CAIRO: “Social entrepreneurs are a crucial component of any country’s development agenda and a prerequisite for a thriving civil society,” Iman Bibars, vice president of Ashoka Global and regional director of Ashoka Arab World, said at the Arab World Social Innovation Forum (AWSIF).
Bringing together business, social, academic and political leaders from all over the Arab region and around the world, AWSIF, headed by Bibars, was held last weekend in Cairo.
The Arab-driven initiative seeks to be a catalyst for change, a venue in which social innovators from the region can meet with their global counterparts to celebrate, share and generate ideas, Bibars said.
The forum is building on the momentum of US President Barack Obama’s Summit on Entrepreneurship, held late last month, which has shown that the Arab region is at a turning point, and there is a need to identify and support social entrepreneurs.
AWSIF brought a well-selected variety of speakers who discussed social innovation and entrepreneurship from different perspectives. Hailing from the United States, Dalia Mogahed, executive director of Gallup Center for Muslim Studies and Advisor to White House on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, spoke about youth and the challenges in what she calls “the age of wisdom.”
Mogahed gave five competencies that are crucial to success in this age of wisdom, the age in which social entrepreneurship will lead the way.
First is planting the “Dooms Day Tree,” which entails having faith and working even if all the world’s problems are insurmountable, a person should have the wisdom to hope and courage to try even if all rationales say otherwise.
“Social entrepreneurs will be who will find a solution and finally succeed,” said Mogahed.
The second competency is the ability to see the wholeness and interconnectivity of the world.
“People who synthesize and find connections that others ignore will lead the way,” she explained, pointing out for example that people need to see how decisions nowadays affect generations ahead.
Third is the ability to partner across cultures. Agents of change are those who realize that problems have no boundaries, she said. “[Those who realize] that diversity is a point of strength instead of strife,” she said.
Mogahed also pointed out that this does not simply mean “peaceful existence but active cooperation.”
The fourth competency is the “ability to redefine might is right,” especially what makes a nation strong. She explained that the greatness of a nation will be in how well it cares for its weakest members, whether it’s the environment or the poor, and differentiates between what it can do and what it should do.
The fifth competency to succeed in the age of wisdom is improved global relations.
In conclusion, Mogahed pointed out, “Social entrepreneurs excel at these competencies and they must lead the way through the wisdom age with hope and humility.”
The highlight of the night was the colorful speech of leading Egyptian entrepreneur, Naguib Sawiris, chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding, who also received the Social Innovation Award at AWSIF.
Sawiris spoke of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Egyptian society.
He started out by describing Egyptians saying, “Egyptians are the kindest people in the region, they are the peacemakers, they are generous and hospitable and are very satisfied with very little.”
The challenges the Egyptian society is facing today are poverty, social unrest, religious extremism and not achieving the utmost requirements of a democracy, he said.
Sawiris noted that young people are not very fortunate as they don’t have any help and they have to fight bureaucracy. “It is difficult for a young man to become a successful entrepreneur,” he said.
“It’s important for us to show them that nothing is impossible and more importantly show them two things: first, there is hope and second, lend them a hand,” said Sawiris.
“More entrepreneurs mean more jobs meaning growth of the national economy which will lead to a rise in incomes and thus the reduction of poverty,” he said, adding that poverty is one of the sources of religious extremism.
On a separate note, Sawiris pointed out how Egypt is the gate of stability in the region. “If the new kids on the block, the Qataris and the Saudis, think they would do without Egypt, they are mistaken…if we fall they all fall.”
The term ‘social entrepreneurship’ was first introduced nearly three decades ago and it has been given a number of different definitions as it means different things to different people.
However, Farkhonda Hassan, secretary general of the National Council for Women, is “quite satisfied” with Bill Drayton’s, CEO and founder of Ashoka, definition: “Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”
In her address at AWSIF, Hassan explained that social entrepreneurs are just as innovative and change-oriented as business entrepreneurs. “[However], unlike their business counterparts, they are motivated by a commitment to bring about new and better ways to solve problems in society,” she said.
Although Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa was scheduled to speak at AWSIF, he was unable to attend, replaced instead by his chief of staff, Ambassador Hisham Youssef, who spoke on his behalf.
As he noted that “Development can’t take off without two wings, a social one and an economic one.” In numbers, Youssef outlined the challenges the Arab World has to tackle in the coming years.
He noted that 140 million people, out of a population of 320 million people, are living below the poverty line in the Arab World.
He also highlighted a need to create 100 million jobs by the year 2020, adding that the youth comprise 50 percent of the unemployed population.
Finally, 70 million people, the majority of whom are women, are illiterate.
As part of the event, the Ashoka Arab World Fellows were introduced. These are risk-takers, creators, innovators and fighters, as Bibars said, who are “pioneering social innovators.”
Ten fellows were inducted, hailing from all over the Arab World. Mohamed El Sawi, founder of El Sawi Culture Wheel, and Ahmed El Maraghy, who started the first magazine in Braille with a full-staff of visually-impaired individuals, were some of the Egyptian fellows.
To help secure a stronger future for social entrepreneurs, proceeds from AWSIF will go towards the goal of sponsoring five new fellows and providing them with technical, legal and financial assistance to achieve maximum impact.
