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Business format in social entrepreneurships for Bangladesh's water sector
Mohammed Ziaul Hoque1 &
Kulsuma Akter Nahid2
This study suggests a social business format, founded on social entrepreneurship for the water sector, that appears suitable in Bangladesh. The theoretical aspect of the study examines the literature on social entrepreneurship in developing economies and in Bangladesh, as well as literature on business models and formats. The empirical aspect of the study contains individual cases that are studied through secondary data. The complete sample originates from the database of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship of the water sector and Bangladesh Social Enterprise Projects for social business enterprises. The results of this study provide an overview of a successful social business format composed from the nine cases of social business enterprises and the eight non-profit social enterprises in the water sector. Similarities between the social businesses' formats indicated by the social business enterprises' cross-case analysis include business mission, market exploitation, direct relationship dynamics and the basis for differentiation. When compared with the eight social business formats in the water sector, differences were found. The social business format in the water sectors does not focus on entrepreneurial skills, product innovation, direct sales, partnership with a business, or economic value creation.
Entrepreneurship is often considered a significant tool for economic growth and the development of a country, as entrepreneurship generates employment opportunities and has positive impacts on innovation and public welfare (Acs et al. 2008). This is why; entrepreneurship works as the main driver of the economic development of lower- and middle-income countries (Anokhin et al. 2008). Consequently, a lower- to middle-income economy, better known as a developing economy, may be economically supported by entrepreneurial activities. Developing economies can obtain high levels of economic growth, resulting in a high number of opportunity-driven entrepreneurs (Naude 2009), and this high number of opportunity-driven entrepreneurs can ensure more entrepreneurial activities in these economies (Wong et al. 2005). However, in reality high-growth entrepreneurial activities are not widespread in many developing economies. Munemo (2012) found less entrepreneurial activity in many developing economies that have political instability, more specifically in African economies. These limited and specific entrepreneurial activities are commonly considered a reason for institutional breakdowns (Naude 2010). The obstacles of entrepreneurial development and institutional breakdown create an opportunity to introduce more social entrepreneurship. If governments in developing economies fail to establish social institutions, then social entrepreneurship may play a key role in creating social values (Mair and Marti 2009). This key role of social entrepreneurship facilitates the search for business opportunities and the creation of social values in an organization (Haugh 2005). Professor Yunus, pioneer of the Social Business building, says a business model for a social enterprise can convert inputs into outcomes, generating both social and economic value for everyone, including the poor people at the bottom of the pyramid, who are usually left out.
Social entrepreneurship creates social value and human development that result in the development of various sectors and consequently the development of the economy. A strong correlation exists between human development indicators (income, childhood mortality, and life expectancy) and the access to potable water (WHO and UNICEF 2000). Partzsch and Ziegler (2011) found that to develop a national economy, access to potable water is obligatory. According to UNDP report, unfortunately, at present one-third of the world's residents have no access to potable water. Fast forward 40 years, and though Bangladesh is doing well in water management, it still encounters several challenges in this regard. The water supply sector of Bangladesh is mainly supported by multilateral agencies like International Development Association (IDA), Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) (Rahaman 2009). Bangladesh has six city corporations and 308 municipalities; all these institutions manage their own water, but periodic maintenance of the water supply systems does not work properly. Say, for instance, according to the Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) report, Dhaka requires 2.2 billion liters water in a day, but can only produce 1.9 to 2 billion. An analysis of "market potentials for Danish technology providers and investors" has reported that, like for Dhaka, availability of clean water is a major challenge for Bangladesh, along with an ongoing energy crisis and the poverty situation. The same analysis also reported that for the water sector, traditional enterprises are not suitable for the low-level of cost recovery Footnote 1 due to low tariffs and poor economic efficiency. Two new companies Footnote 2 have been established under the principles of social business, with the goal of providing clean drinking water to rural people. But the contributions of these institutions are not adequate to supply water to the people. Presently, no evidence exists for how social entrepreneurship affects water supply in Bangladesh. Therefore, the ultimate goal of this study is help to the development of social entrepreneurship in the water sector by conducting an analysis of social business formats in developing economies (including Bangladesh) and by providing an outline business format for the water sector of Bangladesh.
The present study provides an outline for a social business format that can be used to develop social entrepreneurship in the water sector of Bangladesh. This outline is based on research that is both theoretical and empirical and which is instructive of how the situation can be changed (Verschuren and Doorewaard 2010) in the water sectors of Bangladesh. Therefore, the general research question (GRQ) is, What is a suitable business format for social entrepreneurship in the water sector of Bangladesh? To answer the GRQ, we need to find the answer of the following specific research questions (SRQ), representing four stages of inquiry. SRQ1: What explains the trend of social entrepreneurship in developing economies and Bangladesh? (See literature research stage in Fig. 1.) SRQ2: What differentiates social entrepreneurship in developing economies, specifically in Bangladesh? (Again, see literature research stage in Fig. 1.) The descriptive knowledge gained from these two SRQs characterizes the scope of the study. Within this scope, the study seeks to explain how a fact originates. Explanatory knowledge includes the following SRQs. SRQ3: What differentiates the business model and business format of social enterprises in developing economies and Bangladesh? (See empirical research stage in Fig. 1.) SRQ4: Which components of business formats are used by social enterprises in developing economies and in Bangladesh? (See analysis stage in Fig. 1). SRQ5: Which business format looks suitable for social business enterprises in the water sector of Bangladesh? (Conclusion stage in the Fig. 1).
Research framework (based on Verschuren and Doorewaard 2010)
Figure 1 demonstrates the research framework of this study. This research framework contains four phases that need to be covered to obtain the answers of the research questions and to achieve the research objective. In the literature research stage, relevant literature is reviewed to create a theoretical framework for the empirical research stage. This stage is a background for the analysis of social business formats in the Bangladeshi economy and is conducted in the analysis stage for every individual case and in a cross-case analysis for social business enterprises in different sectors, as well as social entrepreneurship in the water sectors. The results of both analyses are compared, contrasted and concluded. The concluding remarks describe suitable business formats for social entrepreneurship in the water sector of Bangladesh.
The literature review of the study covers three areas of study: 1) entrepreneurship in developing economies and Bangladesh, 2) social entrepreneurship in developing countries and Bangladesh and 3) business models and formats. These areas provide the conceptual framework of the study. The checklist of this framework is used to obtain the social business formats of all individual cases used in the comparative case analysis of both the nine social business enterprises from diverse sectors in Bangladesh and the eight social enterprises in the water sector of developing economies. The analysis stage is an overview of the results of both analyses. The social business formats found in the analysis are compared to find similarities and differences between social business enterprises in different sectors and the social enterprises in the water sector of Bangladesh. This comparison gives a suitable social business format for Bangladesh in the water sectors at conclusion stage.
Entrepreneurship in the water sectors in developing economies and Bangladesh
This section presents an answer to the first SRQ, "What explains the trend to social entrepreneurship in developing economies?" In recent years, entrepreneurship has been considered as an important driver of economic growth and development. We may categorize economies by the gross national income (GNI) per capita. The present study uses GNI (2012) per capita from the World Bank Atlas method Footnote 3 to define the developing economies. In the SME and social entrepreneurship sectors, Bangladesh is doing well, but the overall situation of entrepreneurship in Bangladesh is not good at all (Moazzem 2008). Critics said that in Bangladesh an entrepreneur may not always be an "innovator" but an "imitator" tempted to copy the successes of others.
Limited access to potable water and a lack of the provision of services create a vicious cycle (Partzsch and Ziegler 2011) that lead to reducing economic growth in developing countries. Evidence shows that very little recycling of water is taking place in the world where the major sources of water are surface (30 %) and ground water (69 %) and the major uses are drinking, industrial or agricultural. Nonetheless, the usage patterns of water in Bangladesh are 96 % for agricultural use, 3 % for domestic use, and 1 % for industrial use (BIPSS 2007). To specify the study context further, this study involves only the first two use activities, water supply and sanitation. At present, the water sector considers a worldwide drive for privatization, both in developed and developing economies (Wolff and Hallstein 2005). This drive can create many opportunities for individual entrepreneurship in the water sector of developing economies and Bangladesh.
Social entrepreneurship in developing economies and Bangladesh
Social entrepreneurship (SE) can emerge when other approaches from business organizations fail to stimulate economic development and growth. This section explains the concept social entrepreneurship and the characteristics of social entrepreneurship in developing economies and Bangladesh and answers the second SRQ: "What characterizes social entrepreneurship in developing economies, specifically in Bangladesh?"
In the past two decades, the social entrepreneur's concept has gained momentum and popularity. Broadly understood, SE is a social mind-set that is applicable in any kind of business or setting (Roberts and Woods 2005), such as profit entrepreneurial setting, a non-profit setting, a public setting, and within other social issues in any kind of organizational structure. Austin et al. (2006) say that SE should start with non-profit organizations; Dees and Anderson (2003) define SE as the process of transforming a non-profit organization into a profit-oriented organization, whereas Sagawa and E, Segal (2000) state that SE is the process through which business owners integrate their social responsibilities into their operations. To survive in a particular field, SE needs to exploit opportunities for social change and progress with the primary objective of creating social values and a secondary goal of creating economic value (Mair and Marti 2006). At the outset, a social entrepreneur should satisfy all the conditions of conventional entrepreneurship (Peredo and McLean 2006) within a social organization. When the said social enterprise becomes financially sound, generally it turns into a social business venture. We find a clear distinction between SE and traditional entrepreneurship in terms of objectives. The fundamental objective of SE is to boost social change depending on revenue streams but maximize profit, where the ultimate goal of traditional entrepreneurship is to maximize profit and wealth (Murphy and Coombes 2009).
We believe that revenue-generating social enterprises can be useful in developing economies, especially in Bangladesh, due to the combination of the government, civil society, private sector, and the public-private partnership approaches. Evidence shows that as governments in developing economies often fail to assume their role in creating and strengthening social institutions, SE might play a significant role in economic development and growth (Mair and Marti 2009). Presently, we see some outstanding innovations in social entrepreneurial enterprises, in developing economies and in Bangladesh, that address basic fundamental rights and human needs. But these initiatives are not yet complete and fall short of expectation. Experts suggest that optimal SE is possible in developing economies, although it is challenging due to lack of institutional structures (Seelos and Mair 2005), lack of access to capital (human, social and financial), and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities (Seelos and Mair 2005). Governments in developing countries often fail to offer these functions, while social entrepreneurship searches to find innovative ways to overcome these institutional failures. However, social entrepreneurs can work in the water sector as agents that perform certain functions and provide certain services previously considered the sole authority of states, and such enterprises are characterized by authority gained by their innovative potential, local embeddedness, educational efforts, and additional sources of accountability and legitimacy (Partzsch and Ziegler 2011). Currently, there are some social entrepreneurship initiatives in the water sector of developing economies (Ashoka 2014; Schwab Foundation 2014; and Skoll Foundation 2014), but these are not enough to equal the diverse demands.
