Storytelling for Social Good
Social innovation is taking place everywhere around us as we speak. It’s nothing but how we respond to the problems in our immediate vicinity as people. However some of us demonstrate a vision and take it beyond its original context for betterment of many others. They transform from being innovators to entrepreneurs and dream of a better world which would be worth living for tomorrow.
Impact investors and startup incubators nurture social innovations into scalable ventures. Visual Storytelling can help them unite their vision with that of their investees’ mission to convey social change to a broad variety of people. All it needs is the incubators to understand this and bring it to life.
Erroneous perception about profit often doubts the intentions of a For-Profit Social Enterprise and overlooks fund related malpractices in Not for Profit NGOs. Attaching a moral value and transparent methodology to delivering social good makes people uneasy at the idea of doing it through a sustainable revenue model. Which is better? Generating profit through fair trade or depending on grants and donations which is becoming difficult to come through because of the philanthropy funding sources being saturated by pleas for it?
Social entrepreneurs have the potential to deliver global, long-term, and sustainable impact through disruptive, yet socially responsible ideas. Here is a quick roundup of a few social good brands doing just that.
In this Live Hangout, I asked Raj about his role as Hult Prize India Director, emerging social entrepreneurial ideas in India, tried to understand his views on Capitalism 3.0, and learnt about Sociocross, a platform for ideas that have the vision to bring about positive impact, he co-founded and much more..
In just above 3 minutes, Shekar explains what is circular economy, associated concepts of ‘cradle-to-grave’ & ‘cradle-to-cradle’ and how his social enterprise, Hasiru Dala is trying to further the concept. An useful listen.
I had a free-wheeling chat with Ulrike Reinhard, a native German who has been staying in rural Madhya Pradesh for last 2 years where she runs a social transformation project called ‘Janwaar Castle’. In this 30 minute interaction I try to uncover her fascinating story and much more.
The Personal Brand of a social entrepreneur adds a persona to a social good brand that its audiences can connect to and engage with intimately. Apart from acquiring a loyal brand following, developing a personal brand of the entrepreneur as the organization’s mascot or brand ambassador could prove to be an effective branding strategy.
Transgender community has been living a cursed life. They are a wasted human resource and need to be rehabilitated with dignity and given equal economic opportunities in the main stream society. A few individuals and organisations are slowly garnering support to create awareness and facilitate their socio-economic empowerment. They are an untapped area for social enterprises.
