Shaffi Mather: A new way to fight corruption

Traducător: Brandusa Gheorghe Corector: Tita Mihai

The anger in me against corruption

Furia din mine asupra coruptiei

made me to make a big career change

m-a determinat sa fac o mare schimbare de cariera

last year, becoming a full-time practicing lawyer.

devenind avocat practicant cu norma intreaga.

My experiences over the last 18 months,

Experientele mele, in ultimele 18 luni,

as a lawyer, has seeded in me

ca avocat, au inițiat in mine

a new entrepreneurial idea,

o noua idee antreprenoriala,

which I believe is indeed

care cred cu adevarat ca

worth spreading.

merita impartasita.

So, I share it with all of you here today,

Asa ca o voi impartasi cu voi astazi,

though the idea itself is getting crystallized

desi idea in sine e in proces de cristalizare

and I'm still writing up the business plan.

si inca scriu planul de afaceri.

Of course it helps that fear of public failure

Desigur ajuta faptul ca teama de esec public

diminishes as the number of ideas

scade pe masura ce numarul de idei

which have failed increases.

care au esuat creste.

I've been a huge fan of enterprise and entrepreneurship

Am fost un mare fan al afacerilor si al spiritului antreprenorial

since 1993.

din 1993.

I've explored, experienced,

Am explorat, practicat,

and experimented enterprise

si am experimentat domeniul afacerilor

and capitalism to my heart's content.

si capitalismul dupa cum am vrut.

I built, along with my two brothers,

Am construit, impreuna cu cei doi frati ai mei

the leading real estate company in my home state, Kerala,

compania de vârf in domeniul imobiliar in statul meu de origine, Kerala.

and then worked professionally

Si apoi am colaborat pe plan profesional

with two of India's biggest businessmen,

cu doi dintre cei mai mari oameni de afaceri din India,

but in their startup enterprises.

dar in firmele lor de debut.

In 2003, when I stepped out of the pure play capitalistic sector

In 2003, cand am iesit din sectorul pur capitalist

to work on so-called social sector issues,

pentru a lucra in asa numitul sector al problemelor sociale,

I definitely did not have any grand strategy

in mod cert n-am avut o strategie grandioasa

or plan to pursue and find

sau un plan de-a urma sau gasi

for-profit solutions

solutii profitabile

to addressing pressing public issues.

care sa adreseze probleme de interes public.

When life brought about a series

Cand viata mi-a adus o serie de

of death and near-death experiences

experiente de moarte sau aproape de moarte

within my close circle,

in cercul meu de apropiati,

which highlighted the need

aceasta a evidentiat nevoia

for an emergency medical response service in India,

unui serviciu medical de urgenta in India,

similar to 911 in USA.

similar cu 911 in SUA.

To address this, I, along with four friends,

Ca sa demaram, eu, impreuna cu patru prieteni,

founded Ambulance Access for All,

am fondat "Ambulance Access for All",

to promote life-support ambulance services in India.

pentru a promova serviciile de ambulanta in India.

For those from the developing world,

Pentru cei din tarile in curs de dezvoltare,

there is nothing, absolutely nothing new in this idea.

nu este nimic, absolut nimic nou in aceasta idee.

But as we envisioned it,

Dar cand am conceput-o,

we had three key goals:

am avut trei obiective principale:

Providing world-class life support ambulance service

Sa furnizam un serviciu de ambulanta de clasa-mondiala

which is fully self-sustainable from its own revenue streams,

complet independent financiar,

and universally accessible

si accesibil universal

to anyone in a medical emergency,

pentru oricine are o urgenta medicala,

irrespective of the capability to pay.

indiferent de posibilitatea de a plati.

The service which grew out of this,

Acest program de deservire a evoluat.

Dial 1298 for Ambulance,

Sunati 1298 pentru Ambulanta,

with one ambulance in 2004,

cu o ambulanta in 2004,

now has a hundred-plus ambulances in three states,

acum are peste o suta de ambulante in trei state,

and has transported over 100,000 patients

si a transportat peste 100.000 de pacienti

and victims since inception.

si victime pana in prezent.

