Welcome! If you are here, it is probably because you are interested in social entrepreneurship, or because you want to learn about the subject. We are a social organization dedicated to the training and support of people who seek to unite their personal passions and skills with a social or environmental interest in a project from which they can make a living. These people are entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs, although sometimes they don’t know it.
People start their own businesses for many different reasons. Some want the freedom of being their own boss or want to pursue their true passion. Others dream of making lots of money and building an empire.
However, there is a type of person willing to undertake not only to generate profits and benefits for themselves, but also to change the social or environmental reality of their community, territory and even more global spaces. If you want to know more about the world of social entrepreneurship, or if you are thinking of starting a business with an altruistic cause, this guide is for you.
Read on to learn about the most frequently asked questions in the field of social entrepreneurship or triple impact entrepreneurship.
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1. What is social entrepreneurship?
2. What are the objectives of social entrepreneurship?
3. What is the origin of social entrepreneurship?
4. What are the characteristics of social entrepreneurship?
5. What are the advantages and challenges of social entrepreneurship?
6. What types of social entrepreneurship exist?
7. What is the profile of a social entrepreneur?
8. What are B Companies and B Certification?
9. Frequently asked questions about social entrepreneurship
10. Social Entrepreneurship in Colombia
11. Examples of social entrepreneurship in Latin America and the world
Conclusion
Bonus: Download the “10 key questions for entrepreneurship” sheet
1. What Is Social entrepreneurship
A simple way to define social entrepreneurship is: an economically sustainable initiative undertaken by one or more people in order to achieve a social or environmental objective. But there are many definitions of social entrepreneurship. Below we explain them in more depth…
Social entrepreneurship uses tools from the business sector to achieve a social objective. Thus, it seeks to develop profitable and scalable organizational models with a positive social and environmental impact. Sounds complicated? We’ll explain it in other words.
Social entrepreneurship brings together the positive characteristics of large capitalist industries (economic sustainability, efficient processes and systems, performance indicators, etc.) with the positive characteristics of non-profit organizations (focus on the common good, altruism, social and environmental impact). This combination of business pragmatism and social vision allows the creation of companies that solve social and environmental problems, without depending on donations or public subsidies, since they generate their own income and finance their own activities. In conclusion, it is only possible to accompany the word entrepreneurship with the adjective SOCIAL when it generates sustainable social value.
It should be noted that all companies, social or not, generate employment, money and, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, a positive or negative impact on their environment, thus being actors in both the economic, environmental and social spheres.
So, how does social entrepreneurship work?
Social entrepreneurship seeks to create sustainable economic models by offering products or services that contribute to the resolution of social and environmental problems.
It is a different way of assuming business activity, where the company makes decisions for the benefit of the ecosystem in which it operates, and not only for its own economic gain.
In this way, it aims to provide a triple impact: generating economic benefits, while creating social and environmental value. In English, the acronym of the 3 Ps is frequently used: People, Profit, Planet. Since these companies measure their results in these aspects, many speak of triple bottom line companies.
Social entrepreneurship is therefore a type of business run by people who explore business opportunities that have a positive impact on their community and the world.
At Todos Podemos we seek to develop and strengthen enterprises that, in addition to being economically sustainable, meet the following criteria: they respect and protect the environment and its resources, generate fair production relations, have a purpose other than the accumulation of wealth, and do not participate in welfare. They also have community ties through actors who are aware of their context and their power to transform realities.
Let’s look at some of the most accepted definitions of social entrepreneurship.
Definition of social entrepreneurship
Being a relatively new and constantly evolving concept, there are many different definitions and perspectives in the literature. In order for you to form your own concept, we are going to leave you with some of the most accepted definitions:
For Ashoka, social entrepreneurship is the process by which citizens build or transform institutions or systems to solve social problems. It involves the creation of new teams and resources that improve society’s capacity to address problems and thus maximize social impact through sustainability.
In turn, the Schwab Foundation defines social entrepreneurship as a term, a practical, innovative and sustainable approach to economic and social problems, an approach that divides sectors and disciplines based on certain values and processes common to all social entrepreneurs regardless of their focus, or whether their organization is for-profit or non-profit.
