{"id":72,"date":"2025-10-02T03:35:23","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T03:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/business-partner-of-the-poor\/"},"modified":"2025-10-02T03:35:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T03:35:23","slug":"business-partner-of-the-poor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/articles\/business-partner-of-the-poor\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Partner Of The Poor"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"middle content\">\n<div class=\"column left\" id=\"columnleft\">\n<div class=\"block-0\">\n<section class=\"block themeicon Editorial article\">\n<article>\n<div class=\"icon\">\n<h3>Theme<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/\" title=\"Inclusive Economy\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"projectimage\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/88458-4-eng-gb\/inclusive-economy_big_icon_theme.png\" alt=\"Inclusive Economy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/\" title=\"Inclusive Economy\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tInclusive Economy<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tEditorial article<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div style=\"clear:both;\"><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<section class=\"block article summary\">\n<div class=\"headline\">\n<h3>Summary<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<article>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Social enterprises are on the rise in developing countries. Mark Joaquin Ruiz, co-founder and managing director of MicroVentures Inc. in the Philippines, talks about the role of social business enterprises in empowering the poor, and explains what research is needed to further strengthen this relatively recent field in the Philippines.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"block article author\">\n<div class=\"headline\">\n<h3>About the author<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-content\">\n<div class=\"about-author\">\n<div class=\"tleft\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/authors\/meijer-van-putten-anna\/56544-1-eng-gb\/meijer-van-putten-anna_small_author.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"tright\">\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/meijer-van-putten-anna\/\">Anna Meijer van Putten<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAnna Meijer van Putten (1983) is a researcher and writer based in Amsterdam\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/meijer-van-putten-anna\/\">full profile<\/a>\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"block article author\">\n<div class=\"headline\">\n<h3>Tags<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_4\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6569\/\">debt<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_7\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6474\/\">microfinance<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"weight_1\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/display\/articles\/6568\/\">micro-enterprise<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"block article author\">\n<div class=\"headline\">\n<h3>Related articles<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-content\">\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\">Microfinance \u2013 discrediting the myth<\/a><\/h3>\n<div class=\"pubDate\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/kamphuis-bertine\/\">Bertine Kamphuis<\/a>\t\t |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tOctober 06, 2025\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/\" title=\"Inclusive Economy\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/themes\/inclusive-economy\/88460-128-eng-gb\/inclusive-economy_tiny_icon.png\" alt=\"Inclusive Economy\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\" class=\"more\">read more<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-content\">\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/articles\/can-the-super-rich-save-the-world\/\">Can the super-rich save the world?<\/a><\/h3>\n<div class=\"pubDate\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/dowell-william\/\">William Dowell<\/a>\t\t |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tDecember 02, 2025\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/global-development-strategies\/\" title=\"Global Development Strategies\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" 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src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/themes\/human-security\/88474-206-eng-gb\/human-security_tiny_icon.png\" alt=\"Human Security\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/articles\/special-report-collective-self-interest\/\" class=\"more\">read more<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-content\">\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/articles\/stalling-growth-and-development\/\">Stalling growth and development<\/a><\/h3>\n<div class=\"pubDate\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/woltring-naomi\/\">Naomi Woltring<\/a>\t\t |<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tDecember 18, 2025\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"icons\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/themes\/social-change\/\" title=\"Social Change\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/themes\/social-change\/88481-63-eng-gb\/social-change_tiny_icon.png\" alt=\"Social Change\"\/><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p>\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/articles\/stalling-growth-and-development\/\" class=\"more\">read more<\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<section class=\"content column wide left article content view\" id=\"content\">\n<div class=\"edit image\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/images\/images\/broker-22\/p28-research-horizons\/725235-1-eng-gb\/p28-research-horizons_full_view.jpg\" alt=\"\">\n\t<\/div>\n<article class=\"fader  Editorial article\">\n<header class=\"contents\">\n<div class=\"share\">\n\t\t\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n    var addthis_config = {\n        ui_language = 'en'\n    }\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis sharing\">\n\t<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN --><\/p>\n<div class=\"addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style\" addthis:title=\"Business partner of the poor\">\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_twitter\" tw:via=\"thebrokeronline\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_facebook\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_pinterest_share\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_preferred_4\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_button_compact\"><\/a><br \/>\n\t<a class=\"addthis_counter addthis_bubble_style\"><\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n<p>\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\">var addthis_config = data_track_addressbar;<\/script><br \/>\n\t<script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/js\/300\/addthis_widget.