Bangladesh is a recognized leader in social enterprise for organizations including Grameen Bank and BRAC. Researchers like Seelos and Mair (2005) and Alvord et al. (2002) have named Grameen Bank and BRAC as renowned examples of social entrepreneurship, as the founders of both organizations are hard workers, opportunity seekers, innovators, good organizers, planners and risk takers (Hossan, Hossain. (2012). In the year Bangladesh Social Enterprise Project (2010) conducted a survey study the perception of Bangladeshi people to SE. The majority of the respondents highlighted that they have a good understanding of the concept of social enterprise. They define a social enterprise as a business with social welfare and profit objectives (56.8 %), responsible to all stakeholders (35.1 %), and reinvesting profit for growth (32.4 %). BESP also found that the main challenges for engaging in Social Enterprise in Bangladesh have to do with overcoming a lack of an entrepreneurial mindset (73 %). The same report also reveals other challenges: access to finance, corruption, difficulty in attracting talented human resources, financial risks, administrative hurdles, and social risks or costs. Some of the initiatives they highlighted to overcome the problems are better media coverage (97.3 %), capacity-building initiatives (94.6 %), recognition for best social enterprises (83.7 %), a formal association for social enterprise (78.4 %), a separate course on social enterprise in the university curriculum (67.5 %), and a dedicated website (67.5 %).
Social business model and business formats
The business model focuses on the value creation of a business and describes an enterprise's core strategy to generate economic value. To generate economic value, an enterprise converts its input into output and makes a profit that should be greater than opportunity cost and delivers a return to its investors. Generally, social entrepreneurs use a business operation model that is defined as a social business. The format of a social business is derived from a conventional business model. This section answers SRQ3: What differentiates the business model and business format of social enterprises in developing economies and Bangladesh?
Different experts define the concept 'business model' in different ways, including terms such as strategy, business-concept, revenue-model, economic model and the business model itself (Zott et al. 2011). The business model often concentrates on joint value creation, cooperation and partnership within the enterprise and with other enterprises (Magretta 2002). The business model is used to explain the activities of an enterprise, the strategy of that enterprise and the way the enterprise combines strategic formulation and implementation (Richardson 2008). The present study uses the business model of social enterprises, which is called social business model, to investigate the success factors that lead to the success of the social enterprise. The success of a business model includes a wide range of financial performance measures such as revenue growth, profitability, market capitalization, and equity (DeYoung 2005; Redis 2009). Business models also deal with the link between products markets (within the industry) and the labor and capital market. In our case, for social enterprises, the social value provided to stakeholders can be used to measure the success (Mair and Schoen 2007) of the business. In social business, a business model is used to determine the factors that lead to success in creating both financial and social values. Therefore, this study makes use of the business format Footnote 4 of a social enterprise, a format that can be seen as a checklist based on the use of the Hamel's established current business model.
Examining the formation of a social business format, Santos (2009) focuses on value creation rather than value appropriation. The social business format used by this study is based on the business model of Hamel (2002). This model (shown in Table 2) includes all aspects of social business elements in developing countries and has been used in previous research by Mair and Schoen (2007). So, the social business format is characterized by four components of the business model: core strategy, strategic resources, customer interface, and value network. Every component consists of sub-components and variables found in the academic literature and applicable to our study. In Bangladesh, there is a live debate on the concept of social business formats. To identify a social business format, Professor Yunus focuses on specific social, ethical or environmental goal and payback of initial investment but not returns, while Professor Sobhan emphasizes ownership of enterprises for poor people. On the other hand, BRAC likes to operate a hybrid model that includes conventional development, health and education programs with social enterprises and more commercial activities like banks. So, a common social business format is indeed for entrepreneurs to develop the water sectors in Bangladesh.
The conceptual framework provides specific boundaries and relationships between the research variables in order to function as a clear basis for the empirical part of the study. The general objective of the study is to find a business format for social entrepreneurship that seems to be suitable for the water sector in Bangladesh. This study uses the business model to study the success and survival of social enterprises in Bangladesh's economies and water sector. The study employs previous academic study of social entrepreneurship development, hybrid non-profit model of social enterprises and leveraged not-for-profit model which are active in the water sector. Hybrid social venture combines the social welfare logic of nonprofits and the money making logic of a For-profit-business. Bleading (2013) says, hybrid social ventures are creative ways of solving real-world problems and these ventures harness the strength of both profitability and non-profit business models. Anyway, under the hybrid non-profit organization model, entrepreneurs set up non-profit business considering somewhat of cost recovery with the sale of goods and services. On the contrary, under the leveraged non-profit model, entrepreneurs set up a non-profit business to ensure the uses of innovation that address government failure or a market (Schwab Foundation).
The traditional business model and social business model and social entrepreneurship literature are interrelated, as both knowledge areas influence each other within the scope of this study. The present study has developed based on the business model framework of Hamel (2002) and used this framework as a tool to study social business generally. This business model framework consists of four components with some sub-components of each of the four major components. An overview of the components is depicted in Table 1.
Table 1 Components of a Business Model
The first component of the business format is the customer interface, which explains the type of social business organization, relationship with customers and pricing structures referring to income-generating activities. Hamel (2002) mainly focuses on direct sales of products to customers and indirect sales to other organizations. The core strategy of a business deals with future plans and sets out key decisions on social business development. The first element of this component is the business mission that covers the overall objective of the strategy (Hamel 2002). The objective of a social enterprise may be opportunity-driven or necessity-driven. Market and product scope indicates a market where the enterprise competes with other organizations, products and customers. The final element is the differentiation strategy that distinguishes the product and services of a firm from those of other firms as a way to reduce competition (Chamberlin 1948). The third component of the business model is the strategic resources that include three important sub-components: core competencies, strategic assets, and core processes. Strategic resources create a competitive advantage for social enterprises (Hamel 2002), strategic assets cover the human and physical resources of a firm, and the core process of social enterprise indicates the innovative approaches of the activities of social business. The value network encourages a social enterprise to build relationships with all surrounding parties that are related to social enterprises. For the best complement and amplification of social business resources, a good relationship with customers, suppliers, government, foundations and other business might help.
In a qualitative and explorative study, Mair and Schoen (2007) use this business model framework and address how social entrepreneurs successfully combine social and economic value creation in a financially self-sustained manner. The present study uses the same approach and aims to address how business models are composed in social business that seems useful for the water sector of Bangladesh. Therefore, the business model combines all the gained knowledge on social entrepreneurship in a social business format. A social business format consists of the four components (core strategy, strategic resources, customer interface, and value network) of the business model and its underlying set of sub-components. The set of components and variables originates from social entrepreneurship literature and the business model framework of Hamel (2002) and results in a checklist of possibilities that compose the business model of a social enterprise. The complete checklists are provided in Table 2 and Table 3 and are used to study the various social enterprises.
Table 2 Social business format checklist taken from social business enterprises
Table 3 Social business format checklist from social enterprise for the water sectors
The analysis made by this study is based mainly on existing literature and material gathered by others and, therefore, can be classified as a desk-study research strategy (Verschuren and Doorewaard 2010). The gathered data for this study originate from several sources. Secondary data used include existing case studies, published and unpublished reports and articles, internet sources and profile description from the Schwab Foundation. The method comprises the individually studied cases of social entrepreneurship. The Schwab Foundation provided a suitable database for the eight strategic samples, as this database included social enterprises in the water sectors. Eight strategic samples were selected based on two criteria: being a social enterprise and operating only in the water sector. These eight social enterprises do business, of course, in developing countries like Bangladesh. Secondly, nine existing social enterprise developments of Bangladesh in different sectors were analyzed. These nine social business cases were taken from the Bangladesh Social Enterprise Project (BSEP).
The first stage was an in-depth examination of all 17 (8 + 9) individual cases studied independently (Appendix 1 and 2) to find a social business format based on the conceptual framework checklist. Firstly, nine social business enterprises were studied carefully and key variables were identified (Appendix 2), and then the variables were set into the social business format checklist from social business enterprises (Table 2). This checklist provides a general social business enterprises format. Secondly, eight social business enterprises from only the water sectors were studied carefully and key variables were identified (Appendix 1); then the variables were set into the social business format checklist from social business enterprises for the water sector (Table 3). This checklist provides a general social business enterprises format for the water sectors. Again, the summary of these two businesses format checklists provides an overview of social business format. In the second stage, the composed general social business enterprises format was compared with the common social business enterprises for the water sector. Differences between the two analyses conclude in prescriptive knowledge to develop social entrepreneurship in the water sector of Bangladesh.
This section contains the results of case analyses and of the social business formats found in the social business enterprise, and it answers SRQ4: Which components of business formats are used by social enterprises in developing economies and Bangladesh? To answer SRQ4, the social business format checklist from social business enterprises and the social business format checklist from social enterprises for the water sectors were prepared and are shown below. Firstly, nine social business enterprises were studied carefully and the variables of each sub-component have been identified and set into the business format that provides the social business format checklist taken from social business enterprises.
Secondly, eight social enterprises from the water sectors under Schwab Foundation were used for a second comparative case analysis to find the variables of each sub-component. After identifying the variables, they have set into the business format that provides social business format checklist from social business enterprises for the water sectors, are shown in the Table 3.
