“Balinese culture and begging do not fit,” said Daniel Elber. Deeply disturbed by the sight of beggars on the streets of tourist towns in Bali, the managing director at Swiss bank UBS founded Future for Children (FFC) in 2004, with the aim to eradicate poverty in Muntigunung, Bali (Indonesia).

FFC’s establishment stemmed from Elber’s unwavering commitment to help the Muntigunung community develop a sustainable means of livelihood. The Muntigunung people were averse to migration and believed that the spirits of their ancestors visited them in the villages annually. They felt confined to their arid mountainside. Elber was keen on helping them find a way out, and felt that the path to prosperity must be found within Muntigunung itself.

From the very beginning, in 2004, Elber sought to understand the real situation on the ground. A team was sent to Muntigunung to evaluate the situation, interacting extensively with the local community and government. Elber brought in experienced local partners and partnered with government agencies and people in the community. It was essential to ensure a sustainable impact while safeguarding the resources at hand.

Elber was able to secure support from an array of organisations and people with different specialities and expertise. In addition, donor funds had to be properly and effectively utilised. The Swiss Honorary Consul of Bali decided to become part of the FFC project and worked to nurture a positive relationship with government agencies in Bali and FFC stakeholders. “You have to understand the problem, you have to bring together good people in order to be able to work with the population,” explained Elber. 

The project subsequently went through two phases of development. By 2015, FCC boasted 900 donors with an annual budget of US$426,000. This was just enough to fund water supply projects, run livelihood development programmes and scale up health projects. However, additional investments were needed for buildings and storage facilities. Besides funds for infrastructure, funds were also needed for education and village development projects.

FFC’s continued aim was to develop the capabilities of people and subsidise capacity building projects for two to three years until they became profitable. The organisation also remained committed to the goal of transferring profitable social enterprises to local community ownership. Three profitable social enterprises had already been developed, and the ownership transferred to Indonesian and Balinese project managers of FFC, as the locals in Muntigunung were not ready at that stage to undertake ownership responsibilities themselves.

This case, which was written by Jonathan Chang, Executive Director at SMU’s Lien Centre for Social Innovation (2014-2018), as well as Christopher Dula (2012-2016) and Lakshmi Appasamy from The Centre for Management Practice (CMP) at SMU, examines the importance of engaging local partners for successful implementation of social programmes and a strategic problem-solving approach to creating positive social impact. The case examines the challenges faced when a capacity building project transitions into a profitable enterprise, and brainstorms and evaluate solutions to such issues.

To read the case in full, please visit the CMP website by clicking here.