Our company

FlexiWay is a For Benefit company

“A new type of thinking is essential if mankind is to survive and move toward higher levels” – Albert Einstein

Einsteins quote has often been paraphrased as “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”, which sums it up perfectly.

The old division between ‘For profit’ and ‘Not for profit’ and ‘capitalist’ vs ‘social’ companies is crumbling down. We are one of a new type of company, having been called ‘Social Enterprise‘ & ‘For benefit‘, as opposed to the old (not) for profit companies.

Basically we want the values of the charities while being focused on our business which benefits many. We aim to make profits as it will enable us to do more good.

Blurring the Profit/Nonprofit Boundary

The concept of shared value blurs the line between for-profit and nonprofit organizations. New kinds of hybrid enterprises are rapidly appearing. (…)

The blurring of the boundary between successful for-profits and nonprofits is one of the strong signs that creating shared value is possible. – “Michael E. Porter, Harvard Business review

Why are we not a charity?

Tanzanian school kids: our Flexiway Solar solar-powered LED lights help them to study better and easier

We have contemplated making FlexiWay a charity, so we could accept tax-deductible donations, but decided against it for several reasons:

• Tax laws are limited by borders, so in order for donations to be tax deductible, we would need one legal entity (Charity) for every country our donors are in, which would be too costly (in money and time) to set up and keep our focus from what is important.
• We gathered that most people would not bother with trying to deduct a small donation anyway (the time and paperwork often is not worth the deduction), even if we were to have a charity in every country.
• For those that want to make a larger donation, we will work together with our NGO partners, so they can donate directly to them (deductible) and the NGO’s will buy our lights. We will set up direct donation pages to the NGOs as well.

If you are a registered charity and you want to connect yourself to FlexiWay Solar and our projects, contact us. For example you can set up your own solar projects using our lights and we will assist you with promotion as well as the best price for our lights.

Not a charity, not a salary

Watch repair man, working on the street, Tanzania. If he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid. With our lights he can also serve clients at night.

We feel that we need a new approach to solve the problems above in the most efficient way. As mentioned, we will work together with large and small NGO’s and other charities for distribution, but want to generate income to be able to fund new projects and to keep the prices of the lights low for those who need them the most and by increasing production.

However, we feel that as a company, we should not get paid if we don’t do our work well. This means no fixed salaries or other benefits. We only generate income when our projects are a success and after the goals have been met and the locals have benefited.

We will keep the price of the lights as low as possible, as we aim to be paid back for our work and development costs afterwards, from the possible additional income generated through Carbon Credits.

Even if our efforts and investments are not paid back financially, at least we will have contributed our part to improve our world, which is invaluable to us.

Read more about a new way of business thinking

Even though it is focused on larger companies, we suggest to read this article by the well-known business consultant Michael Porter, from which the following quotes are taken:

A big part of the problem lies with companies themselves, which remain trapped in an outdated approach to value creation that has emerged over the past few decades.

They continue to view value creation narrowly, optimizing short-term financial performance in a bubble while missing the most important customer needs and ignoring the broader influences that determine their longer-term success.

How else could companies overlook the well-being of their customers, the depletion of natural resources vital to their businesses, the viability of key suppliers, or the economic distress of the communities in which they produce and sell?

(…) The presumed trade-offs between economic efficiency and social progress have been institutionalized in decades of policy choices.

What Is “Shared Value”?

The concept of shared value can be defined as policies and operating practices that enhance the competitiveness of a company while simultaneously advancing the economic and social conditions in the communities in which it operates. Shared value creation focuses on identifying and expanding the connections between societal and economic progress.

The concept rests on the premise that both economic and social progress must be addressed using value principles. Value is defined as benefits relative to costs, not just benefits alone. Value creation is an idea that has long been recognized in business, where profit is revenues earned from customers minus the costs incurred. However, businesses have rarely approached societal issues from a value perspective but have treated them as peripheral matters. This has obscured the connections between economic and social concerns.

In the social sector, thinking in value terms is even less common. Social organizations and government entities often see success solely in terms of the benefits achieved or the money expended. As governments and NGOs begin to think more in value terms, their interest in collaborating with business will inevitably grow.