NESsT August 2007
Organized Hip Hop Movement of Brazil Strengthening Ventures Through Network Ties Brazil
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that has incubated 30 small cultural businesses, as follows: four video production firms, five audio production studios, six graffiti ateliers, six cultural event production firms, four apparel firms and five retail stores. In 2007, this business network has so far generated 15% of MH2O's total budget for the year. The Alternative Market Pilot Program is expected to progressively and annually increase its contribution to the organization's budget generated through self-financing activities. Current percentages are projected to be 20% by 2009, 40% by 2011 and 70% in 2016, and the organization's plans call for the continued development and commercialization of services and products to reach a larger economic scale and cover additional geographic regions in Brazil. In parallel, the program is strengthening and organizing the poorest segment of society: youth at social risk and historically excluded from other economic inclusion policies. The goal is to enable this target group to enjoy the benefits of its own artistic, cultural and social endeavors and build its own future. Despite its strong financial results, the Hip Hop Organized Movement of Brazil's self-financing and income-generation program has faced a series of institutional challenges over the past three years (2004 - 2007). And its upcoming postincubation phase (2008) is not totally risk-free, nor is overall funding diversification strongly in place at this time. However, the positive and tangible social impact achieved thus far is already clear to all stakeholders involved. The program is building citizenship and providing education to its members as it offers concrete access to income generation and employment. Besides generating untied funding to the organization, it is strengthening and amplifying the Movement's social mission and outweighing all kinds of costs.
Section A: The Brazilian Context A.1. Social Inequality in Brazil Brazil, officially called the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the fifth-largest country in terms of physical area and population. Brazil has the eighth-largest economy in the world based on gross domestic product (GDP) and is the largest economy in Latin America. Currently, the country is among the top 20 exporters in the world: it is projected that in 2007, Brazil's exports will total US$152 billion, 11% higher than 2006. Despite its impressive macroeconomic achievements, Brazil has been historically a country of extreme social and income inequality. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report of 2004, Brazil presents the eighth worst index of inequality in the world, topping all countries in South America and only ahead of seven African nations. Brazil is also widely viewed as a country with extreme social injustice, where there is a significant difference in quality of life and access to all kinds of opportunities between its small, wealthy elite and the country's majority of poor and socially excluded people. Recent United Nations statistics have shown that 47% of Brazil's income is controlled by just 10% of its population. Despite some recent improvements in the reduction of social inequalities -Not to be distributed, cited, copied or referenced without permission of NESsT.
So far in 2007, MH2O’s business network has generated 15% of the organization’s total budget and it expects to increase the percentage of income from selffinancing activities in the coming years.