[COVID-19 feature: Part 1] The crisis caused by COVID-19 has given us an unparalleled opportunity to make a fresh start. - Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank

Mr. Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, gave us suggestions on how to live and act on the after-corona society.

The "with corona" era of living with corona, and the world of "after corona" that will come after that. What can we do and what should we do in a situation that no one has ever experienced?

In this Sustainable Times, we will translate and introduce the recommendations received from Mr. Yunus. I hope that you will get hints on how to act in the future from the contents.

I can't go back anymore (No Going Back)

The world has lost its way due to the damage caused by the new coronavirus infection. But this situation presents us with a unique opportunity.

It's time for the world to tackle big problems. It's not about how to reopen the economy. We know the answer because we have been fortunate enough to collect good examples of overcoming this challenge in history. The big question we need to tackle is: "Do we return the world to what it was before the COVID-19 outbreak?" or "Do we rebuild the world?" This answer is up to us.

Needless to say, the pre-Corona world was not a good one for us. Until the news of the new coronavirus infection flooded, the world was struggling with assumptions of the worst that could happen in the future.
Counting the days until Climate Change renders the planet unfit for human life, how we are under threat of mass unemployment from artificial intelligence (AI), and how explosive levels of wealth concentration have reached. Are you doing it?

We have reminded each other that this decade is the "last decade." After this "last decade" all our efforts will yield little results and will be insufficient to save the planet.

Should we return to such a world?
-The answer is up to us.

COVID-19 has changed the context and formulas that make up the world, opening up bold possibilities that never existed before. Suddenly we had the chance to start over from scratch (tabula rasa). We can go in any direction we like. Incredible freedom of choice!
Before we can reopen the economy, we have to agree on what kind of economy we want. The first thing we should agree on is that the economy is a means. The economy should make it easier for us to reach the goals we set, and should not act like a cursed death trap to punish us. Never forget for a moment that the economy is a tool made by us. We should keep designing and redesigning our economy until we reach the highest collective happiness.

If we feel like it's not taking us to the future we want, we quickly realize there's something wrong with the hardware and software we use. What we should do is fix it.
"Sorry, software or hardware is preventing me from achieving my goals" is no excuse. That's an unacceptable quibble.
If we want to create a carbon-free world, we have to build the hardware and software for it. If you want a world without unemployment and no concentration of wealth, the method is the same. Build the right hardware and software. we have that power. When humanity decides to accomplish something, all that remains is to act without hesitation. Nothing is impossible for mankind.

Fortunately, the COVID-19 crisis has given us endless opportunities for a fresh start. We can start designing hardware and software from an almost blank screen.

Recovery from after-corona society should be a social starting point
(Post-Corona Recovery Must be a Social Consciousness Driven Recovery)

One will that is common throughout the world will greatly help us.
It's our clear answer, "I don't want to go back to where I was originally." You wouldn't want to go back into the same disaster under the name "recovery."
Moreover, we should not call this a "recovery" plan.
To clarify our purpose, let's call this a "rebuilding" plan. Business plays an important role in rebuilding the world. The starting point for restructuring plans in the after-corona society should be social and environmental considerations in all decisions, without compromise. The government should promise not to offer any money to anyone unless it is certain that it will bring social and environmental benefits to society.
All actions for reconstruction should lead to the creation of a social, economic and environmentally friendly economy for the country and the world.

Now is the time to move (Time is NOW)

Let's start with a "rebuilding" package for a social-based action plan.
We should plan at this time of crisis. Once the crisis is over, old ideas and examples for corporate financial assistance will flood in. And to derail the new initiative, a strong allegation is made that "these are unverified policies." (When he proposed that the Olympics could be designed in social business, the opposition made a similar claim. Now the 2024 Paris Olympics are getting more exciting and designing in the way I suggested). We have to prepare before the old examples come in. “Time is NOW” Now is the time to start moving.

Social Business

In this comprehensive restructuring plan, I propose to give a central role to a new type of business, "social business." A social business is a business created to solve human problems, and the amount of the original money is returned to the investor who provided the original money to start the business, but the investor There is no personal benefit. After the original investment is returned to the investor, the company reinvests all the profits it makes in the company's business.

The government will have many opportunities to encourage social business to take responsibility for major restructurings and to prioritize opening doors. At the same time, governments should not expect social business to appear everywhere, on the scale needed, when it is needed.
Governments should provide care for the poor and the unemployed through traditional welfare systems, provide health care, restore the services they need, and support any business that has a hard time choosing social business.

