Subic Bay Colleges, Inc.

City of Olongapo

College of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Module for ENTREPRENEURIAL MIND

Prepared by:

Johann A. Muller, MBA

College Instructor, College of Hospitality and Tourism Management

Week 8 Social Enterprise: the development of

ventures underpinned by social equity and
sustainability
 At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. Define Social Enterprise
2. Identify people who are people employed in social enterprises
3. List notable social enterprises that has made an impact in society and in the
world.
4. Differentiate models of social enterprises
5. Evaluate the effectivity of marketing strategies of social enterprises

Social Enterprise Defined

The concept of Social enterprise can be challenging to define because it has
been evolving in the past couple of years and because it crosses and sometimes
have a thin line of difference between traditional business, nonprofits
companies/sectors and the government.

It is a form of a commercial organization that is characterized by having a specific

social objective that serves it primary purpose. The aims of Social enterprises are to
find ways of maximizing profits and at the same time maximizing benefits to society
and to the environment; such profits are used in funding social programs.

In the late 1970s in the UK the idea of “social enterprise” came to rise. This was brought
about in contrast to the idea of traditional commercial enterprise. The intersection of
volunteer and private sectors is where social enterprise meet.
The goal is to find the balance actions that give financial benefits with social
 goals. Example of this can include giving housing to families categorized as low-
income or giving job training to people. To fund such activities, ways to obtain this
is by selling goods and/or providing services to customers. Grants can also be a
source of funding for social enterprises. Maximizing the profit is NOT the main
goal of social enterprise that is why it operates differently than other companies.

Usually, social enterprises are built to support a certain cause which may be
activists or leaders of such groups. It can also be entrepreneurs who allocate a part
of their profits to support programs for community development.

Social Enterprise Alliance defines social enterprise as:

Organizations that address a basic unmet need or solve a social problem

through a market-driven approach.

Who are the employees of a Social Enterprise?

Employees of social enterprises come from different backgrounds, but usually,

the main priority are those who are at risk-sections in a community. These
people/groups may be coming from workers who have been unemployed for a long
time, those who have historically worked in jobs who were informally paid, and
members of marginalized sectors of the community or society. The social enterprise
seeks to provide a living wage, which is higher than the minimum wage in most cities.
Sometimes, getting employees from at- risk groups may in fact be the social goal of
the enterprise.

Social Enterprise Examples versus Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship

 Focused on individuals who aims to create answers to social and

environmental difficulties by means of current business methods and
approaches.

There are many social enterprises who effectively get the best out of developments in
social well-being.

Examples:

1. Warby Parker is an American eyeglass retailer that donates a pair of glasses to someone in
need for every pair sold

2. Tom's, a California-based retailer, similarly has pledged to donate a pair of shoes or

sunglasses for every pair sold
 3. Climate Smart trains businesses and gives them software tools that let them track and cut their
greenhouse gas emissions.

What are Social Enterprise Models?

Social enterprises cover a wide spectrum of nonprofit to for-profit groups. Social

Enterprise Association (SEA) recognizes three general models of a social enterprise.

1. Opportunity Employment

> organizations that hire people who have significant obstacles or are
differently-abled to mainstream employment.

2. Transformative Products or Services

> organizations that make social or environmental impact through ground-

breaking products and services.

3. Donate Back

> organizations that donate a share of their incomes to nonprofits that

addresses basic unmet needs.

Social enterprise will not solve the current problems of society despite its noble
goals but these groups somehow addresses the unmet need of the people specially in the
marginalized sector and helping improve the community and the society as a whole. It is
not the only solution but is provides a solution.
For most non-profit organizations, social enterprise can be influential and a
supplement and complement other activities when it aims to level up its asocial mission
and the financial sustainability of the organization.

For new start up – non-profits and for-profits businesses – social enterprise

provides entrepreneurs the capacity to make a social impact and financial
sustainability into the organization’s DNA from its inception.

For traditional businesses, social enterprise actions allow companies to

incorporate social impact in their business processes and prioritize social goals hand in
hand with financial returns.
Is Social Enterprise New?
Yes, and no. In fact, there are examples of social enterprises build more than 100
years ago however, social enterprise is relatively new as a rising group of activity in
most countries,
In the past years, social enterprise has grown popularity, with growing interest
and attention from financiers, stakeholders, patrons, universities, media and legislators.
The increase focus of “impact investing” and “conscious consumerism” are evidence of
social enterprise’s advancement as a field, as well as the growing number of university
courses, the attention from the government and lawmakers as well as mainstream
median.