For Roberts and Woods, “social entrepreneurship is the construction, evaluation and pursuit of opportunities for transformative social change carried out by visionary, passionately dedicated individuals.”
According to Zahra et al., social entrepreneurship encompasses activities and processes undertaken to discover, define and exploit opportunities to improve social welfare by creating new businesses or managing existing organizations in an innovative way.
For Todos Podemos, a social entrepreneurship is an initiative designed to solve a social or environmental need and that generates income by offering a product or service (or several) that contributes to solving it. It is a sustainable project with a triple impact or triple bottom line (economic, social, and environmental). Its results are measured in these three aspects.
2. What are the objectives of social entrepreneurship?
The main objective of a social enterprise is to provide solutions to existing social or environmental problems, using an economically sustainable model. We are talking about problems such as the fight against poverty, hunger, disease, social exclusion, education, crime, climate change, or any problem that fits within the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that the UN defined for the year 2030.
In more detail, we can identify the following objectives of social entrepreneurship:
Transforming a reality
Every social business begins with the identification of a long-term situation that negatively affects the lives of one or more groups of people. Once the problem has been identified, an opportunity needs to be identified to generate a change in the market, and used to devise and implement a solution that offers an alternative with social value.
When this is achieved, then the flourishing of a new, fairer balance becomes viable. Consequently, the essential objective of a company with a social or environmental focus will be to detect social or environmental needs, and devise ways of transformation through a sustainable business idea.
Establish relationships of trust
The needs of people are the starting point for any social enterprise. However, the great challenge is to create an ecosystem that allows the efforts of the enterprise to benefit the community, providing solutions to its needs, while the community accepts the company and encourages its growth.
To do this, it is necessary to generate relationships of trust with people in the community, companies with social objectives, for-profit organizations and the public sector.
Creating economic value
At first glance, one might think that the goals of social entrepreneurship are utopian and almost impossible, or that they correspond exclusively to non-profit organizations. But social entrepreneurship has a particularity that differentiates it from other models of organizations with social purposes: it must be profitable to operate. While it can be a significant challenge, the economic sustainability of social enterprises is also a considerable advantage.
Profitability is a key pillar for a successful social enterprise.
Achieving economic sustainability while maintaining the social mission is something that entrepreneurs should never lose sight of. It not only allows them to generate profits, but also to provide value to the community in a lasting and sometimes exponential way.
Of course, it is necessary to be well prepared in business, financial and marketing matters to make coherent and controlled decisions to achieve the social mission, and the need for financial sustainability of the enterprise.
3. What is the origin of social entrepreneurship?
To address the origins of social entrepreneurship, it is necessary to clarify that there have always been social entrepreneurs or initiatives that met social needs through profitable economic activity. The term was born in 1972 and became normalized in the 1980s thanks to Bill Drayton, founder of Ashoka.
During a trip to India, Drayton identified people who solved problems through non-welfare practices, with sustainable and replicable approaches, so he proposed replicating it in the United States under the name of social entrepreneurship.
This alternative emerged as a different perspective to traditional business models (private companies and non-profit organizations) that failed to respond to the needs of society in a joint manner and increased the consequences of capitalism.
Bill Drayton, with the creation of Ashoka more than 30 years ago, together with Muhammad Yunus, developer of the Grameen Bank that gives microcredit to women without resources in his country, are the main precursors of social entrepreneurship. Their efforts paved the way for companies that generate resources without exploitation, that do not destroy the environment, are inclusive of normally excluded groups and have collaborative organizational structures.
4. What are the characteristics of social entrepreneurship?
Although social enterprises come in many shapes and sizes (from one person working independently to a multinational structure), for a business to be classified as a social entrepreneur, it must have at least the following elements:
Create well-being for the community
Every social business provides solutions to social and environmental problems. Its fight may be against poverty, social exclusion, or climate change, but it is always focused on transforming an unjust or harmful reality in order to create more opportunities for growth and development.
It is environmentally sustainable
A sustainable activity is one that can be maintained and reproduced without depleting the resources it uses. For example, a business in the agricultural industry with activities that affect the soil, reducing its capacity for cultivation, is not a sustainable business model. Therefore, it cannot be classified as a social enterprise.
