“We are not job seekers, we are job givers;” this quote of Nobel Laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus has been the slogan for social business enthusiasts for over a few years.

In the book Creating a World Without Poverty Yunus describes social business as a self sustaining, non loss, non dividend business which has to cater to a particular social problem.

When the concept of social business went viral in 2008, lots of followers started working with the idea which led to hundreds of people in our country practicing the model. These business persons are known as Nabin Uddokta in social business terms.

On May 28, Yunus Centre organised the Social Business Day for the 6th time in Bangladesh, where social business enthusiasts from all over the world joined. One of the main attractions of this conference was the Nabin Uddakta Mela where these social business entrepreneurs showcased their social businesses and talked about how they are contributing to the society in their own way.

The opening ceremony of Social Business Day included a session with a few of these social business entrepreneurs where they talked about their lives and how starting a changed their lives. Most of the entrepreneurs come from a poor socio-economic background.

“I don't know what I would do if I didn't start this business.  Considering where I came from, I would never have imagined that I would be sitting here on a stage, facing all you people,” said Jannatul Afrin, on stage with the Nobel Laureate.

Afrin started her business, Erina Fashion House, with loan a couple of years ago from Grameen Kalyan. Now she is her own boss and has also trained and hired three women to work for her.

From drug stores to carrom boards, these entrepreneurs have proved that any idea can be turned into a social cause. The Nabin Uddokta Mela was highly praised by national and international participants.