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n\t<!-- AddThis Button END -->\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"addthis article_options\">\n                <a class=\"pdf\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/var\/broker\/storage\/original\/application\/9c9d40a97ec20c1e9f9fde08e81e3754.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"view\/print PDF\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBusiness partner of the poor<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/authors\/meijer-van-putten-anna\/\">Anna&nbsp;Meijer van Putten<\/a>\t\t|<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOctober 06, 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/header>\n<div class=\"intro contents\">\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Social enterprises are on the rise in developing countries. Mark Joaquin Ruiz, co-founder and managing director of MicroVentures Inc. in the Philippines, talks about the role of social business enterprises in empowering the poor, and explains what research is needed to further strengthen this relatively recent field in the Philippines.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"body contents\">\n\t\t<!-- body --><\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<div class=\"factbox-design\">\n<h2><\/h2>\n<div class=\"factbox-content\">\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"><b>Mark Joaquin Ruiz <\/b>is a social business entrepreneur. He is co-founder and managing director of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hapinoy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">MicroVentures Inc. \/ Hapinoy<\/a>, a microfinancing business development services company, as well as founding partner and board member of Rags2Riches, a social business enterprise helping a community to create fashion designer items from recycled rags. He is also founding partner of the WhyNot?Forum, an innovation website with the motto \u2018Inspiring Filipino Ingenuity\u2019. His latest endeavours in innovative business are as field chief marketing \u2018innoventor\u2019 of an industrial design firm, InoventDesign. Ruiz is also a part-time faculty member at the Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines, where he teaches a class on business innovation management.\n       <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<b><i>Through their Hapinoy programme, MicroVentures aspires to be a business partner of the poor by supporting sari-sari stores, the smallest retail unit in the Philippines. How does this work? <\/i><\/b><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>We use Hapinoy to work with micro-entrepreneurs and provide business development services so people at the \u2018base of the pyramid\u2019 (BoP) can expand their businesses. A microfinancing institution provides access to capital, and we provide access to market opportunities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">We looked at the entire value chain and decided to start with micro-entrepreneurs in distribution and retail, and thus started with sari-sari stores \u2013 literally the smallest retail outlets in the Philippines. The 700,000 or so sari-sari stores in the country account for 30-40% of total retail sales in the Philippines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Sari-sari is the Filipino word for \u2018many or various kinds\u2019. Sari-saris are hole-in-the-wall stores, mainly run by women, selling basic commodities for an average taking of 10 dollars a day. Hapinoy has become a network of sari-sari stores, which helps these micro-entrepreneurs get the most out of their businesses, however small they may be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">As the network of Hapinoy sari-sari stores grows, we progressively integrate them into the micro-entrepreneur production chain, giving them access to the market. They can also be directly linked to partners with a larger manufacturing capacity. This enables sari-sari store owners to increase their profits and at the same time serve as a channel for the manufacturer to reach more customers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<b><i>All of Hapinoy\u2019s community stores are owned by female micro-entrepreneurs. Do you view the Hapinoy programme as a viable tool for achieving women\u2019s empowerment? <\/i><\/b><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>Studies have shown repayment rates are better when it is women who are receiving the loans \u2013 not only in the Philippines, but globally as well. Studies also show that when it is women who are earning the money, it directly benefits the household.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">That\u2019s how the microfinancing industry essentially thinks.Indeed, sari-sari stores lend themselves more to being run by women than men. They are launched by women who don\u2019t have a source of livelihood. Their husbands are mostly labourers: tricycle drivers, porters and construction workers. When women are left at home, they look for means of creating additional income, and sari-sari stores become a viable option.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Hapinoy hopes that its initiative to empower women will result in easier access to business capital, direct links to product manufacturers and specialized training for micro-entrepreneurs. For this purpose, Hapinoy has forged partnerships with microfinancing institutions and cooperatives to assist female micro-entrepreneurs in expanding their business.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<i><b>What are the most poignant challenges facing social entrepreneurship today?<\/b><\/i><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>Social business enterprises \u2013 entities designed to tackle social problems within a business model framework \u2013 are debating whether social businesses and social innovation should be for-profit or non-profit. Some feel that as long as it remains a social innovation \u2013 even if it doesn&#8217;t have a business model, that tackles social problems \u2013 it can be considered a social enterprise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\nNGOs have shown some discontent these past few years about the fact that this kind of work has been for-profit. Their logic is that you shouldn\u2019t mix social development with business. However, I believe you can easily use a business<br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>model and a market-based approach to tackle social problems.