The service is -- (Applause)

Serviciul este -- (Aplauze)

fully self-sustainable from its own revenues,

complet independent financiar cu venituri proprii,

without accessing any public funds,

fara sa acceseze banii publici

and the cross-subsidy model actually works,

iar modelul de plata incrucisata chiar functioneaza,

where the rich pays higher, poor pays lower,

in care cei bogati platesc mai mult, iar cei saraci mai putin,

and the accident victim is getting the service free of charge.

si victimele accidentelor primesc serviciul fara sa plateasca.

The service responded effectively

Acest serviciu a avut un impact efectiv

and efficiently,

si eficient,

during the unfortunate

in timpul nefericit al

26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

atacurilor teroriste din 26/11 din Mumbai.

And as you can see from the visuals,

Si dupa cum vedeti din imagini,

the service was responding and rescuing

serviciul raspundea si salva

victims from the incident locations

victimele de la locul incidentelor

even before the police could cordon off

chiar inainte ca politia sa delimiteze zona

the incident locations

unde s-a produs incidentul

and formally confirm it as a terror strike.

si sa confirme faptul ca a fost un atac terorist.

We ended up being the first medical response team

Am reusit sa fim prima echipa medicala care-a raspuns

in every incident location

la fiecare locatie atacata

and transported 125 victims,

si am transportat 125 de victime,

saving life.

salvandu-le viata.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

In tribute and remembrance

Ca omagiu si in amintirea

of 26/11 attacks

atacurilor din 26/11

over the last one year,

din ultimul an,

we have actually helped a Pakistani NGO,

am ajutat un ONG din Pakistan,

Aman Foundation,

fundatia Aman,

to set up a self-sustainable life support ambulance service

sa-si infiinteze un serviciu de ambulanta independent

in Karachi, facilitated by Acumen Fund.

in Karachi, facilitat de "Acumen Fund".

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

It's a small message from us,

Este un mic mesaj din partea noastra,

in our own small way

in felul nostru unic

to the enemies of humanity,

pentru dusmanii umanitatii,

of Islam, of South Asia,

ai Islamului, ai Africii de Sud,

of India, and of Pakistan,

ai Indiei si Pakistanului,

that humanity will continue to bloom,

si anume ca umanitatea va continua sa prospere,

irrespective of such dastardly attacks.

indiferent de aceste atacuri miselesti.

Since then I've also co-founded two other social enterprises.

De atunci am mai co-fondat inca doua intreprinderi sociale.

One is Education Access for All,

Una este 'Acces la Educatie petnru Toti',

setting up schools in small-town India.

care infiinteaza scoli in orasele mici din India.

And the other is Moksha-Yug Access,

Celalalta este "Moksha-Yug Acces",

which is integrating rural supply chain

care integreaza un lant de aprovizionare rurala

on the foundations of self-help group-based microfinance.

bazat pe intrajutorare de grup care ofera microfinantari.

I guess we seem to be doing at least a few things right.

Presupun ca facem cel putin cateva lucruri corect.

Because diligent investors and venture funds

Pentru ca investitorii activi si fondurile de risc

have committed over 7.5 million dollars in funding.

s-au angajat la o finantare de peste 7,5 milioane de dolari,

With the significance being these funds have come in

cu semnificatia ca aceste fonduri au intrat

as a QT capital, not as grant or as philanthropy.

ca un capital QT, nu ca subventie sau acte de caritate.

Now I come back to the idea of the new social enterprise

Acum ma intorc la ideea noii intreprinderi sociale

that I'm exploring.

pe care o explorez:

Corruption, bribes, and lack of transparency.

coruptia, mita, si lipsa de transparenta.

You may be surprised to know

Ati putea fi surprinsi sa stiti

that eight speakers yesterday

ca opt dintre vorbitorii de ieri

actually mentioned these terms in their talks.

au mentionat acesti termeni in discursurile lor.

Bribes and corruption have both a demand and a supply side,

Mita si coruptia includ si un aspect de cerere si unul de oferta.

with the supply side being mostly of

Oferta e reprezentata in mare parte

greedy corporate unethical businesses

de corporatii lacome lipsite de etica

and hapless common man.

si de omul de toate zilele nefericit.