It is based on profitable business models over time
Every business must generate profitability and economic value. That is, it must generate more income than it spends to operate. Otherwise, it will not be able to maintain its operation on its own. Social entrepreneurship is creating and implementing a sustainable model by combining an opportunity for lasting social impact with an economically profitable business opportunity, without the need for long-term external assistance or contributions.
In other words, social entrepreneurship is based on business models that allow it to generate sufficient income to cover operating costs and meet its social or environmental change objectives.
This is one of the points where those who dare to venture into social entrepreneurship encounter the most obstacles. Because they put so much emphasis on the transformative aspect of their idea, that they neglect the importance of creating economic value to sustain their initiative.
Promotes connections in the ecosystem
Since the objective of this type of organization is social transformation, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of the ecosystem in which it operates and to cultivate its relationships with the different actors involved: community, clients, companies, social actors, public sector.
When solid and lasting relationships are created, the impact is broader and more sustainable.
We can also point out other characteristics of social entrepreneurship:
- A social entrepreneurship uses methods typical of the business field, such as marketing, advertising, and, of course, sales.
- It identifies a problem and knows the population it wants to positively impact.
- It often provides innovative solutions to social problems that respond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that the UN defined for 2030.
- It offers products and services that solve environmental problems, improve the quality of life and, in general, promote social well-being.
- It tends to reinvest a considerable part of its profits in improving or developing the company.
- It generates a positive impact on the world.
- It communicates, educates and raises awareness about a problem.
- They engage in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation and learning.
- They show intense responsibility for the publics they serve and for the results they create.
5. What are the advantages and challenges of social entrepreneurship?
Social entrepreneurship has always had its own challenges, primarily related to finding a way to create social value through profitable business activity. But it also has very valuable advantages compared to conventional companies and purely social organizations. Here we present the main advantages and the most common challenges of social entrepreneurship, first for the company itself, and then for the ecosystem in which it operates.
Advantages for the company:
- Generates empathy: because they have an altruistic purpose and express it, social enterprises manage to generate greater empathy in people sensitive to their cause. This favors word of mouth (organic and free advertising), sales and customer loyalty.
- Tax advantages: in some countries (increasingly), social enterprises can obtain discounts and other preferential conditions in terms of taxes compared to conventional companies.
- Financing opportunities: today many investors (whether individuals or investment funds) and institutions that offer loans, favor or work exclusively with sustainable projects with a positive impact. This opens new doors for social entrepreneurs and allows them to develop and scale their projects.
Advantages for your environment:
- Offers solutions to real problems: The social or environmental impact objective and ethical values of social enterprises ensure (or at least increase the likelihood that) the well-being of people and the environment are taken into account and defended.
- Transparency: Social entrepreneurship values communication and trust with its customers. That is why it aims to offer open information that allows customers to know what they are buying, where it comes from and what impact it has. It also gives people the opportunity to educate themselves about different causes.
Challenges for the company:
- Being profitable: turning an altruistic dream into an economically viable business model is no easy task, and often requires developing new or complex models.
- Being competitive: in order to sell its products or services, a company has to be perceived by its potential customers as the best option on the market. This is difficult, especially when ethics and values prohibit the use of certain practical or economic solutions used by competitors. A social company rarely manages to be the cheapest option. That is why it has to have an excellent value proposition, offering other advantages for its customers.
- Meeting its three objectives: managing all the activities necessary to create social, environmental and economic value requires a lot of organization, time and discipline. It is important to know how to do this in order to achieve its financial, social and environmental objectives, and thus be able to scale without losing sight of its mission.
Challenges for its ecosystem:
- Ability to pay: the price of products or services with a positive social and environmental impact tends to be higher than their non-sustainable equivalent. This can mean a sacrifice in the pocket of customers who wish to support the cause.
- Availability of products or services: social enterprises generally work with local products, small producers, vulnerable communities, ecological transport, etc. Although these decisions improve the impact of the enterprise, they can generate difficulties in obtaining the products, lengthen delivery times, or cause small variations in the quality of the products or services.
All of these advantages and challenges can be represented in a SWOT analysis of the social enterprise (Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses, Threats). Obviously, each company is different, but the following infographic presents the most common elements.
