AT the end of June, those interested in social enterprise got fresh insights about the state of the sector, globally. A joint initiative of the British Council and Social Enterprise UK, the report, "More in Common, the Global State of Social Enterprise", is timely for Malaysia.
In April, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob launched a new ambitious strategy to revamp and relaunch the social enterprise movement to help the nation achieve its national development vision.
The Malaysia Social Enterprise Blueprint 2030 (SEMy2030) is potentially a transformative document. Given the current landscape regionally and globally, we need some radical ambition to change the status quo.
The blueprint prioritises key areas like stronger regulatory system, capacity building and better awareness, called "enablers" in the document, to mainstream social entrepreneurship in the economy and society.
I am referring to society because, perhaps, social entrepreneurship ended up being seen as something new but, in the end, it turned out to be a bit "elitist", too much centred on the glamour of the start-ups world.
As the report explains, social entrepreneurship should be understood within a longstanding tradition of social economy.
In a recent training for a Malaysian university on the landscape of social entrepreneurship, my key message was to try to look at it through the prisms of social economy. It is not a coincidence that, around the world, social economy is regaining some well-deserved rethinking.
In December last year, the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, launched a new Social Economy Action Plan.
Somehow our mindset always tends to simplify and categorise things, bringing in a silos-driven approach that is ineffective when tackling the most intractable problems.
That's why, one of the elements that strike me the most about SEMy2030 is the attempt to connect and involve the cooperative movement that has been active in the country for so long.
With their unique features, cooperatives are a key pillar of the social economy, made up of different entities that have in common a primacy of the person and society, involved in the production of goods or delivery of services for the common good.
There are, no doubt, differences between social enterprises or social businesses and cooperatives, but it is essential to underscore their commonalities, especially the means of using goods or services to achieve a social mission.
If we narrowly define social enterprises then the landscape in Malaysia is pretty gloomy, with around 400 recognised. but, by using broader lens, such scenario would dramatically improve.
"The State of Social Enterprise in Malaysia", another publication by the British Council published in 2018, estimates that Malaysia counts on 27,000 social enterprises if we include some of the cooperatives and active non-governmental organisations.
Mainstreaming social entrepreneurship must be about creating linkages and common standards within a supportive environment.
The "More in Common" report highlights shared challenges social enterprises faced, primarily the issue of financial viability.
As for social economy entities, whatever the name used to define them, combining a social mission with a profitability element is one of the hardest things to achieve.
According to data collected by the British Council, 31 per cent of social enterprises in Malaysia are not making a profit, a common trend in Southeast Asia.
Most, at least partially, rely on grants and total sustainability is still far goal. Better support is indispensable and that's why a better regulatory framework, as suggested by SEMy2030, should be a priority.
Will the country emulate Thailand or Vietnam, both with specific legislations on social entrepreneurship?
While the former has a specific law on social enterprises, the case of Vietnam is perhaps even more interesting because social enterprises are part of a broader Entrepreneurship Law enforced in 2015 and are regulated with a follow-up rule (Degree No. 96).
There will be certainly discussions about the role of Magic, the agency under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, supporting the sector.
A strategy is just the beginning and does not contain all the answers but what we know for sure is that SEMy2030 is a very positive development for Malaysia.
Perhaps the PM should appoint a "czar", someone able to understand the complexities and nuances of doing business differently and more socially, creating an ecosystem for strengthening the national social economy.
The author writes on civic engagement, youth development, the SDGs and regional integration in the context of Asia Pacific.