And the demand side being mostly politicians,

Iar partea de cerere e alcatuita in mare parte de politicieni,

bureaucrats and those who have discretionary power

birocrati si cei ce au putere discretionara

vested with them.

investita in ei.

According to World Bank estimate,

Dupa estimarile Bancii Mondiale,

one trillion dollars is paid in bribes

un trilion de dolari e platit ca mita

every year, worsening the condition

in fiecare an, inrautatind situatia

of the already worse off.

celor care sunt deja intr-o situatie proasta.

Yet, if you analyze the common man,

Cu toate astea, daca ati analiza un om obisnuit,

he or she does not wake up every day and say,

el nu se trezeste in fiecare zi spunand,

"Hmm, let me see who I can pay a bribe to today."

"Hmm, sa vad pe cine mai pot sa mituiesc astazi."

or, "Let me see who I can corrupt today."

sau, "Sa vad pe cine mai pot sa corup azi."

Often it is the constraining or the back-to-the-wall situation

Frecvent, apare o situatie dificila sau fara iesire

that the hapless common man finds himself or herself in

in care se trezeste omul comun nefericit

that leads him to pay a bribe.

care il determina sa dea mita.

In the modern day world, where time is premium

In lumea moderna, unde timpul e pretios,

and battle for subsistence is unimaginably tough,

iar lupta pentru subzistenta este inimaginabil de dura,

the hapless common man

omul comun nefericit

simply gives in and pays the bribe just to get on with life.

pur si simplu plateste mita doar ca sa-si continue viata.

Now, let me ask you another question.

Acum, sa va pun o alta intrebare.

Imagine you are being asked to pay a bribe

Imaginati-va ca vi se cere sa dati mita

in your day-to-day life to get something done.

in viata de zi cu zi pentru a intreprinde ceva.

What do you do? Of course you can call the police.

Ce faceti ? Desigur puteti suna politia.

But what is the use if the police department is in itself steeped in corruption?

Dar la ce bun daca si departamentul de politie e corupt?

Most definitely you don't want to pay the bribe.

Cu siguranta nu doriti sa dati mita.

But you also don't have the time, resources,

Dar nici nu aveti timpul, resursele,

expertise or wherewithal to fight this.

expertiza sau mijloacele necesare pentru a lupta cu asta.

Unfortunately, many of us in this room

Din nefericire, multi dintre noi din aceasta sala

are supporters of capitalist policies and market forces.

sunt sustinatori ai politicilor capitaliste si puterilor de piata.

Yet the market forces around the world

Cu toate acestea puterile de piata din jurul lumii

have not yet thrown up a service where you can call in,

inca nu au lansat un serviciu la care sa puteti suna,

pay a fee, and fight the demand for a bribe.

plati o taxa si combate solicitarea de mita.

Like a bribe buster service,

De exemplu: un birou de serviciu anti-mita,

or 1-800-Fight-Bribes,

sau un telefon de urgenta: 1-800-Combateti-Mita

or www.stopbribes.org or

sau un site www.stopmitei.org

www.preventcorruption.org.

ori www.preveniti-coruptia.org.

Such a service simply do not exist.

Un astfel de serviciu pur si simplu nu exista.

One image that has haunted me

O imagine care m-a bantuit

from my early business days

de la inceputurile mele ca businessman

is of a grandmother, 70 plus years, being harassed

a fost aceea a unei bunici, de peste 70 de ani,

by the bureaucrats in the town planning office.

hartuita de birocratii de la biroul de urbanism al orasului.

All she needed was permission to build three steps

Tot ce avea nevoie era permisiunea de a construi trei trepte

to her house, from ground level,

la casa ei, de la nivelul solului,

making it easier for her to enter and exit her house.

pentru a-i usura intrarea si iesirea din casa.

Yet the officer in charge would not simply give her the permit

Dar functionarul responsabil pur si simplu nu-i dadea permisul

for want of a bribe.

pentru a o forta sa-l mituiasca.

