And so for the last two years, I have been FB buddies with the only other Tricia Morente I know (with messages trying to figure out if/how we're related).
In yet another example of "It's a small world", she and I just happened to be at the same social enterprise conference in Manila! Sadly, we missed each other, but perhaps even funnier was realizing the other Tricia was there as well.
I had previously set up a meeting to speak with Mark Ruiz, founder of Hapinoy -- a social enterprise consolidating the collective power of individual sari-sari stores. So, apparently, had the other Tricia Morente, who is a reporter in Manila. So imagine my surprise when I text Mark introducing myself, and asking where in the conference he is. "Which Tricia Morente is this?" -- as he had meetings scheduled with both of us the same day!
Determined to find my namesake, I went up to the registration desk, and asked whether Tricia Morente had arrived yet. Confused, the conference manager looked at my name tag, then appeared to debate whether she should alert a psychiatrist, or answer my question in the affirmative.
Today, Tricia's article on the "Business of Social Change" came out in the Manila Bulletin: for full article, click here.
She writes:
From agrarian reform advocate to diversified agribusiness; from environmental activism to sustainable community-based tourism; from protecting indigenous people’s rights to distributing organic rice—these are just some examples of the growing number of social enterprises mushrooming across the country.
On the subject of names, perhaps what I've found most interesting in comparing Indian and Philippine social enterprise is the definition of social enterprise itself. In India, the term tends to apply to for-profit ventures that serve the "bottom of the pyramid", commonly defined as consumers making $4 or less per day. So Acumen investments such as LifeSpring, 1298, and AyurVAID are easy examples.
In the Philippines, the definition is much more vague. Social enterprise there can be anything from Jollibee wanting better quality onions, and thus organizing onion farmer cooperatives and paying them a higher set price (something, incidentally that McDonalds was forced to do in India to get quality potatoes for their french fries -- but all under the banner of good business)... to traditional NGOs looking for revenue-generating opportunities now that grant funding is harder to come by. For-profit social ventures such as Hapinoy are few and far between.
That said, it's an exciting time to be watching Philippine social enterprise, as the space is starting to slowly grow. Three social enterprise incubators have started in the last two years -- one of these focused on healthcare ventures and partnering with the Ayala Foundation.
As for the other Tricia Morente, we have still never met. But I did get a huge smile on my face when I saw her name pop up with her article on social enterprise.
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