November 2006    		 
      newsletter  
 
Enviu’s product development
 
Micro-credit, it is heralded as the revolutionary anti-poverty program created by Muhammed Yunus’ Grameen Bank, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. No, Enviu is not trying to outdo or even replicate the Grameen Bank’s achieve-ments. Instead, our project is termed “beyond micro-credit”, and involves 3 different and significant aspects that work alongside each other to help facilitate the creation of a sustainable business. Our mission is not to eliminate poverty, and thus we do not work in the sphere of small loans, but instead focus on larger loans that can help a potential sustainable entrepreneur to realise his/her dreams and goals. So how are we going to do this?

There are 3 aspects to this project, which I will term ‘products’ from here on in. Product 1 involves the detailed facilitation of a sustainable business. We envision facilitating people generating new, sustainable business ideas, spread the triple bottom line philosophy, and eventually helping them set up their sustainable business. This product is made possible by Product 2, which we consider our selling point in the “beyond micro-credit” project. Enviu already has a large network of volunteers and now we want to expand this and create an online knowledge community that works similarly to the open-source movement in software development. The entrepreneurs from product 1 are given the opportunity to interact with the experts in the Enviu community to ask for aid in the setting-up and carrying-out of their sustainable business. Traditional knowledgemanagement views knowledge as a closed asset that is not to be shared, we do not agree with this point of view. We want knowledge to be redistributable, non-discriminatory and continuously innovated and changed.
 
Our third product is the financial aspect of the project. Social investors have voiced a desire to be more actively involved in projects they invest money in, and we can provide an answer to this request. Investors are not merely money-lending persons but can participate in the Enviu knowledge network (product 2) and offer their experience and expertise to the social entrepreneurs.

As of now we are still in the planning phase of this project. Much needs to be researched and thoroughly thought out before we can embark on this journey. Which is where I come in. I’m a    B-SM Master’s student volunteering to help set up the project. My interests lie in international development and nonprofits. This is due to two reasons, first of all, having done IBA (International Business Administration) I became uninterested in and disenchanted with the corporate world. Secondly, I lived in Indonesia for 18 years without considering once what I could do for the ‘less fortunate’. It was only when I went back to visit after moving to Rotterdam that I realised what I could and perhaps should do. So a few years back I decided I wanted to work for a non-profit in the field of international development. Many people then think, ‘ahhhh, tree-hugging hippie’. Well, I’ve never hugged a tree before, I hate tie-dye, I love all my luxuries, and though I hate to admit it, every now and then I throw my chewing gum on the ground… but I do still want to change the world.

Selma Rooseboom, Volunteer New Product Development

  
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