Great post Ben! I’m a Product Designer at First Circle, a FinTech startup in the Philippines. I think the work we’re doing generates positive social impact too, but not as much yet as Wave.
I’m happy to see you promote entrepreneurship in developing countries as a viable option for EAs. The co-founders at our startup are both supporters of EA, and they came from Europe to start the business here. A lot of the best (and most impactful) startups in the Philippines were founded by expats actually, so there’s definitely value in this path.
But even if I think this path has an expected value of high social impact for people living in developed countries, it might not be as impactful as other EA paths for them. Here’s my take:
This path should be a good fit for people who
1. Want to work in global health / poverty / development as their cause area (and not in animal welfare or X-risks) (Update, Oct. 6, 2020: Being an entrepreneur in the plant-based space is also promising in emerging markets)
2. Have a passion for startups, and have experience working in a startup or starting one
3. Are very willing (or deeply interested) to start a startup in an emerging market and relocate there for 4+ years
4. Want to spread/popularize the EA movement in the emerging market. I think there’s promise in doing this, since some emerging markets don’t have an EA group yet, or they’re still very small. (I helped co-found EA Philippines last year—before then there was no EA presence here.)
The main cons to this path though are:
1. There’s a high chance of failure, likely more so than if you started a startup in your own country. This is since you lack context about the area, and the language/culture barrier can easily mean your product won’t fit the local context.
2. You might end up making more impact if you started a startup in your own country, and just earned-to-give your earnings to GiveWell / EA organizations. This is because I think there are very few startups that benefit the poorest of the poor, since the poorest people don’t even have access to basic needs. For example in the Philippines, some areas don’t have internet, and some areas don’t even have cell service, so it would be hard to create a startup that caters to them. So even if you do start a successful startup here, the positive outcomes generated might not be as good as through donating to GiveWell charities. Maybe charity entrepreneurship would be a more impactful path.
To counter the 1st con, you just have to execute really well in starting the startup, hiring the right people, getting enough funding, and knowing the customers. To counter the 2nd, you could start the startup in the emerging market, and then earn-to-give your earnings/salary to GiveWell / EA organizations. And hopefully what you earn-to-give is comparable to what you would if you worked for a company in your home country.
Would love to hear what you or others think about my view!
You might end up making more impact if you started a startup in your own country, and just earned-to-give your earnings to GiveWell / EA organizations. This is because I think there are very few startups that benefit the poorest of the poor, since the poorest people don’t even have access to basic needs.
Can’t you just provide people basic needs then though? Many of Wave’s clients have no smartphone and can’t read. Low-cost Android phones (e.g. Tecno Mobile) probably provided a lot of value to people who previously didn’t have smartphones. Providing people cell service is hard (if you’re not a telecom), but if an area has cell service but no internet you can still make useful information products with USSD, SMS, etc., or physical shops.
(I do think that many good startup ideas in the developing world involve providing relatively “basic” needs! But it seems to me like there’s decent opportunity there.)
Are there any specific tools or methods you used to start an EA group in the Phillipines? I’m also interested in spreading the EA movement in emerging markets and would value any insight you have on this.
Great post Ben! I’m a Product Designer at First Circle, a FinTech startup in the Philippines. I think the work we’re doing generates positive social impact too, but not as much yet as Wave.
I’m happy to see you promote entrepreneurship in developing countries as a viable option for EAs. The co-founders at our startup are both supporters of EA, and they came from Europe to start the business here. A lot of the best (and most impactful) startups in the Philippines were founded by expats actually, so there’s definitely value in this path.
But even if I think this path has an expected value of high social impact for people living in developed countries, it might not be as impactful as other EA paths for them. Here’s my take:
This path should be a good fit for people who
1. Want to work in global health / poverty / development as their cause area (and not in animal welfare or X-risks) (Update, Oct. 6, 2020: Being an entrepreneur in the plant-based space is also promising in emerging markets)
2. Have a passion for startups, and have experience working in a startup or starting one
3. Are very willing (or deeply interested) to start a startup in an emerging market and relocate there for 4+ years
4. Want to spread/popularize the EA movement in the emerging market. I think there’s promise in doing this, since some emerging markets don’t have an EA group yet, or they’re still very small. (I helped co-found EA Philippines last year—before then there was no EA presence here.)
The main cons to this path though are:
1. There’s a high chance of failure, likely more so than if you started a startup in your own country. This is since you lack context about the area, and the language/culture barrier can easily mean your product won’t fit the local context.
2. You might end up making more impact if you started a startup in your own country, and just earned-to-give your earnings to GiveWell / EA organizations. This is because I think there are very few startups that benefit the poorest of the poor, since the poorest people don’t even have access to basic needs. For example in the Philippines, some areas don’t have internet, and some areas don’t even have cell service, so it would be hard to create a startup that caters to them. So even if you do start a successful startup here, the positive outcomes generated might not be as good as through donating to GiveWell charities. Maybe charity entrepreneurship would be a more impactful path.
To counter the 1st con, you just have to execute really well in starting the startup, hiring the right people, getting enough funding, and knowing the customers. To counter the 2nd, you could start the startup in the emerging market, and then earn-to-give your earnings/salary to GiveWell / EA organizations. And hopefully what you earn-to-give is comparable to what you would if you worked for a company in your home country.
Would love to hear what you or others think about my view!
Broadly agree, but:
Can’t you just provide people basic needs then though? Many of Wave’s clients have no smartphone and can’t read. Low-cost Android phones (e.g. Tecno Mobile) probably provided a lot of value to people who previously didn’t have smartphones. Providing people cell service is hard (if you’re not a telecom), but if an area has cell service but no internet you can still make useful information products with USSD, SMS, etc., or physical shops.
(I do think that many good startup ideas in the developing world involve providing relatively “basic” needs! But it seems to me like there’s decent opportunity there.)
Are there any specific tools or methods you used to start an EA group in the Phillipines? I’m also interested in spreading the EA movement in emerging markets and would value any insight you have on this.