Social Enterprise

"Social entrepreneurship in South Africa is not the magic solution that will eradicate the constraints that non-profit organsiations experience. But it offers potential to shift our civil society into a different way of doing things. It blends the lessons from business with the diversity and complexity of social values, and in the mix are great opportunities for change." - Kerryn Krige

Social enterprises can be defined as enterprises that have a social purpose, but are run on business principles, and reinvest any profit or surplus into the social purpose of the entity. ^{[International Labour Organization]}

• Read more about the key characteristics of social enterprises.

The future is social entrepreneurship | Kerryn Krige | TEDxJohannesburgSalon

The Social Enterprise Continuum

Organisational models exist on a continuum, ranging from grant-dependent traditional NPOs operating with the primary intention of social value creation, to traditional businesses generating income through trading activities, and operating for the purpose of economic value creation. Towards the centre of the continuum are social enterprises.   Read more. 

Social Enterprise Revenue Models in Action

Social enterprises typically take one of five revenue models. These are business models that have social value embedded in them.

• Employment
• Fee for service (including low-income innovations)
• Cross subsidisation 
• Entrepreneur support
• Market intermediary

Read more about social enterprise models in action.