Social Enterprises: What are they? From Where?

Despite great efforts to solve the worlds social and environmental problems through international development organisations, a lot still needs to be covered. With the help of the International organisations, a new concept is being introduced to the world to find solutions that are sustainable and do not rely on international donations. This concept is based on solving these wicked problems which are based on the Sustainable Development Goals using local solutions and a business approach.

A new framework that global leaders and policymakers have developed to catalyze solutions to global challenges is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs were adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, and they set targets for addressing issues such as poverty, gender equality, and climate change.

The concept is in Social Enterprise is one field in which both the Global North and the Global South can and do participate as contributors to novel solutions in the development field. Social Enterprises are progressively being recommended as a key lever for governments to focus on in order to alleviate part of the economic and social challenges they face.

Social Enterprises among many other definitions thus refers to the use of commercial logic and strategies to achieve social and/or environmental aims by building social partnerships between the public, social and business sectors applying business models and thinking to achieve both financial returns and social impact

A Visual illustration of where Social Enterprises lie between the Non Profit and the For Profit Business.

Traditional Non Profit

Non Profit with income generating activities

Social Enterprise

Social Responsible Business

Corporation Practicing Social Responsibility

Traditional For Profit

The above is an illustration which shows where social enterprises lie when comparing them with the Traditional Non Profit and For Profit Businesses. A lot of terms have also been used in that illustration, which on another day, i will look at, explaining these so that the differences in each term is clear.

For the successful implementation and relevance to different countries, more people need to consider Social enterprises as business models when starting a business. For those already in business, consider pivoting your business and use any one of the social enterprise models so that we can all work to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

To our policy makers and influencers we truly advocate for you to consider the following in policy making so that Social Enterprises may be effective and efficient in their implementation and in delivering the impact they are meant to deliver within communities:

o Formally recognizing social enterprises while boosting social entrepreneurship

o Promoting social impact measurement and reporting

o Developing social entrepreneurial capacity and skills

o Improving access to markets for social entrepreneurship development

o Improving access to finance for social entrepreneurship development

o Ensuring sustainable institutional support for social entrepreneurship and social innovation

Now that we have an idea of social enterprises, in my next article, i will be looking at defining Social Enterprises and Social Entrepreneurship basing on the different models used globally. i hope you are looking forward to that because i definitely am.

till next time......

Reference:

www.oecd.org

Future learn, Middlesex University Business School, Jindal Centre for Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Living in Minca: Social Enterprise: Business Doing Good