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Welcome to Spotlight. I'm Adam Navis.
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And I'm Robin Basselin. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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Competition. When people compete, they challenge each other. Each person or group seeks victory. And they all want to be the winner. Most competitions are based on skill, strength and size. And most people think of winners as the smartest, strongest or fastest person.
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When companies compete, the winners are usually those who produce or sell the most of something. When people think of the world's most successful businesses, they think of huge companies like Coca-Cola, Toyota, Shell, Wal-Mart or PetroChina.
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These companies are some of the biggest in the world. But does that make them the best? Are size and profit the most important qualities of a company? There is one global competition that says "No!" This competition is called World Challenge. Today's Spotlight will be on the World Challenge competition and its support of small, responsible businesses with big ideas.
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The World Challenge competition began in 2005. BBC World News, Newsweek magazine and Shell are the three organisations that manage and support the challenge. The idea of the competition is to honour special small businesses that help their local communities economically, socially and environmentally.
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The business that wins the challenge receives twenty thousand dollars [$20,000]. Two second place winners receive ten thousand dollars [$10,000] each. This money is for investing in and developing these small businesses.
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Over the years, the competition has received three thousand [3,000] entries. Each year the suggested businesses have been from over one hundred [100] countries. And over three hundred thousand [300,000] people voted on the World Challenge website.
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The World Challenge competition is growing in size and quality. Paul Gibbs is the Head of Programmes at BBC World News. He says,
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"The quality of entries we have received in the past World Challenge competitions has been amazing. We hope that this fifth year will be the same. The winners leave the competition with twenty thousand dollars [$20,000] in prize money, but also with the knowledge that they have given hope to many other small business people and charity organizations. This is one of the world's most exciting business and community project awards. We at BBC World News are very proud to be continuing with the competition."
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In 2008, the Hashoo Foundation's Plan Bee project won the challenge. Bees are the small, flying insects that produce sweet honey. This project helps female Beekeepers in some of the poorest areas of Pakistan. The project helps the women receive a fair price for their honey.
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Bees live together in large groups or colonies. Together the colonies produce a sweet and thick liquid that tastes like sugar. People will pay a lot of money for good tasting honey. And many people say the honey in Northern Pakistan is some of the best in the world.
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Beekeeping is one of the only ways women can make money in northern Pakistan. The culture in this area does not approve of women working many kinds of jobs. However, through beekeeping, women can help improve the lives of themselves and their families.
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The quality of honey depends on the plants that the bees use for food. This area of northern Pakistan has the right kinds of flowers and plants to produce very good tasting honey. However, many of the women have a hard time finding enough local people to buy their honey. They also find it difficult to bottle and transport the honey.
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This is where the Hashoo Foundation's Plan Bee project helps the women. The Foundation is international. So, it can communicate with large hotels and businesses in Pakistan and around the world. These hotels and businesses will pay higher prices and buy much more honey than the local communities. So, together, about ninety [90] women from Northern Pakistan supply enough honey for the hotels and businesses. And each woman is able to make a fair profit.
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Plan Bee not only helps the ninety [90] women producing the honey. It also helps their six hundred [600] family members. Since the women have been working with the Hashoo Foundation, they have increased their production by twelve percent. The Foundation says that the women's share of the profit will increase by thirty percent [30%] in 2009. And for the first time, these women are becoming leaders in the bee industry.
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Sarah Hashwani from the Hashoo Foundation told the World Challenge,
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"We are not interested in just helping the women to earn more money - we want to see that their children are better educated, that they can pay for healthcare, that they have better waste management and that they have enough good food to be healthy."
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The Hashoo Foundation's Plan Bee project is just one of the many amazing businesses that have entered the World Challenge competition. The World Challenge website has many more stories of wonderful small businesses that are helping their communities - economically, socially and environmentally.
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Hundreds of businesses will enter the 2009 World Challenge. And on June 24th, the World Challenge judges will announce this year's twelve best entries. These twelve businesses will then compete for the twenty thousand dollar [$20,000] prize.
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And people all over the world can help decide which of the twelve final businesses should win. Voting for the 2009 World Challenge begins on September 28th. You will be able to vote on the World Challenge website.
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This autumn you can also look for another Spotlight Program on the World Challenge. This program will discuss the 2009 World Challenge finalists.
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There are many competitions in the world. However, not many honour things that are ‘small'. World Challenge not only honours small businesses, it honours businesses which are responsible to their communities. In this way, World Challenge encourages small businesses all over the world to care about more than just profits and size. It encourages them to care about their local community.
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Rhona Murphy is the Managing Director for Newsweek International. She says,
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"Since 2005, World Challenge has proved that when it comes to caring for our communities and the planet, small changes, continued over time, do matter. By honouring examples of small, community based excellence, World Challenge offers hope that there are solutions - and we can be a part of them."
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