hvc
ASHOKA
creating value through new
business-social models
Ashoka Fellow Haidy Duque
& Colceramica
improving homes through low-cost tiles
Interview with Ashoka Fellow Haidy
Duque on her partnership with
Colcerámica
DECEMBER 2007
Through their HVC partnership, Colceramica (Colombia’s largest tile manufacturer) and Taller de
Vida, Ashoka Fellow Haidy Duque’s organization, are providing employment to hundreds of Colombian
women, while enabling low-income families to improve their homes through high-quality low-priced
tiles.
ASHOKA: How did this all begin?
HAIDY: The relationship with Colceramica started through Ashoka. The
company wanted to learn more about developing low-income markets
and invited Ashoka to have a conversation on the topic. Several Fellows
attended this dialogue, including me, at the suggestion of Maria Lucia
Roa (Ashoka representative for Colombia). Two months later, I called
the company to enquire about the status of the project and they asked
me to submit a proposal for collaboration.
A: What motivated you to get involved with Colceramica?
H: The possibility to generate income and market opportunities for
low-income communities while creating opportunities for their social
development.
Also, the possibility of entering a partnership with a company that will
enable my organization to have goals that otherwise could not have
been achieved.
A: Did you have any previous experience of collaboration with
businesses?
H: None. I was somewhat nervous but had important support from
Ashoka Fellow Juan Infante from Peru who was working with Ashoka
at the time and advised me at the beginning of the process. I had also
been sensitized to the new trend of companies developing markets
as Maria Lucia had shared with us cases such as CEMEX from C.K.
Prahalad, Grameen Bank and other organizations. I have learned
many lessons since this work started.
A: What did both parties bring to the table?
H: Social partners bring understanding of social dynamics from a
different angle. How low-income people sell, buy, what their beliefs
are, etc. We brought a sociological or anthropological perspective. We
helped Colceramica get closer to the final clients and understand them.
Colceramica and parent company Grupo Corona are well known among
these markets and the sales volume has tremendously increased.
In addition to the economic side and access to products, Colceramica
helped us learn about organizational management and operations. We
have introduced new tools and methodologies in our work.
We have transferred knowledge from the organization to the
company and vice-versa through several workshops. Promoters and
organizations have been able to visit the company’s plant and learn
about the production and quality control processes.
A: What would you say to other Fellows who are skeptical about
engaging with the private sector?
H: I would recommend that they take the risk. It is not easy, but it is
worth it. We need to understand that even though we have different
perceptions and different logics, businesses and Citizen Sector
Organizations (CSOs) can create a shared proposal that creates high
impact for the community and profits for the company.
It is feasible to work together!
A: How did the Ashoka community help you along the way?
H: Ashoka has helped at different levels. Inviting me to several
events: the Base of the Pyramid conference in Mexico that Ashoka
co-organized, a dialogue with C.K. Prahalad and social entrepreneurs,
and a panel in Mexico for the selection of CSO partners for a businesssocial partnership. The FEC team shared its selection methodology and
process that I was able to use with little adaptation. Additionally, Maria
Lucia has been advising us throughout the process. As I mentioned
before, Juan Infante has been instrumental in helping us develop the
relationship with Colceramica, and the FEC team provided input on my
initial proposal to Colceramica.
Overall, the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences on
sustainability and entrepreneurship with other Ashoka Fellows has
provided me with great knowledge and understanding.
With regards to expanding our work, the Ashoka network has been
critical. In order to replicate our program with Colceramica, we are
working with Ashoka Fellows Audes Jiménez (Barranquilla), Banco de
alimentos (Cali) and now with Carmenza Morales (Cartagena). We also
got referrals about potential CSO partners through Ashoka Fellows.
The interaction with Ashoka Fellows and Ashoka is important. Currently,
we are learning a lot from Salomon Raydan (Bankomunales). I would
also like to connect with a Brazilian Fellow who is an architect, as I
would like to learn more about housing improvement.
A: What additional help from other partners, organizations, or people
has been critical for your work?
H: The support and efforts of the citizen sector organizations working
in the project, as well as the women engaged in promotion, marketing
and sales.
A: What have you learned since you started this initiative?
H: Social entrepreneurs must be involved from the design phase of the
model. If you join the project only at a later stage, you will most likely
not have the same impact and will not be able to include the social
component as a strategic part of the business.
Through Taller de Vida,
Ashoka Fellow Haidy Duque
is helping hundreds of
Colombian women. Her recent
partnership with Colceramica
is helping her scale at greater
speed and magnitude.
