The Middle East Ecosystem and Social Innovation

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   This week’s social innovation topic is “Venture Development and Growth.” In both Paul Bloom’s Harvard Business Review article “How to Take a Social Venture to Scale” and Kimberly Dasher Tripp’s “It’s Not All About Growth for Social Enterprises”[1], the authors emphasize the importance of understanding the ecosystem in which a venture lives – or hopes to live – and how this should not be a “one-time exercise”[2]. Achieving scale – or “a level where the new approach operates efficiently and effectively to achieve significant mitigation of a social problem” as Bloom refers to it – is an organizational challenge that requires examining a number of elements like communication, alliance-building, market forces, and lobbying. All of these are important for a young venture – particularly a social venture – to succeed. However, in some parts of the world where social enterprise is badly needed, the ecosystem is not yet ready to support social innovation, not to mention the underlying “elements” put forth by Bloom and Tripp.
   
   
   In Saudi Arabia for example, there is a nearly 40% youth unemployment rate, while nearly 70 percent of the youth population plan to emigrate.[3] Statistics are similar in other regions of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and get drastically worse when considering populations on the Levantine coast. Yes, the Arab Awakening has spurred a number of social initiatives from improving economic prospects for woman-owned businesses and subsistence farming in Jordan and Oman to the introduction of shared office space to support tech entrepreneurs in Qatar. But, for many in the Arab World – particularly in the Caliphates of the Arabian Gulf – there is no differentiating line between social innovation and the local version of charity, called “Zakat”. Some people, like Qatar’s Sheikha Moza, have established institutions to try to encourage and support entrepreneurship and innovation, however to what extent do these institutions support social entreprenership?
   
   
   From the authors of the Harvard Business Review articles, we understand that for venture development and growth to occur, organizations require support structures to encourage alliance-building and to stimulate market forces. While considerable gains have been made in places like Qatar to support entrepreneurs, significant strides remain to support social innovation.
   
   
   It is interesting that a region like the GCC has the financial and economic infrastructures in place to support social entrepreneurship, however the region at large has yet to realize how social innovation can tackle important challenges. The i2 Institute (www.i2institute.org/#), founded by Dr. Hayat Sindi, a Saudi social entrepreneur, may be one example of how attitudes regarding social innovation are changing. Dr. Sindi’s organization not only provides information on the issues and stakeholders involved in various regional projects, but she is attempting to establish a community where Arab entrepreneurs can learn more about the challenges facing social innovators in the larger Arab ecosystem. Using the tools provided by her organization, social innovators throughout the region can begin to identify how they can strengthen their ventures through alliance building and lobbying certain stakeholders in their local communities.
   
   
   In a society that faces significant economic, social, and political challenges, do you think the Arab World – particularly the Levantine region – can use social innovation to tackle major issues, or do you think the lack of financial and social infrastructure hinder their ability to do so? Given the growing and heightened social consciousness of many in the Arab world due to the Arab Awakening, do you think social ventures can overcome political shifts and regional divides? There seems to be no shortage of young leaders eager to push forward social agenda in the Arab world. Can an organization like Dr. Sindi’s support these individuals?
   
   

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   [1] Kinberly, Tripp Dasher. Harvard Business Review. HBR Blog Network. January 21^st, 2013. http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/01/its-not-all-about-growth-for-s/

   [2] Bloom, Paul. Harvard Business Review. HBR Blog Network. June 18^th, 2012. http://blogs.hbr.org/2012/06/how-to-take-a-social-venture-t/

   [3] Boss, Suzie. New Ecosystem for Middle East Entrepreneurs. http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/new_ecosystem_for_middle_east_entrepreneurs