Why NGOs/CSOs Should Think Like Entrepreneurs
By: Olufunmi Olaosun
Tags: Ngo, Sdgs, United Nations, Development, Oxford University

As a child, I always wondered why there seemed to be two groups in society; the haves and have-nots. I believe this is what drove me to start my postgraduate life in the development sector working with an international NGO in an attempt to understand the causes of poverty and why, despite all efforts by state and non-state actors, it has lingered and continued to wreak havoc in the lives of millions globally. This was what led me to take the Social Entrepreneurship online course at the University of Oxford. I had heard the term, social entrepreneurship, a couple of times but did not really understand it. However, the idea caught my interest as it seemed to promise a greater and lasting impact on our work in the development sector.

In the course of my work in the sector, I have been privileged to provide help to people living in dire circumstances in different countries. One of my most memorable responsibilities was when I was given the assignment of raising a team of volunteers in different countries which I successfully did. Through our work as a volunteer network, we reached over 2000 people with food, education, shelter, clothing, and more. Seeing the impact this made and the power of people coming together to make a difference was life-changing for me. None of these volunteers knew me personally or had met me in person at any time but they wholeheartedly carried out activities as directed and sometimes came up with their own community-specific initiatives to help the needy in their countries. It showed me that there are more than enough people willing to help others if they knew how to. It helped me realise that I can make a difference in the lives of people in different countries globally without necessarily travelling to those countries. All I need is an idea and a network of people who see and catch my vision.

Handling this assignment of raising a volunteer team made me realise more than ever before that, it truly is the responsibility of those who are more empowered to reach those who are not. This is because we all live in the same ecosystem and as long as we do, the lives of those who are less privileged would affect us one way or another. For example, we find that those who lack access to education are often found on the streets and involved in vices. These vices in the end affect those who are educated but have refused to lend a hand to help these less privileged. A child born into poverty has a higher likelihood of not going to school and has lesser chances of getting a good job as a young adult. That young adult has the highest tendency of becoming frustrated and angry at society and the greater likelihood of picking up a gun to go rob a wealthy neighbourhood. It is, therefore, in our best interest to help the needy. The system or structure of society may not have given the poor the room to grow but the people have a responsibility to make that happen.

The Social Entrepreneurship course was quite an eye-opener for me. After over 10 weeks of study, I daresay not many NGOs are getting it right in their activities designed to help the needy. There is a saying that “It is he that wears the shoes that knows where it pinches”. Often, what we do as NGOs is that we look at a community and assume that we know what they need. However, community asset mapping is very important. Through community asset mapping, we can work with communities to come up with solutions that are not only needed but are workable and sustainable. This way, we make the beneficiaries key agents of their own change rather than just passive recipients.

As organisations who want to make a difference in communities, true and lasting impact cannot be from the surface. If a community has a high rate of out-of-school children, the question is, why? Because, even if we send some children back to school, what is the guarantee they would remain in school and how would this serve the community as a whole? If there is malnutrition in a community, we must seek to know why. Because if we give them food items one time, how would it solve the persisting problem? First, we must identify the root cause of the problem and then work with members of the community to craft a solution that they would accept in order for it to produce sustained results.

In social entrepreneurship, there is first the idea of how impact can be made. However, for the idea to be successful and sustained, it must be executed in collaboration with those who it would benefit. The model of giving out hand-outs rather than empowering the needy has not given much room for actual social change. But through the empowerment model of social entrepreneurship, we can create social value by partnering with the intended beneficiaries to solve social problems. Until and unless they catch the vision and are willing to make it work, it would be difficult for that idea to achieve its intended results no matter how beautiful it is. The network of people involved in bringing the idea to life must include the beneficiaries in addition to the funders and other stakeholders. I daresay that only when NGOs begin to think like social enterprises can we begin to make the lasting impact we so desire and have a chance at achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.