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The Case of Fabio Rosa – How Social Entrepreneurs Take on the World
By Neil Peterson | June 27, 2009
In a civilization fueled by innovation, entrepreneurial enterprise is king. This is no surprise to those of us living in the Information Age – where entrepreneurs are regular features on the covers of the glossy business weeklies – sharing their stories of translating problems into solutions, and making a mint in the process. Creativity, keen intelligence, tenacity and charisma are all defining characteristics – key facets of the ‘je ne sais quoi’ of the entrepreneur – but a new movement is developing that will add another descriptor – social. This is not social in a ‘tea in the garden’ sense, but in the ‘using entrepreneurial know-how to affect social change’ sense. Welcome to the dawn of a new era – the era of the social entrepreneur.
Fabio Rosa is one such entrepreneur, and while his name may not be as well known as many of today’s brightest minds, he is the man who brought light to rural Brazil. This may seem an overstatement, but for the farmers living without the benefit of electricity – up to 70% of the rural population – this is no small thing. In fact, it has made a world of difference.
In 1982, after graduating from university with a degree in agronomic engineering, a chance talk with a classmate’s father would ignite a decades-long quest to bring electricity to rural Brazilian communities. The classmate’s father was actually the mayor of the small town of Palmeras, and after having spoken with Rosa, proposed that he take the position of secretary of agriculture.
The region surrounding Palmeras was one of Brazil’s wealthiest, but the prohibitive cost of energy meant that most farming households went without power. A lack of energy meant a lack of water, as even the most meager wells required an electrical pump to deliver it to the fields for irrigation. Being ‘un-wired’ created a host of unforeseeable problems – inhibiting the farmers’ ability to adequately grow a cash crop, and causing millions to flee to the cities in search of work.
Rosa’s solution was not to adapt the rural communities to the government’s energy system, but to introduce an entirely new design developed by Ennio Amaral. By stripping down the technology to the basics, and using local workers to construct it, Rosa was able to finally deliver the cheap electricity he had promised. Farmers were not only able to keep their farms, but improved irrigation techniques and electrical machinery helped to make them more profitable than ever before.
Facing a shortage of funding due to Brazil’s changing political climate, Rosa created STA, a for-profit business in 1992 to promote photovoltaic solar energy. Nearly a decade later, inspired by the advancements made in alternative energy, he established a non-profit organization that would address the unique needs of impoverished areas, while being consistently mindful of the environmental and social impact of each project.
The challenges Rosa faced in Brazil may be unique, but his desire to create positive change is not. Entrepreneurs are (generally) by nature social people – as big business requires the involvement and contributions – if not the financing – of many other individuals. We are in the midst of a growing worldwide awareness of social problems, and the accompanying desire to contribute has also grown. With the brilliance of the entrepreneurial mind, there’s no telling what we can accomplish.
Social Entrepreneurs: Pioneering Social Change – Skoll Foundation
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Topics: Business, General, Management, Perseverance, Politics, Sustainable living | No Comments »