Point A to B

Points of Interest. Shortest Point. Get the Point.

Social Business.  What is it?

written by Michelle Guevara,
Government Liaison

photo credit Tanene Allison

Here at WIL, we argue that many women entrepreneurs partake in business ventures that have benefits to society.  But what is the difference between day-to-day business and a social business?  The term was coined by Mohammad Yunus, and has been defined as  "a cause-driven business" from which investors do not take dividends, or which is owned by the poor or disadvantaged. Presently, it is defined more broadly to include ownership by non-profits, individuals and B-Corps (in North America) but the essence remains the same.

While a definition is a good start, a great example is the best way to understand what social business is all about.  An award-winning example of social business is Sustainable Health Enterprises  - SHE (see video) .  SHE has been receiving international attention for an innovation that is helping girls and women in developing countries to have better access to education and work.  

Many women in the developing world cannot access feminine hygiene products, something that the majority of women in developed nations take for granted.  As a result, they miss an average of FIFTY days of work or school a year!  This puts these women at a huge economic disadvantage.  

The solution to this problem is packaged as a dynamic little business model.  The founders of SHE discovered that banana fiber is highly absorptive, and can be used to make maxi pads.  SHE supports local women and organizations to develop the capacity to produce these maxi pads, and distribute them at 30%-50% less than the market cost.  Suddenly, sanitary pads become affordable, women are able to increase their earning capacity, and their daughters don't have to miss classes, which leads to better conditions for the entire community = SOCIAL + BUSINESS.

To learn more about SHE,  see SHEinnovates  http://www.sheinnovates.com/ourventures.html

Point A to B

Points of Interest. Shortest Point. Get the Point.

Is Women's Leadership a tired, old subject?

written by Tina Crouse, President

There are a lot of conversations about the lack of women in the Board room ( I even wrote about it for the Ottawa Citizen on International Women's Day 2013) and the lack of women investors  and the lack of women entrepreneurs but how can this be? There is no shortage or 'lack' of women anywhere.
We are in abundance everywhere, every day and at all times. What we 'lack' is representation.

So Women in Leadership - Ottawa has created a blog to do just that - REPRESENT.

We'd like to represent your voices, your businesses and your commitment to bettering people's lives. We'll cover the issues and many of the women involved by profiling women who are beginning to lead, who have been leading and who are our leaders - in every sector. We will cover Women's business, Social business and Women's lives because for us, Women's Leadership is as new and fresh as each new day. And just as exciting.

Think you've heard it all? Really? Check in here and we guarantee that you will find some of the most interesting content on women to be found on the net. 

There's nothing tired or old if you're learning. We are and we intend to share.

Look us up for who we'll be representing next. Guaranteed to inspire you.