FAES: Latin America goes social.

In this opportunity, we introduce you FAES, Fundación Argentina de las Empresas Sociales (Argentinean Foundation of Social Enterprises), whose objective is to promote and to develop social entreprises in Argentina and Latinamerica. This organisation came up from the concern of Daniela Kreimer, a young Business Manager who, looking for her thesis topic, found the chance to work in microfinance and closely to th father of this discipline, Professor Muhammad Yunus, in Bangladesh.

Through this experience, and her next work in Colombia based on the founding principles of Grameen Bank, Daniela came back to Argentina and decided to found FAES, after pointing out the lack of Argentinean institutions related to social business.

Based on disclosure, training and research and development, FAES works with every social actor that wants to have a positive impact in his society: from high school students to business and social entrepreneurs.

Then, we present you a brief interview we had with Daniela Kreimer, in which we talk about FAES and its current work:

SABF BLOG: Which are the pros/cons of bringing the Social Business model to our country?

Daniela Kreimer: There many challenges. Today, it is all about proving that this model works and that can be successful in the fight against poverty and inequality. The pros of applying this model in Argentina are: the extensive third sector, which makes it easier as it has been worked before; the entrepreneurial spirit of Argentinean and Latin American people, and human and natural resources avalable. On the other hand, th cons that I find are the lack of commitment of the private sector in the social environment (besides the growing importance of SRE), political welfarism, which I think that it destroys the work culture that was essential for our country during the last century, and the lack of legislation related to the topic.

SABF BLOG: Which is the direct impact of your project in our society?

DK: Each volunteer of FAES can become an agent of change because the project looks for a different way to introduce a new model of economy in our country and region, a new approach that represents the combination between the business world and the social sector. Volunteers can, for example, multipliers of ideas, developers of social businesses or researchers on social topics that could be involved in the creation of social businesses. Students can inspire social business when writing their thesis. I believe that the social business model presents an opportunity to commune among all actors involved: from the ones that need it the most, to those who work on it, or even the ones that invest, as social investors. It creates an environment in which all human beings become more human.

We thank Daniela and FAES team for their time and willingness to contribute, and we invite you all to get involved in FAES. You can ask for more information via email at gosocialargentina@gmail.com.