Social Enterprises Taking Off In Taiwan

2015-11-08 | news
Social Enterprises Taking Off In Taiwan

Austin Yoder and David Wilson came from the US and Australia respectively to Taiwan to start their social enterprise The Foundation for Talented Youth. Their goal is lofty, to bring entrepreneurial skills to at least 1,000,000 people by 2025.

They are part of a global trend for social enterprises that has also come to Taiwan. Social enterprises reject the idea that the sole purpose of a business is to make as large of a profit as possible and instead consider social and economic development to be equally important.

Social enterprises take on social responsibilities like green consumption, fair trade, humanitarian aid, and so forth. Essentially, social enterprises use innovative approaches to do business for the good of society. Proponents of the social enterprises movement believe that every social issue also represents a business opportunity.

The non-profit organizations (NPOs) that traditionally has taken on social issues often have to perpetually fight to raise the resources they need to operate. Organizing as a social enterprise can enable an organization to become self-sufficient and sustainable, rather than relying on charitable donations.

Hence, social enterprises beneficial to Taiwan’s overall social development. The new “changing society through consumption” charity movement has gradually begun replacing NPOs as the leaders of social change.

Taiwan’s social enterprises are on the brink of taking off. More and more entrepreneurs with a sense of social obligation and creative innovation are beginning to invest to make the world a better place.

Emerging Social Enterprises in Taiwan

There are approximately 800 social organizations in Taiwan. Of these, about 200 are corporations, and 600 are NPOs.

To support the social enterprises intermediary organizations for promotion, social networking, fundraising, and capacity building have also begun to emerge. Gradually, the social enterprise ecosystem in Taiwan is taking shape.

Social Enterprise Action Plan

To promote sustainable innovation and growth and encourage young people to engage in social enterprises, the Executive Yuan set up the Social Enterprise Action Plan in 2014.

The vision of the plan is to create an ecosystem that nurtures innovation, start-up businesses, growth, and the development of social enterprises in Taiwan.

This will be achieve in four ways:

  • Deregulation: To create a friendly legal environment for social enterprises.
  • Networking: To promote and build a social networking platform for different groups of social enterprises at home and abroad.
  • Financing: To provide multiple channels of funding through angels, VCs, credit guarantees, etc.
  • Incubation: To build an incubation mechanism for social enterprises and establish a professional support system.

Social Enterprise Cluster

Because social enterprises need a base of operations in Taiwan, with the support of Premier Mao, the Premier’s former residence was officially launched to be used as the base for social entrepreneurs in May, 2015. The main reasons for using this space are as following:

  • It can promote the concept of and raise public awareness for social enterprises, as well as act as the core networking center for social enterprises.
  • The facilities include multi-purpose workspaces, conference rooms, exhibition halls, and markets; the government can also use it as the base to promote youth start-up companies and social innovation.
  • The expertise of social entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs, social movement activists, social workers, programmers, and designers can be pooled together here to build a social enterprise platform, serving as a reference guide for future social enterprise developmental policies.

Social Enterprise Hackathon

The Hackathon for Social Enterprise Clusters was held on March 28th and 29th, 2015. Social entrepreneurs, startup founders, and experts in the field were invited to join the discussions and   co-found solutions in accordance with the themes of “exploring the needs and challenges of social enterprises”, and “social enterprise community clusters.”

Social Enterprise Meet-up

The purpose of these meetings is to support the regional communities of social entrepreneurs, investors, campuses, and incubators, to hold conferences, seminars, and workshops, to spread the idea of social innovation, and to encourage more people to participate in social enterprises.

Social Enterprise Registration

In order to increase the transparency of social enterprise development, the government is going to assist the private sector set up a registration system for social enterprises utilizing a two-stage verification process (basic and advanced, which may include charity reports and financial reports). The companies that meet the qualifications for the advanced system can also acquire additional support such as mentoring, funding, incubation services, and government procurements.

International Connections

So there is a lot happening with social enterprises in Taiwan and the International connections are growing. One old-timer in the social enterprise business is London-based The Big Issue which was founded in 1991 and arrived in Taiwan in 2010. The Big Issue give homeless people the chance to earn a legitimate income by selling their eponymous magazine. They believe in “help them to help themselves” and “selling, not begging”.

