By Somya Thakker
Reflecting back on this past year, I can confidently say that one of the best decisions I made was taking ENTR 2206 with Professor Sophie Bacq. Before diving into the world of social entrepreneurship, I was struggling to find ways in which I could create sustainable change for vulnerable communities. However, my mindset and approach towards problem solving radically changed when I started working on the Global Social Enterprise group project.
My group and I (Need 4 Neend – neend is Hindi for sleep) fell in love with the problem of the sleep economy in New Delhi, India and devoted most of our time ideating on possible solutions to help the 100,000 working homeless of Delhi exit the vicious cycle of the sleep economy. After the final presentation in April earlier this year, Maria Bermudez and I decided we wanted to go beyond just a classroom presentation and actually implement this project. So without any hesitation we approached IDEA and started our customer validation process as a social venture in the “ready stage.” It was an exciting time for both of us and we felt ready to take on any challenges that would come our way.
It’s been seven months since we entered into IDEA’s stage-gate process and we are still struggling to move onto the “set stage.” As Maria and I have been living and traveling in different parts of the world since April, we haven’t had much time to work on the project together. Although the distance can be discouraging, a period of incubation can be beneficial for a project like this. My time on the Global Social Enterprise Dialogue of Civilizations in Cape Town, South Africa this summer expanded my mind even more, allowing me to put myself in the shoes of fragile communities – even more so with our daily dosage of Professor Shaughnessy’s wisdom and teachings.
Talking to microentrepreneurs from various townships across Cape Town and spending time with TSiBA students, taught me the importance of listening. As Ernesto Sirolli, a sustainable development expert said in his TED talk: “The first principle of aid is respect. You become a servant of local passion, of local people who have a dream to become a better person. What you do is shut up, you never arrive in a community with any ideas, and you sit with the local people…become friends. Find out what that person wants to do…You have to create a new profession – be the family doctor of enterprise, who sits with you in your house at the kitchen table and helps you find a way to transform your passion into a way to make a living.”
As I made my way from the bottom tip of the African continent to the highest peak on Mount Kilimanjaro, I realized that in order to truly be able to listen to people, the cessation of one’s ego must occur; at least to a certain extent. While this takes years of meditational practice, I believe that one’s awareness of this reality and the desire to change it can create significant impact. Therefore, my quest to help improve the lives of the working homeless in India is also a personal quest to question and further understand the human condition.
Currently, I am nearing the end of my study abroad program in one of the world’s most liberal cities – Amsterdam. I have been extremely fortunate to travel and explore different parts of the world this past year, and with many other commitments I’ve been continuously striving to find the best possible solution for the working homeless in India. I have attended several social entrepreneurship events and meet-ups, and was extremely lucky to find a dynamic community of social entrepreneurs at Impact Hub Amsterdam. At the Impact Hub I get an office space to work on my venture, network with fellow entrepreneurs, and attend master classes and events relating to sustainable social impact. Next week I will be pitching for Need 4 Neend at The Young Changemakers Community in Impact Hub on how the sharing economy can succeed in benefiting the poorest of the poor.
Furthermore, Maria and I are excited to start working with Michaela Wong, an industrial and apparel designer from Rhode Island School of Design. As Michaela is an expert on design thinking, we are confident that we will be able to narrow down a sustainable solution for this project. Even though the group will yet again be in a long distance relationship – with Michaela in Providence, Maria possibly studying abroad in China, and myself in San Francisco on co-op with Kiva – all three of us will expand our knowledge in different areas of life, better allowing us to contribute to this project with a tremendously diverse mindset.
Lastly, as one of Need 4 Neend’s goal is to implement microfinance as a solution to eradicate the sleep economy, I am extremely thrilled to be embarking on a journey with Kiva – an online micro-lending platform. I will be working with the Kiva US team to test ways in which the existing model of micro-lending can be improved and help borrowers who are geographically excluded from, or do not qualify for microfinance loans in the US. I have no doubt that the next six months will not only be a life-changing experience for me, but for Need 4 Neend’s co-workers, and most importantly, our stakeholders too. I wholeheartedly aim for 2017 to be the year in which Need 4 Neend will move forward into the “set” stage. Ultimately, I hope our team will be able to reach our target community and importantly, will utilize our most human characteristic of listening and empathizing in getting there. We hope to further understand the problem and help the working homeless of New Delhi, India to attain a sustainable path out of poverty through better quality of sleep.
