Tech for Good - You can make a difference and still make money

TLDL

• Critical thinking and social awareness might seem like hippy talk, but it is essential for our development, not only as leaders but also as human beings.
• There are ways to do something about it, while still growing your business.
• Several startups around the globe use technology aligned with entrepreneurship to create socially responsible businesses. And they receive tons of funding, help the community, and grow the business.

It sucked! At first...

2023 has started with some significant changes in my life. The most notable, of course, was moving from Brazil to the UK. However, another meaningful change took place, going back to the classroom, in person, for the first time in 5 years.

Meeting different people from across the globe is always interesting. Although, one thing I wasn't expecting. Getting a new perspective on social responsibility and, consequently, my purpose.

That's because The Manchester Metropolitan University has added two classes that I started the year by hating. Now, I'm strongly hoping that something similar turns a regular part of any school curriculum, from toddlers to MBA students.

The classes:

• Critical Enquiry for Entrepreneurs and Leaders
• Social, Ethical and Environmental Enterprise for Leaders

Both with a strong relationship with each other.

Whilst the former instigates us to think about how our society works and how companies, organizations and government impact the community, the latter focus on the social, ethical and ecological aspects.

I didn't enjoy them in the beginning because I have always believed in capitalism, and still do (with some essential adjustments as I will describe soon) , and some critiques such as all wealth is created by the base of the pyramid and just devoured by the top, or how Uber and Airbnb don't create value, they use people assets and earns on top... Yeah, I can understand where this comes from, but I cannot quite agree with this (for reasons that I won't discuss in this article).

However, as the classes went by, I learned three things:

1. Many companies only care about something other than return to their shareholders, regardless of how their operation affects people's lives. I started to pay more attention, and suddenly even John Oliver was talking about this on his Tech Monopoly episode of Last Week Tonight on HBO.
2. Although there are several articles and books about the problem, in my initial research and by reading professors' suggested literature, I have found few people talking about a practical action to change the scenario.
3. However, not only are there people actively working to solve, or at least mitigate, the global challenges, as also as several startups are doing that while getting funding and growing. There is even a term for it: Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship can be a powerful tool to address social and environmental challenges, while also creating economic value"? (Mair and? Martí, 2006).?

? ?

The results can be interesting, as can be seen on this chart from this report from Tech Nation .

Total investment into impact tech scaleups was as low as $10.3mn in 2012 as ecosystem matures rapidly over the last decade

Investment in impact tech was at its lowest in 2012 at $10.3mn. However, it quickly increased to $121mn in 2014, peaking at $1.3bn in 2019. In 2021, Series C rounds received $415mn, indicating growing confidence from larger investors in the sector (Tech Nation, 2022).

28% of all investment in The East of Scotland goes to Impact Tech

What about valuation?

Valuations for scale-up companies have grown rapidly in the past decade, reaching $7.1bn. This has led to the emergence of many successful startups, including 12 unicorns and 29 futurecorns. Interestingly, more than half (58%) of the unicorns in this industry are dedicated to Net Zero technology, focusing on sustainable transport, renewable energy, and new fashion systems (Tech Nation, 2022).

Changing... Small steps, but a long run

Now I am reconsidering my purpose in life, I still don't know what it will end up with, but I can control how it begins. Paying more attention to recycling, participating in talks and efforts about social impact and sustainability in my work environment and community, researching, communicating, and eventually being part of the practical alternative towards a more social and solidarity economy (thanks for the theory, MMU).

And Now?

Starting today, I will share some of my findings on this term's study about some of the critical social, economic and environmental challenges we face worldwide. Most importantly, socially responsible startups are doing their part to help while obtaining business growth.

Disclaimer: I'm new to this topic. Therefore, I might get something wrong. Please share your thoughts in the comments so we can improve our knowledge together.

In this first post, let's start by showing a huge problem and an interesting startup solution.

The Problem

As the global youth population (15-24 years old) continues to grow, so does the problem of unemployment for this demographic.

