The case study of GoodWeave as an effective enterprise in actualizing the cause of discouraging child labor was my biggest take-away from this week’s readings. It is easy to imagine that designing a sticker can bring about a paradigm shift in how consumers evolve their preferences, but very tough to plan and execute the logisitics and the manpower required to make it happen. Stayarthi not only addressed the challenges associated with the scalability of GoodWeave, that are described in the article “How to take a Social Venture to Scale” but also built a sustainable business model.
Surely he did not intend to generate profits while coming up with this idea, but his prior motivation to curb child labor from its roots was instrumental in transforming a socio-economic system and customer perceptions. In the course, he not only discovered a new market of consumers who would prefer to buy carpets which are not woven by exploiting children but also opened up a plethora of opportunities for fellow social entrepreneurs to promote the cause by adopting Goodweave’s model.
The impact of this initiative is not confined only to rescuing the children from the exploiters. It improved the literacy rates of the regions where children were freed from this social evil. Thus, Goodweave served as an exemplary institute to encourage education of less privileged kids in addition to protecting their human rights. It now operates in five countries positioned as the only voluntary licensing program.
Sustaining an impact so vast in nature can be very tricky given the changing market dynamics and never constant customer choices. A new socio-economic equilibrium can arise with inputs from other ventures in rug or carpet industry, which can also boost the economic empowerment of the workers in this industry. This could be one more ripple effect that Goodweave started. However, Goodweave now faces bigger questions of how to sustain on its own without external funding or charity support and yet scaling its impact far and wide. What are the mediums and ideas that Goodweave can employ to strike that fine balance between its sustainability and scalability? What are the challenges and threats for new entrants in adopting this model given its huge scope and demand?
References
GoodWeave: Creating sustainable jobs and employment for the world’s poor
How to take a Social Venture to Scale
Two keys to Sustainable EnterpriseHow to take a Social Venture to Scale
Karishma Shah
The article is inspiring. It focuses on how a social venture can shape a new world which is better. The Goodweave project started to eradicate child labour but it also helped the children to get educated.
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