The following headings explain when the social business formats (Table 2 and Table 3) are checked. I) Business mission: In the business mission sub-component, we found two variables; the social business venture can be either opportunity driven or necessity-driven (Harding et al. 2006). The social business venture is necessity-driven when the business is started out of financial necessity rather than an opportunity for new business. II) Market scope: In the market scope, we uncovered three common variables that create social values for lower income people with a cooperative network, as per community demand. III) The basis for differentiation: In the basis for differentiation sub-component we got four major variables like zero distribution cost, capacity building, loan facilities and direct sales. All factors but direct sales are responsible to enhance social values. IV) Competencies: The core competencies sub-component comprises four variables- quality control, low-cost technologies, investing entrepreneurial skills, and corporate responsibility. There are no commonalities, but all are relevant to the social enterprise and the water sector for the creation of social values. V) Strategic assets: In the strategic assets sub-component, we determined four variables—pooling of community resources, use of local materials, organic and sustainable products and distribution by a local female that creates both social and economic values. VI) Core processes: As the core processes include many more variables, this sub-component is summarized by product and process innovation. Our results report that conventional business enterprise focuses on product innovation whereas social enterprises for the water sector focus on process innovation. VII) In the organization structure sub-component, the following variables are available: hybrid non-profit, leveraged not-for-profit, business partnership, unique proximity, welfare trust, cooperative, non-profit organization. These approaches can create both social and economic value while business partnership creates only economic value. VIII) Relationship dynamics: This sub-component includes two variables—strong network and social compliance standard. Here the network creates economic and social value where social compliance creates only social values. IX) Pricing structure: In the pricing structure sub-component there is a unique market price or least price (set to make the enterprise self-sustaining) that matters for both economic and social values. X) Suppliers: This sub-component covers five variables, including individual entrepreneurs, employees of the company, SMEs, multinationals, governmental organizations. Hence, entrepreneurs, enterprises, and employees create commercial value, governmental organizations create social value and supply from employees creates both social and economic value. XI) Partners: This component covers partnership with other business, communities, farmers, public-private partnership (PPP), and fixed-cost underwriting. The variable partnership with other business generates economic value, while PPP and fixed-cost underwriting introduce both the economic and social value, and partnership with communities and farmers generates social value. XII) Coalitions: This sub-component includes business, communities, private business and microfinance institutions (MFIs) where business creates economic value, communities and MFIs generate both economic and social value.
The composed general social business format and the business formats for the various organizational structures from the comparative case analysis of the nine social business enterprises are compared with the same formats based on the eight social enterprises in the water sectors. Distinguished characteristics between the two suggest that the creation of social and economic value should urge the prescription to develop social entrepreneurship in the water sectors of Bangladesh. The first point of discussion is related to the data set and strategic sample of the study. Internal validity is ensured by making use of the clear formulation of the research framework, pattern matching, and data triangulation. The Schwab Foundation clearly defines and categorizes the organizations examined by this study, but excludes many other social entrepreneurial initiatives globally. This study ignores these initiatives due to using solely cases originating from the water sector database of the Schwab Foundation. This ignored initiative could be useful for a larger sample in the water sector. A second point of discussion is the lack of statistical significance in the results. A third point of discussion is the absence of in-depth information related to the sub-components that are part of the theoretical framework checklist. The fourth and final point of discussion is that the samples of social business enterprises for the water sector are small, and our proposed format would be more effective using a large strategic sample. However, this study creates an avenue for further quantitative research on the factors influencing social enterprises in developing countries like Bangladesh, as well as for and other qualitative research.
The present study contributes to the development of social entrepreneurship in the water sectors of Bangladesh by providing an overview of formats of social business enterprises and comparing with the social business formats of developing economies in the water sector. The general research question of the study is, What is a suitable business format for social entrepreneurship in the water sector of Bangladesh? The conclusion section answers the general research question by answering the various specific research questions.
Social entrepreneurship is the process of creating and maintaining social and economic values with a view to growing the social enterprise and to reaching more people to meet their fundamental needs. SE has been studied more frequently over the last decades, resulting in the following question: What explains the trend of social entrepreneurship in developing economies and Bangladesh? The trend towards social entrepreneurship can be explained by the pattern of developing economies and the entrepreneurship of the Bangladeshi economy, the effect of entrepreneurship on the economic development of Bangladesh. Evidence shows that these trends are promising for developing economies and the Bangladeshi economy as well. This consideration results in a specific research question: What characterizes social entrepreneurship in Bangladesh? The answer is found in the discussion of the two key elements of social entrepreneurship, "a comprehensive social goal and business model" and "entrepreneurial initiatives and activities." These two key elements of social entrepreneurship are characterized by revenue-generating opportunities and contribution to economic development, intending to create social development for disadvantaged people, creating relationships between the social enterprise and the community, not being focused only on customer satisfaction but also on community development, and use of multi-value innovation for social changes and development. Social entrepreneurship in Bangladesh emerges through innovation and activities when institutions and governments fail to address social needs. In the empirical part of the study, social business model and format provide knowledge on social entrepreneurship that carries prescription and relates to a specific research question: What characterizes the business model and business format of social enterprises in Bangladesh? The business format is characterized by four components of the business model a) core strategy, b) strategic resources, c) customer interface, and d) a value network that helps to study all social enterprises. The accompanying prescription can be explained through discussion of the various social business formats and their similarities, answering the specific research question: Which business formats are used by social enterprises in Bangladesh?
The social business format checklist (Table 2) indicates a common social business enterprise format that uses a business model in an existing market that is opportunity driven. The social enterprise focuses on social differentiation with innovation Footnote 5 for income generation and community development, whereas the core competencies of the social entrepreneur are quality control, corporate responsibility, managerial and technical know-how. This business format also dictates that an entrepreneur should use local materials and low-cost energy as strategic assets for business model innovation of the social enterprise and make partners with the community and businesses.
The social business format checklist (Table 3) illustrates that a general social business format for the water sector is a social enterprise that uses a non-profit business format that is generally opportunity-driven and exploits a market with local demands. The basis of differentiation for these organizations is both human capacity-building and community development through zero distribution cost, water, and sanitation loan, and makes use of strategic assets, say low-cost energy and local materials. The core competencies of the founding social entrepreneur include quality control via technology, human resources and responsibility to the three Ps (people. planet, profits). The relationship dynamics are governed by both kinship and social compliance standards. The enterprise acts in a direct and indirect way with water treatment (pouring for purification and rainwater harvesting) for the customers on a continuous basis.
The answer to the last specific research question arises from the conclusion of the findings. When comparing the social business enterprises format with the social business format used by social enterprises in the water sector (Table 2 and Table 3), the following differences are found. Firstly, a social business enterprise focuses entrepreneurial skills as the basis for core competencies, whereas social enterprises in the water sector center on electrification and water purification. Secondly, regarding core process drivers, the social business enterprise is a business model of social welfare and product innovation, whereas the social enterprises in the water sector are of social welfare and process innovation. Thirdly, the pricing structure of social business ventures uses direct sales for income, whereas direct sales are not used by non-profit social enterprises in the water sector. Generally, the social enterprise in the water sector considers a lower priced technique. Fourthly, social business ventures are used to be part of a coalition or partner with a business and community, whereas social enterprises in the water sector are used to be private business and MFIs. Finally, non-profit concepts are used in the field of social enterprises only in the water sector, whereas both profit and non-profit terms are used in the social business enterprise. These differences should be considered in introducing a social business enterprise for the water sector in Bangladesh.
In urban areas where revenues from water sales do not even cover operating costs. In rural areas, users contribute 34 % of investment costs only.
First one is Grameen Veolia Water Ltd. is a 50-50 joint venture of social business philosophy of Professor Muhammad Yunus and the second one is A. K. Khan Water Health (Bangladesh) Limited, a joint venture of decentralized business model. The untapped consumer market and the high demand for quality potable water offer a wealth of opportunities for ensuring sustainable revenue and creating positive social impact where the water is sold under the brand name of Dr. Water.
This method categorizes economies of countries in four categories: 1) low-income, 2) lower middle income, 3) upper middle income, and 4) high income countries. The low income country group consists of countries with a GNI per capita of approximate $1,000 or less, [GNI per capita; Atlas method (US dollar) in Bangladesh was last measured at 840 in 2012, according to the World Bank.] the lower middle income country group has approximate $1,000 - $4,000 and the upper middle income, approximate $4,000 - $12,500 (World Bank 2012).
A business format is a design, at a certain stage of a business life cycle that explains in which way the activities of an enterprise and its partners work together to execute the strategy at that specific moment in time.
No distribution costs, Capacity-building services, Water filtering facilities, Training facilities, Door to door sales, Rural Sales Program, Water and sanitation loan (by local female).
UNICEF:
United Nations Children's Fund
UNDP:
International Development Association
JICA:
JBIC:
Japan Bank for International Cooperation
WASA:
Water Supply & Sewerage Authority
DANIDA:
Danish International Development Agency
BIPSS:
Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies
SME:
BRAC:
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee
ADB:
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Harding, R., Brooksbank, D., Hart, M., Jones-Evans, D., Levie, J., O'Reilly, J., et al. (2006). Global Entrepreneurship Monitor. United Kingdom: London Business School.
Haugh, H. (2005). A research agenda for social entrepreneurship. Social Enterprise Journal, 1(1), 1–12.
Hossan, D. M., & Hossain, M. (2012). Social Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. International Journal of Research in Commerce, IT and Management, 2(9), 7–12.
Magretta, J. (2002). Why business models matter. Harvard Business Review, 80(5), 86–87.
Mair, J., & Marti, I. (2006). Social entrepreneurship research: A source of explanation, prediction, and delight. Journal of World Business, 41(1), 36–44.
Mair, J., & Marti, I. (2009). Entrepreneurship in and around institutional voids: A case study from Bangladesh. Journal of business venturing, 24(5), 419–435.
Mair, J., & Schoen, O. (2007). Successful social entrepreneurial business models in the context of developing economies: An explorative study. International Journal of Emerging Markets, 2(1), 54–68.
Moazzem. (2008). Strategies for Entrepreneurship Development in Bangladesh: Unleashing the Potentials of SMEs. Dhaka: Policy brief, centre for policy dialogue.
Munemo, J. (2012). Entrepreneurship In Developing Countries: Is Africa Different? Journal of Developmental Entrepreneurship, 17, 1.
Murphy, P. J., & Coombes, S. M. (2009). A Model of Social Entrepreneurial Discovery. Journal of Business Ethics, 87(3), 325–336.
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The authors would like to thanks, Dr. Mohammad Akter Hossan, department of Finance and Dr. Imran, department of Microbiology, University of Chittagong, for providing the information regarding social enterprises of the water sector in Bangladesh. Authors also like to thanks the SCRiBBR team for proofreading and editing and the reviewers for their unanimous comments and valuable suggestions.
Department of Finance, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, 4331, Bangladesh
Mohammed Ziaul Hoque
Department of Business Administration, International Islamic University, Chittagong (IIUC), Chittagong, 4203, Bangladesh
Kulsuma Akter Nahid
Correspondence to Mohammed Ziaul Hoque.
MZH carried out the data collection and analysis, KAN also collected data somewhat and participated in drafting the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Table 4 Description of selected water sector cases
Table 5 Description of selected social business enterprises cases
Hoque, M.Z., Nahid, K.A. Business format in social entrepreneurships for Bangladesh's water sector. J Glob Entrepr Res 5, 25 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40497-015-0043-6
Received: 30 October 2014
Water sectors


