Issue Paper: Financing for Filipino Social Enterprises (ESOs) [1 MB]
Issue Paper: Financing for Filipino Social Enterprises (ESOs)
JUNE 2021
Results and findings from the ISIP roundtable discussion with entrepreneur-supporting organizations (ESOs)
Executive Summary
According to ESOs, the success factors for financing Filipino social enterprises can be summarized into three heuristics: (1) Think Big, (2) Be F.A.S.T., and (3) Act Social. Think Big refers to the ability of the entrepreneur to think ambitiously about the enterprise’s growth and scale. Be F.A.S.T. stands for Financial Acumen and Strategic Thinking which entails making sound fiscal decisions to balance and align economic value and social purpose. Lastly, to act social is to harness social linkages through embeddedness and effectual networking.
ESOs also identified tension points between ESO and Funder; ESO and SEs; and, ESO and Capital. An example of an ESO-Funder tension is the misalignment of timelines which causes ESOs to be dependent on the funders. ESOs and SEs also experience tension as the balance between the impact-first motives of SE founders and the ESOs’ focus on financial sustainability is delicate and often difficult to balance. Lastly, ESOs also experience challenges with capital such as when ESOs are tasked to fill the ‘missing middle’ when ESOs are in search for patient capital while capital providers are more concerned with risks and return on investments.