Yunus Yoshimoto Social Action gets underway

 ■ Yunus Yoshimoto Social Action gets underway

Yoshimoto Kogyo and Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus have together established Yunus Yoshimoto Social Action Co., Ltd.

This is an attempt to solve social issues by means of business using the ‘social business’ model, of which Professor Yunus is a great proponent. They hope to solve issues and create employment by starting businesses which can solve social issues such as poverty, unemployment and environmental destruction.

Yunus’ Grameen Bank provides small loans on trust alone, without any collateral. This brings out the entrepreneurial potential of poor borrowers. $2.5 billion is loaned to 9 million poor women each year, with a repayment rate of 99%. While the rate of profit for social businesses is all but zero, the social return is significant and allows people to become economically independent.

This is not just a system for developing nations. Grameen America has lent 86,000 people $590 million and boasts a repayment rate in excess of 99%.

Japan is a developed nation with a plethora of social issues, including aging, a lack of workers, depopulation, disparities and nuclear power plant problems. Now Yoshimoto Kogyo, a 108 year-old company that employs 6000 comedians has decided to put its shoulder to the wheel. This is a singularly unexpected development.

Yoshimoto Kogyo has dispatched “live-in comedians” to each of Japan’s 47 prefectures. These community-based comedians throw light on their local issues and try to find solutions through laughter. Social issues are often thought of as something to be discussed earnestly and seriously, but perhaps they can be tackled in an enjoyable way. Perhaps comedians will be able to get to the root of these problems in a way that politicians, public servants and academics cannot. IT professionals, entrepreneurs, creators and students can come together to tackle the problem and create a business. One of Yoshimoto Kogyo’s strengths is its ability to bring people together in a relaxed manner.

The whole thing was launched at the Tokyo Peninsula Hotel at a “Yunus Family Conference.” I was the compere. The project aims to bring social businesses to fruition by taking actions that include functionality as a fund.

These activities are directly related to the 17 SDGs adopted by the UN, which aim to reduce poverty and promote general health and welfare. Yoshimoto Kogyo is taking steps to highlight the SDGs, including through promoting them on the red carpet at the Okinawa International Movie Festival. These are but targets and goals, but according to Dr Yunus, this project represents real action and is a “path to lead us to our goals.”

These comedians act as issue-detectors, smoking them out through humor. I wonder what results we will see from matching IT professions and others to the task at hand. It’s very serious yet very fun. What an ambitious project!