Ashoka Fellow Haidy Duque Cuesta was elected to the Ashoka Fellowship in 1999
for her work in helping displaced Afro-Colombian populations deal with trauma and loss
of livelihood. She created an integrated set of psychosocial interventions to help people
who have been displaced by violence in Colombia to recuperate their lives, increase their
self-esteem and reintegrate themselves into society through productive means.
Haidy recognized the need for a new economic development model that would generate
market opportunities as well as social impact for low-income communities. In 2006, Haidy
entered a commercial partnership with Colceramica, Colombia’s leading tile manufacturer.
Her hope was that this synergy would help her organization achieve goals that it could
not have reached on its own. As a result of the hybrid model created with Colceramica,
2,300 low-income families purchased tiles leading to better sanitation and self-esteem,
205 promoters receive an average US$200 monthly. In addition, Haidy’s organization is
covering the cost of a project coordinator and reinvesting additional profits into other
social programs. The program is being replicated in the fifth Colombian city.
What is an HVC? A joint commercial partnership between businesses and citizen sector
organizations that leverages the critical strengths of each actor to transform markets and
deliver essential products and services to low-income consumers.
KEY LESSON
Haidy and Colcerámica’s HVC strategy was
successful because they each contributed their
strengths. Haidy’s knowledge of the communities
and her established network on one hand, and
Colceramica’s investment into a new business
model on the other.
The role of the social entrepreneur changes over time. Currently, I am
an advisor of Colceramica, but my organization continues to advance
its initial mission.
I would recommend that other social entrepreneurs interested in this
type of initiative learn about the subject before engaging, and make
sure that they understand the implications of being part of such
business models.
When I first started, I did not know anything and had to learn everything
with the experience of developing and implementing the idea.
A: What are the results so far? For the low-income women, you and
your organization and Colceramica?
H: •Promoters: Women who did not have any source of income before
engaging in this project are currently earning an average of $400,000
pesos (US $200) monthly, equivalent to the minimum wage. There
are already 205 women working with the project. This has also helped
democratize the role of women in the family and empowered them in
the community.
•Low-income households: So far, 2,300 families have bought
Colceramica products for home improvement. These products are
part of the recent Iberica line that is top quality at lower prices. It is
incredible! It brings huge changes. There is better sanitation, better
health, and the spaces/houses are cleaner. People invest in order to
achieve a dream that has been often postponed for 10 or 15 years.
They are proud. This is a new development model for low-income
citizens to improve their quality of life.
•Taller de Vida: This is a new approach for the organization. It has
developed a distinct economic development model that combines
various elements such as job creation, better housing conditions and
income generation for us. This work has generated income for the
organization that is used to pay a coordinator for the project as well as
additional profits that will be reinvested in other programs.
•Colceramica: This project became a strategic business for the
company due to its economic and social value. There is a strong
commitment from the company. They have 3 high-level staff dedicated
to the project called “Su casa como nueva, paso a paso” (your home
like new, step by step). The project introduced several changes within
the company at the level of production system, operations, and sales.
They have realized that for a new type of business they needed to
create new ways of operating that are different from the traditional
sales channels. The company expects to achieve its break-even point
by 2008, two years after their initial investment. In addition, they
won a Corporate Social Responsibility prize within Grupo Corona for
this project. Thanks to this financially sustainable model, the project
[email protected]
www.ashoka.org/fec
already operates in 4 cities, and will continue expanding.
The project operates in 4 cities, and will continue expanding.
A: What is your role for the next years? And what are the main
needs?
H: Implement replication strategy for the project, systematize the
experience, search and select new partner CSOs, look for additional
innovations that improve the community’s quality of life, and raise
awareness and understanding within the company about the social
sector.
Support would be appreciated to define impact measures, systematize
knowledge and get legal advice to organize the women currently
working with the project. The company is concerned about them getting
additional benefits although they are not Colceramica employees.
A: Based on your experience what are the main challenges of
working with a company?
H: 1) Understanding the company’s logic, 2) being able to create a
dialogue with the company with a common language that enables all
parties to understand each other, 3) raise the company’s awareness
about the citizen sector and 4) engage to seek opportunities that go
beyond philanthropy to develop sustainable business models.
Overall, we have learned a lot from each other and recognize the
unique value that each of us brings.
A: How would you inspire Ashoka Fellows to engage in this type of
initiative? Were you concerned about helping a company make
profits?
H: I have to talk to citizen sector organizations continuously about
this new business model. The first reaction I often get is rejection as
they think of it as capitalism, but things change once they see what
we are doing and realize the impact of the work. The project is very
inspiring. They realize that we can influence the process directly from
the communities and respect very much the partnership model,
recognizing the value offered by each party. In other words, it is a
great opportunity to access non-conventional resources for the citizen
sector.