FSSI Joins 1st Impact Angel Investor Network in PH

February 24, 2021

Impact enterprises solving the most urgent social and environmental challenges through market-based models are important actors in the socio-development landscape. Geared towards the development of products and services that address the fundamental problems of poverty and sustainable development, they solve social problems by challenging traditions, combining creativity with intelligence.

In the Philippines, social enterprises serving the poor are often pioneers, facing challenges and risks referred to as the “pioneer gap.” These challenges include difficulties in the operating environment, finding resources and raising capital, and growing their business with few investors willing to finance to absorb the risks involved in pioneering new business models. As a result, many of these enterprises fail because of lack of support, not just financial but also mentorship, to enable them to make it to a later stage. Impact investing targets to bridge these gaps.

The Pioneer Gap – Courtesy of Impact Pioneers Network

With the mission to leapfrog the impact entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Philippines, social enterprise incubator xchange has partnered with India’s Villgro. Villgro and xchange have combined decades of experience in investing in impact entrepreneurs to address gaps in the Philippine ecosystem. Villgro is India’s oldest and one of the world’s largest social enterprise incubators. xchange is an incubator in the Philippines that invests in early-stage social enterprises while providing tailored mentorship and support to help them achieve scale. Together, they designed and developed the Impact Pioneer model that would encourage collaboration with other individuals and organizations or “impact pioneers” who believe that entrepreneurship is a key tool in solving social and environmental challenges.

In its first year, the network will focus on building resilience during the pandemic economy by providing a variety of investments including zero-interest loans and quasi-equity through a Resilience Fund, as well as six months of tailored support to build resilience and to adapt their models for a recession year. It is also expected to launch new services for enterprises and impact pioneers, while continuing to grow the network of individuals and institutions and engage the larger ecosystem.

The network’s priority sectors are agriculture and fisheries, climate crisis, education and employment, and affordable healthcare. It will adopt a gender lens in all aspects of its operations and will actively source enterprises which impact the lives of women and girls.

You can learn more about the Impact Pioneers Network here. Also check out this guide on angel investing by infoDev.

Letter from the Executive Director

By admin on

February 24, 2021

- Newsletter

Cautious Optimism and Perseverance in 2021

Sixto Donato C. Macasaet

We’re now two months into 2021; how are you with your resolutions and intentions for the year?

2020 was fraught with challenges, including the crippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and destructive typhoons that hit parts of the country. Yet, optimism remains. A Pulse Asia survey released in December last year revealed that 9 out of 10 Filipinos are optimistic about 2021, a sentiment shared across populations in geographic areas and socio-economic grouping.

With significant progress in the development of COVID-19 vaccines, the economy expected to regain its momentum, and programs in the pipeline to assist in the recovery, there is cautious optimism that 2021 is the year that we start to rebuild. We are hopeful – with a sense of readiness for difficulties that lie ahead. Hence, we persevere.

At FSSI, we are looking forward to be part of the solutions, even as we deal with challenges that COVID-19 has brought upon us.

We have recently joined the Impact Pioneers Network, a first-of-its-kind angel investing network in the Philippines to catalyze local capital to exclusively support impact-first enterprises with potential to grow and create social impact at scale. In its first year, the network will focus on building resilience during the pandemic economy by providing a variety of investments and tailored support for social enterprises to adapt to the recession year.

We have also launched a partnership with the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) to collaborate in capacity building, advocacy, and research efforts to support inclusive agricultural and rural development.

As an organization built upon the collaboration of various civil society organizations and government, we believe in the importance of partnerships and working together as we navigate the road to recovery and resilience.

I would also like to take this opportunity to enjoin you all to support the PRESENT Coalition’s campaign to pass the Poverty Reduction through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) Bill. On Friday, February 26, the coalition will be launching the PRESENT Bill Petition Campaign to raise 1 million signatures to support the bill’s enactment into law. You can support the campaign by signing the petition here: https://www.change.org/passthepresentbillnow

I look forward to seeing many of you in future events. May you and your loved ones always be healthy and hopeful.

Dodo

Chairperson’s Message

By admin on

September 7, 2020

- Newsletter

For the Common Good

Mr. Norman Joseph “Oman” Jiao

For the common good.

Twenty-five years ago, this guiding principle birthed the Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. (FSSI). With an endowment of P454.8 million, FSSI geared up to battle poverty by financing sustainable development projects. We could only imagine the exhilaration and the joy of that moment, the minds of enthusiastic development workers already churning out the many possibilities on how to reach out to as many of our less fortunate fellowmen as possible and help in making their lives better.

Today, FSSI’s fund balance has grown to Php 922,305,2221 and over the past 25 years, we have invested in and supported more than 230 social enterprises through loans, equity investments and grants. Our loans and development deposits to partners now amount P 410 million and our net equity investments in enterprises total to P 46 million. The numbers are big, but we cannot rest on these achievements. Poverty and inequity are still on the rise, many are still struggling to make a decent living. As we pause and look back to 25 years, we also ask the question, “Have we done enough?” Being a steward of the Fund is an opportunity, putting us in a unique position to make a difference and effect change in the quality of lives of individuals, families, and communities.

In this milestone year, let us re-live that moment of exhilaration and joy 25 years ago and, with renewed enthusiasm, think of innovative ways to contribute to achieving the country’s development goals, because truly, we can do much more.

