HELP OTHERS DEVELOP
THEIR POTENTIAL.
IDEAS
things I've been working on
lionheart agrotech
improving the quality of life of undeserved and underprivileged people through agriculture
big spoons
using social entrepreneurship as a tool for change
The River Tribe
creating inclusive team-building communities in South-America
Drums in the Dark
connecting blind and sighted people through music and entertainment
Over Hills
social change through sport
TOOL-KIT & SERVICES
VENTURE building/GROWTH
strategy/BUSINESS/SERVICE DESIGN
Innovation STRATEGY & MANAGEMENT
product & SERVICE development
ENTREPRENEURIAL management
Sport Coaching
PROJECTS
initiatives & organisations I've been involved in
HYBRID SOCIAL SOLUTIONS
Hybrid Social Solutions is a social enterprise focused on driving affordable access to solar-powered appliances to households and small businesses in the Philippines –bringing best life to our customers while stimulating economic and social activity as well as contributing to global environmental protection.
In 2018, I joined Hybrid Social Solutions as Director of Program and Product Innovation, where my main goal is to lead the organization's efforts to scale up its impact and business model by introducing new programs, services, and solar technology to our commercial and philanthropy value-chains.
lionheart agrotech
LionHeart Agrotech aims to become a leading industrial scale supplier of sustainable sugars to meet the rapidly evolving and increasing needs in the food and energy markets. We believe coconut palm trees offer the most efficient way to achieve our objective.
LionHeart Agrotech enables smallholder farmers to secure productive/rejuvenated farms and have sustained long-term income and better livelihoods, thus contributing to healthy ecosystems and building resilient, and prosperous communities.
We satisfy our commitment through financial support for a wide range of educational, health, social service, cultural, civic and environmental organizations in close cooperation with the communities we are located in.
In 2017, I joined LionHeart Agrotech as General Manager, where my main objectives were scaling the business model meanwhile we expanded the current social impact and ultimately have developed a local team and foundations of an organisation that will last for years to come.
Big Spoons
We are a fun group of leaders and practitioners using social entrepreneurship as a tool for change.
In Big Spoons, we connect skilled professionals from around the world with local entrepreneurs in emerging economies and less developed countries. We empower others to travel with purpose and build for the future by helping social entrepreneurs thrive.
lgt impact ventures
In 2016, I joined LGT Impact Ventures as Business Development & Innovation fellow for Southeast Asia region, where I worked directly with portfolio organisations to scope, design and implement effective/innovative solutions to business challenges.
LGT Impact Ventures has evolved from LGT Venture Philanthropy (LGT VP), and targets both attractive financial returns and measurable, positive social and/or environmental impact.
As a global impact investor, LGT Impact Ventures invests in scalable business models and help to build strong companies that provide vulnerable people with access to essential services and products in areas such as education, health, agriculture, energy, and information and communication technologies.kennemer foods international
Kennemer is an award-winning social venture committed to rural development in the Philippines, ensuring inclusive growth in communities by
(1) promoting market transparency,
(2) providing fair value pricing for produce, and
(3) implementing sustainable farming practices.
Kennemer enables farmers to have sustained improvements in income and quality of life, thus reducing poverty in some of the poorest areas in the country.
During 2016, I moved to Palawan-Philippines where I worked as Interim Area Manager at Kennemer and became a facilitator to scale up the current social impact of the growership program as well as being a catalyst to put in place a new leadership approach plus a supportive work environment.
Seed of Hope
In 2014, I joined Vision Africa team, and specifically the Seed of Hope Project - Nairobi Centre. The aim of Seed of Hope Centres is to 'Give a Child a Future' and enable orphaned, destitute, and disadvantaged girls and boys to receive the gift of hope, and the chance to change their own future for a brighter tomorrow.
These are youngsters who would otherwise have no certain future, only the prospect of teenage marriage, or neglect and abuse. The project aims to provide the students with education and training in vocational, business, and life skills. Equiping them to move into employment, or to start their own businesses, able to stand on their own and be self-sufficient.
Vision Africa operates four Seed of Hope centres across Kenya, each one bringing care, support, dignity, opportunity and hope to the girls and boys in their care.
sanergy
In 2014, I joined Sanergy team, an award-winning social venture that builds healthy, prosperous communities by making hygienic sanitation accessible and affordable in Africa’s urban informal settlements. Our systems-based approach to solving the sanitation crisis involves five key steps: we build a dense network of franchised micro-entrepreneurs, who operate low-cost, high-quality waterless sanitation facilities – called Fresh Life – as small businesses. We provide critical support services – such as access to finance, business analytics, training, and marketing. We collect the waste regularly and safely remove it from the community. We convert the waste into valuable by-products, such as organic fertilizer and renewable energy. Finally, we sell the by-products to Kenyan farms.
Amani Institute
The Amani Institute is preparing next-generation talent to tackle global challenges by filling the gap between university and the workforce through a new approach to higher education.
In 2014, I was part of an inspiring new social innovation management program in Nairobi, Kenya. This has given me access to a holistic, future-oriented training endorsed by leaders across the social, business, education, and government sectors as well as the depth and pace necessary to train myself for effective social change making.