6. What types of social entrepreneurship exist?
A social enterprise can develop its business model in a number of different ways. The most suitable format depends on the type of activity undertaken, the community it seeks to impact, and the context in which it operates.
Consequently, there are many possible variations. Here are two general ways in which a social enterprise could operate, plus a third way to contribute to any type of company:
Entrepreneurships that generate positive impact through their products or services
In this case, the actions are aimed at generating social or environmental impact from the creation or distribution of a product or service. An example of this type of business is the factories of water purification tablets, which have a great impact in countries such as Yemen, where cholera is widespread, and water purification tablets are the best solution for thousands of people who do not have access to drinking water. Another example: our social entrepreneurship school Start-today.org offers courses and advice to people who want to develop triple impact initiatives.
Social entrepreneurship in their production chains
A second type of business with social impact occurs in the company’s operational processes. Whether it is in the acquisition of raw materials from sustainable, organic sources free of exploitation of producers, in human capital (employing people in vulnerable situations and offering them respectful working conditions), or in the means of distribution (reducing the environmental impact).
Such is the case of Wonder for People, a Colombian conscious fashion company that designs and manufactures with artisan organizations and indigenous organizations.
Traditional ventures that allocate a percentage of their financial returns
First of all, it is important to clarify that donating part of your profits to social causes is not enough to be a social enterprise. If the company does not generate a positive impact through its products, services and/or production chain, it is still a traditional company. However, solidarity through financial donations from companies to different causes (either directly to the beneficiaries or to social organizations) is seen more and more every day and can be a way to participate in social or environmental changes.
The mere fact of donating does not make a company social, since there is no direct relationship between the main activity of the company and its social impact. In other words, the company would function the same if it stopped making these donations. Some large companies have their own foundations, others created corporate social responsibility (CSR) departments that support the work of social organizations, and others, generally smaller ones, make one-off donations.
7. What is the profile of a social entrepreneur?
There are many different types of entrepreneurs, and this also applies to social entrepreneurs. However, people who decide to build social enterprises have one thing in common: they seek to generate positive change through their venture. This effort to generate positive impact is what motivates them and guides their decisions. However, they also seek to make their venture viable and profitable like any other business.
It is important to consider that each person who starts a business is unique and has unique perspectives on social needs and their possible solutions. Because everything depends on the experiences of the individual, and the social, cultural and economic context in which they developed. Thus, it is not unusual to find entrepreneurs of any socioeconomic and educational level, political and sexual orientation, ethnic, racial and geographic origin, gender, religion, etc.
Obviously, the diversity of experience from the individual plays a determining role in the vision, motivations and opportunities of social entrepreneurship. In fact, as with conventional entrepreneurship, we find entrepreneurs out of necessity, and entrepreneurs out of opportunity.
Entrepreneurs out of necessity are motivated by the economic, social or environmental difficulties they face in their lives. They undertake to create a solution for a group to which they belong. In many cases, this profile of social entrepreneur does not have much experience in the business world and lacks an analysis of the business opportunity, economic resources and strategic contacts at the beginning.
Entrepreneurs out of opportunity tend to be more analytical, but may lack initial knowledge of the context. They start by identifying and analyzing an opportunity in the market. They usually have some resources available or know how to find the necessary capital to start. They believe in their business idea and their skills to carry it out.
Now, after working with and observing numerous social entrepreneurs, at Todos Podemos we have identified some characteristics that could be considered essential in a person who wants to follow the path of social entrepreneurship:
- Is capable of leading and moving forward autonomously.
- Is resourceful, innovative, creative, and adaptive.
- Is passionate, visionary, proactive, and persevering.
- Is altruistic and seeks the common good: the primary motivation is to solve a problem, and they prioritize it above any personal or economic interest.
- Takes into consideration the sustainability of the organization in all their decisions.
- Uses knowledge of the business world to solve social and/or environmental problems.
- Is highly empathetic, and ethical and has clear values: tries to act in a way that is consistent with their discourse.
- Is nonconformist and rebellious: fights proactively for what they feel must change.
Below we develop some of the most important characteristics of social entrepreneurs.
