Session Title:
Civil Society & Social Entrepreneurship

Date of talk or publication:
2005

Speaker Name / Title:
Christian Seelos & Johanna Mair

Organization:
IESE Business School

Description:
Sekem is a social enterprise that was established to make a contribution to Egyptian society on several dimensions, namely, economic, social, and cultural. The setting for Sekem is a poor country context characterized by a lack of political and economic institutions that cater to the needs of the poor and create conditions that foster response to economic opportunity. Central to this case is the story of an entrepreneur with a powerful vision who created Sekem by transforming a piece of desert into fertile land that today houses several commercial companies as well as cultural and social institutions such as a theatre, medical center, and schools. Social entrepreneurs such as Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish overcome the hurdles to socio-economic and sustainable development in poor countries by building necessary infrastructure, creating social capabilities that enable people to respond to economic opportunity, and establishing conditions that support scaling up and financial viability. In exemplifying entrepreneurial value creation along multiple dimensions in a developing country, the Sekem case yields new insights into social entrepreneurship. It demonstrates the nature of social entrepreneurship at different stages (start-up, growth, and consolidation phases) and enables us to disentangle the notions of resourcefulness and innovation. Finally, the case supports an interesting debate on the broader role of entrepreneurship and companies in developing countries around the themes of catering to basic human needs, institutionalizing new rules and norms, and filling voids created by inefficient and corrupt governments.

The case of Sekem also invites a rethinking of existing models of development and poverty eradication. People at different levels of poverty have very different needs. Understanding that poverty is a symptom rather than a natural state is vital to eliminating the poverty trap by creating human (education, health, and so forth) and social (organizing people in new ways and changing norms and behavior) capital. The example of Sekem is also a source of valuable learning points for development agencies. It suggests that development is not a linear outcome of the provision of isolated inputs and that experimenting and learning at the local level are fundamental to development. It also offers a number of insights for companies willing to compete at the “bottom of the pyramid.” In the eyes of Sekem, the poor are not only potential customers but also represent vital resources for value creation models. This suggests that it might be necessary to invest in building the social capabilities needed to enable the poor to participate in economic life in all its forms before large-scale consumption of corporate products and services can occur. Supporting social entrepreneurs and collaborations for scaling up their initiatives might speed up the process and contribute to long-term sustainable development.