 takas (0.07 USD) the jar (it costs 10 takas downtown as people are wealthier). The taste of the yogurt is amazing, very sweet and nourish. It is quite successful but unfortunately it is not currently making profit as the population believe that it is not healthy to eat something cold in winter (at GD I was told that during the year they are going to work on a marketing campaign to eradicate this belief). Shokti Doi (that’s the name of the yogurt) is sold in the village markets and by the “lady of the yogurt” who goes to each village with a little fridge selling the yogurt. Every borrower of Grameen knows this product and buys it whenever they can. The factory is small, very tidy and with a water purifier pump. It is an incredible project and I bet that it will grow a lot in the future. I wish I could take some Shokti Doi to Argentina.
The other social company that I visited is the “Eye Care Hospital Center”. They see 150 patients per day. Bangladeshi people are prone to eye problems, elderly people suffer from cataracts and they receive treatment and surgery here. The Hospital is very well organized; it has 3 doctors, many nurses and a very clean structure. Poor patients do not pay or pay a minimum amount; while people with more income pay more for the same service. The Hospital’s profit is reinvested. They are building the second hospital and their project is to have 50 hospitals distributed all over the country. The health system in Bangladesh is terrible and poor people have limited access to it. Wealthier people travel to India or Thailand for treatments. Grameen is making a great effort to improve the life quality of needy people.
I sincerely believe in the success of these projects and in the idea of Social business. It is not charity, but profit-making-organization that seeks social improvement. I hope Yunus and Grameen Bank continue developing this concept. It’s time for things to be distributed in a more equal way.