'Young people need not just be job seekers, they can be job creators." During a quick stop in Bangkok this week, those were the words of 2006 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhummad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank.
Those words during a recent symposium and lunch with Professor Yunus got me to thinking _ whether you are young or old, the only way for any nation, whether Thailand or my home country of the US, to move forward is for citizens to get active. That can mean voting in a local or national election, it can mean volunteering to help out a favourite cause, or it can mean starting a business _ but not just any business, a "social business".
It's not often that a Nobel Peace Prize winner finds the time to come to Thailand to share advice for young people aspiring to both do good and do well _ and who aspire to do so by starting a business. But that's what happened. And Thailand is all the richer for it, if not yet in income and programmes for the poorest of the poor, at least in new ideas and encouragement from someone whose words matter.
At a symposium jointly organised by the Yunus Centre at the Asian Institute of Technology and a range of local institutions, including the Thai Health Promotion Foundation, the Thai Social Enterprise Office and the Thailand Management Association, Professor Yunus declared, "When I see a problem, I create a business to solve it." This is, after all, the man who not only created microfinance organisation Grameen Bank, but who has also gone on to help create other businesses to address critical issues ranging from malnutrition to malaria in his home country, Bangladesh.
Described as "a new business model for the new millennium," a social business, according to Professor Yunus is one that "puts back the humanity into doing business". It is a business model that also recognises that businesses and the individuals and shareholders behind them are driven by more than simply maximising profit.
Making money certainly helps create happiness, the Nobel laureate noted. That's human nature. But, he added, experience shows that stakeholders _ from employees to investors _ can also find value in backing a business venture or subventure that has aspirations other than making money. Being both selfish and selfless are also human nature.
At its simplest, a social business is defined as a non-loss, non-dividend company dedicated to a social cause. A successful social business by its very definition must also cover its operational costs by charging for its products and services.
Whether or not it's revolutionary, the time has come for Thailand and other nations to harness this as individuals and businesses increasingly recognise the limitations of government and traditional charities to launch and sustain self-supporting businesses designed to do good.
At the recent symposium, four young founders of social enterprises stood before Professor Yunus and leaders from Doi Tong, Premier Group, ThaiHealth, TMB Bank and others to share their ideas. Panita Topathomwong talked of A-Chieve's efforts to build a business around helping young people with internships and learning about the corporate world. Phuttamon Phunpiam discussed Freedom Solution and helping people with handicaps succeed.
Sirachai Arunrugstichai spoke of the work of New Heaven Reef Conservation Programme to build a business that brings together the community to advance more eco-friendly tourism. Alan Archapiraj discussed a range of social business ideas, from his Be Magazine to a dynamic new computer application.
Who knows? Perhaps in that group we may one day find our next Nobel prize winner.
Curtis S. Chin served as US ambassador to the Asian Development Bank under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama (2007-2010). He is a senior fellow and executive-in-residence at the Asian Institute of Technology, and a managing director with RiverPeak Group.