AirAsia Foundation tackles Social Enterprise in a forum, invites ISEA President as speaker

For its first-ever public event, the AirAsia Foundation, the philanthropic arm of AirAsia group, organized a public forum called “Destination: Good – ASEAN Social Enterprise 2015”  that featured discussions on how businesses and social enterprises can play a role in building equitable, sustainable and inclusive economies in Asia. The forum was held last November 7, 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

The forum featured notable business leaders and social enterprise advocates in Asia including the president and founder of Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA), Dr. Marie Lisa Dacanay as a panelist to the topic, “Towards an ASEAN Social Enterprise Ecosystem.” 

Dacanay emphasized in her talk the hybrid characteristic of a social enterprise where the organizations is not only engage in a market value chain, but also in development activities for its partner communities. Dacanay also explained that one of the major defining characteristic of a social enterprise is when it does not only provide transactional benefits to its partner communities like the farmers and fisher folks but it also extend transformational benefits like support for the farmers to have more meaningful roles in the value chain. 

The conference was implemented in two parts: first, panel discussions on inclusive business and social enterprises, and second, a marketplace where AirAsia showcased 30 innovative ASEAN social enterprises. Each of the featured organization presented their businesses that address a range of goals from heritage conservation to wildlife welfare. Attendees were able to interact with the social entrepreneurs and purchase ethical products.