IDEAS FOR GOODWhile we explored why consumer should play the lead role in sustainable shopping, there was also another session that took place under the same theme of sustainable businesses. Here is our report of the session “Profitable Sustainable Marketing—Hints from a Case of Sharing Economy Services to Combine Social Welfare and Economy”.
Three panelists who founded companies related to sharing economy and crowdfunding services, discussed ways to raise satisfaction in society and acquire profits at the same time. Let’s see if we can find some hints from this session, as to how we can link social welfare to profit.
Session panelists
- Facilitator: Manabu Mizuno (Nihon University)
- Panelists: Genki Kanaya (akippa Inc.), Takashi Morofuji (Agrimedia inc.), Haruka Mera (READYFOR Inc.)
Profit is essential if you want to do something worthy
To begin with, facilitator Mizuno asked the panelists the following question: “Why did you create a business out of a social issue and not a voluntary organization?” Mera from READYFOR Inc., a company that provides Japan’s first cloud funding service, answered this question in the following way:
“I think we need to change the flow of money in society. There are many people with a business plan, who have the mentality to start a business, but aren’t able to do so because they can’t get a loan. Therefore I felt the need to create a flow of money to these people.
“As an non-profit organization (NPO), you can’t receive large amounts of funding. So I made my company an incorporation in order to make a large social movement and make some changes.”
Only sustainable businesses can create social impact
Meanwhile, Morofuji, who runs an allotment gardening service with Agrimedia inc., answered, “We can’t create a huge impact unless we make profit at the same time.
“Agriculture today, depends greatly on subsidies to perform their businesses. Therefore, they can’t maintain their business if they can’t receive subsidies.”
Morofuji stressed that making profit is essential for doing sustainable businesses. “If you make profit, qualified people will gather and a good circulation will happen,” he said.
Creating an unexpected new value from communities
In fact, the flow of business is shifting greatly from individuals to a community. We are looking at numerous trends that are moving from “owning things or doing things with your own money” to “doing things together as a community.” This has impacted on how businesses can be sustainable.
Furthermore, unexpected things emerge from communities, which is exactly what they are all about. Kanaya of akippa Inc. spoke of how an unexpected outcome when he started a business of sharing parking lots. The service allowed anyone to share parking spaces.
“In the beginning, it was mostly all about these owners in their 70s and 80s who wanted to make some money, but soon they started saying ‘it’s not all about money after all.’ When I interviewed them, they said ‘it’s such fun talking to these young people.’ Users called on them on their intercom to say hello, while others brought fruits to them as gifts. The owners unexpectedly discovered the joy of communicating with other people.”
Akippa’s services allow both the owners of parking lots and the users to mutually review each other through their smartphones, so their trust is visualized. It’s an example in which the Internet revived what was scarce.
Not a standalone example of community bond
Mera from crowdfunding service READYFOR also experienced an unexpected circumstance where a community came together.
“There was a university student who was trying to leverage on crowdfunding to build a school in a developing country. At one point, the university student commented on his crowdfunding page how he was having some trouble with the school with which he was working with. He feared that he may not be able to continue with the project.
“Then, among the supporters was a lawyer who approached him, ‘I’ll negotiate for you.’ From then onward, experts of different fields provided the students with comments and support. Furthermore, they were able to achieve even more funding. It turned out to be quite a unique case indeed.”
Up until now, people couldn’t share things that they had trouble trying to do. Instead, they desperately pretended that everything was going well. In some cases, their management would wither. The example above is a good illustration of how crowdfunding worked toward achieving fund raising through community support. This is a very different, but very welcomed difference, compared to the conventional style of fund raising.
Writer’s Note
I strongly felt the “value of community” through the session. We have also seen how both users and companies worked together successfully through the concept of “community”. Sometimes it’s not only corporations and users that are collaborating with each other. There are also users who are collaborating with other users to create a business, which ultimately expands the service. We see clearly through the READYFOR’s crowdfunding example.
In the future, I think it shouldn’t be just one way. It’s important to build a community in order to create sustainable businesses. In the session, facilitator Mizuno of Nihon University said, “When people are in communities, they are driven to do something for others.” There is perhaps a kind-heartedness that only emerges as a result of a community.
Basically, I think “people’s connections” were formed through the development of the Internet, which then brought about sharing economies. I feel that “community” will become a vital keyword for companies that are heading to create sustainable businesses in the future.
This article was originally published on IDEAS FOR GOOD.
Translated by Ayako Karino.
