Bandology

Solving the world’s problems has become a popular job choice.

People are opting to create career opportunities that help alleviate the suffering in the world. These are the jobs that enable a person to earn profit and make a difference at the same time.

Yunus is the womb of the great idea. People who are poor are denied the access to loans. Loans require a collateral. Poor people usually does not have any to the requirements to make them eligible for typical bank loans. Grameen Bank provided a poor man’s loan. But, with a system that ensures people will be pay due to community pressure. Loaners are grouped into clusters, and any delays in payments of one of the group members suspends the rights of the other members of the group. Several microfinance institution have sprouted in the Philippines following the design of Yunus.

The Philippines has its own share of social entrepreneurs. Ilaq Diaz explored the solutions in housing problems in the Philippines. He stumbled upon earth bag construction, the centuries old technology that uses soil as the building material . Soil is abundant and is readily available.

The appeal of social entrepreneurship is on its ability to create business opportunities while solving the different problems of the world.

Social entrepreneurship deals with the basic necessities. In many areas, water is a concern. A person presented with these might think that multimillion high technology project is the solution. On the contrary, many places are going cheap and low technology. Some areas are reviving ancient waterways thousand of years old.

How can I be a social entrepreneur?

1. Find a pressing need. There are a lot of problems that so many writers and people complain about. But few people choose to act. Stop complaining and start finding the solution. I can think of poverty, unemployment, and poor quality of education as a possible set of example of the problems.
2. Search for a solution. There are so many simple solutions to almost all the problems and are readily available in the internet. The wheel does not have to be reinvented. Solutions from other countries can be modified to suite the local setting.
3. Execute your plan. Go for other people who can help and give you advise and resources. Do not try to do it on your own.