Here's a very quick thing I did this weekend!
My much-beloved copper half-cistern and dustbin lid garden bonfire (see below) has always been in need of some steadying legs – it currently works by simply resting on the ground on top of an old saucepan or on old bits of wood, which has always made it a bit precarious to say the least!
I realised my discarded bath legs may be just the thing? With a bit of judicious drilling and bolting I fixed the two bath legs into a cross shape, and then attached the slightly too small dustbin lid (which upturned forms the base of the bonfire) in a suspended arrangement between them using some longer coach bolts. Instantly, a more secure, self-levelling bonfire support!
I'm not sure I like the look of these bent legs much, but will give it a good test burn and see how I feel in a bit / after some usage. The alternative is maybe to fashion some funky looking sculptural arms from copper pipe etc that I could simply slip over the top of the legs – not as functional, but might look nicer when the fire is going.
Finally, I realised how worn the whole copper burner part is looking after several years of really intense heat. The copper has gone incredibly soft and malleable, and it occurred to me that rather than the slightly functional / straight appearance of the top rim, I could maybe cut a nice shape or filigree into it (again not as functional, but I can imagine it looking really cool when alight). The last shot of the photos below shows a trial go at this, using my trusty arc welder to simply burn a spattering of holes through the copper… Not sure this completely works, but I'll try a few different things and see how it goes.
Hopefully the photos below illustrate the whole process in order a bit better. . .
Here's the old bath, lying majestically in the garden, sans legs, awaiting disposal!
Look what I've just found in a junk pile. . .
I've always wanted one of these (what with my predilection for things that make musical sounds, and all…) and I fervently hope it's going to be possible to rejuvenate it into a both attractive and useable piece. It's clearly seen better days – the wood is pretty rotten in places, particularly on the back struts (the lower part of the image shows this quite well) so I may have to create few new bits from scratch.
A quick look on the trusty WibblyWobblyWeb instantly threw up a plethora of useful sites / pages on washboards and their use for in music (is nothing new under the sun!?). Sites like Washboard International for example (I'm not kidding!) had lots of photos on, many showing a wide range or weird and wonderful modifications that people have been made to the basic washboard design / format. Already I can think of a few musical bits and pieces I have in my 'bits box' that I can add for additional interest (a few old bells from both bicycles and alarm clocks instantly spring to mind!) so I hope to start work and documentation of this project very soon.
Wind Chimes Part II – Work In Progress. . .
Finally, when the chimes are wall mounted, shown below is the bottom of the chime arm assembly. This serves two purposes – as a hook for a yet another hanging chime (if required) and also as a removable end-cap to allow the arm to be fitted into the base unit.
Sorry if all this is a bit confusing – I'm hoping when the thing is finally completed and assembled, all will make sense!!? Stay tuned for further progress. . .
Faster than the fastest thing ever?
My great friend GG just gave me a tin of the following stuff, which previously I'd never even known existed but to which I am now a firm convert!
This stuff is a miracle however – it can be sprayed directly onto wet glue on a joint, or applied to one surface whilst the glue is applied to another and the two brought into contact Voilà, instantaneous setting!!
There is enough in the tin to last several lifetimes I am guessing, but I've already used it several times to great effect.
New addition for The Shed. . .
I thought I'd share a small (yet highly treasured) addition for 'Clivey's Shed', again acquired over the dreaded New Year / Birthday Interregnum of 2008. . .
Says it all, really. . .
I thought I'd post up the following logo that I've recently completed for a new client – for no other reason than I'm quite pleased with it and wanted to show it off a bit!
It's for a high-end car restoration firm, and I've taken a 'classic car' look / feel for the general approach. It's not overly complicated (once one gets past the phoenix and flames drawing, of course) but that was the client brief. It also has to work in only one colour, as it's going to get reproduced in adhesive vinyl for vans. signage etc.
It's gone down pretty well with the client and his customers so far – I hope it's going to serve him well for many years to come. . .
Ever since I saw a builder chappy (aka Big john) using one of these earlier in the year, I've been obsessed with getting one. Imagine my delight therefore when some kind Santa (aka again, the very generous Lesley!) gave me this in my stocking. . .
For the uninitiated, it's a 'weight forward' hammer – as the name suggests it's 17kg of hammering joy that is weighted towards the front end (the idea being that it therefore takes less work to bang nails in). Apart from this fundamental feature, to my eye it's also a simply wonderful piece of design – everything is a delight to look at / use, although I particularly love the sweepingly sharp 'claw' at the back.


