(links to an article with a short video that is very interesting!)
This article perfectly addresses the connection between understanding the cultural habits and trends in the international community and the social-economic projects in these countries. Specifically, in this case, Arch Wongchindawest, a social entrepreneur in Thailand, had found a creative method to introduce funding to social initiatives and projects in developing areas all around Thailand. Shopping and e-commerce have been a rapidly increasing trend for Thai society. With the rise of the Internet and technological growth, Thailand’s economic market hinges on the growth of commerce and merchandising of the Thai and foreign people within the country and online. Wongchindawest created Social Giver, a social enterprise, that partners with the top 100 brands in Thailand that uses their spending power to help others by giving a portion of the transaction’s proceeds to community projects. Furthermore, these partner organizations agree to donate their profits to Social Giver’s good causes and the site is funding social initiatives across Thailand and other nearby countries like the Philippines, Nepal, and Burma.
In comparison to how several websites in the United States ask “Donate $1 to etc”, this Thai model allows consumers to directly see the impact of their donations and choose which projects that they want to contribute to. In this sense, consumers can choose projects that they feel are of value to them so that it creates an empathetic approach to improving social problems in different regions. This simple legal design is so simple enough that integrates with the typical consumerism trend in Thailand that can directly improve social initiatives and promotes social entrepreneurship in the world.
I love how Wongchindawes turned everyday purchases into a social giving platform. It’s something so simple, yet not commonly done. I also think that it’s really neat that purchasers can see where their contributions are going, thereby allowing them to really be a part of the project. I really enjoyed reading about this!