The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is likely to provide concessional loan for capital market development in 2012 under its ‘Country Operations Business Plan for Bangladesh, 2011-2013’. “Such projects are in line with ADB’s long-term strategic framework (Strategy 2020), through which ADB commits to work with the private sector to generate greater economic growth in Asia and the Pacific,” said Bart W Édes, Director, Poverty Reduction, Gender and Social Development Division, Regional and Sustainable Development Department of ADB in Manila.
The ADB director made the observation in an interview with UNB through e-mail. He also described in details the prospects and obstacles of social enterprise in Bangladesh as well as the ADB’s future plan regarding the issue ahead of the Financing of Social Enterprise Forum to be held in Dhaka.
The daylong “Impact Forum for Social Change” will be jointly organized by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Impact Investment Exchange Asia (IIX Asia) on January 10 (Monday) at Sonargaon Hotel in the capital.
Around 60 participants from the government, development agencies, social enterprises, and impact investors, as well as experts in capital market development and resource mobilization are expected to attend the forum. Asked about the main obstacles to develop social enterprises in Bangladesh, Edes said the challenges confronting social enterprises in Bangladesh are similar to those facing social enterprises operating in other developing countries in Asia and the Pacific. One is finding people with the right business and management skills.
Those who are attracted to the social mission of such an enterprise may not have the right training and experience to help it thrive in a market setting, he said.
“Without knowledge of how to run a business, a social enterprise will have difficulty planning, managing human resources, handling finances, and, more fundamentally, creating a viable business model.”
The ADB official observed that another major problem is a lack of capital. Social enterprises can often pull together enough financing from friends and family to get started, and generate sufficient sales to reach a modest scale of operations. Yet they often find that they cannot expand further due to a lack of additional resources.
Asked about the ADB’s role in supporting development of social enterprises in future in Bangladesh, he said that although ADB does not have a specific initiative supporting social enterprises in the country, it has financed projects that contribute to the development of micro-to-medium sized enterprises that generate employment and create livelihood opportunities. He said that two ADB-financed participatory livestock projects have enabled more than 660,000 poor people (91 per cent of them women) to improve their livelihoods through access to small loans and technical support.
Similarly, the Northwest Crop Diversification Project, implemented in partnership with NGOs and Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank, has helped marginal farmers develop high value crop production and improve their marketing.
Answering a question, Edes said that ADB is supporting a regional technical assistance project that will analyze the context and funding options for social enterprises in a selection of developing Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, and Thailand.
To a question on whether the ADB is planning to help any social enterprises like Prof. Muhammad Yunus’ Grameen Bank or others, he said that Professor Yunus has had tremendous success in building up social enterprises. His experiences are certainly instructive for other social entrepreneurs in Bangladesh and elsewhere, even if few have achieved the impact of Grameen Bank.
About the expected results from the Impact Forum for Social Change, the ADB official hoped that the forum will boost awareness of the valuable role that social enterprises already play in Bangladesh and elsewhere in Asia, and the much greater role that they could play given the right circumstances.
He said participants will also learn about the Impact Investment Exchange, Asia’s first social stock exchange, and its potential to raise capital to promote sustainable growth and greater impact among social enterprises in the region.     UNB

Source: The Independent/ Bangladesh/ Jan-07-2011