Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre (MaGIC) today launched Impact Driven Enterprise Accreditation (IDEA), a national initiative in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance’s National Entrepreneur Development Office (NEDO) to create systemic change through the introduction of social procurement and accreditation platforms.
MaGIC and Tekun Nasional (TEKUN), an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry, also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to collaborate on IMPACT, a project that creates micro-franchising opportunities for successful IDEs. The MOU marked the first to be signed between MaGIC and TEKUN.
IDEA and IMPACT were officiated and launched by Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia YBhg. Tan Sri Dr. Ali Hamsa, along with Secretary General of Treasury YBhg. Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Irwan Serigar bin Abdullah, TEKUN Chairman Dato’ Nor Azita Abdul Rahman, and MaGIC CEO Ashran Dato’ Ghazi.
IDEA seeks to bridge the disconnect between impact driven enterprises (IDEs) and resources as well as opportunities. It seeks to do so in three ways: connecting IDEs with the public and private sectors, giving IDEs access to social procurement opportunities, and helping IDEs establish their credibility through an accreditation program.
Ashran Dato’ Ghazi, Chief Executive Officer of MaGIC, said: “Today’s launch is a significant milestone, for MaGIC and Malaysia, on our journey to inspire a social enterprise movement and develop the impact driven enterprise sector. MaGIC has been a driving force of the impact driven enterprise sector in Malaysia since 2014. Prime Minister Najib Razak launched the national blueprint in 2015, driven by MaGIC, and the sector is already well positioned to be a new economic driver for Malaysia. It’s time for us to progress onto the next stage of growth – and put in place the elements we need to create systemic change, helping ensure that the sector is self-sustaining and equitable along the way.”
“It is important for the government, along with the public and private sectors to join forces and support IDEs not least because their potential to scale-up and create large-scale change is infinite. Engaging with IDEs is one of the easiest and most effective ways to address the socio-economic disparities in Malaysia, helping the government’s national drive to double the B40 community’s income by 2020 and uplift their standard of living,” Ashran added.
Ashran explained, “This is why we are very excited to launch IDEA, a landmark initiative that aims to solve the challenges which often limit IDEs from achieving growth, despite their strong passion to create change. IDEA will help their efforts to create positive social change, helping them demonstrate credibility and providing them access to resources and opportunities. In turn IDEA also provides a platform which will help the public and private sectors to address community issues as part of the way they do business, helping ensure inclusive economic growth in Malaysia,”
IDEA provides an online platform to connect IDEs with the public and private sectors. Aside from the accreditation and social procurement programs, the platform contains an online directory with a list of certified IDEs, impact indicators of the IDEs, and quarterly reports on their impact performance.
Through the IDEA accreditation program, IDEs will have the opportunity to prove their credibility, gain recognition, and communicate their commitments on social and environmental impacts. This will help them attract talent and win business by standing out as an ethical choice in a crowded market. By being accredited, IDEs can get listed on a public directory to connect with potential customers, use the IDE mark to validate its status and boost credentials, get access to funding opportunities, and join a network of Malaysia’s leading IDEs to drive change.
21 IDEs have been accredited and listed on the platform so far. These pioneering IDEs include Silent Teddies Bakery, The Batik Boutique, Biji Biji, FOLO Farms, GOLD, Dialogue in the Dark, Earth Heir, Project Woodworks, The Picha Project, Stich.A.Giggle, The Truly Loving Company, Agak-Agak, Suri, Foodabox, Greenyards, SOLS 24/7 SE, PT Foundation CHCC, 1L Carwash, Discover Muay Thai, Ecoloo and Project 57. IDEA aims that by 2018, 700 active IDEs will be active in the sector, which will be self-sustaining, equitable and people-centric.
The IDEA social procurement program is a landmark initiative that seeks to empower the public and private sectors as a force for good by integrating social value and responsibility into their value chain through social procurement. This means the public and private sectors are now able to create impact through their day-to-day procurement activities, creating a more sustainable capital flow towards B40 communities.
IDEA offers the public and private sectors easier access to engage IDEs, creating the highly sought market access at the same time. Social procurement also provides IDEs with the opportunity to build confidence and demonstrate professionalism, an important first step in engaging with other businesses in the community.
IDEA also connects key players who are keen to take corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the next level with accredited IDEs to further a good cause, rather than a one-off project. Through social procurement, the public and private sectors can be directly involved in creating market opportunities for IDEs, providing employment to disadvantaged communities, and addressing crucial social issues the local community faces.
On top of that, social procurement allows the public and private sectors to incorporate addressing community issues as part of the way they do business. It also helps the sectors to achieve both their social and economic goals while supporting the government’s objective to ensure inclusive economic growth in Malaysia. IDEA currently targets to secure MYR1 million of social procurement value for IDEs through the platform.
An example of social procurement in action is the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017, in collaboration with MaGIC and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS). MaGIC also has successfully paired 7 Impact partners with 10 IDEs, with total social procurement value of about RM486,000.
Besides championing social procurement in Malaysia, as IDEA impact partners, the public and private sectors can also be involved in driving the discussion on how to improve the IDE sector as key stakeholders. IDEA has secured 43 impact partners so far, above the initial target of 30. Current IDEA network partners include UEM Edgenta, Pemandu Associates, Taylor’s Education Group, World Bank Malaysia, AmInvestment Bank, IOI Group, and Cyberview among others.
At a later stage, IDEA will also connect IDEs to consumers through a marketplace in a movement called Buy for Impact. Buy for Impact is a campaign that aims to promote a conscious buying behavior among the general public. By buying goods and services from IDEs, consumers help to address crucial issues Malaysia faces and supporting the government’s goal of creating an inclusive economy.