Achievements in Social Enterprise and Business Development

My career in Social Enterprise and Business Development in developing countries is a natural extension of my first career – pharmaceutical business development in Canada where I incorporated my retailing business. I also incorporated a nonprofit enterprise in Canada in 1976. While pioneering contraceptive social marketing in Sri Lanka in the 1970s I realized that a local nonprofit organization was needed to ensure long-term sustainability and expansion of products and services. Although I did not stay long enough to create such an organization, my Sri Lankan partner established the necessary enterprise. The organization he created, along with the Sri Lanka Family Planning Association, has ensured that the original product marketing continued, while others have been added. My major contribution to Social Enterprise and Business Development is in Pakistan, where I created a nonprofit company – now called Greenstar – which has developed social marketing of health products and services, including training of several thousand private health providers.

Social Marketing Company, Bangladesh. 2007. Employed by Coffey International Development. Worked with Eshna Consulting to lead planning workshops for the Five-Year Action Plan. Drafted key objectives and strategic approaches for the Action Plan. Reviewed later draft.

Capacity building for Social Marketing of HIV/AIDS prevention in Namibia. 2002. Employed by Marie Stopes Int. (UK) for five months as counterpart to managers of NaSoMa (National Social Marketing Programme) – to develop social marketing, advocacy and behavior change communications. Progressed toward registering NaSoMa as nonprofit business. Produced successful proposal to the German government for expansion of NaSoMa activities.

Infant and Child Survival in Rural India. 2001. Employed by Aga Khan Foundation, Canada for three months. Worked with the Department of Community Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS) and AKF/India, to create a Strategic Plan, develop resources, build capacity for advocacy campaigns, while drafting a proposal for a rural child survival project. Proposal was funded by USAID.

Environmental resource development in Pakistan. 1998-99. Employed by Worley Engineering to assess environmental issues created by 150,000 dairy cows in a Cattle Colony near Karachi. Explored cost-effectiveness of developing a local nonprofit enterprise to convert cow dung biomass into saleable electricity.

Social Communication in Bangladesh. 1994-2001.

• 1994: Employed by PSI. Funded by World Bank. Studied feasibility of a private social communication enterprise.
• 1996: Employed by Prospect Associates and Johns Hopkins CCP to develop a local NGO – Bangladesh Center for Communications Program (BCCP) – to plan the national "Green Umbrella" Behavior Change Campaign.
• 2001: assessed implementation of BCCP’s Strategic Plan.

Social Marketing in Pakistan. 1983-2007. Employed by USAID, PSI (four years) and Greenstar Social Marketing,

• 1983: Team Leader, USAID’s Contraceptive Social Marketing project planning team.
• 1989-1993: PSI Resident Rep and Chief of Party, USAID’s Contraceptive Social Marketing project.
• 1991: Founded Social Marketing Pakistan Ltd., a non-profit company, now named Greenstar.
• 2003: Developed Strategic Plan for Greenstar Training Institute. Greenstar is a major trainer of private health providers and Pakistan’s largest social marketing organization, serving over 12,000 private clinics and shops.
• 2007: Strengthened capacity of Programme Support Unit to create and use Logical Framework Analysis.

Social Enterprise Creation in Canada. 1976. Employed by Population Services Int. Created, registered and managed NGO in Ottawa to raise funds for international health, family planning and social marketing programs.

Social Marketing Pioneer in Sri Lanka. 1972-1975. Employed by PSI. Funded by IPPF.

• Created national social marketing system for Preethi condoms and Mithuri contraceptive pills.
• Organized medical education and consumer education campaigns via radio, press & direct mail.
• Handed over management (turn-key) to local IPPF affiliate, which developed sustainability & self-sufficiency.
• Journalist’s articles appeared in New York Times, Psychology Today and Geographic Magazine.

Owned, Managed and Developed Pharmaceutical Business in Canada. 1958-66. Purchased and strengthened community pharmacy in 1958. Trained assistants. By 1965 it was ranked among the 5% most profitable pharmacies in the nation.

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Email John Davies: jdavies@alephx.com