Social enterprises are businesses whose primary purpose is the common good. They use the methods and disciplines of business and the power of the marketplace to advance their social, environmental and human justice agendas.
There are advantages of a social enterprise that are entrepreneur specific like:
- Social entrepreneurs find it easier to raise capital. There are huge incentives and schemes from the government for the same. since the investment industry here is ethical, it is easier to raise capital at below market rates.
- Marketing and promotion for these organizations is also very easy. Since a social problem is being tackled with a solution, it is easier to attract attention of the people and media. The degree of publicity often depends on the degree of uniqueness of the solution.
- It is easier to garner support from like minded individuals since there is a social side to the enterprise. It is also easier to get people on board at lower salaries than compared to other industry.
Since social enterprises typically deal with people who live at the bottom of the pyramid, therefore they are the ones who are benefited to benefit hugely from the former. In other words social enterprises are beneficial to the poor, generally by providing them with a means of livelihood.
