Weekly Review! 

The week started with Time magazine’s cover story, “How to Help Those Left Behind”, where Bill Gates expounds his views on how a new creative capitalism can make the world better for all.

Midway through the week, Indian Express reported Delhi government’s plans to implement Brazil’s Bolsa Familia project( search for a link), which apparently brought down poverty by 27%.
And fittingly, the week ended with an announcement that Prof Kalam would teach a new course at IIMA, “Globalising a Resurgent India through Innovative Transformation”

In their own way, each of these developments have the potential to make a huge difference to the way India runs its development and anti-poverty efforts.

Gates firmly believes that corporations can use market forces and innovations to complement what governments and non-profits do. Apart from tailoring products & services that reaches the poorest( think C.K. Prahlad!), he believes that corporations can do a lot more provided the right incentives are offered, e.g. recognition, fast-track approvals.
Gates’ heart and wallet are certainly in the right place, and he is already making a difference with his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; but, I reckon that capitalism’s participation in social development will always be controversial. After all, where do you draw a line between a “Buy One, We’ll give the poor a Free One” promotional offer, and a genuinely participative effort.

Be that as it may, I certainly see – and have seen( in Gates Foundation-supported Khushi Clinics)- the impact of importing professional business best-practices in the social sector. So, if creative capitalism causes controversy, we can live with that, as long as it makes a difference. At Growth-for-All, we have already seen this while working with Dr Reddy’s Foundation & TCS.

Likewise, the Delhi government’s effort to provide a single-window access to beneficiaries who want to access 42 social schemes run by various departments, will certainly make life simpler. While the revelation that Brazil’s Bolsa Familia project- which is the inspiration for Delhi- achieved 27% reduction in poverty, seems like hyperbole, I can imagine how much simpler things would be, if a single window were available. Just recently, Growth-for-All has been witness to the utter confusion and opacity that Savda Ghevra residents face, while grappling with school admissions for their kids.
Why didn’t anyone think of this before?

Ex-President Kalam’s course at IIMA aims to fill this gap beautifully. By getting B-School students to think about issues of governance and policy-making, we will hopefully have a cadre of business professionals who can inspire Creative Capitalism, besides driving ideas like Bolsa Familia indigeneously.
 

This entry was posted on Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 6:48 am and is filed under Inclusive Growth, NGO, Indian Economy, Corporate Social Responsibility, Sensible Governance & Politics, CSR That Works. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.