Social Venture Capital Action Lab Brings Business Leaders Together

Leaders of internationally recognized social ventures exchanged ideas during a two-day retreat hosted by the BYU Center for Economic Self-Reliance. The event featured representatives from Hunstman Gay Capital Impact, Grameen Capital India, Unitus Capital Fund, Grameen Danone Foods, and the Grameen Foundation.

The lab focused on the how to replicate implementation of large, market-based business solutions financed through social capital funding. It also focused on making copyrighted content accessible to other social enterprises.

To cap the lab, a participant panel discussion held in the library auditorium attracted students from disciplines across campus. The participants, including Royston Braganza, David Keogh, Emmanuel Merchang, Geoff Woolley, and Jason Fairbourne, explained their background in the field of social ventures and answered student questions.

"Several of you referred to venture vultures, but what about microfinance institutions in the for-profit market charging high interest rates on the poor? Are they crossing the line?" one student asked.

Geoff Woolley, managing director at Huntsman Gay Capital Impact, answered the question by explaining the current situation in greater detail. "There is a lot of disinformation," he said, noting that SKS Microfinance, a bank he helped found, only makes a 2 percent profit. "We need to bring the rates of capital low to the poor," Woolley continued, saying a variety of issues prevent this such as a legal structure prohibiting that banks collect a deposit.

Jason Fairbourne, the director of the Business Solutions for Development Initiative at the Center, explained how an experience meeting impoverished children in the Himalayas provided the impetus he needed to get involved in development. Microfranchising, he said, is the next step beyond microfinance because systematizing and replicating a business removes the "creative burden" that would-be entrepreneurs face.

Royston Braganza, CEO of Grameen India Trust, defended the role of business in development. "For-profit doesn't mean that you are suddenly becoming an extortionist," he said. In fact, he explained, business can have a divine role in lifting people out of poverty.