The River Tribe
The River Tribe is a "bunch of brothers" that aims to create inclusive places using both existing natural resources and local groups to provide community with the integrated training they need to make a better living.
Our first chapter is located in Puerto Bertrand, Patagonia - Chile, where we are designing a rafting-based team building & leadership program to encourage the locals and stakeholders build the skills and confidence they need to create change, leading to healthier, safer and more inclusive place for everyone.
Drums in the Dark
How might we do to see a society that values people regardless of their physical conditions?
Well, Drums in the Dark exists to give blind musicians the opportunity to use their scientifically proven enhanced senses so that they can stand on their own and be self-sufficient. In addition, we pursue to change the perception of sighted people towards the visual impaired population through positive psychology.
INSIGHTS
Being in startup land have helped me realise of innate characteristics in my DNA as a social intrapreneur.
Here several of the traits from that discovery process
- Curiosity. A natural-born inquisitor, who needs to understand the "why"; someone with a broad range of interests and an ability to dive deeply once those interests are piqued.
- Intuition. Informed or expert understanding of something based on experience, deep knowledge in a domain, and keen sense of what "might happen".
- Creativity. See unique opportunities for change and progress and can easily imagine a different, more ideal future. See things that others do not and then to frame issues in new ways.
System Thinker. Ability to see the big picture and connect dots across seemingly disparate pieces of information, perhaps from different knowledge domains .
T-shaped person. Breadth of learning across domains, but with great depth of learning in multiple technical domains.
Perseverance. Long-term perspective, working many years to see results requires an ability to delay gratification and to look to the future for rewards.
Autonomy. The need for variety, challenge, and choice. Major obstacles provide the motivation to keep looking, learning, and understanding in order to find solutions.
Mastery. The drive for profound understanding on the problems on which I am working on; to use that understanding to produce a useful result or breakthrough new product/service.
Purpose. Desire to solve important customer problems and to see the resulting products changing customer's lives and making an positive impact.
Experience
having worked in the corporate world for years, exposed me to situations and realities that helped enormously to develop my personality/career and reach this point in life. Here some of the most important learnings from that journey
- Organising thoughts that lead your audience through an argument have been instrumental in helping me communicate effectively.
- Always having a point of view. When you don't wait for someone else to come up with an answer, you establish yourself as someone with an idea, an insight, and a point of view.
- Being patient. Progress moves slowly at most corporations. It taught me that sometimes it's worth checking something once, twice, and three times. Not everything needs to move fast. It's necessary a balance.
- Getting the job done. In business, there is no room for excuses. It's all about getting the job done and getting the results you set out to achieve. If you aren't tenacious enough and you don't keep pushing, it won't happen.
- Read the system. Understanding the paradigm of the business culture you work in and how it shapes corporate behaviour. It also refers to understanding what is not being said to discern what applies to any particular case and scenario.
- Always bringing a solution. When I was younger, I thought I was doing well identifying and bringing problems to my bosses. I quickly learned I was just creating more work for them and started bringing viable solutions to the problems I'd identified.
Lead through influence. Effectively influence others to grow productive professional relationships. It means building relationships with internal stakeholders, business areas, vendors and team members. For me the key is demonstrate mutual value in the relationship.
Working with big companies. Having experience working inside of large firms have been invaluable in helping me understand their processes, dynamics, timelines, and paperwork.
Growing a thick skin. Learning how to deal with personality challenges, conflicts, and undue criticism was a skill I developed. To lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back to the crowd, and my ability to do that has led to understand and be adaptive to the corporate environment.
Team work and collaboration. Generate an atmosphere of friendly collegiality, and cooperation drawing others into active, enthusiastic commitment to the collective effort, and build spirit and identity. The idea is to spend time forging and cementing close relationships beyond mere work obligations.
BIO
Rodrigo has an optimistic outlook in life, a boundless curiosity, a willingness to take risks, an adaptive capacity, and a strong belief in people and teamwork. Early in his childhood, he complemented studies with a magnetic passion and a natural affinity for sports practice and outdoor activities. Sport taught him unforgettable lessons, lifelong values, and a dose of empathy to attune with his environment without losing focus on his personal identity. Later on, as a professional, he brought several of those insights out to engage others by creating shared meaning.
Rodrigo has experience in cross-sector firms and multidisciplinary teams. He has also had the good fortune to work for some great social enterprises, philanthropies and non-profit organizations, and to live and work abroad, gaining incomparable international experience. Also, has worked in several consulting projects for governmental institutions and private companies. In those years, he developed a special touch to create consensus and influence people to achieve collaborative goals. Now he is contributing with his experience from another position.
Since 2014 Rodrigo is applying his skills in the social sector and realising an ambition to help others with less opportunities in life to fulfill their potential. Rodrigo is a regular counsellor on startups and coaching sessions, a mentor to youth and first-time entrepreneurs, and is a graduate at Amani Institute: Post-Graduate Certificate in Social Innovation Management.
Rodrigo Alarcon © 2020