Even though it pricked my conscience then,

Desi m-a mustrat constiinta atunci,

I could not, or rather I did not

nu am putut, sau mai degraba

tend to her or assist her,

nu m-am straduit s-o ajut,

because I was busy building my real estate company.

pentru ca eram ocupat sa-mi cladesc firma de imobiliare.

I don't want to be haunted by such images any more.

Nu mai vreau sa fiu bantuit de asemenea imagini.

A group of us have been working on a pilot basis

Un grup format de noi lucreaza experimental

to address individual instances of demands

pentru abordarea cazurilor individuale de solicitare de mita

for bribes for common services or entitlement.

pentru servicii sau drepturi obisnuite.

And in all 42 cases where we have pushed back such demands

Si in toate 42 de cazuri unde am avut astfel de cereri

using existing and legitimate tools

utilizand mijloace existente si legale

like the Right to Information Act,

cum ar fi articolul de lege 'Dreptul la informatie',

video, audio, or peer pressure,

video, audio, interventia colegilor,

we have successfully obtained whatever our clients

am obtinut cu succes ceea ce clientii nostri dorisera

set out to achieve without actually paying a bribe.

sa obtina, insa fara a plati mita.

And with the cost of these tools being substantially lower

Si mentinand costurile acestor mijloace substantial mai scazute

than the bribe demanded.

decat mita ceruta.

I believe that these tools that worked in these 42 pilot cases

Cred ca aceste mijloace care au functionat la cele 42 de cazuri experimentale

can be consolidated in standard processes

pot fi consolidate in procese standard

in a BPO kind of environment,

intr-un mediu de Business Process Outsourcing,

and made available on web, call-center

initiind cooptarea si catalogarea pe Internet

and franchise physical offices,

a birourilor de urgenta si autorizate deja existente,

for a fee, to serve anyone confronted with a demand for a bribe.

care in schimbul unei taxe, sa deserveasca pe oricine se confrunta cu cerere de mita.

The target market is as tempting as it can get.

Piata țintă e cat se poate de ispititoare.

It can be worth up to one trillion dollars,

Poate valora pana la un trilion de dolari,

being paid in bribes every year,

platiti ca mita in fiecare an,

or equal to India's GDP.

echivalent cu PIB-ul Indiei.

And it is an absolutely virgin market.

E o piata complet neexplorata.

I propose to explore this idea further,

Propun sa se cerceteze aceasta idee in continuare,

to examine the potential of creating

pentru a examina potentialul de infiintare

a for-profit, fee-based BPO

de BPO-uri bazate pe taxa, pentru profit

kind of service to stop bribes

un fel de serviciu pentru a stopa mita

and prevent corruption.

si a preveni coruptia.

I do realize that the fight for justice

Realizez faptul ca lupta pentru justitie

against corruption is never easy.

impotriva coruptiei nu e niciodata usoara.

It never has been and it never will be.

Nu a fost niciodata si nu va fi niciodata.

In my last 18 months as a lawyer,

In ultimele 18 luni ca avocat,

battling small- and large-scale corruption,

am luptat impotriva coruptiei la scara mica si mare

including the one perpetrated by India's biggest corporate scamster.

incluzand cea mai mare escrocherie corporatista din India.

Through his charities

Prin actele lor de caritate

I have had three police cases filed against me

mi s-au intentat 3 dosare de judecata depuse de politisti impotriva mea,

alleging trespass, impersonation and intimidation.

pretinzand incalcare de proprietate, personificare si intimidare.

The battle against corruption

Lupta impotriva coruptiei

exacts a toll on ourselves,

presupune asumarea unui pret,

our families, our friends, and even our kids.

platit de familiile, prietenii si chiar copiii nostri.

Yet I believe the price we pay is well worth holding on

Totusi cred ca pretul pe care-l platim merita

to our dignity and making the world a fairer place.

pentru a ne pastra demnitatea si a face lumea un loc mai cinstit.

What gives us the courage?

Ce ne da curajul?

As my close friend replied, when told

Iata ce-a raspuns bunul meu prietenul cand i s-a spus,

during the seeding days of the ambulance project

la inceputurile proiectului cu ambulante,

that it is an impossible task

ca asta-i o sarcina imposibila,

and the founders are insane to chalk up their blue-chip jobs,

si ca fondatorii sunt nebuni sa-si riște job-urile lor sigure,

I quote: "Of course we cannot fail in this,

citez: "Sigur nu putem eșua cu asta,

at least in our own minds.

cel putin nu in mintile noastre.