Spend the day at Grand Country Music Hall! Pet lovers enjoy the furry stars of Amazing Pets in the morning; find nonstop laughter in the afternoon with the hilarious Comedy Jamboree; then end the day with Branson's most entertaining show, the Grand Jubilee. Shows daily – call for schedule or visit GrandCountry.com/shows.asp.


Stressless Senator Large Reclining Chair & Ottoman w/ Swing Table Bring sophisticated style to your living room or den with the Stressless® reclining chair and ottoman with swing table. The Senator features top-grain leather upholstery in black for a sleek, contemporary aesthetic. Adjustable elements, pushback reclining and a tilting ottoman help you get just the right fit. Stressless® chairs also feature cold-cured foam for unprecedented comfort and stability.


text:
Q: HTTPS on localhost for OAuth for a desktop application I am creating a desktop application that using Spotify's oauth api. I am using the implicit grant flow described here: https://developer.spotify.com/web-api/authorization-guide/#implicit_grant_flow
My idea is to have an "Authenticate" button, that you click and it opens your browser. You login/approve the connection with Spotify. Then it sends you to a redirect url.
I want to set this redirect url to 127.0.0.1:58212 or some port on the loopback device.
My question is, should I use https for this?
I am leaning towards yes. One because the access token needs to be secure, and I believe other users on the system could potentially read the message when it is sent, and two because in the time it took the user to log in, someone could have taken over the port.
So I want SSL for encryption of the message, and I want to ensure I am actually talking to my app.
How do I generate certificates in this situation? I think each instance of the application needs to have its own certificate, and I need to somehow inform the computer to trust that certificate during the lifetime of the application.
I could also generate the certificate during installation, and do some step during installation that makes the system trust that certificate.
Am I thinking about this the correct way, or am I going about this all wrong?
I am using electron and express in JavaScript to write my application.
Thanks for any advice.

A: The best way to securely use Oauth with installed applications such as desktop applications is to use the Oauth 2 flow for installed applications. But this option would have to be implemented by the service provider. Google provides for this option.
https://developers.google.com/api-client-library/python/auth/installed-app
Unfortunately, many services do not implement OAuth2.
To use Oauth 1.0 with installed applications, instead of returning to a callback_url, the service provider displays the auth code to the user which the user can then copy and paste to the desktop application. Check out Trello Ouath integration which allows for this.
The Web Api flow that you are trying to achieve will not work in the case of desktop apps. The redirect uri 127.0.0.1:port is your local uri. The service provider will need, at the very least, your public ip to redirect the flow back to your system.

A: AFAIK, for a Desktop or a native app it is much better to implement the Oauth authorization code flow.  The implicit grant is intended to be used on a device browser and not on a Web View.
If your app uses a Web Service to connect, your Web Service needs a redirect URL that uses https.  Luckily most hosting platforms like Heroku provide this to you for free (otherwise you need to buy an SSL certificate which might be a lot of work).
On the authorization code flow, a token doesn't need to see the client, it is all stored in the backend.
Most services allow you to test on localhost with http.
I wrote a tutorial that could give you some guidance on the flow.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Adding days to a moment object is return same moment object I've a moment object to which I'm trying add some days.
However, it is returning the same moment object as a result.
But, if I simply try to do it on the current date, it works fine.
Also, note that, I always receive a moment object to which I need to add the days.
Code:
const someDate = moment('22-03-2020');
console.log(someDate.add(5, 'days');

someDate is something I receive from the server and is always a moment object.
How do I fix this?

A:
"Deprecation warning in moment js - Not in a recognized ISO format"
  if you provide not valid ISO format for more check here information
  Deprecation warning in moment js - Not in a recognized ISO format

    // Recommended format: YYYY/MM/DD

 const someDate = moment('2020-03-22');
 console.log(someDate.add(5, 'days').format("YYYY-MM-DD"));

Test here

A: You should specify what format you used, like so:
const someDate = moment('22-03-2020', 'DD-MM-YYYY')
const newDate = someDate.add(5, 'days')
console.log(newDate)

To format a moment object, you just have to add .format() like so:
console.log(newDate.format())


Well done to all who attended the Passage Christmas comp yesterday. The winners were Niall Waters, Michael Hanlon, David Roche, Daniel Geraghty, Eoghan Flynn, Sean Cunningham. Amongst the beginners were Jamie Mulcahy, Luke Roche, RossConnolly, Nathan Connolly. A great day was had by all and proizes with food for alll were presented after the comp. Lots of pictures on the site to review from the day.
not much diffrance in seniors flounder king will still get the chips at xmass competition haha ha .
yeah dogfish he is one for the future learning fast he will be old enough to fish u 16 next year.
well done to all... it was cold to say the least..


A bass lover's best friend.
It's a rare day that isn't made better with a favorite ball cap in place to shield you from the sun. This bass Logo Lockup Cap is a classic flat-brim trucker that proudly flies the Simms bass logo front and center.