They care about social welfare
These people are characterized by being passionate leaders of change. They are not satisfied with the status quo and do not believe that the way things have always been done is the way they should continue to be done. The desire to improve the lives of their peers and their community is a characteristic that encourages social entrepreneurs to persevere in their work.
They have financial and strategic understanding
This may seem like a less exciting feature, but it’s an important one.
People who manage to run a successful social business don’t just have a good idea, they also have the practical business knowledge to turn that idea into a reality. Solutions from this type of business consider the market, finances, resources, legal constraints and obligations, and opportunities in their environment.
They know the importance of data and collect it every step of the way, constantly monitoring their impact and looking for ways to improve.
They make sure they generate revenue and are sustainable, and they reinvest part of their profits back into their organization. Profit is an important goal, because they know that money is necessary to further the social cause and goal.
They engage and inspire people
Social entrepreneurs know that they are not alone in realizing their vision. The success of projects depends not only on a single strong leader, but on the team that works with that innovator.
It is also important that they know how to communicate and collaborate with the different actors in the ecosystem, such as community leaders, local governments and microfinance institutions.
They seek to connect with other people within the world of social entrepreneurship to share and improve possible solutions.
Pragmatic, persistent and patient
Changing the world takes time, effort and experimentation. While visions of massive social change can be inspiring, social entrepreneurs are all about taking small steps every day to achieve their goals.
They have to be patient because they understand that great social enterprises don’t happen overnight.
8. What are B Corporations and B Certification?
B Companies are organizations with a social purpose, not only pursuing economic profitability, but also social and environmental results.
Sound familiar? Of course: social enterprises follow the same principles as B Companies.
According to the official website of Sistema B:
B Companies or certified B corporations are a new type of business that balances purpose and profit. They are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, the community and the environment. This is a community of leaders, driving a global movement of people who use business as a force for good.
The B Company certification is issued by B Lab, a non-profit organization that has been promoting the creation of sustainable productive networks since 2006. It makes a lot of sense as a social company to aspire to this type of certification.
To receive a B certification, it is necessary to meet a series of requirements that demonstrate their commitment and efficiency in positively impacting the community where they operate, the employees they work with and the environment. As well as their level of transparency.
Currently, some 70,000 companies measure and manage their social and environmental impact through the B Assessment. But not all those that try to obtain certification succeed, which is why there are barely more than 5,000 certified B companies in the world.
Of these certified companies, nearly a thousand are in Latin America. Colombia has 62 B companies, while Brazil leads the list with 234, Chile with 216, and Argentina with 171 certified companies.
9. Frequently asked questions about social entrepreneurship
Is a social enterprise the same as a non-profit organization?
No, they are not the same. They are organizations with different objectives, although they converge in their spirit of social transformation and the creation of benefits for the community.
Non-profit organizations are social actors whose activity does not involve any profit or benefit. All their efforts and resources are destined to the creation of social or environmental changes. Therefore, they usually depend on donations, subsidies and economic support from both the public and private sectors.
Even though they can be financed with products and services, they cannot generate profits for the organization or distribute dividends to their partners. All the money that comes in must be used for its social or environmental function.
In contrast, social entrepreneurship seeks economic benefit through the sale of its products or services. These profits allow the entrepreneur to sustain himself and meet his social objectives. In other words, profits are an important and necessary part of every social entrepreneurship in order to obtain the social and environmental impact it seeks without depending on external economic contributions.
What is the difference between social entrepreneurship and social innovation?
These two terms can also be confusing, and in the literature we can find many concepts and explanations about this. At Todos Podemos we believe that social innovation is a tool that can be put at the service of social entrepreneurship, since both are aimed at solving social problems.
Social innovation refers to means, tools and change itself. It is the process by which change is imagined and executed. While social entrepreneurship refers to initiatives by people and/or companies aligned with the needs of marketing, business success and sustainable change.
Social innovation involves generating something new. Social entrepreneurship changes a reality without having as a condition the development of new tools. That is to say, one can undertake socially without generating new ideas or tools to do so. An undertaking can be replicable. An innovation stops being innovation the second time it arises.
In this sense, although they are different concepts, they are not mutually exclusive. In fact, one of the biggest challenges facing social entrepreneurship in Latin America is linking innovation to social entrepreneurship projects.
