By Uwin Lugoda
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"Social entrepreneurs and companies are not against making money. They need to make money for sustainability, but their priority is to create a positive impact on their communities," Lanka Impact Investing Network Director and entrepreneur Dr. Nirmal De Silva[/caption]
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been a part of Sri Lanka’s corporate culture for decades, achieving formal prominence, particularly over the past 10 or 20 years. It has set an example on how businesses can create shared value for society while operating responsibly. However, traditional CSR alone does not seem to be effective in today’s context, according to Lanka Impact Investing Network Director and entrepreneur Dr. Nirmal De Silva.
During an online media briefing held on 15 October titled “Take an action, make an impact” by Together In Action (TIA) to discuss how we can come together to take real action towards the global sustainability goals, Dr. De Silva promoted the idea of impact investing. TIA’s goal is to identify, support, and scale the most impactful social enterprises from around the world by connecting them with the best innovators with major organisations and impact investors, to bring about real and lasting change.
The concept refers to investments made by companies, organisations, and funds with the intention of generating a measurable and beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return.
He explained that most organisations and entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, either through guilt or by following the global trend, are now focusing on social impact as a key goal. He stated that the era of traditional CSR died a few years ago, and now the way forward is to create a positive impact.
“If you look at the current CSR most local companies do, they spend a million on advertising the project, another million printing t-shirts and other merchandise, and another million creating an event around it and taking bus loads of staff to rural villages. But the only impact they really have is giving Rs. 200,000 worth of school books to a few schools. This was just a façade companies used to put forth to feel good, but now is the era of impact.”
Dr. De Silva stated that irrespective of how companies and entrepreneurs choose to define or measure their social impact, it is something they should all focus on. He explained that the Lanka Impact Investing Network has already carried out some initiatives to create a good social entrepreneurship ecosystem, and are working to identify rural-level ideas which can be used to solve community-related problems.
“Social entrepreneurs and companies are not against making money. They need to make money for sustainability, but their priority is to create a positive impact on their communities. We have not only been able to create a silent economic revolution, but we have also empowered more entrepreneurs to join this framework.”
He said that in Sri Lanka he has seen the positive disruption of the healthcare industry, access to education, access to clean drinking water, and solutions to the plastic problem, stemming from grassroot-level entrepreneurs who were trying to solve community problems. However, these entrepreneurs are often overlooked and are given very little support in the form of financial capital, he added.
According to Dr. De Silva, the biggest hurdle these entrepreneurs face is not having any mentors or veterans to guide them into the next stage of the process. He explained that this is why they need initiatives like TIA to help these social entrepreneurs to really solve these community problems.
He stated that as entrepreneurs, their job is to find a solution for these problems in an innovative way that challenges conventional norms and creates a lasting impact. He explained that once they do this in a transparent manner, many more corporations and entrepreneurs will jump on the social impact bandwagon.
“We should remember that we are here for a short time and that what we are leaving behind is the impact we create on society and not the success we achieve.”
"Social entrepreneurs and companies are not against making money. They need to make money for sustainability, but their priority is to create a positive impact on their communities," Lanka Impact Investing Network Director and entrepreneur Dr. Nirmal De Silva[/caption]
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been a part of Sri Lanka’s corporate culture for decades, achieving formal prominence, particularly over the past 10 or 20 years. It has set an example on how businesses can create shared value for society while operating responsibly. However, traditional CSR alone does not seem to be effective in today’s context, according to Lanka Impact Investing Network Director and entrepreneur Dr. Nirmal De Silva.
During an online media briefing held on 15 October titled “Take an action, make an impact” by Together In Action (TIA) to discuss how we can come together to take real action towards the global sustainability goals, Dr. De Silva promoted the idea of impact investing. TIA’s goal is to identify, support, and scale the most impactful social enterprises from around the world by connecting them with the best innovators with major organisations and impact investors, to bring about real and lasting change.
The concept refers to investments made by companies, organisations, and funds with the intention of generating a measurable and beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return.
He explained that most organisations and entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka, either through guilt or by following the global trend, are now focusing on social impact as a key goal. He stated that the era of traditional CSR died a few years ago, and now the way forward is to create a positive impact.
“If you look at the current CSR most local companies do, they spend a million on advertising the project, another million printing t-shirts and other merchandise, and another million creating an event around it and taking bus loads of staff to rural villages. But the only impact they really have is giving Rs. 200,000 worth of school books to a few schools. This was just a façade companies used to put forth to feel good, but now is the era of impact.”
Dr. De Silva stated that irrespective of how companies and entrepreneurs choose to define or measure their social impact, it is something they should all focus on. He explained that the Lanka Impact Investing Network has already carried out some initiatives to create a good social entrepreneurship ecosystem, and are working to identify rural-level ideas which can be used to solve community-related problems.
“Social entrepreneurs and companies are not against making money. They need to make money for sustainability, but their priority is to create a positive impact on their communities. We have not only been able to create a silent economic revolution, but we have also empowered more entrepreneurs to join this framework.”
He said that in Sri Lanka he has seen the positive disruption of the healthcare industry, access to education, access to clean drinking water, and solutions to the plastic problem, stemming from grassroot-level entrepreneurs who were trying to solve community problems. However, these entrepreneurs are often overlooked and are given very little support in the form of financial capital, he added.
According to Dr. De Silva, the biggest hurdle these entrepreneurs face is not having any mentors or veterans to guide them into the next stage of the process. He explained that this is why they need initiatives like TIA to help these social entrepreneurs to really solve these community problems.
He stated that as entrepreneurs, their job is to find a solution for these problems in an innovative way that challenges conventional norms and creates a lasting impact. He explained that once they do this in a transparent manner, many more corporations and entrepreneurs will jump on the social impact bandwagon.
“We should remember that we are here for a short time and that what we are leaving behind is the impact we create on society and not the success we achieve.”