For the sixth and the last module in 2021 of the Leadership and Management for Non-Profit Professionals, Social Entrepreneurship was the focus of study. As one of the goals of the module, the LMNP cohort are expected to gain knowledge in crafting their own social business plan. It is conducted by one of the experts in Social Entrepreneurship with his background in Finance and Leadership from the Harvard University Kennedy School where he received his Masters Degree in Public Administration, Atty. Arnel Casanova. He also serves as the Country Representative of AECOM Philippines and the former President and CEO of Bases and Conversion Development Authority (BCDA).
The module ran for a month with four weekly sessions from November 16 to December 14. Several areas were (1) Happiness and Social Entrepreneurship; (2) Writing your Social Business Plan; (3) Understanding your Market; and (4) Social Business Plan Sample.
Happiness and Social Entrepreneurship
To set the stage for the entire module, Atty. Arnel presented an inspirational video of Steve Jobs showcasing his journey as an entrepreneur and the lessons he learned along the way. With the video, participants shared experiences and insights in relation to happiness and social entrepreneurship. The discussion then led to the introduction of the module including the Social Enterprise Sustainability Model as a guide to map out the progress of establishing and implementing a social business plan.
Writing your Social Business Plan
In the second session of the module, the stark differences between a business plan and a social business plan were drawn. Participants were further exposed to the 10 elements of creating a social business plan which are: (1) The Problem and the Opportunity, (2) Mission, (3) Theory of Change, (4) Solution, (5) Team, (6) Growth Strategy, (7) Measuring results, (8) Competition, (9) Risks, and (10) Financial Plan were enumerated and discussed. From these, several strategies and suggestions were presented for establishing a successful social enterprise.
Understanding your Market
Understanding the market, as emphasized in the third discussion, is a crucial part of any social enterprise. A Marketing Plan will provide an analysis on how to successfully position products and services in the market. Ways to conduct Market Analysis, Choice of Market, and the Marketing Strategy were discussed as means to penetrate the market. Another important concept that participants learned was formulating a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to establish the differentiation of the product or service.
Social Business Plan Sample
As the cohort’s guide to creating their own social business plan, a sample of which was presented in the session. To culminate the entire module, the session served as an application of all the elements, concepts, and strategies learned from the previous sessions. Specifically, the 10 Elements of a Business Plan and Marketing Plan were applied to the sample social business plan.
Social entrepreneurs or any entrepreneur require grit, more than anything else. And, smartness and to actually set aside their own prejudice so that they can open their eyes to opportunity right before them. Sometimes kasi, our personal biases would prevent us from embracing that opportunity na ‘yun na pala talaga dapat.
ATTY. ARNEL CASANOVA
The Jesse Robredo Institute for Leadership and Good Governance would like to express its gratitude and appreciation to Atty. Arnel Casanova for sharing his knowledge and expertise with the rest of the LMNP participants.
LMNP is a one-year online fellowship program designed to prepare non-profit professionals in taking on leadership roles that will enable them to effectively forward their organizations’ causes. This program aims to develop and equip them with knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) in certain areas of leadership, management, and organizational development. Through interactive sessions and workshops, the program aims to create a network of non-profit leaders who will learn to collaborate and work together to solve societal problems.