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">In my view, social enterprises haven\u2019t blossomed as much as they could have because awareness is still very low. And I still see people questioning whether this <i>really <\/i>is a viable option. Having said that, I think we are nearing a tipping point. There are a lot of fresh business graduates in the Philippines who recognize the potential of social enterprises.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<b><i>What kind of research do you think would benefit social enterprise the most?<\/i><\/b><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>I would like to see more research on social return on investment (SROI). SROI reflects the social value a business generates, as opposed to merely its financial value. I can share how we at MicroVentures have been able to help out sari-sari storeowners with the business side of their enterprises, and how they have grown as business women. But the social impact is something we have not been able to quantify yet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">It would be very interesting to introduce a new system of measurement, a new vocabulary that would accurately gauge SROI. Not just to determine whether women have increased their income, but to measure social progress. Has their children\u2019s health been improved, or their school attendance and performance? Has the family\u2019s quality of life truly improved as a result of the social enterprise? This would give us an idea of the impact that we are having on financial, and, more importantly, social returns. It would help build the case for social entrepreneurship as a scalable and sustainable model that tackles the major problems of our time, especially regarding poverty and marginalization.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Although BoP has been extensively researched globally, this has not happened in the Philippines. This research needs to be localized. In this country, 50-60% of the people live below the poverty threshold. We have a huge BoP sector. The particular research that needs to be done should focus on how to create and redesign products and services for the BoP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">Many companies currently use a simple top-down approach. For example, MicroVentures has been trying to introduce an automated sales system for our stores. We\u2019ve talked to computer manufacturers. Their approach is to essentially take a big computer and make it smaller for the stores, rather than to redesign it from the ground up. BoP research should focus on inventing something from the bottom up, rather than saying \u2018this is how it works on a large scale \u2013 let\u2019s just scale it down\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<b><i>How do you think this redesigning should take place?<\/i><\/b><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>I teach a class in business innovation management at the Ateneo School of Management, one of the leading universities in the Philippines based in Manila. This has exposed me to human-centred design, an approach that puts you actively in the shoes of your client or customer, or in my case the storeowner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">I really try to co-create the product or service with them. That is the core issue. Reinvent by having empathy for your client, rather than saying \u2018this is how it works\u2019.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">IDEO, a leading industrial design firm, has released an open-source human-centred design toolkit. That\u2019s very useful for the work we do at MicroVentures, where storeowners are involved in creating and designing services. For example, we recently introduced over-the-counter medicine in our Hapinoy stores, to make affordable medication available to local communities. Our storeowners were involved every step of the way, through brainstorming sessions and workshops.<\/p>\n<p class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\">\n<b><i>Finally, what\u2019s your view on the future of social enterprises?<\/i><\/b><br class=\"yunu3cvqabft7vifv\"\/>At MicroVentures we have a saying: &#8216;the poor are powerful\u2019. It\u2019s just that they never had the right bricks to build with. I\u2019m hoping social entrepreneurs can help create a world in which the poor are able to participate in the formal market economy. Whether that be sari-sari storeowners, micro-producers or micro-agricultural farmers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p class=\"credit\">\n\t\t\tPhoto credit main picture:\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t<!-- body --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- footnotes --><br \/>\n\t\t<!-- footnotes -->\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<section class=\"commentform content column wide left\">\n<div class=\"disqus_content\">\n\t\t<a name=\"comments\" id=\"comments\"><\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"disqus_thread\"><\/div>\n<p>        <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n            \/* * * CONFIGURATION VARIABLES: EDIT BEFORE PASTING INTO YOUR WEBPAGE * * *\/\n            var disqus_shortname = 'broker'; \/\/ required: replace example with your forum shortname\n            var disqus_identifier = '5610';\n            \/* * * DON'T EDIT BELOW THIS LINE * * *\/\n\t\t\tfunction trackComment(comment)\n            {\n                console.log(comment);\n            }\n\t\t\tfunction disqus_config() {\n                this.callbacks.onNewComment = [function() { \n                console.log(comment);\n                }];\n            }\n\t\t\t(function() {\n                var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type = 'text\/javascript'; dsq.async = true;\n                dsq.src = '\/\/' + disqus_shortname + 'https:\/\/www.thebrokeronline.eu\/files\/articles\/.disqus.com\/embed.js';\n                (document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0] || document.getElementsByTagName('body')[0]).appendChild(dsq);\n            })();\n        <\/script><br \/>\n        <!--\n        <noscript>Please enable JavaScript to view the <a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\/?ref_noscript\">comments powered by Disqus.<\/a><\/noscript>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/disqus.com\" class=\"dsq-brlink\">comments powered by <span class=\"logo-disqus\">Disqus<\/span><\/a>\n        -->\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n","protected":false,"raw":""},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theme Inclusive Economy Editorial article Summary Social enterprises are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template_3.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-72","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Business partner of the poor \/ Articles - The Broker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Social enterprises are on the rise in developing countries. 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