Cases

The development of proper case material is critical to the effective dissemination of social entrepreneurship.  Case studies are an important means of teaching at professional schools and universities.

The Foundation has partnered with IESE Business School to jointly elaborate a co-branded case study series examining the challenges faced by accomplished social entrepreneurs selected to the Foundation’s network.

The Case Study Series in Social Entrepreneurship covers social entrepreneurs from the Foundation’s annual cohort.

 

I   PUBLISHED CASES
1.  Based in Rio de Janeiro, the Committee for the Democracy in Information Technology is a non-profit citizen’s organization.  Its mission is to promote the social inclusion of low-income communities using Information and Communication Technologies as tools for building and exercising citizen's rights. 

The case on Rodrigo Baggio, a 2002 Schwab Entrepreneur and the Founder and President of CDI explores the challenges associated with managing the organization's rapid growth and instant success.

 

2. To address poor access to electricity that has kept television and radio diffusion at low levels in many developing countries, thus impeding effective use of communication for information dissemination and holding back development, Freeplay Energy Group, UK, has developed a patented wind-up technology.  The technology has been used for radios, torches, water purifiers, and cell-phone chargers.  Freeplay's low-cost, sturdy, self-powered radios have contributed particularly to opening up the world of information to isolated and impoverished communities.  A few minutes of winding can provide hours of listening. 

The case on Rory Stear, a 2003 Schwab Entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of Freeplay Plc. and Kristine Pearson, director of the Freeplay Foundation, explores the organization's innovative social enterprise model, the creation of a Foundation to enhance and direct its social mission, and the challenges associated with building a proper investor structure.  

 

3. Case on Ibrahim Abouleish, the Founder of SEKEM, and the pioneer of biodynamic farming in Egypt.  SEKEM has grown exponentially in the last decade to a nationally renowned enterprise and market leader of organic and phyto-pharmaceuticals.  Its strong commitment to innovative development led to the nation-wide application of biodynamic methods to control pests and improve crop yields.  

 

4. Case on Victoria Hale, the Founder of OneWorld Health, the first nonprofit pharmaceutical company in the United States.  OneWorld Health's team of pharmaceutical scientists uncovers promising drug candidates and advances them through clinical trials and regulatory approval in the developing world.  To ensure affordability and sustainability, OneWorld Health out-licenses manufacturing and distribution to companies in the developing world.  

 

5. Case on David Green, the Founder of Project Impact.  Project Impact's Affordable Hearing Aid Project has developed a system to manufacture and distribute top-of-the-line, cost effective, cosmetically acceptable and locally maintainable hearing aids for the quarter of a billion peopl in the developing world who are hearing impaired. 

 

III    SAMPLE CASES AVAILABLE ONLINE

To give you a flavor of the series immediately, we have put two other case studies online.

 

6. ASAFE: Strategic Challenges for E-Commerce Promotion in Central Africa

Gisèle Yitamben, a 2002 Schwab Entrepreneur, is the Founder and Director of Association pour le Soutien et l'Appui à la Femme Entrepreneur (ASAFE), a network organization based in Douala, Cameroon.

ASAFE empowers entrepreneurial women in Cameroon to take advantage of the opportunities that private enterprise and initiative can provide for economic betterment. Founded in 1989, ASAFE began to promote e-commerce and e-readiness in 1999.

If you would like to learn more about ASAFE's story and the strategy challenges the organization faces, please download the case Study on ASAFE here in pdf format. 

 

7. The Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship
Perhaps you would like to learn more about the story of the Schwab Foundation itself? In this case, please refer the case study on the Schwab Foundation.  It was prepared for a seminar at the Stanford Business School in 2002, and can be downloaded here in pdf format. 

Please note that while you can download your personal copy of the cases, the cases may not be distributed without the Schwab Foundation's consent.

For more information on the Case Study Series in Social Entrepreneurship, please contact us at info@schwabfound.org