The Covid-19 pandemic and global automation trends have made it increasingly difficult for millions of young people worldwide to find work. The Harvard Review Article (Moldoveanu et al., 2022) presents young people's challenges in securing employment with confidence.

According to the article, jobs traditionally held by young people are at risk of being automated at an accelerating pace. A survey by the authors shows that 36% of CEOs are focused on improving productivity through technology and automation, more than double the share of CEOs who said the same in 2016. These statistics emphasize the urgent need to address the skill gaps in the global workforce that threaten to leave young people behind.

What needs to be done

To tackle this challenge, socially responsible organizations and new initiatives must take action and help to change the landscape confidently. This not only solves a social problem but also increases economic growth.

An example of a socially responsible enterprise that is making a meaningful difference in reducing the gap in youth education and unemployment is the Brazilian startup Trybe .

Trybe, founded in 2019, is an EdTech (education tech startup) that combines innovation with social impact efforts. The company teaches software development, and students only have to pay after graduating and earn R$ 3.000 (approximately ￡ 490, corresponding to 2.3 times the local minimum wage).

The company has more than 6 thousand students, with 2 thousand graduates up to 2022, and a 92% employability rate in the first 90 days after graduation.

Trybe has achieved three rounds of investment totaling US$ 48 million while being awarded the B Corp certification, which recognizes companies that generate value and have a positive impact on society.

In an Exame's article (Filippe, 2022) , Trybe's founder, Goyas, stated that the company spoke with the biggest employers in Brazil to understand market demand and created courses based on this. The company is focused on training in technology so that there is a high rate of employability and income for graduates who dedicate about 6 hours a day for 12 months - a practical approach to this problem.

To help with the quality and dedication to their studies, the company reported launching the Instituto "Vamo que Vamo" to support financially vulnerable students during their training. The goal is to provide financial assistance, depending on the student's needs during application and evaluation. Currently, the institute supports 400 people, and more than 500 are planned for next year.

In conclusion, the rapid increase of young people globally is a significant challenge in unemployment. However, initiatives such as Trybe show that socially responsible enterprises can be successful while addressing critical social problems practically and meaningfully. With the urgent need to address the skill gaps in the global workforce, it is essential that more organizations and initiatives prioritize this issue and take action to bridge the gap skills gap and bring economic growth and social impact to communities.

So What?

You are more than an employee, a business owner, an investor, or whatever it shows on your Linkedin tagline. You are a human with the potential to not only do all of those things, create products, solve customer problems, generating growth and profit, but also be a beacon of hope for not only future generations but even for ourselves.

Next Steps

The next time you think of changing jobs, take. Look at the B-Corp website, and see if there is any company you would be interested in working with. And if you are like me that want to start a business, consider how you can add social awareness and actions from day one. As we saw it, it can be done, and very well.

I will also have this on top of my mind and keep posting anything relevant I find about it.

Notes

A special thanks to the professors Dr Caroline Parkinson and Dr. Mike Bull for instigating me to look critically beyond the traditional, exclusively profit-seeking mindset.

References:

Fillipe, M. (2022) 'Trybe faz Instituto, ajuda estudantes com até um salário e se torna B-Corp' February 16th. [Online] [Accessed on 8th April 2023] https://exame.com/esg/trybe-faz-instituto-ajuda-estudantes-com-ate-um-salario-e-se-torna-b-corp/

International Monetary Fund. (2022) 'The Basic Skills Gap'. [Online] [Accessed on 9th April 2023] https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2022/06/basic-skills-gap-hanushek-woessmann.

Mair, J. and Martí, I. (2006) ‘Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight.’ Journal of World Business, 41(1) pp. 36–44.

Moldoveanu et al., (2022), '4 Ways to Bridge the Global Skills Gap'. Harvard Business Review. March 18th.? [Online] [Accessed on 8th April 2023] https://hbr.org/2022/03/4-ways-to-bridge-the-global-skills-gap

Tech Nation (2022) 'A Decade of UK Tech' [Online] [Accessed on 9th May 2023] https://technation.io/a-decade-of-uk-tech/.

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