Experience Egypt tiptop attractions in a private day trip to Cairo from Hurghada by plane to discover the ancient Egyptian civilization in one of the seven wonders of the world, Giza pyramids complex including, the Great Sphinx, the Great Pyramid, Valley Temple, then move to explore the ancient Egyptian artifacts inside the Egyptian Museum, also get the chance to visit the oldest bazaar in the Middle East "Khan El Khalili", finally catch your flight back to Hurghada & transfer to your hotel. Book Now!
Private Egyptologist tour guide throughout the day tour.
Mineral water and soft drink on board the vehicle during the day tour.
It is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids of Giza plateau and the only one to remain intact from the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, it was built by King Khufu and the height of the great pyramid is 147m, the number of stones used in construction is 2,300,000 and it took twenty years to be built.
The Sphinx belongs to King Chephren is the largest statue in the world, standing 73 m. long, 19 m. wide, and 20 m in height. It is the oldest known monumental sculpture.
No visit to Cairo is complete without a stop to Khan EL Khalili bazaar, one of the most famous and oldest bazaars in the Middle East.
Finally, we will transfer you to Cairo Airport for a flight to Hurghada and then transfer to your hotel to end your day trip to Cairo from Hurghada by plane.
I can not say enough about the wonderful day I had in Egypt! Traveling as single solo woman, I visited 5 countries in 20 days, and I am so glad I ended it with a bang with Egypt Portal Tours!!! Egypt gets a bad reputation, but it is far from the truth!!! My experience with my tour and driver, along with everyone we met on the tour and the people in the establishments, and at all the locations were attentive, secure, kind, respectful, and extremely knowledgeable and accountable!
I landed in Egypt Nov 07 and had a 24 hour stay in the country where I would fly out Nov 8 later in the evening, so wanted to make the best of it by doing a tour. From the time I touched down, I was welcomed with such hospitality, by Anter at the Airport, an affiliate with Egypt Portal Tours! He assisted me with my getting my Visa and walking me to my transport vehicle! Once I was at the vehicle I met my tour guide Mohamed Elshemei and driver, Mini, who were so accommodating from start to finish; complete gentleman. I did not have to worry about my luggage or personal items, hotel accommodations, portable MiFi, trip itineraries, and/or transportation; everything was situated and reserved for me! Truly 5 Star treatment!
The hotel was wonderful and their breakfast was phenomenal (I signed up for the 5 star hotel). The facility was secure and the service was impeccable!
Mohamed really focused on taking me to key landmarks that Egypt is known for, as well as, took me to some an amazing restaurant for lunch and wonderful shops, where I purchased quality merchandise! We also checked out the oldest market place at the end of the day which had a great energy, as the sun set! The streets were filled with people, many being families just enjoying the shops and local food!
He was very kind, honest, and sincere, which speaks volumes about his character and the way him and his colleague Mini, provide top notch customer service! I plan on coming back to Egypt with my family, and will definitely be rebooking with my guide, Mohamed Elshemei and the Driver MINI next time!
So if you have any doubts about visiting Egypt, trust and believe that it is Safe, Beautiful, and truly a place to make lasting memories!!!
We came to Egypt to dive in the Red Sea but we still wanted to see the pyramids. I did my research and found Egypt Tour Portal. They were extremely responsive to emails and put together the perfect tour for us. I try to always take private tours so they can be customized a bit.
We were picked up at our hotel at 4am and dropped off at the airport for our flight to Cairo (included in price). In Cairo we were met outside the airport by our guide Ismail (I might be spelling that wrong – he went by the nickname Smile). We drove though Cairo to Giza and arrived at the Pyramids pretty early in the day. Over the last few years I have heard that it has become over crowded with stores and fast food everywhere. I did not find this to be the case at all. There is a small group of shack vendors and camel rides near the Pyramids and the town has definitely spread close to the Sphinx but it still was amazing. Maybe it was the time of year but we did not feel overload by tourists at all.
We went to a Papyrus gallery where I brought home two beautiful pieces. We visited the Egyptian Museum and hope to go back when the Grand Museum is finished in 2020.
We ended our day at Khan El-Khalili the Cairo Market. This was not part of the original tour but we really wanted to go (hence why I book private tours). Smile was a fantastic guide, walking us through the market then giving us time to explore on our own before heading back to the airport for our flight back to Hurghada.
If you are looking for a great company to book your Egypt tours with these guys are great and ask for Smile he was fabulous!
I was guided by the amazing tour guide Sameh, he is very knowledgeable and very professional! This is my first time in Cairo and also the best day in Cairo thanks to my private tour guide Sameh.
We visited the Pyramids and had the dinner cruise on the boat. It was lots of walking in the Pyramids area, make sure you wear a comfortable shoes as u're gonna walk quite a lot and wear sun cream to protect ur skin from the heavy sun.
I'm so glad I was served by Sameh, because he is not only a professional tour guide, also a skillful photographer. He had taken lots of fantastic photos and videos of me!
And on the cruise was one of the best memories. I love Egyptian music and songs. I told Sameh I wanna dance to the music the live band played, he immediately communicate with the staff there, beautiful videos was taken and I had a chance to talk to the amazing and hilarious Tanaura dancer Hussein Mansour.
And there is a small thing that I would like to mention here, is that Sameh he is such a gentleman always open the car door for u to enter every single time we use the car. I was very surprised cuz' usually Arabic guys are not doing this things.
Last not the least, I'm a woman traveling solo to Cairo. Its safe to travel with Sameh, cuz he will be always at ur back. Very respectful and professional from the beginning till he dropped me to the airport. I wish he could company me to the tour from Luxor to Aswan.
If I have friends who haven't visited Cairo, I would highly recommend them to choose Sameh.
Very nice daytrip, you see all the Caïro essentials. The guide was polite, helpful and informative, telling you everything there is to know during the trip. Although they are optional, expect to pay some extra cash for activities that make the experience complete.
My family just had a fantastic day in Cairo, we were picked up at 2:30am by private car and we are right now returning to Hurghada.
We are all very tired due to the long distance ( 5 hours each way) but it worth every second.
Abraham was our Guide and I can't thank him enough for all the kindness and help.
I would definitely do it again and really recommend this tour.
Let me start by saying, we found Egypt a safe and friendly place to visit. At the all the airports and main tourist sights, security is tight and visible ensuring safety.
I last toured Egypt as a single man in 1993 and made this trip to Cairo with my wife and 2 teenage daughters. The country and itsancient sights and the Museum remain as fascinating as ever!
We booked a day trip to Cairo with the Egypt Tours Portal after having read their Trip Advisor Reviews. We were not disappointed. To visit Cairo from Hurghada on a day trip it's best to fly; however please be aware it can be a very long and tiring day. We left our Hurghada Resort at 3:00 am and arrived back at 2:00 am the following morning!
We were met at Cairo Airport by our guide Mohammed Al-Shemei. It was a pleasure to spend the day with him and our driver, Ali – starting the day by buying us a traditional Egyptian Breakfast of Falafel, Spicy Beans and Pomme Fritte Pitta Bread kebabs.
We started with a visit to the Grand Mosque of Muhammad Ali followed by the Egyptian Museum, followed by a trip to Giza to see the Sphinx and the Pyramids of Giza. Mohammed is a knowledgeable guide and pitched the information at the right level to keep us interested and wanting to learn more ; we were a family of 4 with 2 teen-aged daughters.
A visit inside the Great Pyramid of Giza also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or Cheops is a must, although it's at an extra cost!
Included was a traditional Egyptian buffet lunch at the Cleopatra Restaurant, in the shadow of the Pyramids. This was disappointing and I would recommend that the Tour Company find a better alternative to this even if not in sight of the Pyramids.
The day was not rushed and Mohammed, like all guides, took us to the usual tourist trap shops of a bazaar selling curious, gold and souvenirs, a traditional Egyptian Oils/perfumer, a Papyrus demonstration and shop and a textile shop. These were all over-priced and the guides were evidently paid a commission on any purchases.
As our flight back to Hurghada was quite late, we asked if we could fit in the Sound and Light Show at the Sphinx. Mohammed was able to accommodate this, which is at an extra cost but I highly recommend it if you have the time.
I would recommend the Company Egypt Tours Portal as well as their guide Mohammed Al-Shemei for a day trip to Cairo. However, I would advise that you plan the day with the company in advance and agree the extras and places you would want to visit in order to make the most of your day trip.
Just do it! Honestly no regrets! Booked at last minute and all arranged immediately via WhatsApp. Hotel pickup time, flights arranged, welcome at Cairo by tour company spot on! Our day was awesome, with special thanks to our guide Reham! The best tour guide we have ever had! Great knowledge and makes your tour fun! She also takes awesome family photos and fun ones at the pyramids! And the lunch was so good! What an experience! Thank you Egypt Tours Portal and Reham our guide and Mohamed our driver for making our day an incredible experience.
Early start for our flight to Cairo and then, just WOW! Our tour guide, Emy, was just fab and made the day extra special for us. Her knowledge was great and her photographic skills have given us memories to last a lifetime. Our driver was amazing on the roads of Cairo. Highly recommended, thanks.
Where to begin…a friend and I booked this tour for my 40th birthday as I've always wanted to see the pyramids and today it was a dream come true!
We were picked up from our hotel at 4am by Mohamed who was really friendly and helpful both in teaching us a few Arabic words at our request and advising us on getting our flight. Check in went smoothly and we found that trying out our new Arabic words got a good reception and a few smiles.
The Egyptian airlines flight was great, even got served a free drink and some biscuits despite the very short flight.
We were met off the plane by Mohamed Elshemei and Minii who instantly made us feel at ease and we set off to start our day in Cairo. Mohamed was incredibly knowledgeable with his explanations of landmarks and buildings as well as the pyramids and their history. I felt that we had a good balance of information from Mohamed and time to take photos and take in the amazing pyramids and the Sphinx.
After the pyramids were a couple of stops at an essence maker and a papyrus maker. Mohamed was great in explaining the expectations and that we were under no obligation to buy anything. I think he helped negotiate with the essence maker as we bought some menthol which I would definitely recommend for clearing the head! We chose not to buy anything in the papyrus shop and although the lady who had been demonstrating the process to us was disappointed that she didn't get a sale she was professional throughout.
