“ SIAM ABLE INNOVATION ” is a social enterprise established to produce prosthetic devices for the disabled, to ensure a life without disabilities, and to promote value for the disabled, so that they can live a normal life.
The story of Mr. Kamon Manowwan, who used to be the owner of his own IT business until one day, Mr. Kamon had a car accident that changed his life immediately. From a former “engineer” who had a bright future ahead of him, he became a person who was paralyzed from the neck down. From working, he became someone who had to rely on others in his daily life. 8 months after his life changed, Mr. Kamon intended not to live as a bedridden patient who had to rely on or be a burden to others. So he thought of a way to make himself and other disabled people able to take care of themselves again by using his knowledge and skills as an electrical engineer to benefit others. He gathered a group of disabled people and friends from the university to establish a working group for social enterprises.
SIAM ABLE INNOVATION Co., Ltd. is a social enterprise that won the Best Sharing Entrepreneur award from the program Win Win WAR Thailand Season 1 on Amarin TV. From a disabled person who lost control of his body from the chest down, he became the creator of a network of disabled people who produce prosthetic devices to help the disabled.
Everyone must have heard the saying, “The body is disabled, but the heart is not disabled.” Now, the admin will take everyone to prove that this sentence is true. In our country, there are many disabled people and elderly people who need physical equipment such as wheelchairs or electric lifts for the disabled. But sometimes, what is sold in the market cannot 100% meet the needs of users. And if you want something that meets your needs, you have to exchange it for importing, which is expensive and slow to deliver. They are a group of people who have experienced this social problem directly and tried to solve it so that everyone does not have to face the same problem again. Let’s get to know this company through an interview with Mr. Kamon Manowwan, founder of SIAM ABLE INNOVATION Co., Ltd.
“From Electrical Engineer to Social Enterprise”
Mr. Kamon graduated as an electrical engineer from King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. He had his own business in Chonburi Province until 2015 when he had a car accident that caused him to lose sensation from the chest down. Because he likes to work, he cannot lie in bed and do nothing. He therefore began looking for careers related to the disabled by using social media and started a group of the disabled, creating a network of electrical technicians and engineers, and became a social enterprise in 2019.
“The problems I encountered led to solving social problems.”
The idea for making prosthetics came from Mr. Kamon himself. He had to use a wheelchair after an accident. However, when he tried to buy a wheelchair on the market, he could not find the type of wheelchair he wanted. Some were not strong, some were not suitable for use or did not meet the needs he was looking for. What Mr. Kamon wanted was a wheelchair that was very strong and could be adjusted to stand. It was an electric wheelchair with a good shock absorption system. From this need, Mr. Kamon thought of trying to invent the type of wheelchair he wanted for his own use.
Translating ideas into business models
After successfully experimenting with the wheelchair design, Mr. Kamon took this business model to join the program Win Win WAR Thailand Season 1 on Amarin TV and became a social enterprise that won the award for best sharing businessman. With this program and Mr. Kamon’s efforts in presenting his business model, the business began to take shape and a network of disabled people came to do social enterprise business together to help other disabled people and the elderly.
The point that makes SIAM ABLE INNOVATION win
Mr. Kamron revealed that the business presented in the program Win Win WAR Thailand Season 1 is a business that is ready to be operated. It is a model that can be implemented immediately. It benefits society in a broad sense. 2 million disabled people and more than 30 million elderly people can benefit from this business. And there is no need to import spare parts or materials used in the creation. In addition, there is a plan to export to ASEAN countries in the future.
What services does SIAM ABLE INNOVATION provide?
The company produces foldable electric wheelchairs for traveling, patient lifts or transfers, electric hospital beds, electric scooters, electric tractors. There is after-sales service in terms of maintenance and, importantly, the design of the prosthetics is appropriate for each patient. Because some patients may not be suitable for the standard size, the company itself will have a service in adjusting the prosthetics to be appropriate for all patients.
Repair Center
The company will have repair centers that create jobs for the disabled in every province. At present, there are 20 leading provinces. Each province, after selling, will find a strong disabled leader who can help open a repair center for the prosthetics in their province, such as Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani, etc. This is considered another way to create jobs for the disabled. However, everyone must go through training before actually doing the repairs. It is training in both technician and management so that they can take care of their own province and create jobs for the disabled in that province.
Business driving force
Mr. Kamron revealed that the budget used to develop this business came from winning the program Win Win WAR Thailand Season 1 in the amount of 2 million baht, a budget from Bumrungrad Hospital, and a budget to support the disabled. In addition, there is a team with knowledge and ability from the university, a team of disabled people, and people in the community who come to help and work together. This business is a business that wants to support the disabled to have jobs, to learn and study more in many areas, both in invention and business, in order to develop business policies and systems to move forward for the better.
“Getting people to accept you is hard.”
This business is about making tools, which is the work of engineers or technicians. Most people will only trust it if it is an expert who is a normal person. Making the general public accept that this business is really possible has become very difficult. Another equally difficult issue is the law. The company does business directly related to medical devices. Making it pass the law is difficult. In addition to the matter of the prosthetic device that is made by itself, there is also the matter of the building and place where the production is done, which must be in accordance with the law.
The company’s next goal
Mr. Khamron revealed that the biggest goal right now is to become a major prosthetic device factory in Thailand so that Thai people will not have to import and the price will be lower because importing makes the device expensive and takes a long time to deliver. If Thai people can produce it themselves, we will have cheap and fast prosthetic devices for domestic use. In addition, we also want to help improve the quality of life of the disabled and elderly in the country.
Conclusion
Doing a social enterprise business requires us to start by looking at the problems that occur in society, whether they are economic or environmental. Whatever problems we see, pick them up and turn them into products. The difficult thing is the funding because personally, Mr. Kamron thinks that he is lucky that many people give opportunities to disabled people. There are jobs and various competitions for disabled people. Mr. Kamron himself said that he has been to every stage to promote and show that even though he is disabled, he still has abilities. Disability is not a limitation in doing the things we want.
“If you try, you will succeed one day. Even though I am a disabled person who has difficulty getting up and living, I was still able to succeed.”
Life” is not disabled | The Practical Sustainability Enterprise “Friend” Society
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Siam Able Innovation is a distributor of prosthetic devices for disabled people to live a life without disabilities. For example, electric wheelchairs, electric lifts, electric tractors, electric hospital beds and scooters can be specially adjusted according to the user’s use, including materials, sizes, colors and functions. The prices are reasonable with after-sales service throughout the life of the device and ready to ship all over Thailand. Call 098-516-5112 and email: info.siamableinnovation@gmail.com komronmanoewwan1@gmail.com
Supported by the Office of Social Enterprise Promotion (OSEP)
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