The Importance of Social Business and Inclusivity

By Ingrid Schwab, Regional Grants Officer, Rotary Grants

We often receive questions about how to best engage the local community in Rotarian-led service projects. One way in which Rotarians can provide service to others is by prioritizing inclusivity in their humanitarian projects. Inclusivity gives an opportunity for all individuals and groups (especially marginalized populations) to have a voice and to actively participate in the local culture and economy.[1] Rather than making assumptions about what needs may exist within a community or the best way to address them, consider instead integrating yourself in the community and taking the time to speak with and listen to all populations. This can include not only meeting with established leadership but also visiting different families at their homes and holding a general assembly meeting open to all community members. It is important to ask about needs while also taking note of existing community strengths through asset mapping and storytelling.

For Rotarians interested in grant or service projects, establishing and operating a social business is a good opportunity to put inclusivity into practice. A social business addresses a need within a community by selling local products and reinvesting the profits into the business itself. While a social business can be privately owned, its value on inclusivity should ensure that profits are used towards a public benefit and prosperity is shared among all members of the community.

Kalpeshkumar L. Gupta and Sujo Thomas provide a good example of social business and inclusivity in their 2013 case study[2] of Mirakle Couriers, a courier agency that employs low-income deaf adults in Mumbai. The founders of the for-profit company saw an opportunity to help the deaf become self-sufficient in a sustainable way through employment. They took the time to understand deaf culture in Mumbai and address their social exclusion through employment, income generation and human connection, and have seen incredible results in self-reliance and independence.

How to establish a successful social business will vary depending on the needs and dynamics of a particular community, but placing a value on inclusivity from the start can help everyone feel they benefit and have a voice. To consider supporting social business and inclusivity through a grant project, please visit Grant Activities for more information and resources.

With the help of a Rotary grant and international partners, the Rotary Club of Guatemala Sur equipped an orphanage in Sumpango, Guatemala, with needed resources and equipment.

Rotarians and community members of Nan Semma on La Gonave, Haiti celebrate the successful installation of solar panels on the roof of the Kominote clinic.

Rita Baidya of Nabapally, India, borrowed money from a Rotary credit program to buy a calf which will eventually help her family through the sale its milk.

Lacemaking is just one example of the small businesses in Nakulugamuwa, Sri Lanka, supported by a Rotary Community Corps (RCC) loan.

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[1] http://www.unrisd.org/unitar-social-inclusion

[2] Gupta, Kalpeshkumar and Sujo Thomas. “Social Inclusion and Social Entrepreneurship Case Study of Mirakle Courier, Mumbai.” 10^th Biennial Conference on Entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Gandhinagar. 20-22 February 2013.