Page 161 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

5) BASF Grameen Social Business Ltd.
This joint venture combines 0.5% ownership by Grameen Healthcare Trust with 99.5% by BASF

SE, a major German chemical corporation. The company produces insecticide-treated mosquito
nets that remain effective after up to 20 washes, helping to combat malaria in Bangladesh. It has
also supplied more than 120 million nets to UNICEF for distribution across 30 countries (Munni
and Nahiduzzaman in Grove and Berg eds., 2014).

6) Grameen Veolia Water
This venture was established to provide arsenic-free drinking water to rural communities in
Bangladesh at the affordable rate of 1 taka (approximately 40 satang) per 10 liters (Yunus, 2017).
The country faces chronic water safety issues: surface water is frequently contaminated with

pollutants and bacteria, while groundwater often contains naturally occurring arsenic from
Himalayan soil sediments, a carcinogen estimated to affect tens of millions. Following a lecture
by Muhammad Yunus, a Veolia Water executive expressed interest in launching a social business.
Yunus agreed, on the condition that the company develop a water purification method affordable
to the poor. Once the French company met this requirement, a joint venture was formed between
Grameen Health Trust and Veolia Water. Veolia Water specializes in designing, constructing, and
managing water and wastewater services for municipalities and industries in France. In 2008, it
reported revenues of €12.6 billion. The joint venture adopted a cross-subsidization pricing
strategy, providing affordable water to the poor by offsetting costs through higher prices charged

to more affluent households.

Figure 5.1 Muhammad Yunus, Founder of Grameen Bank

Source: https://salaryinvestor.com/inspire/money-innovation-grameen-bank/

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