Examples of the Problems that Social Enterprises focus on

One of the most fascinating and moving characteristics of social
enterprise’s development is the growing diversity of concerns being addressed by social
enterprises. Today, social enterprises are rectifying market catastrophes across every
industry and challenge social challenges throughout the world.
Below are just a few examples of social enterprises that addresses significant
social needs with a method display a potential to be well-organized, effective and
financially sustainable.

1. Grameen Bank

> established in the 1970s, this enterprise provides small loans to the poor for small
business development and other uses. To date, it has provided $10 billion in loans to
more than 10 million people, and has proven the need and viability for financial
services to the poor. Grameen received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 as a reflection
of its efforts and success.

2. Greyston

> provides the homeless employment in a bakery that makes brownies for Ben &
Jerry’s ice cream.

As Greyston says,

“we don’t hire people to bake brownies, we bake brownies to hire people.”

3. D.Light

> designs affordable solar-powered devices that make available an option to folks
that has very little access to reliable energy sources. D.Light has sold more than 10
million solar lamps in its 8 years in the business. It has improved the lives of 50
million people.

4. Dispensary of Hope

> collects prescription medications nearing their expiry date and redistributes these
drugs to free clinics in low-income communities. Th

receives these medicines pay Dispensary of Hope a monthly subscription fee that
 covers basic expenses, and it also benefits drug manufacturers save money by
avoiding expenses related to destroying these expired products.

5. TerraCycle

> uses upcycling of packaging and other non-recyclable consumer waste to

keep it out of landfills and turn it into new products. At present, Terracycle has
established a recycling network of more than 31 million consumers and 100 major
corporate brand partnerships, that resulted in more than 3 billion units of garbage
stopped from being dumped in landfills and converted into new, 100% recycled
products.

6. Benetech

> Tried to make a positive social change by developing and using technology. One of
Benetech’s signature programs of Benetech is Bookshare, which is considered as one
of the largest literacy source for people who have disabilities. Before Bookshare,
only 5% of printed materials were accessible
to people with disabilities. Today, Bookshare’s more than 330,000 subscribers have
access to more than 300,000 titles in different formats.

7. Warby Parker

> has partnered with a company called VisionSpring to allow access to inexpensive
prescription glasses to people in developing countries who are otherwise
functionally blind. This is done by selling fashionable eyewear to customers in
developed markets, and gives a donation for each pair sold. So far, this partnership
has provided around 2.5 million pairs of glasses to those in need.

Build deeper connections: Strategies to make a Social Enterprise Stand out

Similar to a business, a social enterprise has many issues and functions

depending on its business model. Despite the noble cause or good reason for
the establishment of a social enterprise, such venture need to have its own
identity and stand out from the many social enterprises out there.

The measure of success of social enterprises is the positive impact it has

created in a community. It is necessary to reach to the target audience or the
consumer.

How to stand out among the competition?

> Your cause should be aligned with your target consumer

This is one of the buy ins in having aligned goals with your consumer, they would
support something they believe in. Alignment of corporate values, goals and
mission with your target consumer is a win win situation.

> Show the Impact of your company

They key to achieving this is to connect with your customers/consumers on a

personal level. Social enterprise may maximize social media platform to share a
tangible impact on how your organization creates positive change. Share the story
 —this way you will build loyal supporters and these same people will help your
business and your cause.

> Involved your customers

People who are invited to participate in events and have hands on experience in
bringing change be part of the Process are more likely to be continuous
supporters or your business, they might even become brand ambassadors.

> Deliver an excellent product

Sometimes no matter how worthy your cause is or your business goal, it will die a
slow death if it is not backed up by a very good product that appeals and responds
to the need of your market. Excellent product and a good cause combined makes
up the ingredient for successful social enterprise.

References:
http://www.centreforsocialenterprise.com/what-is-social-enterprise/
http://www.centreforsocialenterprise.com/what-is-social-enterprise/
https://socialenterprise.us/about/social-enterprise/ https://www.marsdd.com/mars-
library/identifying-target-customers-for-a- social-enterprise/