Leah Renga
St. John's University
Charles Wankel
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iCare Benefits give employees access to essential products and services that will improve their quality of life and well-being both in the workplace and at home. Their products range from home appliances and electronics to health services and educational products. iCare Benefits help solve SDGs, in which they reduce inequalities, improve health and well-being, offer quality education, improve gender equality as well as create partnerships for positive goals.
This particular innovation is an employee benefits solution for low-income workers in developing countries who only make $100-$500 a month. iCare Benefits provide workers access to basic life-changing products and services that improve quality of life for both themselves and their families. As a result, this then allows workers to contribute to professional growth and productivity in the workplace.
Their operations focus on accomplishing United Nations sustainable development goals and creating a better world. Relating to reduced inequalities, iCare eliminates reliance on informal lenders who often charge insanely high interest rates as well as employs violence in debt collection. In developing countries, women have to work more hours than men as household chores take up a great deal of time. 80% of iCare Benefits members are women and through this innovation, women have an average time saving of 80 working hours annually and are also empowered to be primary purchasers of their household. For the improvement of good health and well-being, iCare works with NGOs to increase knowledge and offer various healthcare services and products. This includes a vaccinations programs and the implementation of health care packages. iCare Benefits also provides the opportunity for workers’ children to enroll in courses with the deferred installation payment system, and receive school supplies that can be sent directly to the house. Lastly, iCare participates in partnerships for the goals in which they invite potential partners to collaborate on the effort to impact workers' quality of life.
iCare was Founded in Vietnam by Mr. Trung Dung.
He had to migrate from Vietnam during the war, and became an entrepreneur by founding a company called “On display”, which went public in 1999, and was sold to a bigger company for 1.8 billion dollars.
He then returned to Vietnam in 2007 where he started another company, which in 2013 changed its business model. Mr. Dung and his team, after discussing with some trade unions and factories around Kowloon city, found an unaddressed matter by the workers. Initially they wanted to sell insurance and plane tickets to workers at reduced costs, however what the workers really needed was access to basic home appliances like washing machines, fridges, mattresses etc., so iCare emerged to give them access to such products and services with installments, and all interest free.
Before iCare emerged 64% of people would borrow money from their friends or factory managers, who expected high interest rates, and around 18% of the people would use the black market to purchase the products and services instead.
After the emerging, overall 68% of the people said they preferred to use iCare Benefits instead. The 64% of people who used friends and family to borrow money to buy products and services dropped to 17%, and the 18% of people who used the black market dropped drastically to 2%.
Since iCare, every member started saving not only money, but also time. Workers saved up to $226 a year, about 80 hours of work.Through the Healthy and Smart living program, the workers have gained access to both health care and education for themselves, and their family members, by improving the overall quality of their lives.
As the business was prospering with the innovation from 2013 to 2015, the result was a 126% growth in revenues in the third quarter of 2015. Consequentially, these results attracted investors to join. By proving social projects can produce high returns, iCare Benefits continues to advocate the possibility of combining business with positive social impact.
New investments are helpful as it improves infrastructure, increases benefits, and allows for the company to launch new products - thus furthering their business. Bringing in new investors isn’t the only advantage when it comes to the benefits this innovation gives to their business. It is also a great advantage for them to create strong partnerships with other financial institutions, non-profits, and others types of firms which will then increase the business’ ability to grow. While there was a rough patch from 2015 to 2017 and employee retention was low, employees who were passionate about the cause stayed on board. It shows the dedication of employees who work through the challenges to continue to work towards positive impact. Many employees work in teams, sharing a sense of collective work identity, and the determination to create positive social impact.
Economic growth occurs as it allows for different institutions to reach markets they previously would not have reached. Suppliers are able to access untapped, high growth markets while also receiving information on new consumers. As a result of this innovation, companies have happier employees, which in turn improves performance, improves productivity, and reduces turnover. Economic progress is a significant feat in struggling, developing countries.
iCare Benefits offers products and services that cannot be provided to low-income people by public or private sectors. It also creates peace of mind and safety to employees and their families as the black market is a dangerous path they previously utilized. This company reaches disadvantaged people by providing opportunities for education, advancement, and a better family life. It contributes to a sense of personal identity and self-confidence as people now have more control over their own futures. Members of this program are given the the ability to provide for the basic necessities in their household.
As mentioned earlier, iCare Benefits is a program that benefits society by working on UN’s SDGs. The practices stated reduce inequalities, improve health and well-being, offer quality education, improve gender equality, and create partnerships for positive goals. iCare Benefits joined the Business Call to Action with a commitment to provide 80 million workers globally with access to products and services by 2020. By 2019, the business also aims to permit access to free education for over 32 million employees and their families through the online platform.
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iCare Benefits is a for-profit social enterprise, providing workers in developing countries a breakthrough employee benefits program at their workplace.
The program aims to give employees immediate access to essential products and services that will improve their quality of life and well-being and enable comfortable, healthy, smart and prosperous living both in the workplace and at home. iCare enables manufacturers, social organizations, banks, and service providers to serve workers at the bottom of the economic pyramid, who are making only $100-500 of income monthly.
Resources:
https://icarebenefits.com/