Yoder and Wilson likely approve saying that “Innovation leadership skills are key tools that can enable anyone, no matter how poor, to take control of their lives and build a better future for themselves, their families and their communities.”

Imagine achieving all that as a sustainable, on-going social enterprise in Taiwan.

 

Some Social Enterprises in Taiwan

 

Foundation for Talented Youth TownWay
Teaching entrepreneurship to young people Combine creativity and local culture to boost local economy
We provide innovation, leadership and critical thinking skills workshops to teenagers. TownWay is geared toward promoting local tourism and industries through work-stay programs for Taiwanese youths and campuses.
http://foundationfortalentedyouth.com/ www.townway.com.tw


Victory Potential Development Centre for
 the Disabled		 The Big Issue Taiwan (TBIT)
Create jobs for disadvantaged groups Create jobs for disadvantaged groups
Expands the diversity of unskilled job opportunities and develops new employment opportunities for the mentally and physically disabled, allowing their talent to shine. TBIT employs people who are homeless or disabled to sell magazines on the streets, and allows them to keep half of their revenue as a source of income.
www.victory.org.tw www.bigissue.tw


Farm-Direct O-Power
Improve product distribution channels and help small farmers to sell their products Improve product distribution channels and help small farmers to sell their products
Farm-Direct uses an Internet platform to help small farmers bypass the exploitations of the middleman and uses minimal packaging to give consumers eco-friendly, healthy, and convenient services. O-Power not only assists farmers with organic farming through its agricultural production and marketing groups, but also manages production and marketing via a B2B platform.
www.farm-direct.com.tw www.o-power.com.tw


Neways2021 Buy NearBy
Improve product distribution channels and help small farmers to sell their products Improve product distribution channels and help small farmers to sell their products
Neways2021 plans to link together all peripheral areas surrounding provincial Highways 20 and 21 into an economically viable plum-producing district. They make plum pastries, handmade soup, and other natural products. Buy nearby bridges the needs of small farmers and businesses through facilitating sustainable consumption of farm products.
naturallybread.yam.org.tw www.buynearby.com.tw


Duofu Care & Service iHealth
Provide products and services that meet the needs of society and protect the environment Provide products and services that meet the needs of society and protect the environment
Duofu provides people with disabilities with transport services that, do not require a user’s identity, purpose of travel, or reservations, giving them more control over their own mobility. iHealth provides free delivery of prescriptions for individual patients and long-term care facilities, and provides at-home pharmaceutical consultation from professional pharmacists.
www.duofu.com.tw www.ihealth.com.tw


DA. AI Technology MINIWIZ
Utilize green technology to promote environmental sustainability Utilize green technology to promote environmental sustainability
Da Ai is the first non-profit Taiwanese company dedicated to producing eco-friendly products. It adheres to Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s concept of “Co-exist with the Earth.” MINIWIZ is a global innovator, dedicated to sustainable energy solutions, emphasizing the reuse, Reduce and Recycle method. It creates sustainable technology with top-quality designs and excellent performance.
www.daait.com www.miniwiz.com


OurCityLove HappenCoworking
ICT for disabled employment and accessibility in the aging society Provide co-working spaces to encourage youth to start businesses
OurCityLove utilizes ICT to provide user-friendly information about handicap accessible restaurants, and it encourages people with disabilities to understand and cultivate their unique value in society. HappenCoworking provides a co-working space where various lectures and gatherings are held. It also serves as a dream incubator for cross-industry exchanges where people can share ideas and learn from each other to promote growth and innovation.
www.ourcitylove.org happencoworking.com


Love2fruit Leezen
Promote local cultural experiences Practice and promote organic agriculture
Love2fruit places dining tables on fields and serves local seasonal vegetables and fruit cooked on-site. Everyone is invited to experience this innovative culinary culture. Leezen creates a collaborative commercial circle linking producers and consumers by selling mutually beneficial products with integrity. They encourage
organic farming and sell products with minimal artificial additives.
www.facebook.com/love2fruit www.leezen.com.tw


