Ventures in Development
Ventures in Development is a non-profit organization that strives to be a catalyst in the creation of social enterprises in the Greater China region. Through monthly events called Social Innovation Salons, held in both Hong Kong and Shanghai, Ventures in Development's Social Innovation Factory program brings individuals from various fields together to brainstorm innovative solutions to social problems. By incubating IDeaS that have the potential to develop into sustainable businesses, Ventures in Development aims to bring social and economic development to impoverished areas of China.
History
Ventures in Development co-founders Carol Chyau and Marie So met in 2004 at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government while studying in the Master's in Public Administration/International Development program. They were united by a common belief that social enterprise presented a more viable solution for development problems than traditional top-down approaches. As Chyau is from Taiwan and So from Hong Kong, they both considered Greater China their home and wanted to apply their ideas to address social and economic challenges in the region.
On a factfinding trip in Yunnan Province in 2006, Chyau and So visited the research center of the China Exploration Research Society and learned of a project to apply Western cheese-making methods to make cheese from yak's milk. With additional research, Chyau and So also discovered that yak down can be processed into a cashmere-analogous textile. They decided to try to leverage China's thirteen million yaks to bring new income generation opportunities to impoverished Tibetan communities. Their strategy was to connect these communities to the international market by creating brands for gourmet yak cheese and luxury yak fiber and commanding a higher premium for their products.
Upon their return to the United States, Chyau and So entered a business plan into the Harvard University's Social Enterprise Business plan competition and were awarded first place. Ventures in Development was first established in the United States in March 2006 as a 501(c)3 organization. It was also registered in Hong Kong in January 2007 as a non profit organization.
Founders Carol Chyau and Marie So were named 2008 Fellows by Echoing Green, a nonprofit organization that makes early-stage social investments and aims to support and promote social entrepreneurship. Other leading social entrepreneurship organizations include the Skoll Foundation, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and Ashoka.
Social entrepreneurship
Ventures in Development is founded on the theory that social enterprises are a means to bring forth higher levels of economic and social development.
As Roger L. Martin and Sally Osberg have written in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, social entrepreneurship has become an increasingly popular topic in recent years.. In their well-cited article they identify the following three components of social entrepreneurship:
- identifying a stable but inherently unjust equilibrium that causes the exclusion, marginalization, or suffering of a segment of humanity that lacks the financial means or political clout to achieve any transformative benefit on its own;
- identifying an opportunity in this unjust equilibrium, developing a social value proposition, and bringing to bear inspiration, creativity, direct action, courage, and fortitude, thereby challenging the stable state’s hegemony; and
- forging a new, stable equilibrium that releases trapped potential or alleviates the suffering of the targeted group, and through imitation and the creation of a stable ecosystem around the new equilibrium ensuring a better future for the targeted group and even society at large.
Ventures in Development has built upon recent academic discourse on social entrepreneurship to develop its theory of change. According to the Ventures in Development website, social enterprises are "profit-making but not profit maximizing enterprises that must be the double bottom line. They should solve a traditional social problem in a more innovative way."
Double Bottom Line
The concept of a double bottom line, a popular term among proponents of social entrepreneurship, is key to Ventures in Development's approach to poverty alleviation:
The success of traditional non-profits are measured by its ability to achieve social impact given its limited resources, and the success of for-profits are measured by its ability to generate financial returns for the shareholder.
The success of social enterprises are determined by both. If a SE can achieve high social impact but cannot generate financial returns, the enterprise becomes unsustainable in the long run. If a SE can generate significant financial returns but have no social impact, it is still unsuccessful because it is unable to solve the social problem that it was originally aiming to solve.
Social enterprises
Shokay
Shokay is a for-profit social enterprise that aims to bring Tibetan yak down to the international market in a way that promotes sustainable development. According to the Ventures in Development website, Shokay is "a rising lifestyle brand [that] designs a unique collection of kids clothing, adult accessories, and home items made from yak down." Shokay also produces knitting yarn made from yak down. Shokay products are currently carried in over 130 stores located in Hong Kong, China, the United States, and Japan. The company also operates two of its own stores in Shanghai.
Mei Xiang Cheese Farm
Mei Xiang Cheese Farm is a social enterprise run by a Tibetan family whose members seek to bring development to their village in Yunnan Province, Western China. The family has been trained by a U.S. cheese expert from Wisconsin to make cheese using yak milk and Western cheese-making methods. Ventures in Development is currently working with the family to help them gain access to the international market of gourmet cheese consumers. The cheese is currently sold locally at the Mei Xiang Cheese Shop as well as in organic food stores and hotels in Hong Kong and abroad.
Awards and Recognition
Founders Carol Chyau and Marie So were named 2008 Fellows by Echoing Green, a nonprofit organization that makes early-stage social investments and aims to support and promote social entrepreneurship. Other leading social entrepreneurship organizations include the Skoll Foundation, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and Ashoka.
In 2009, Marie was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, putting her among internationally-known leaders including notable honoree actress Zhang Ziyi. Carol was also been selected for the 2009 Cartier Woman’s Initiative Award, an international business plan competition awarding women entrepreneurs who lead creative, sustainable, and socially responsible companies.