iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B

Case A is set in 2016. Trung Dung is the founder of iCare Benefits (iCare), a social enterprise established to aid low-income workers. His background included studying computer science in the US and successfully working in the American software industry. Trung returned to Vietnam to discover that ma...

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Main Authors: THOMAS, Howard, GHOSH, Aurobindo, CHAN, Chi Wei
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Language:English
Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
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Online Access:https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/239
https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/3836
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spelling sg-smu-ink.cases_coll_all-12422019-09-04T08:57:29Z iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B THOMAS, Howard GHOSH, Aurobindo CHAN, Chi Wei Case A is set in 2016. Trung Dung is the founder of iCare Benefits (iCare), a social enterprise established to aid low-income workers. His background included studying computer science in the US and successfully working in the American software industry. Trung returned to Vietnam to discover that many low-income workers had to borrow heavily for basic household necessities, especially migrant workers who moved to the city with nothing. How could he help? Trung decided to tackle the related problems of lack of access to the formal financial sector and the workers’ lack of basic consumer durable goods. He partnered with employers, global manufacturers and financial institutions to develop a third-party employee benefits programme that would help low-income migrant workers afford basic goods. iCare would undertake retail functions to enable migrant workers to buy consumer goods. Using an innovative retail model, iCare would provide workers with zero-interest procurement loans for up to six months. His value proposition to partners allowed for a collaborative setup that permitted the social enterprise to operate without donations. Case B continues in 2018. iCare has been successful in reducing borrowing from other sources at usurious rates. Many workers now have access to financing and consequently basic consumer durable goods. Trung is able to scale up and reach many more workers. However, he wanted to help existing members as well. He would start to offer additional consumer discretionary products and services in the areas of education, healthcare and insurance. How might he further improve the lives of low income workers? After studying the case, students will understand how iCare’s innovative retail model was different from the traditional model; Differentiate social entrepreneurships from for-profit organisations and not-for-profit organisations and compare the social impact of social entrepreneurship from a social service provider and a social activist; Understand the motivations of people as their basic needs are fulfilled. 2019-01-01T08:00:00Z text https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/239 https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/3836 Case Collection eng Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University Business model innovation Social entrepreneurship Social enterprise Maslow's hierarchy of needs Asian Studies Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations Technology and Innovation
institution Singapore Management University
building SMU Libraries
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider SMU Libraries
collection InK@SMU
language English
topic Business model innovation
Social entrepreneurship
Social enterprise
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Asian Studies
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
Technology and Innovation
spellingShingle Business model innovation
Social entrepreneurship
Social enterprise
Maslow's hierarchy of needs
Asian Studies
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
Technology and Innovation
THOMAS, Howard
GHOSH, Aurobindo
CHAN, Chi Wei
iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B
description Case A is set in 2016. Trung Dung is the founder of iCare Benefits (iCare), a social enterprise established to aid low-income workers. His background included studying computer science in the US and successfully working in the American software industry. Trung returned to Vietnam to discover that many low-income workers had to borrow heavily for basic household necessities, especially migrant workers who moved to the city with nothing. How could he help? Trung decided to tackle the related problems of lack of access to the formal financial sector and the workers’ lack of basic consumer durable goods. He partnered with employers, global manufacturers and financial institutions to develop a third-party employee benefits programme that would help low-income migrant workers afford basic goods. iCare would undertake retail functions to enable migrant workers to buy consumer goods. Using an innovative retail model, iCare would provide workers with zero-interest procurement loans for up to six months. His value proposition to partners allowed for a collaborative setup that permitted the social enterprise to operate without donations. Case B continues in 2018. iCare has been successful in reducing borrowing from other sources at usurious rates. Many workers now have access to financing and consequently basic consumer durable goods. Trung is able to scale up and reach many more workers. However, he wanted to help existing members as well. He would start to offer additional consumer discretionary products and services in the areas of education, healthcare and insurance. How might he further improve the lives of low income workers? After studying the case, students will understand how iCare’s innovative retail model was different from the traditional model; Differentiate social entrepreneurships from for-profit organisations and not-for-profit organisations and compare the social impact of social entrepreneurship from a social service provider and a social activist; Understand the motivations of people as their basic needs are fulfilled.
format text
author THOMAS, Howard
GHOSH, Aurobindo
CHAN, Chi Wei
author_facet THOMAS, Howard
GHOSH, Aurobindo
CHAN, Chi Wei
author_sort THOMAS, Howard
title iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B
title_short iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B
title_full iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B
title_fullStr iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B
title_full_unstemmed iCare benefits: Assisting low income retail consumers in Vietnam – Part B
title_sort icare benefits: assisting low income retail consumers in vietnam – part b
publisher Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University
publishDate 2019
url https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cases_coll_all/239
https://cmp.smu.edu.sg/case/3836
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