We cannot talk about development and not talk about the COVID-19 pandemic that has affected and is drastically changing our lives. As it affects our communities and our ranks, it has become our own battle to take on. We pray for wisdom to guide us through strategic actions and significant engagements to address the challenges brought forth by the pandemic. We are determined not to be deterred by it, rather, we will do our best to continue serving our communities and find ways to cope with the “new normal.” We should be able to use the Fund to continue supporting meaningful and relevant interventions for development, while ensuring that the Fund is sustained and its value maintained. As we move forward, let our core values of Stewardship, Inclusivity, Good Governance, and Excellence (SIGE) be our guide. We survived many economic, social, and political unrests and we will get through this pandemic because we believe in the resilience of the Filipino spirit.

Let us not allow this pandemic to take the joy away from celebrating our 25^th founding anniversary. On this milestone year, we honor our Swiss and Filipino colleagues in the sector who, 25 years ago, vigorously campaigned for the debt agreement, and the citizens and government of Switzerland for the generous consideration. We look back with gratefulness to the management, staff and trustees who came before us and steered FSSI to where it is today. We give credit to our development workers for the work that they do and their genuine compassion for the respective communities they are assigned to. Without their hard work, we could not have accomplished as much.

To all of you, maraming salamat po.

FSSI commits to uphold its mandate and engage in significant undertakings for the common good. This is what we are here for. This is what FSSI is all about.

Newsletter, What's New in FSSI

COVID-19 and Women’s Economic Participation

By admin on

June 18, 2020

- Newsletter, What's New in FSSI

Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, provides an analysis around the impacts of COVID-19, previous pandemics and recessions, on the economic position of women through a rapid review of academic and grey literature on gender, COVID-19, and women’s formal employment. It also presents risks and opportunities looking ahead. Here is a summary of some of the key report findings. You can access the full report here.

What Previous Recessions and Pandemics Tell Us

There are unequivocal findings showing consistent common themes that women’s economic security, formal employment participation, political representation, health outcomes, and educational achievement are negatively affected by economic and health crises, more so than men’s. These outcomes have a long-term negative impact on women’s human capital formation and economic security. Further, economic and health crises exacerbate pre-existing inequalities and set gender equality back.

Women and girls are disproportionately vulnerable to economic shocks compared to men. Pre-existing gender inequalities mean that women have less access to productive resources, which translates to lower earnings and bargaining power; thus, women’s limited ability to develop their capabilities, make strategic choices, and participate on equal terms with men in the economy.

The negative consequences of economic and health crises on women are compounded by the systematic lack of women’s participation and leadership in crisis response and recovery strategies and the failure to include gender-specific analyses in these strategies. The recovery period following recessions is estimated to be 3–7 years and previous crises demonstrate that a lack of attention to gender equality in national and business response recovery strategies will set gender equality back decades.

Women and COVID-19

The COVID-19 crisis is more significant than previous economic or health crises in both depth and scope. Women have been affected immediately and are likely to be more adversely affected in the longer term unless gender progressive interventions are made.

The worst affected sectors include retail trade, accommodation, food services, tourism, and manufacturing – all of which are highly feminized, making women exposed to the heaviest burden of job loss and a prolonged decline in income and labor force participation.¹

Women are also disproportionately employed in the health sector and associated industries operating at the frontlines. The World Health Organization estimates that 70% of the global healthcare workforce are women. While health workers represent a relatively small proportion of the total workforce in Southeast Asian countries where Investing in Women works – the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar -they are exposed to the direct health risks of COVID-19, often without adequate personal protective equipment and for very long hours, vulnerable to infection and worried about passing infection to their families.

COVID-19 has also intensified pre-existing gender division of labor and the double burden of paid and unpaid work. Social norms mean that many women have found themselves responsible for home schooling their children, caring for elderly family members, and doing household chores even while working. Where working from home has been implemented, there have been some reports it has driven a more equitable division of work and care² while others have reported this has contributed to an elevated risk of domestic violence.³

Post-COVID-19: Risks and Opportunities

In a crisis context, there is a risk women may face a ‘new normal’ or a return to the ‘old normal’ of reduced employment opportunities as employers prioritize male employees in the allocation of work and in the rehiring and promotion process. Women may also face work conditions being degraded due to financial pressures, reflecting the prioritization of economic efficiency over labor rights.

The COVID-19 crisis is an opportunity to revalue economic and care work. If gender-sensitive policies, including work from home arrangements, are carefully implemented, this could improve pay and conditions for the female workforce. Men’s exposure to the full domestic experience during lockdown could also prompt a positive shift in the gendered division of labor. Sharing the burden of essential unpaid work could have positive normative and economic effects on women’s economic participation.

There are opportunities post-COVID-19 to embed gender equality at the center of national recovery strategies in line with the global commitment to improving women’s workforce participation (G20, 2017).

As governments and businesses focus on immediate concerns of health, livelihoods and the economy, gender equality may take a ‘backseat’ in crisis management. However, gender-blind policies could have damaging consequences for workplace equality. Previous recessions have shown that diversity and inclusion strategies also fall in priority. If economic recovery strategies are gender responsive, there is an opportunity to ‘build back better’ with women and girls as a focus in crisis management and recovery (UN, 2020).

Gender equitable recovery strategies will also boost national productivity, deliver inclusive growth, and underwrite the Sustainable Development Goals 2030. These strategies should include policy measures that support women’s formal employment opportunities, women’s entrepreneurial activity, and unpaid care work.

Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, catalyzes inclusive economic growth through women’s economic empowerment in Southeast Asia. Established in 2016, Investing in Women uses innovative approaches to improve women’s economic participation as employees and as entrepreneurs and to influence the enabling environment to promote women’s economic empowerment in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

Letter from the Executive Director

By admin on

June 17, 2020

- Newsletter