Without a doubt, social entrepreneurship can enhance its reach, methods and processes by relying on social innovation.
What is the business model of social entrepreneurship?
A business model is the map that each entrepreneur establishes for himself to meet his objectives. It describes the strategy and general methodology that the company implements to operate and generate social, environmental and economic value. There are many profitable models such as the product model, the solution model, Freemium, franchise or license model, and multi-sided or multifaceted models. Social enterprises can use any of them, as long as they allow them to meet their social, environmental and economic objectives in a sustainable way. It is also important to understand that although the legal figure of social entrepreneurship already exists in many countries, it is not yet the case in all of them, and that each legislation is different and can use different definitions, criteria and conditions to deal with the issue.
What is the triple bottom line?
La triple línea base o Triple bottom-line se refiere a los tres objetivos de las empresas sociales también llamadas las 3 Ps en inglés = people, planet, profit
Es un concepto planteado en 1994 por John Elkington, que describe a las empresas sostenibles como aquellas que atienden a 3 dimensiones primarias: la social (personas / people), la medioambiental (Planeta / Planet) y la económica (beneficios / profit).
People: el principio es considerar las necesidades de todos los involucrados y llegar a soluciones justas para cada parte, privilegiando el bien común.
Planet: el principio es no explotar la naturaleza, reintegrando a la tierra lo que se toma de ella.
Profit: una economía que produce, pero no casta más de lo que requiere y es sostenible a lo largo del tiempo.
10. Social Entrepreneurship in Colombia
Although there is still much to develop, the social enterprise sector in Colombia is consolidating. In recent years, the number of social enterprises, organizations that support this sector, and social programs has increased significantly. This support is extremely important in a country where almost half of the working population dreams of starting a business, but only ten percent of those people manage to do so without higher education. Another important advance is Law 2234, approved in 2022, which sets out regulatory and legal provisions for the recognition and strengthening of social entrepreneurship. For more information on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Colombia, we recommend visiting the Colombian page of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM).
The following list contains some of the entities that support social entrepreneurship in Colombia and around the world:
- Acumen: a pioneering organization that seeks innovative and disruptive ways to address the challenges of inequality and poverty
- RECON:they identify social enterprises to make them visible, connect them and strengthen them. They seek to strengthen the ecosystem of Social Entrepreneurship under the right conditions and contributing to the economic and social development of the country.
- Makaia and its platform Nodo Ka: trains and helps social organizations and projects in the generation of human and financial resources, adapting to the needs they may have.
- Innpactia:they help find the appropriate donor to finance social impact projects. They gather funds for impact projects from more than 4,000 donors.
- Impact Hub Bogotá and Medellín: entrepreneurship and innovation network to promote sustainable development. They contribute to the strengthening of projects in all their stages of development, through consulting, Corporate Services, and coworking spaces for social entrepreneurship.
- Quántica Education: social entrepreneurship school, with operations throughout Latin America. It seeks to contribute to the construction of an inclusive economy and reduce systemic poverty.
- INNpulsa Colombia: upports the acceleration and growth of high-level and high-potential companies, as well as promotes innovative processes already established to generate economic development, equity and employment opportunities.
- Fondo Emprender: raining model with access to seed capital, for ventures with sustainability potential and developed by interns / students.
- La ANDI del Futuro:network that offers entrepreneurs training capital, relationships and visibility.
- RutaN: promotes the development of innovative businesses based on technology. In the case of entrepreneurs, it offers them access to markets, access to technologies, key contacts, development of new businesses, physical spaces to work, financing, training and advice on issues such as intellectual property.
- CREAME: business incubator created by academic, business and government institutions, which offers entrepreneurship programs and models for the incorporation of companies in the global financial and commercial market.
- Mprende: digital platform that informs and connects innovative leaders in the country. This portal shares daily current articles, analysis, advice and good practices related to entrepreneurship.
- Yunus Negocios Sociales: global organization that pursues the goal of reducing poverty and the climate crisis. It offers support and leverage for the growth of social entrepreneurships, as well as consulting in the framework of social innovation for companies. It serves as a bridge between social entrepreneurs and large companies.