To accelerate the entry of social business, the government should establish social business venture capital funds in national and local areas. It also encourages private sectors, foundations, financial institutions and investment funds to establish venture capital funds for social business, and encourages well-established companies to become social businesses and merge with social business partners. This encourages all businesses to own their own social business or to establish a social business joint venture with a social business partner.

Under the restructuring plan, the government will be able to fund social businesses and convert them into social businesses by acquiring companies or partnering with companies in need. The central bank authorizes social businesses to invest in the equity market with loans from financial institutions, just like any other business.

Many opportunities will be created in the process of reconstruction planning. The government should involve as many social business actors as possible.

Who are the investors in social business? (Who Are the Social Business Investors?)

Who are the investors in social business? Where are they?

They are everywhere. The existing economic books simply do not recognize its existence. Our eyes are not trained to see them. Only recent economics lectures include some discussions on topics such as social business, entrepreneurship, impact investing, and nonprofits, accompanied by global admiration for Grameen Bank and microcredit. There is.

We cannot rely on the economy as long as it is the science of profit maximization because of the restructuring plan based on social and environmental consciousness. As the economy grows, increasing the proportion of social business in the economy as a whole is all about strategy. The success of social business can be seen not only when the economic proportions increase, but also when the number of cases where the same entrepreneur is doing both types of business surges. This will be a sign that the economy will start with social and environmental consciousness as the starting point.

As soon as government policy begins to approve social business entrepreneurs and investors, they will enthusiastically come forward to play the important social role sought in historic opportunities. Social business entrepreneurs are not part of a small charity. It is a global involving large multinational corporations, large social business funds, many talented CEOs, companies, foundations and trusts with many years of experience in financing and operating global and regional social businesses. It's an ecosystem.

As the concept and experience of social business begins to gain attention from the government, hardcore sole proprietors are willing to bring out all their talents to succeed as social business entrepreneurs, a cornerstone of climate crisis, unemployment crisis and wealth. It will play a very valuable social role in the event of a social or economic crisis such as concentration.

We are not job seekers. Mankind is an entrepreneur by nature
(People Are Born as Entrepreneurs, Not as Job-Seekers)

For the reconstruction plan, it is necessary to break the conventional awareness of the division of roles between the people and the government. So far, the role of the people has been to support families and pay taxes, and all public issues such as climate, employment, health care, education and water should be addressed by the government (and some nonprofits). I've taken it for granted. However, for a restructuring plan, it is necessary to break this barrier of consciousness and guide each and every citizen to start a social business and show their potential as a solver. What matters here is not the size of the initiative, but its number. The bunch of individual, small but diverse initiatives leads to important actions in society as a whole.

One of the first challenges social business entrepreneurs should tackle is the unemployment problem caused by the economic collapse. Investors in social business should be committed to launching social businesses to create jobs for unemployed people. It's not just employment, it turns the unemployed into an entrepreneur. It shows that humanity is an entrepreneur by nature, not as a job seeker. Social business can also build a stronger health care system by cooperating with government policies.

Investors in social business do not have to be individuals at all. It may be an institution such as an investment fund, foundation or trust. Such institutions know how to deal well with the owners of historic businesses. In the despair and urgent situation of After Corona, the right call of the government has led to a surge in previously unknown activity. This will be a touchstone of leadership that shows how the world will be reborn in a whole new way, regardless of age or gender.

Will Have No Place to Hide

If we fail to undertake a social and environmental restructuring plan for the after-corona society, the world will face many times the catastrophe that Corona has brought. We can hide in the house to protect ourselves from coronavirus infections. However, if we cannot deal with the problems that are occurring in the world, we cannot escape from the suffering and angry people and nature all over the world.

Complete

Learning from Yunus's recommendations
☑ The crisis of coronavirus infection has given us endless opportunities to start again.

☑ We have traditionally had the role of the people to support families and pay taxes, and all public issues such as climate, employment, health care, education and water should be addressed by the government (and some nonprofits). I've taken it for granted when it comes to things. However, for a restructuring plan, it is necessary to break this barrier of consciousness and guide each and every citizen to start a social business and show their potential as a solver.

☑ Mankind is an entrepreneur by nature.
What matters is not the size of the initiative, but its number. The bunch of individual, small but diverse initiatives leads to important actions in society as a whole.

When I talked to Yunus online, the following words were impressive.

"I'm not forcing you to do what I'm writing in this proposal. You can start by talking about how your family can improve the world in the future, or try to change something yourself. When you think about it, it's important to move even a little, because we all human beings are creative and entrepreneurs. "

In the next Corona special feature, the second part, we will tell you about the "new company in the after-corona era" that I asked President Izumo. Please look forward to the second part!

(Muhammad Yunus's proposal translation cooperation: Satake, Nishijima, Ebana, Kitami, Izumi)