Innovation

The ecosystem approach adopted by Ali Alghanim & Sons involves multiple stakeholders ranging from local governments and community members to skilled specialists and experienced professionals. Broadly, the initiatives can be segmented into three regions – Syria, India, and Kuwait. In Syria, the company strives to address the fallout of the refugee crisis by addressing educational gaps currently faced by the Syrian society. A large number of families and children were displaced due to the crisis; in order to combat this situation, the company has partnered with local schools in Jordan and works on the ground to provide basic education to displaced children along with operating skill-focused programs to help the children build their careers. 

In India, the company works primarily in rural communities and seeks to assist impoverished communities through various schools, community centers, and resource distribution centers. Ali Alghanim & Sons has also integrated technology into teaching methods for improving learning outcomes. The goal is to improve access to quality education and foster stability across Syrian and Indian communities for well-rounded societal development.

The third region of focus is Kuwait, which is the domestic market of the company. Here, Ali Alghanim & Sons primarily stresses the development of medical facilities to improve access to healthcare. Besides upgrading medical facilities, the company works to improve the quality of healthcare products and services available in Kuwait for all its citizens. Low-income families constitute a priority area for Ali Alghanim & Sons, and the broader objective is to improve health outcomes for Kuwaiti society in general. The next section describes the link between the activities of the company and its link to the UN SDGs.

Inspiration

The interview with Ali Marzouq Ali Alghanim helped us achieve additional insights into the vision behind social innovation. As per the Board member, empathy and social awareness have always been core values of the company. Although core operations are limited to Kuwait and the broader Middle Eastern market, the chairman mentioned that delivering a global impact was always a priority for the company. Mr. Alghanim also mentioned how collaboration was the cornerstone of social innovation measures undertaken by the company. In his words, "collaboration is at the heart of everything we do". 

Working with local stakeholders directly ensured that the funds were going to the right place and that the local communities were truly benefitting. However, the company did face several challenges in facilitating social innovation – the chairman spoke of resource constraints and how this limited outreach during the early years of the initiatives. Additionally, the company was also limited by geopolitical conflicts, but the situation has considerably improved today. Cultural sensitivities were relevant as well; while Kuwait, Syria, and Jordan are part of the Islamic world and have fewer cultural gaps, working in India warranted special attention to cultural factors. As per the chairman, "India is a perfect example of how working with local stakeholders reduced the risk for our business while helping us achieve our objectives". 

Overall impact

During the final sections of the interview, the leader mentioned that future goals comprised further expanding the social impact and outreach by penetrating other regions affected by similar social issues. Markets in the APAC region would be prioritized. 

Additionally, the company also wants to leverage technology to a greater extent to further enhance the efficacy of positive social outcomes. For instance, e-learning had already been integrated at a basic level at the Jordanian schools. 

The same applies to India. Ali Alghanim & Sons has also partnered with local governments and wants to increase the number of public-private partnerships further in the future. This will help unlock additional resources and enable the company to have a broader impact on the local society. 

Business benefit

Starting with the background of the company, Ali Alghanim & Sons Group was founded in the 1960s. Initially, the operations were limited to fabricating steel sheds and water tanks; today, the group is involved in multiple sectors that include but are not limited to automotive, consumer brands, education, construction, and real estate. 

However, what stands out is the conglomerate’s emphasis on marginalized sections of society and its desire to address pressing social issues globally. As the philosophy of the company underlines, the goal is to place “partners, clients, employees and the society at the head of every business decision”. The next sections describe the concept of social innovation and how it relates to the initiatives of the company. 

Social and environmental benefit

In terms of a definition, Foroudi et al. (6) argue that social innovation is “a novel solution to a social problem that is more effective, efficient, sustainable, or just than existing solutions and for which the value created accrues primarily to society as a whole rather than private individuals”. Based on the definition, several components come to the forefront – these include a novel solution, societal value, and a higher level of effectiveness than existing solutions. Jessop et al. argue how social innovation is generally viewed from a “market-economic perspective”; while there are economic aspects to social innovation, the emphasis should be placed on the benefits transferred to society at large. The authors also warn against overemphasizing the economic side of social innovation as it may lead to reductive interpretations. The argument is in line with the actions of Ali Alghanim & Sons as they have consistently focused on the value-creation and societal uplifting aspects of their activities as opposed to delving into the economics or justifying the financial side.

Although several UN SDGs find an alignment, the three that bear the highest degree of significance are SDGs 3, 4, and 10. SDG 4 seeks to address education, while SDG 10 seeks to reduce inequalities in society. The activities of the company directly aim to address SDG 4 by developing educational facilities, partnering with skilled educators, and eliminating gaps by using a ground-up approach. Subsequently, SDG 3 focuses on good health and well-being, and the company seeks to address this by improving medical facilities in Kuwait and prioritizing low-income families. The schools in Jordan developed by Ali Alghanim & Sons address SDG 4, and the medical and educational facilities in Kuwait and India address SDG 4. 

The broader effect of corporate measures addresses SDG 10 of reducing inequalities at a global level. The element of innovation lies in the ecosystem approach, where Ali Alghanim & Sons partners with local stakeholders and prioritizes social value aspects over market or economic aspects. Indirect financing could have achieved results, but a direct approach and integrating multiple stakeholders in an ecosystem have helped achieve results more effectively.

Interview

Ali Marzouq Ali Alghanim, Board member