- Endeavor: network that provides entrepreneurs with training and networking opportunities.
- CONNECT: network that connects companies, universities, entrepreneurs and the State to promote the growth of the country.
- Compartamos con Colombia:connects talents to generate social and environmental impact with organizations interested in social development. Provides consulting for the design and implementation of sustainable solutions in different contexts and realities.
- Todos Podemos Corporation:
Yes, that’s us, but we think it’s worth highlighting why we can be considered a social enterprise as well. Although Todos Podemos is a non-profit entity, the organization employs several strategies in its quest to be self-sustainable. First, it offers its social entrepreneurship training services to companies and organizations interested in empowering specific groups as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs or their lines of action to fulfill their mission, when it comes to social organizations. Todos Podemos also offers training for trainers, and different business workshops related to its area of expertise. In addition, the corporation has developed a virtual social entrepreneurship school called Start Today, which offers courses and advice to people interested in launching themselves as social entrepreneurs. Part of the school’s profits finance other Todos Podemos activities.
Learn more at https://www.Start-today.org.
11. Examples of social entrepreneurship in the world
With all that you are reading, it is likely that social entrepreneurship seems difficult or almost utopian to you and that you have doubts about the viability of this type of project.
At Todos Podemos we are not going to lie to you: entrepreneurship, and especially doing so in the social or environmental field, involves many challenges.
However, we know that it is possible to do it. There are many successful social entrepreneurships in the world. Let’s look at some examples of this.
4ocean
This North American company sells bracelets made from 100% recycled material. Its social mission is divided into two different actions. On the one hand, the recycling of its raw material, which comes from cleaning operations on beaches in Florida, Haiti, Guatemala and Bali.
By selling these bracelets online, 4ocean finances its objective: to remove as much trash as possible from the ocean. This is done under the commitment that for each bracelet sold, one pound of trash will be removed from the ocean.
In addition, its mission also translates into:
- Using the latest technology to remove trash from beaches and oceans.
- Creating jobs for people around the world.
- Educating people, businesses and governments about how plastic damages our oceans.
- Creating economically sustainable ways to remove trash from the seas and oceans.
If you would like to know more, you can visit their website https://www.4ocean.com/.
Leather Heart
Leather Heart is a Venezuelan social enterprise that was founded in 2018. The company makes stuffed animals from textile waste, using the fabrics that manufacturers throw away because they are leftovers from production. They obtain this raw material by buying directly from textile factories and through donations of material. Their products are sold online, in their physical store and other points of sale.
Their mission is to generate impact by creating jobs for women in Venezuela, reducing waste and pollution from the textile industry and meeting the food needs of children in vulnerable situations with part of their profits. In addition, they use the One For One concept, giving a stuffed animal to a low-income child for every stuffed animal sold.
Visit them at https://leatherheart.fun/.
Incluyeme
Incluyeme is a social enterprise that helps people with disabilities find inclusive and fair jobs. It has coverage in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Mexico and Peru. It has managed to develop alliances with multinational companies such as Ford, Forbes, Coca-Cola, HP, among others.
It also has an online training program for people with disabilities that prepares them for the hiring process, as well as other hiring workshops and workplace inclusion strategies for companies.
To date, the company has placed almost 2,000 people with disabilities in jobs at more than 100 companies and has trained thousands of people in labor inclusion.
Find them at https://www.incluyeme.com/.
conclusion
As we have seen throughout this article, there are social or environmental companies and organizations that have found a balance between human service and economic success.
Remember that the goal of every social enterprise is to transform a social or environmental problem using a viable business model.
Thus, social entrepreneurs need to be businesspeople with all the skills that this entails: leading a team, seeking financing, selling products and services, developing strategies, making alliances, etc.
At Todos Podemos, we work with and for people who want to carry out innovative projects and change unjust and exclusionary realities in communities inside and outside of Colombia.
We offer alliances, consulting and tailor-made projects for companies, NGOs and the public sector, as well as advice and training for entrepreneurs who want to positively impact the world. In addition, we are always open to hearing new proposals that help us achieve our mission.
If you would like to meet us or propose a partnership, then schedule an appointment with us using this link: https://calendly.com/todospodemos/primer-contacto-todos-podemos.