Page 300 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

term sustainability. Building on this success, the team is now developing a new initiative aimed at
children and youth, under the name “Dek Mee Dee” (Kids with Capability). They plan to formally
register it as a social enterprise in the near future. Notably, this new venture adopts a preventive
approach to crime, focusing on equipping young people with modern, in-demand skills, such as
coding, so they can generate income even while still in school.

(3) Co-creation is the most comprehensive form of private sector support for social enterprises,
offering deeper engagement than the two preceding models. A clear and ongoing example is
the partnership between Banpu Public Company Limited and the ChangeFusion Institute in
organizing the Banpu Champions for Change program. Now in its 13th cycle, the initiative serves
as an incubation platform for social enterprises. It has since evolved into an Acceleration
Program that helps scale social enterprises selected for their readiness to grow. Support

includes access to specialized knowledge, mentorship from expert coaches, and partial funding
to help drive operations (see Box 9.7). This co-creation model is also evident in the Stock
Exchange of Thailand’s support for the social enterprise “Tang Ton Dee,” as previously discussed
in item (2), through a repayable fund mechanism.

Box 9.7: Banpu Champions for Change – Private Sector Power Behind Social Enterprise

Banpu Public Company Limited launched the “Banpu Champions for Change” program in 2011 to
support young people in initiating or scaling business ventures that not only create positive social,
community, and environmental impact but also aim for sustainable growth through revenue
generation. The initiative is recognized as one of the first and most enduring CSR efforts by a Thai
private company dedicated to supporting social enterprises. Over more than a decade, the
program has supported more than 100 social enterprises, benefiting 160 communities and
organizations and reaching over 2,450,000 people. The program is a collaboration between Banpu
and ChangeFusion, an organization that provides training and knowledge support for social
enterprises. It invites young people aged 20 to 35, those with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and a
desire to tackle social or environmental challenges, to submit proposals for social enterprise
ventures. These may address a wide range of issues, such as local livelihood development,
healthcare services, educational innovation, and environmental sustainability. In the first round,
teams pitch their business plans, and the top 10 are selected to advance. Each of the 10 finalist
teams receives a combined support package of 800,000 baht for project implementation over a
three-month period. During this phase, participants join workshops to develop entrepreneurial
thinking and business skills, receive one-on-one mentoring from experienced professionals, and
attend networking events with alumni from previous cohorts. These alumni share their
experiences in building sustainable ventures and offer peer support to new participants. At the end
of the three months, all 10 teams present their project outcomes, and five winners are chosen.
Each winning team receives an additional 250,000 baht to launch their social enterprise in the
market, empowering them to create long-term impact in their communities.

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