Human Nature
Two Michaels spoke this morning for Session 4A: Brother Michael Broughton, Vice Chancellor for Mission (equivalent of Rachel Consunji) and John Michael Go, Social Enterprise Development Head of Human Heart Nature, a company founded by Ana Wilkes, the daughter of Tony Maneloto of GK fame. (Ana Wilkes was an entrep guest of this professor at his entrep class several years back)
Michael, I would say is a compleat social entrep, perhaps near the stature of Illac Diaz. The Dean said he wanted to invite Nobel Prize laureate Mohammad Yunus on the 40th year of AGSB. I have read the book of Yunus on social entrep, and I would say Michael, has a very good working knowledge of social entrepreneurship. And when he scales his projects up, he would reach the footprints of Yunus.
Michael said he went into this Social Enterprise and left his former job, because, he thought it was his calling, as part of the awakening from Ateneo that our country is our business that he really has to touch the majority of the Filipinos. Most of the poor people in the country are farmers. But nothing was ever mentioned in MBA about agriculture (Several years back, I tried to connect CLSU, and Philrice with AGSB, but nothing happened. AGSBs direction if about something else, and there has been mention of disconnect between what people say and what they do)
And so he decided he will go full time with his social entrep project Trese and decided he will work with Ana Wilkes Human Nature which would venture into personal care products. It was his way of engaging in the life of farmers. He was one of the first 16 workers and honestly he doubted if it would succeed. But it does now.
He does end to end (supplies and retail) social enterprise development projects. It does not only develop the business of Human Nature, but improves the life of farmers.
Human natures local branches are expanding; they do business abroad, they compete with the giants. But they are Pro Poor, Pro Philippines and Pro Nature.
We at AGSB are proud of you Michael for having metamorphosed as a pioneer social entreprise practioner in the PHL.