Okogreen ELIV International Service
Propose and promote the idea of fair trade Devoted to aid activities to improve the standard of living at home and abroad
Okogreen helps producers and farmers to be independent, while increasing the quality of their products, as well as providing safe products with transparent information for consumers. ELIV encourages Taiwanese volunteers to serve abroad, to explore international issues, to experience foreign cultures, and to work towards social change.
okogreen.com.tw www.elivtw.com




Tainan City Recovery Youth Association Taipei Parents’ Association for the
 Visually Impaired
To strengthen the employability among underprivileged groups through vocational training and competency innovation To strengthen the employability among underprivileged groups through vocational training and competency innovation
The Association trains and employs people with disabilities to work in the leather carving business, helping to turn their shortcomings into advantages in the job market. (For example, people with hearing loss have an edge over others when working in a noisy environment.) With assistance from the people with normal vision, Parents’ Association provides specialized piano tuning education to people with blindness or visual impairment, bringing their advantage in hearing into full play.
www.sggo.org.tw www.forblind.org.tw




Yu-Cheng Social Welfare Foundation Joyce-Agape Association
To strengthen the employability among underprivileged groups through vocational training and competency innovation To strengthen the employability among underprivileged groups through vocational training and competency innovation
The Foundation runs health product factory and restaurants as shelter workshops, empowering people with disabilities through specialized professional training The Association employs people infected with polio in the printing business, easing their dependence on social welfare resources, and using the profits to build a permanent home for the disabled.
www.ycswf.org.tw www.joyce-agape.org.tw


Nantou County Zhushan Township Green
 Bamboo Production Cooperative		 Tainan City Sin-Hua District Community
 Association
To promote community development through a traditional culture renaissance To promote community development through a traditional culture renaissance
The Co-op builds a “Bamboo Culture Park” with over 120 species of bamboo in Nantou, to develop bamboo-wares, as well as to promote the local bamboo industry. Association holds innovative events (such as wall-painting) to attract young people to work for renaissance of historic districts, rejuvenating aged communities while supporting local industries and conducting literary and historical studies.
www.bamboo.org.tw goo.gl/2aiUcr


Dashu Tile Kiln Society Dapu Agriculture Product Cooperative in
 Gaoshu Township, Pingtung County
To promote community development through a traditional culture renaissance To make the best of local agricultural resources to create new added value for the product
The Society turns the declining traditional brick and tile industry into a cultural and creative industry, assisting community’s female members in design and manufacturing. The Co-op revives traditional techniques of fermentation, and create a sharing economy of local crop supply and marketing strategy of cooperative.
goo.gl/H3rpiu www.facebook.com/dabumama


Nantou County Zhongliao Township
 Long-Yan-Lin Welfare Association		 The Miaoli Native Craft Association
To make the best of local agricultural resources to create new added value for the product To rebuild traditional aboriginal culture and create an economical system with aboriginal characteristics
The association supports local agricultural specialty industries by building their own brand, and taking good care of both the young and the elderly in the community. The association revives traditional weaving techniques of aborigines by starting a weaving business ranging from daily outfits to artworks and to benefit local aboriginal community.
www.facebook.com/sw.welfare goo.gl/GnLTXI


Fuxing Township Tourism Association Yuanai Workshop Association
To rebuild traditional aboriginal culture and create an economical system with aboriginal characteristics To rebuild traditional aboriginal culture and create an economical system with aboriginal characteristics
The association takes traditional lifestyle of aboriginal people as an important part of ecotourism in order to introduce indigenous culture, to help travelers learn how to be an organic part of nature, and to benefit the economic development of
local tribes.		 The Association empowers aborigines in typhoon-stricken areas to make a living by starting a craft art career, making woven products featuring aboriginal and novel design, or making furniture, decorations, and toys out of typhoon driftwood.
www.lokah-tayal.org.tw ol780253.weebly.com


Social Enterprise Insights
Establish a platform for the dissemination of information for social enterprises
First Mandarin Language Social Enterprise Information Portal from Taiwan.
www.seinsights.asia