Lunch at an Egyptian restaurant with a view of the pyramids was an amazing experience. Mohamed and minii ate with us which was great, and the food was delicious. So many different dishes with fresh ingredients all beautifully presented and served by friendly waiting staff. I hadn't wanted to make a big deal of it being my birthday but Mohamed and Minii at the last minute arranged a cake which although I was embarrassed it was a lovely touch and I really did appreciate it!
Next it was on to the Egyptian museum, but first a few words about the roads/drivers. It all seemed like utter chaos to me and I certainly wouldn't drive on the roads of Cairo for all the treasure in the tombs! Minii was ace though and we felt like we were in safe hands on the seemingly lawless roads. Another thing about the journey was the music, I requested some Egyptian music and enjoyed a great mix of music which was great.
So the Egyptian museum, massive and truly wonderful. Again it was great to have Mohamed imparting his knowledge. The museum is so big that having the highlights pointed out and explained was really useful. I would loved to have spent all day there really but the couple of hours we had was well spent and i feel that we got a good all round tour.
We chose to go back to the airport after the museum (although we would have had time to squeeze in a quick boat trip on the Nile we chose to save that for our upcoming Luxor trip). It was a very long day and for 2 brits not accustomed to the heat we were ready to enjoy air conditioning for a while.
There was some slight confusion when we returned to Hurghada about meeting the other Mohamed to take us back to the hotel. A quick call to the office and this was sorted and less than 5 minutes later we were on our way home.
Without exception everyone we met today was professional, friendly and made us feel welcome. It has been an amazing day and a fantastic experience and I highly recommend this tour and Egypt tours portal to anyone considering it.
My friend and I recently took the 1 day flight tour with the Egypt tours portal. From start to finish we received first class service and most definitely got our monies worth.
I booked this trip for my friends 40th birthday, following reviews I'd seen in here. The booking process was simple and straightforward (so much so I was sure something would go wrong!). Many tour operators will warn you to book tours through your hotel (for safety reasons etc) however this was cheaper and offered much more for your money.
The day began with an internal flight from hurghada to Cairo at 5am. All flights and transfers to and from the airport were taken care of. We were met at the airport by Mohammed Elshemei (our tour guide for the day) and Minii (our driver).
On our way to our first stop (the pyramids) we were treated to an authentic Egyptian breakfast of falafel and beans..although the mania of Cairo's roads had me feeling a little car sick, the one bite of it that I had was delicious!!!
At the pyramids & sphinx Mohammed made sure we got to the best view points for pictures but also gave a really interesting run down of the history of all three pyramids, including discoveries that have only just been made which was truly fascinating. I'm also glad that that by getting us there at 8am the sun hadn't got too hot and it was quiet enough to really appreciate what you were seeing.
After the pyramids we went to an essence shop, which sells some beautiful Egyptian oils. Mohammed stayed close-by throughout so we never felt left or at the mercy of the shop. He made it clear that we were under no obligation to buy, but when we did, he got us a couple of little extra gifts to add on (for free). It was a really enjoyable experience and we never felt like anyone was giving us the hard sell, or making us feel uncomfortable.
After the essence shop we went to the papyrus centre. We watched a demonstration on how to make papyrus paper which was incredibly interesting and informative. Mohammed gave us space to enjoy the demonstration and the art, however was soon on hand when it looked like we might need help bartering.
After the papyrus centre Minii and Mohammed took us to an Egyptian restaurant for lunch. They made sure we had a window seat so we could see the sphinx and pyramids from our table. Mohammed and Minii had lunch with us, which was lovely, and the food (whilst being enough to feed 20) was exceptional. Really fresh and tasty salads mixed with succulent meats and a fruit and dessert platter to end.
Mohammed had found out it was my friends birthday that day and even managed to organise a few artisan cakes and a round of happy birthday (in Egyptian) as a last minute celebration! This was a really genuine and lovely thought.
After lunch Mohammed gave us a tour of the museum. He made sure we saw some important pieces that were dotted all over the enormous building (that we most likely would have missed without him) and his knowledge and passion was immense.
After the tour it was back to the airport. We could have had time for shopping or a quick boat tour on the Nile, but having had just a few hours sleep we were ready for a coffee and a sit down!!
There was a little confusion about meeting our trabsfer back to the hotel however after a 7 second phone calls to the tour operator we were met within minutes. We did even need to give our names on the phone, the operator was in it straight away.
I came to cairo 10years ago and remember it being pretty overwhelming, and always feeling like you needed to be on guard….today was a completely different experience and I felt like I could relax and really enjoy the experience. I cannot recommend this tour enough…the day was one I'll never forget and the value for money is amazing.
When I booked this tour for our family (my husband and I with four kids: 10, 12, 15,16) I made the down payment and received an email with a page to print out as our airline tickets and the instructions that we would be picked up at our hotel at 4 am for our 5:30 am flight. My husband and I were joking about whether or not the tour company was legitimate and whether we would actually be picked up, but shortly before 4 we were outside of our hotel and the van to transfer us to the airport was already there. We fought our way through the adventurous domestic flights terminal at Hurghada airport and after a short flights we were in Cairo, but still wondering if we would actually be met there! 🙂 We were met outside by Mohamed Elshemei, who had a clean, modern vehicle with a driver and we felt right from the start that we were in good hands. We made our first quick stop at the Muhammad Mosque in Cairo, but it was still before the opening time of 8am so the guards did not want to let us in. But Mohamed "convinced" them to open up the gates and we had a wonderful close-up view of the beautiful green dome. We then drove across the Nile where we stopped briefly to get out and take some photos. We then arrived at the Giza Pyramids shortly before 8am so that we were the first tourists there and got to enjoy these magnificent structures in the early morning light. Mohamed was very knowledgeable about the history and made some great family photos of us. We then toured the Sphinx memorial. Next we visited a precious oil manufacturer, which was owned by the government and we expected it to be very touristy, which it was, but it was still a memorable experience for us all, as we were given mint tea and allowed to smell and apply these oils and scents. From there we stopped off at a similar government run fabricator but this time of paper from papyrus. It was interesting but we felt pressured to buy something and that was very unpleasant, added to the fact that we were getting very hungry. So as soon as we told Mohamed we'd had enough, he whisked us away to lunch at a restaurant with views of the pyramids. After lunch we visited the Egyptian Museum and Mohamed brought us quickly through be stopped at the highlights and explaining the history to us. By that point we were all really exhausted after having woken at 3 am, so our attention span we short, but we visited the mummy display which was amazing. While we were in the museum, Mohamed had ordered necklaces for us of our names in Egyptian Hieroglyphics which we picked up on the way back to the airport. A quick flight home, still wondering if our ride from the airport back to the hotel would actually be there. It was. And we were very, very happy that we made the trip. For a family of six, it was not cheap, but it gave us memories to last a lifetime.
Amazing day in Cairo. Excellent organisation from the pick-up yo the end of the day!
Private tour guide and driver with great knowledge of their city.
Worth it, taking the early flight from Hurghada for the day.
Reham and Boudi were really nice and fun. We appreciate to spend the day with them.
Great to do this trip with a private guide and driver. Makes the experience effortless.
Our guide was very informative and very pleasant. As well as the driver. Could not fault them.
Everything was on time and seamless. Being in such a group means you are hassled nowhere near as much as in a large group. And of course your day is tailored around what you want to do.
Only reason not to give this 5 stars is the restaurant for lunch. Not to our taste and being vegetarian very limited. However it is what you would expect on these typical trips.
Besides that a great day. Highly recommended,quick to respond to all our questions. Would definitely recommend anyone to book with them. £100 deposit online and the rest you pay in cash on the trip. Certainly a good option.
I brought my 10 year old daughter to Cairo for the day and I couldn't have had a better experience. All the sighs we visited were interesting and our guide very knowledgeable. I felt safe at all times and enjoyed every minute! I will be back!
It's a very long day, but extremely worth it. Flying (rather then driving) does seem to be the way to go – the airport transits are very quick on both sides. Mohamed and Ahmed were both extremely warm and hospitible – I particularly enjoyed the Egyptian House music (I believe that is available on request). As an improvement, I think there should be a bit more inclusion for the visitors to edit the itinerary. I was never interested in shopping at the perfume / paparyus shops, and for me that was a wasted hour of the day. Everything else was excellent though – the Museum provided a fantastic insight into ancient Egypt, and going to the markets in the evening gave a fantastic snapshot of contemporay Egypt. Overall, I learnt a lot and had a very enjoyable day.
No doubt an excellent service. Thoroughly enjoyed the trip and Mohammed, our tour guide, had very good grasp of English language. Highly recommended.
Our party of 4 booked this Day trip to Cairo from Makadi before we arrived for our vacation. The actual booking was easy and the response times very quick and we were given clear and what proved to be, accurate information before our arrival in Egypt. On the day of our trip we were met at our hotel in Makadi Bay at 04.00hrs and transferred to Hurghada airport for the 65 min flight to Cairo. Once at the other end we were met and greeted by our lovely guide Ibrahim who proved to be extremely knowledgeable and patient. Our driver Hamed was amazing! His driving was superb and we felt safe and secure all through our road trip even through the crazy streets of Cairo which is an experience in itself!
First stop was the Pyramids and the Sphinx, an early morning start made for the best time to visit with lesser crowds and the best light for photographs. Ibrahim gave us a brief history and gave us as much time as we needed to take in the wondrous sights.
We had lunch on a floating restaurant on the Nile, not the best food ever, but it was edible and gave us the opportunity to relax and refresh.
