First SEAL Asia Conference

“Over 100 participants representing 13 countries attended the first Social Enterprise Advocacy and Leveraging Conference in Asia (SEAL-Asia) co-organised by the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia and Oxfam held on November 25-27, 2014 at the AIM Conference Center, Makati, Philippines. The two-day event with the theme, Transforming Economies through Social Entrepreneurship: Towards a Post 2015 Agenda brought together representatives from social entrepreneurship organizations, networks and resource institutions in Asia, scholars doing research on social entrepreneurship in the region, and resource persons from the business sector and government.

SEAL-Asia was envisioned to become a regional platform that will support the social enterprise sector to be a major player in addressing poverty, inequality and sustainable development in the region. ISEA and Oxfam are on a strategic partnership to pursue this initiative.

The conference served as a venue for sharing perspectives, experiences and insights in the understanding and practice of social enterprise development in Asia. An integral component of the event was the presentation of the results of the ISEA-Oxfam research on poverty reduction and women economic leadership, which was about the roles, potentials and challenges of social enterprises in developing countries in Asia.”

First SEAL Asia Conference

A Message to the SEAL Conference Participants

As the year comes to a close, we happily look back to 2014 as the year when we came together for the First Social Enterprise Advocacy and Leveraging Conference in Asia (SEAL-Asia) and the First Regional Assembly of the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA). We were close to a hundred delegates from 13 countries and it was indeed a fruitful learning experience for all of us.

We have agreed to develop a vibrant social enterprise sector that would serve as transformational partner of civil society, government and business in improving the quality of life of the poor and marginalized in Asia. It is our hope that 2015 will be a year when we would all pro-actively participate and undertake innovations to translate this agreement into action.

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to everyone.

Marie Lisa Dacanay
ISEA President and SEAL-Asia Conference Director