The idea of Mobile School first saw the light when Arnoud Raskin came up with a simple, yet transformative and impactful idea in 2002. Still a university student, yet a social entrepreneur avant la lettre, Arnoud saw that about 100 million street kids live around the world today, of which nearly half of them from Latin-America1. They don’t have access to education, simply because they cannot reach the schools. Therefore, for his thesis project, Arnoud built a blackboard on wheels, and got the schooling and education opportunities to the kids in the streets. With his own pocket money, he travelled to Bolivia and started a “Mobile School”.
His passion and belief in the “talents and survival skills of street-connected children” pushed him towards setting up a non-profit organization, which in a first phase benefitted mostly from philanthropist funding. For several years, he had the possibility to work on and improve his social activities and impact for street kids, on the sole condition… that he went to a business school in order to become a more robust entrepreneur, and create a more sustainable business model. Learning to translate a story, into numbers.
While Arnoud was training his financial skills, Mobile School had been able to capture the attention of a wide variety of volunteers. Four types of volunteers, to be more precise, and each one of them fulfilling crucial yet non-core activities of the organization. Administrative support, creating pedagogical material (boards, games, translations, …), organizing events in support of the Mobile School case… you name it! Because of this approach, Mobile School was able to focus on its primary purposes and strengthening its core assets. Because people believed in Arnoud and his team, they were able to scale their financial capacities. Arnoud never deviated from his original dedication to the betterment of street kids, working closely together with local independent organizations, to have a better impact on the trust and self-esteem of children.
At the end of his philanthropic funding period, Arnoud had two choices. Either to re-apply for funding, or… to walk the talk. And become more financially independent. He chose the latter. It would not make sense to coach street kids in becoming independent and sustain themselves, without Mobile School setting the example. As such, the business model of Arnoud started to evolve, as he founded a “sister” company called “StreetwiZe”. He understood he was not only teaching kids all kinds of skills, and improving their self-esteem… but they themselves provided insights and resources that could be used for consulting, training and coaching sessions for corporates and top managerial personnel. If there is one thing street kids and top management have in common, it is that they have to be witty and know how to survive in harsh environments. The hard environment in which the street children had to grow up, perfected several skills that are applicable and useful within the business environment, such as resilience and resourcefulness skills.
StreetwiZe, although it is legally a separate entity, is the “other side of the medallion”, which provides around 75 % of the income sources for Mobile School. Arnoud and his team capitalized on the skills of self-invest and self-sustain from street kids, to create next to Mobile School also StreetwiZe, an experience-based talent development provider. Developing personal skills, reliable teams, and ambassadors, they found themselves having evolved from a simple business model to a more complex, double-sided business model.
Focusing on a series of well-developed KPIs/impact measures, Mobile School keeps a track record of their products and services with their different partners, to make sure that they have a substantial social impact. Their innovative approach was not left unconsidered, as they were intensively praised for receiving their B Corporation certificate in 2019, being part of “the top 10 % of a list of 2,933 amazing B Corps”. After 20 years of hard work, the social enterprise’s massive network of more than 100 corporate clients (bough workshops, experience programs, talks, or other services) and more than 40 local partners across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin-America makes MS-SW truly a global social enterprise.
And today, 20 years later, the business model is still further developing. Its third generation now also includes “StreetSmart”, an app-based method of transferring knowledge to other non-profit organizations. The beauty of this case study lies in the consistency of the story and the logic behind the activities and numbers of the organization. Despite the complexity we now see today, every aspect of the business model is based and interwoven with one another. Various stakeholders have been gradually engaged and incorporated in their story, which has reinforced its foundations to develop more impact over time.