“When we work together, social enterprises can create a collective voice for impact.” – Dispanadda Diskul

Dispanadda Diskul is one of Thailand’s leading voices in community-driven development and social enterprise. As Secretary General and CEO of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, he oversees transformative projects that turn sustainability into a lived reality – the Doi Tung Development Project and its five social businesses to climate initiatives such as community forest protection for carbon credits. A co-founder of the Social Enterprise Thailand Association, he has helped shape a thriving national ecosystem built on collaboration and impact.

At SEWF25, Dispanadda will join the “Social enterprise solutions for the planet” session to explore how community leadership and Indigenous knowledge can drive climate action that works for both people and the planet. In this interview, he shares insights on building resilient communities, advancing Thailand’s social enterprise movement, and why real sustainability starts with people.

You co-founded the Social Enterprise Thailand Association and have been a key figure in shaping the country’s social enterprise ecosystem. What motivated you to start this work and what has changed for the social enterprise sector in Thailand since then?

In the past, social enterprises in Thailand operated in isolation, even though we all faced similar challenges. There was a wealth of knowledge among established social enterprises, medium-sized businesses and start-ups, but no place where we could learn together, grow together and, most importantly, have a collective voice.

The Social Enterprise Thailand Association (SE Thailand) was set up for this purpose, with a mission to connect, communicate and catalyse for impact. Since our founding in 2019, we’ve helped make Thailand’s social enterprise sector more visible and recognised. We have brought in partners such as Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Nielsen and other leading firms to support social enterprises that might not otherwise have access to them. We have negotiated low-interest loans with banks for our members, created a marketplace to boost revenues and built platforms for collaboration.

It has been a rewarding journey, but the work continues. Our mission remains to serve the community for impact.

“What makes Thailand’s ecosystem unique is how closely we work together.“

From your perspective, what makes social enterprise in Thailand unique? Are there particular cultural, political, or economic factors that have shaped its development?

Thailand is a very diverse country with many areas where social enterprises can play a role. As a result, they work across a wide range of issues—supporting ethnic minorities, the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income families, as well as in the environment, agriculture, aquaculture, education, fashion and more.

What makes Thailand’s ecosystem unique is how closely we work together. Since the establishment of SE Thailand, we have intentionally brought social entrepreneurs from across sectors to share experiences and build networks. We provide market access through platforms such as our annual SE market place at the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and our permanent SE Thailand shop at Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC), one of the country’s largest convention centres.

Culturally, many Thai social enterprises are shaped by His Majesty King Bhumibol’s Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, which emphasises moderation, sustainability and community wellbeing. This philosophy is embedded in our culture and guides how we balance growth with resilience.

On the policy side, Thailand is among the first ASEAN countries to have a dedicated Social Enterprise Promotion Act B.E. 2562 (2019), which provides an enabling environment for institutionalisation and growth.

“In my experience, enterprises whose business model is tightly linked to the impact they seek to create tend to be more successful.”

You’ve spent decades working on community-based development and the Mae Fah Luang Foundation is a model for holistic sustainable impact. What do you believe are the key ingredients in building a truly community-driven social enterprise?

A truly community-driven enterprise—whether a social enterprise or not—is one where people feel responsibility beyond themselves, where the interests of the whole are placed above the individual.

It starts with strong leadership. A leader should bring everyone together to move toward a common cause—social, environmental, or both. In my experience, enterprises whose business model is tightly linked to the impact they seek to create tend to be more successful. Governance is equally important: a community-driven enterprise with strong management and governance earns trust from its stakeholders, making both its business and its impact more sustainable.

Another key ingredient is succession. Communities must nurture a second generation of leaders from within, to carry forward the work of the founders. At the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage (MFLF), where I serve as the Secretary General, we focus not only on leading change, but also on facilitating change. Leading is critical in the early stages, but facilitating becomes crucial when cultivating the next generation of leaders.

Finally, staying connected is essential. Local people should be involved at every step and their needs and voices must be heard. At the Doi Tung Development Project—MFLF’s flagship project launched in 1988—we have already worked with three generations of workers. By listening, we have been able to adapt our programmes to match the needs of each generation and sustain progress over time.

You’ve also played a major role in launching climate-related initiatives including forest protection and carbon credit projects. What are you learning about how social enterprise can drive climate action at both local and global levels?

Our climate-related work began with growing demand from the private sector in Thailand. As companies became more aware of their emissions, they sought carbon credits to offset their footprint. The question was: how could they access high-quality, high-integrity credits linked to forest protection?

Here, social enterprises play a unique role. We can act as trusted intermediaries between frontline communities who protect the forest and private sector actors seeking carbon credits. Social enterprises connect the dots—identifying credible communities, building capacity for forest protection and providing training on environmental protection, data collection and income-generating activities.

Based on this model, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation has scaled its work to 13 provinces, covering 50,000 hectares across 250 villages and more than 150,000 people. By linking community economic benefits with carbon markets and by advocating for an ASEAN-wide carbon credit standard to ensure trust and transparency, we believe this model can scale across Southeast Asia. This is how climate action can become both scalable and just.

At SEWF25 we’re gathering diverse voices from across the region. What are your hopes for this moment? How can Southeast Asian social enterprises leverage this platform to strengthen the movement locally and globally?

I have always dreamed of creating a Social Enterprise Asia—a platform where national organisations representing social enterprises can come together every two years to share knowledge, collaborate and strengthen the movement.

There are so many common challenges across the region and many organisations are working on similar issues. By connecting at a regional level, we can learn from each other, build an Asia-based market and promote our work collectively.

SEWF25 is an opportunity to take a step toward this vision.

“With the right technology, supportive policies and private sector leadership, this vision is not just a dream. It is a pathway to a sustainable transformation that balances economic opportunity, community resilience and environmental protection.”

If you could design a social enterprise that harnesses the power of Thailand’s unique cultural and natural heritage to tackle climate change, what would it look like?

If I could design a new social enterprise, it would be one that works directly with corporate businesses in agriculture and energy—two sectors central to both livelihoods and climate challenges. 

In Thailand’s mountainous areas, I would establish community-based climate resilience programmes that focus on both mitigation and adaptation. Corporate businesses could create demand for carbon credits generated by community-led forest protection and reforestation. At the same time, they could support the transition away from mono-crop farming (maize, highland rice, cassava) by creating long-term markets for cash crops such as coffee and cacao. This would reduce forest fires, increase household income and allow nature to regenerate.

In the lowlands, I would convert agricultural waste into value, so farmers are incentivised to remove and reuse it rather than burn it—reducing pollution on a national scale.

With the right technology, supportive policies and private sector leadership, this vision is not just a dream. It is a pathway to a sustainable transformation that balances economic opportunity, community resilience and environmental protection.

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Also read:

From funding to income:  How White Box Enterprises is supporting social enterprises to start and grow in Australia, while also generating revenue  Policy that rises to the challenge: SEWF Policy Forum 2025 Rejuvenating rural communities through social enterprise SEWF Social Enterprise Day: Collective action for people and planet SEWF 2019 – Changing the course of history!