A social enterprise is an organisation that adopts commercial strategies to make profits with a social objective. In a sentence, social enterprise is doing charity by doing trade. The main goal of a social enterprise is to achieve financial sustainability and have a social impact.
Development agencies such as the World Bank are investing more and more funding to help the setting up of such ventures probing that there is a global interest in sponsoring these projects. Social enterprises are understood as a winning strategy to empower disadvantaged communities and to establish projects that will guarantee continuity and financial independency on the long run.
An example of successful social enterprise is given by the setting up of Grameephone; a joint venture between Grameen Telecom Corporation (a social enterprise born from the microfinance organisation and community development bank Grameen Bank) and Telenor (a Norwegian for-profit company). In 1996, a plan was drafted to provide mobile phone access throughout Bangladesh after the Government failed to develop a sound plan. Grameenphone is today the largest telecommunication provider of the country.
In order to set up a social enterprise your business idea should take into consideration the market reality and also to understand basic business models. Further, you should clarify your social objectives.
First of all, think about your potential stakeholders. You might consider self-financing or, if not possible, you should contact members of the public (individuals or organisations) that have an interest in your social objectives. Keep in mind that one of the keys to success is to count on the skills of someone who has experience in the business field. It is better to work with a person who is knowledgeable about your business environment in order to draft a successful plan.
Secondly, you should draft a feasibility study to help you understanding whether your project will realistically be sustainable. This document will also help you attracting the attention of potential investors.
Thirdly, write your business plan identifying opportunities for future expansion and accuracy in financial projection.
Fourthly, work on creating a strong brand for your enterprise. Branding is essential to beat competing business ventures and carve your own niche in the market.
Lastly, you should register your business in your country. As such, you have to gather information about how to do it. You might choose to register your venture as a Limited Partnership, a Company, or a Co-Operative depending on specific legislations in your country (seek for legal assistance before deciding).
Examples of social enterprise are:
1) Social enterprise that provides training and employment opportunities to a marginalised community.
2) Social enterprise that provides services to disadvantage clients and charges standard rates to finance itself.
3) Social enterprise that starts a business to fund other sister no-profit organisations in the development of their projects.
