Social entrepreneurship is a marriage between effective business techniques and social good. It is something that Mahatma Gandhi pioneered, Uday Khemka tells Business Standard.
The social entrepreneur of the year award started by you is in its second year now. What prompted you to introduce it?
It is a joint venture, partly developed on an international scale by Schwab Foundation. It is part of the World Economic Forum and was started on a global basis. We were interested in India alone so, we partnered with the United Nations Development Programme, the CII and Schwab to create what will become a long-term institution.
The Khemka Foundation focuses on being strategic in philanthropy. It is not keen on a school here and a clinic there. It wants to popularise philanthropy that goes beyond the immediate.
What does it have to achieve social change?
Imagine finding Muhammad Yunus as a young man and being able to back his efforts. The award is basically an attempt to promote would-be Yunuses. We have received a wonderful response. About 100 responses are in already. We want to get the word out.
But how can an award help?
There are business entrepreneurs creating business value. We want entrepreneurs who can create massive social benefit. Just a concept cannot suffice. It needs to be backed by funds, foundations, partners and governments to scale up the good. What Schwab created is a powerful global network of governments, businesses, funding agencies and various organisations.
There is a lot of suspicion between the NGOs and companies. How can a coalition between the two work?
Social entrepreneurship is a marriage of best business practices with social work. And it works. You can even argue that Gandhiji was a social entrepreneur. It is not just about traditional NGOs, but people using new and effective techniques.
Do you believe that all the corporate social responsibility packages that are being publicised are actually leading to massive social good rather than massive publicity for companies?
There is a good reason why people laugh at the CSR. It has been framed upside down. Business should exist for society, it should not be the other way round. After all Bajaj was dear to Bapu. Bapu himself had business ideas of stewardship, trusteeship. One has to evolve a new business model that is meant to help society, with a CSR that is not an instrument for profit.
How many businesses today will agree with that?
CSR is not a new thing. Sikhs believe in setting aside 10 per cent of the gain for social good. In Rajasthan, it is a tradition to set aside 7.5 per cent of the gain for public welfare. As people move to big cities, they forget these traditions. No one should forget that the reason we are in business is to serve society. That is what integrates business with society.
But when do you hope to see this integration between profit making and charitable giving happen?
I am confident that by the middle of this century we will have a welfare state. However, millions will be left behind in the first half of the century. That is a tragedy. So, we have to work really fast for the sake of these millions of fellow beings.