Social entrepreneurship [soh-shuhl ahn-truh-pruh-nur-ship]. 1. Making money while doing good.

For Chi Burgos and friend Aldrin, their vision for social entrepreneurship will make money while doing good – while smelling good! (Watch a video of Chi and Aldrin talking about their business.)

You see, Chi and Aldrin’s start-up business called “Mandilu,” which is Kapampangan for “take a bath”, sells fragrant, handmade, organic soap bars made by an indigent community in Antipolo, Rizal. The makers of these soap were trained by Catholic missionaries and they used to sell their soap bars to the United States. After the 9/11 attacks on New York City, however, they lost that market and have found it very difficult to get back on their feet.

Enter Chi and Aldrin who, last year, were looking for ways to enrich their lives with meaning. They were both thinking of setting up a business and doing something in the health and wellness sector. Aldrin said this was his way of going beyond the books and changing the Filipino mindset of studying just to get a desk job.

Chi found a study at the Department of Trade and Industry that confirmed the good prospects in aromatherapy. Their little village could now make around 15,000 bars of soap a month, with scents that would make mornings refreshing and the evenings cool and calming.

David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, said:

“Social entrepreneurs identify resources where people only see problems. They view the villagers as the solution, not the passive beneficiary. They begin with the assumption of competence and unleash resources in the communities they are serving.”

The two young social entrepreneurs are now working on their packaging, sales and marketing strategies, all the time funneling profit into the community school and health center. Their long-term goal: establish Mandilu as a global brand.

Coffee-scented soap in the morning and camomile in the evening, anyone? Willy Arcilla thought it was a pioneering concept, but we would like to hear about what YOU think. If you want to vote for these social entrepreneurs to be included in Open for Business’ top eight, just comment on this blog.

(Business Mentoring is a one-year project by Open For Business of INQUIRER.net. We are choosing eight businesses from the ones that applied by email, who will be mentored for one year by Willy Arcilla, regional director of ZMG Signium Ward Howell and president of Business Mentors Inc. Willy is an industrial economist from the UA&P-CRC with a 25 year career in corporate planning, marketing, sales and general management across Asia-Pacific, and is a recipient of the Agora Award for Marketing Excellence. Read about the first three candidates here, here and here. Click here for more background on business mentoring. Watch a video of the first plenary session here.)