For we are insane people,

Pentru ca suntem oameni nebuni,

trying to do an impossible task.

care incearcam sa facem o treaba imposibila.

And an insane person does not know what an impossible task is." Thank you.

Si un nebun nu stie ce este o sarcina imposibila." Multumesc.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)

Chris Anderson: Shaffi, that is a really exciting business idea.

Chris Anderson: Shaffi, asta-i o idee de afaceri grozava.

Shaffi Mather: I just have to get through the initial days where I don't get eliminated.

Shaffi Mather: Trebuie doar sa trec de primele zilele si sa nu fiu eliminat.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

CA: What's on your mind?

CA: Ce ai de gand?

I mean, give us a sense of the numbers here --

Adica, da-ne o idee despre cifrele implicate aici --

a typical bribe and a typical fee. I mean, what's in your head?

o mita obisnuita si un tarif obisnuit. Adica, cum concepi raportul?

SM: So let me ... Let me give you an example.

SM: Deci, lasa-ma sa-ti dau un exemplu.

Somebody who had applied for the passport.

Cineva depusese cerere de pasaport.

The officer was just sitting on it

Functionarul nu-i dadea un raspuns

and was demanding around 3,000 rupees in bribes.

si cerea mita de vreo 3.000 de rupii.

And he did not want to pay.

Si el n-a vrut sa plateasca.

So we actually used the Right to Information Act,

Asa ca am apelat efectiv la Actul Dreptului la Informatie,

which is equal to the Freedom of Information Act in the United States,

care e echivalentul Actului Libertatii Informatiei din SUA,

and pushed back the officers in this particular case.

si am fortat functionarul sa reconsidere acest caz anume.

And in all these 42 cases,

Si in toate cele 42 de cazuri,

when we kept pushing them back,

cand am insistat pentru rezolvare,

there was three kinds of reaction.

au existat trei tipuri de reactii.

A set of people actually say,

O parte din oameni spun,

"Oh, let me just grant it to them, and run away from it."

"Oh, sa le dau ce vor si sa ma scap de asta."

Some people actually come back and say,

Altii contraataca si spun,

"Oh, you want to screw me. Let me show you what I can do."

"O, vrei sa ma bagi la apa? Hai sa-ti arat eu ce pot face."

And he will push us back.

Si ne ataca el pe noi.

So you take the next step, or use the next tool available

Atunci trecem la urmatorul pas sau folosim urmatorul mijloc disponibil

in what we are putting together,

pentru ce dorim sa obtinem,

and then he relents.

si apoi cedeaza.

By the third time, in all 42 cases, we have achieved success.

Dupa trei incercari, in toate 42 de cazuri am avut succes.

CA: But if it's a 3,000-rupee, 70-dollar bribe,

CA: Dar daca e o mita de 3.000 de rupii, 70 de dolari,

what fee would you have to charge,

ce tarif ar trebui sa ceri

and can you actually make the business work?

ca sa poti face afacerea sa mearga?

SM: Well, actually the cost that we incurred

SM: Ei bine, de fapt costul la care am ajuns

was less than 200 rupees.

a fost mai mic de 200 de rupii.

So, it actually works.

Deci, functioneaza.

CA: That's a high gross margin business. I like it.

CA: Asta-i afacere cu marja bruta mare. Imi place.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

SM: I actually did not want to answer this on the TED stage.

SM: De fapt n-am vrut sa raspund la asta pe scena TED.

CA: OK, so these are provisional numbers, no pricing guarantee.

CA: Bine, deci astea sunt cifre estimative, pretul nu e garantat.

If you can pull this off, you will be a global hero.

Daca vei reusi s-o pui pe picioare vei fi un erou global.

I mean, this could be huge.

Ar putea lua o amploare colosala.

Thank you so much for sharing this idea at TED.

Multumesc mult pentru impartasirea acestei idei la TED.

(Applause)

(Aplauze)