Our trip included a visit to a local Egyptian perfumeriey. Although this was interesting, on reflection, our party would have preferred to have skipped this in preference to having more time at the Egyptian museum.
At the museum Ibrahim showed us many fantastic and incredible sights and his knowledge was remarkable. He was interesting and attentive and he looked after us extremely well. The museum was busy and it's so vast and overwhelming and amazing. Cairo museum is not to be missed and having a guide like our Ibrahim just added to the fascination.
This day trip was utterly fantastic and although there was some reticence on our part before we arrived we found it to be well organised and accurate in its description. We felt safe and we were extremely well looked after. Everything was at our pace and directed at us at a level that we understood and could appreciate. It gave us everything and more that we could have wished and hoped for.
Had an amazing day trip with Amany Salem our tour guide. I can't say enough about how professional she was and informative. She took her time to explain the history of the city and the pyramids. It felt like I was talking to a long lost sister. She was very attentive and considerate of our time and our needs. I would recommend this company for any one traveling to Egypt. Best part of the trip.
My girlfriend and I took the day trip to the pyramids. Travel arrangement were comfortable and efficient! We were met off the plane in Cairo by our superb guide Amany who gave us a great insight into the history of the monuments, as well as answering any questions we had. After a day of taking in the sights etc. we were delivered back to the airport by our driver to catch the flight back. Thanks for a great day.
We booked this tour of Egypt Tours Portal online. It was well organized, from the booking process to the airport transfers. The excursion in Cairo was very interesting. We have visited many fantastic places there.
Our guide Ibrahim was very friendly and polite, has shown good knowledge of Egyptology, and fluency in English language. Besides the Great Pyramids, the Islamic Cairo tour was the second most attractive tourist place in Cairo and it deserves more time to spend on it.
2) The most high quality client-oriented services.
3) The trip was amazing and very interesting.
I really recommend these guys, they are fantastic.
We bough Cairo trip and desert excursion with Egypt Tours Portal. Everything went great! Transfers were always on time, plane tickets were booked as confirmed & driver was waiting for us in Cairo with the guide Ahmad Kampung, who turned out to be the best tourist guide we've ever had. He was very knowledgeable but not boring, he took us around the Egyptian Museum and explained the history using very interesting facts, his English was perfect, he was very flexible with what we wanted to do throughout the day. After the museum we went for a lunch on a Nile cruise, which was a part of the excursion. In the afternoon we went to Giza and to see the pyramids. Not only Ahmad told us great facts bout the pyramids but also took fantastic pictures of us knew the best places to do so. Overall 5* Experice, highly recommended!
Not often i write a review so soon after returning but i had to make an exception here. We were met at Cairo airport from our flight from Hurghada on time by Abraham and our driver for the day. If you have ever been to Cairo you need some skill to drive all day without an accident which i am able to report did NOT happen.
Abraham, who was very knowledgeable about Egyptian history and the city took us to the Cairo museum, the pyramids and the Sphinx . Everything was perfectly organized and we felt very safe and secure both with the driver and the guide. Nothing was too much trouble and the view from the restaurant we had lunch in was to die for(the food was excellent too). Due to our flight being moved to a later time by egyptair Abraham arranged for us to visit the markets and mosques so we were not at the airport 4 hours earlier than we needed to be which was brilliant and was above and beyond.
This trip was excellent, I wouldnt hesitate in recommending this to anyone,A big thank you Abraham when we return we shall look you up again………..
Pyramids at Giza and that is exactly what we did. Right from pickup at our hotel in Sahl Hasheesh everything went exactly to plan. We were greeted at the airport by the very helpful and knowledgable Yasser and a very safe driver. It really was a perfect day from start to finish and a big thank you to all.
Not sure a review can possibly put to justice the INCREDIBLE day I have had with Egypt Tours Portal, and more specifically with HALEMOO. I almost didn't go to Egypt due to family members and media portrying it as very unsafe. Now, after being there, i wish i had gone much earlier!!!!!!!!!! I chose a day trip from Hurghada to Cairo, and after reading numerous good reviews decided to book with this company. Ahmad wrote back in a few hours, possibly even less and arranged everything for me, including my flight ticket. I was collected at my resort at 5:15 am by a lovely gentleman in a air conditioned van who drove me to Hurghada airport. Upon arrival at Cairo aiport I was picked up by the most AMAZING, friendly and reassuring gentleman by the name of Halemoo. After being with him for a few minutes all my worries were gone. He had a driver in a air conditioned van waiting for us eveywhere. I was provided with fesh bottled water and maximum attention. All my questions were answered and Halemoo made it very clear that he would do anything to make me happy and have the best time ever in Cairo. We went to the Egytian museum , which was just awe- inspiring…truly brining history alive. Halemoo has such an astounding grasp on history and was teaching and explaining to me indepth background on all the art, ancient usages ad customs of the Egyptian people. Halemoo was a hisrory teacher in his past so his knowledge is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!! After this we went on a nie cruise, which was very refreshing and scenic and once in a lifetime experience !!!After this lunch at a nile view buffet style restuarant which was good and then we went to the Papyrus museum and finally my favourite part of the day the pyramids¨!!!! Upon arrival I was blown away by these magestic architectural wonders of the ancient world. Contrary to what people have written on forums about being harassed by sellers and camel owners, I did not encounter one such an event. Halemoo sheltered and protected me 100%. I was able to enjoy and revel in the moment and Halemoo was wonderful in that he never stopped to take pictures of me in every possible pose, and at every attraction throughout the whole day. I was worried about not having enough pictures since I was travelling solo, but Halemoo made sure I had probably about a hunred or more of me at the attractions!!!! awesome. I would recomment everyone to see the Pyramids of Giza atleast once in their life as i have travelled world wide, but never felt such a WOW. Did a camel ride and paid 250 pound to the camel owner and 50 extra for a tip…It is possibly expensive, but so Worth it!!!! After this we went to a traditional oïl factory which uses oils from flowers and plants grown in the SIWA oasis. It was very interesting to see and smell thèse exotic plants and spices but I did not purchase anything and felt no pressure to do so. While i was experiening the oils, Halemoo secretly went next door and bought me 3 huge dates containers and 2 traditional teas boxes!!!!! I was truly blown away in all senses by this hospitality as I had only mentioned to him my love of arabic products, especially dates. He gave them to me as a gift ( was a large bag full) and I cannot emphasize enough what a gentleman this man was. He invited me and my husband ( who was not with me but working this time 🙁 ) back to visit his family in their tradiional village home where he originates from and we will definitely do so!!!!! I was taken to the airport and then Ahmad first called on Halemoo's phone to talk to me and make sure all my dreams ame true…oh and did hey ever!!!!!!! I cannot recommend this comapny more to anyone. Halemoo was like an angel and made me feel like royalty throughout the whole day. His hospitability is impossibe to do justice to merely by writing. But THANK YOU for giving me this experience in the most luxurious, and comfortable manner and keeping me safe like precious cargo. YOU ARE AMAZING!!!!!!! CANT WAIT TO COME AND DO MORE TOURS OF OTHER PARTS OF EGYPT WITH YOU!!!!!
My boyfriend and I have just returned from an amazing holiday in hurghada. We booked the day trip to Cairo by plane with this company having seen all the excellent reviews on here. All emails where replied to almost immediately and the booking/ deposit payment was a smooth and easy process. On the day we was collected from our hotel and driven to the airport. A nice 1 hour flight later we arrived in Cairo and was greeted by our guide Abraham (I hope that is correct). We was taken to our private car/bus and introduced to the driver, Mohamed. Abraham then explained how the day would pan out and insisted that we let him know if we wanted to change or move anything about. Firstly we went to the Egyptian museum which was massive. Abraham was absolutely excellent, his knowledge was very impressive and you can tell that he is very passionate about his country's history. We was in the museum for a good 2 hrs. We chose to visit the mummy rooms which was £10 each (very over priced) in hindsight would have given it a miss. We was then taken to the Nile for lunch on a boat restaurant. We was served a mini meze, followed by chicken and rice and dessert – way too much food but all delicious. Abraham stopped on the way to buy us some drinks to save money on drinks in the restaurant. Very thoughtful. Next we went to the pyramids – totally amazing to see – how was they made?!?! Again Abraham knew his stuff and answered all questions we had. We went inside a small pyramid – OMG! Very hot, very tight and very uncomfortable but it was an experience. We then moved on to the Sphinx. During the whole trip Abraham took great pleasure in taking lots of pictures for us which was perfect. I had asked for a visit to a market to be added to the trip so next we took a drive to Khan El khalil bizaare. On arrival I felt quite nervous as it was very local and very busy. Without asking (which I would have) Abraham got out of the car with us and explained that he would walk nearby us and that we was to look at what we wanted and enter shops only if we wanted to be reassured that he will always be nearby. This made me feel very relaxed.
Once we was ready to leave Abraham called Mohammed who came and collected us. We was then driven back to the airport to catch our flight home. Mohammed was an excellent driver (one of the only ones in Egypt I think). Abraham was excellent all day. During the drive back to the airport the owner of the company called Abraham to speak to me and Paul and check that out day has all gone to plan and that we where happy with everything, this was a nice touch. Overall a fantastic day that we will never forget and I am extremely happy that I chose to use Egypt tours Portal for this trip.


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Q: Is there a JQuery Plugin that overlays tips on top of the webpage?
If you take a look at that, you'll see that there's an overlay, with arrows pointing to how to use the webpage.
Is there a JQuery plugin that does this? (automatically ties the arrow to the dom elements)?

A: Have you seen http://jquery.bassistance.de/tooltip/demo/
Hope this helps.

A: I'm guessing here, but I doubt there is a plugin that would display an overlay with images directly connected to certain elements of the DOM as it is such a bespoke thing to do.
However, it would not be too tricky to achieve through the use of the CSS display and position: absolute properties.