This story originally appeared in our June 30th, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to download the pdf e-magazine.

While most of the social enterprise and impact investing spotlight remains on Africa and South Asia, Latin America is making its own strides to develop a solid foundation in the industry.

While the term social enterprise seems to be picking up steam worldwide, much of the focus remains on Africa and South Asia.

There are many reasons for that, says Mark Hand, an investment analyst with First Light at Grey Ghost Ventures. The language barrier, cultural and political differences all play a part in why Latin America has been slower to attract attention than others. “What we’ve seen in the impact investing space, especially the kind of venture funding circles that we swirl around in, is that people overlook Latin America,” he said.

William Portilla, a senior loan officer with Root Capital – which has operations in Latin America and Africa – says that developed countries have a “stronger strategic political interest” in Africa and South Asia than they do in Latin America.

“The money that is most commercially minded is most drawn to India. The money that is most charity minded is most drawn to Africa,” he said. “In that spectrum, that leaves few people that are operating in Latin America.” » Continue reading “Latin America’s socents: poised for flight”

By Kate Sutton

After meeting someone like Dr. Sam Prince you are left with an overwhelming feeling of inspiration—a belief that with passion anything really is possible. Prince is passionate about three things: health care, education and business. With these passions, it is not surprising Prince is a doctor, a Mexican food entrepreneur and a philanthropist. However, when it is revealed Prince is all these things at the age of 27, it is surprising.

Prince is not your typical entrepreneur. Prince trained as a doctor at the Australian National University in Canberra. While studying, Prince worked in restaurants to pay the university bills. He was particularly interested in an American food franchise concept: Fresh – Mex – Grills, as it’s name suggests, fast, fresh, healthy Mexican cuisine. It was during his medical studies when Prince started Zambrero, a Mexican restaurant, which has multiplied into 17 restaurant franchises across Australia. Zambrero’s profits go towards the Emagine Foundation to deliver health and education projects in Australia and developing countries. » Continue reading “Meet Sam Prince: Australian Serial Entrepreneur”

By Bharathi Ramasubramanian

American political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, in his work The Clash of Civilizations, famously stated that cultural and religious identities would be the main sources of conflict in the post-Cold War era. An assessment of conflicts over the past two decades, from the Bosnian crisis and the Rwandan genocide in the early 1990s to the ongoing crisis in Darfur and Israel/ Palestine, shows the accuracy of his prophecy.

A key to post-conflict reconstruction is the development and strengthening of local institutions. It is often the case that local civil society organizations relying heavily on foreign donors tend to adapt their work to outside demands. This dilutes reconstruction, and efforts become increasingly disconnected from their beneficiaries, members and communities. Effective post-conflict development requires a clear understanding of the dynamics of the conflict-torn community and some success stories prove that local communities know best how to create opportunity for themselves and rebuild their towns and villages. » Continue reading “Post-Conflict Development: From the Bottom Up”

This story originally appeared in our January 14, 2011 e-magazine. Click here to subscribe.

Business schools should adopt an interactive classroom approach to social entrepreneurship.

Since 2008, an increasing number of business graduates have assumed positions in the social sector. It is still too early to say if this sector switch can just be attributed to the collapsing economy or if a budding interest in social enterprise was beginning its full bloom. What can be observed though is that in tandem to the altered economic climate, there is also noticeable employment migration from traditional for-profit institutions to more socially-minded businesses. B-schools are awakening to this trend, and to the rising demand of both smaller enterprises and MNCs for specialists in social entrepreneurship. » Continue reading “Designing a Social Entrepreneurship Course”

Everyday this week, we bring to you some key findings of our Indian Social Enterprise Landscape Survey.

Main Sources of Financing – Limited access to the commercial financing

The survey results revealed that there is a clear divide between those that have access to mainstream and/or commercial funds and those that rely on personal connections and grants/donations to raise money. The ratio is about 50/50. Forty-five percent of respondents obtained funds from commercial sources whereas 21% of respondents source their funds from personal connections such as family members and friends; another 21% rely on grants and donations from charitable organizations.

The survey report, which offers an in-depth analysis of the results, is available for INR400/US$10. Just click the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey Report banner on the top of our website – www.beyondprofit.com or send an email to Asako Matsukawa atpublications@intellecap.com.

See other data sets from the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey

Revenue Stream

Profitability

Sectors to Watch

Everyday this week, we bring to you some key findings of our Indian Social Enterprise Landscape Survey.

Challenge – Financing

The results reveal that acquiring funding is by far the biggest challenge for social entrepreneurs. Forty four percent of enterprises said that Financing/Funding is their main challenge.

The survey report, which offers an in-depth analysis of the results, is available for INR400/US$10. Just click the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey Report banner on the top of our website – www.beyondprofit.com or send an email to Asako Matsukawa atpublications@intellecap.com.

See other data sets from the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey

Revenue Stream

Profitability

Sectors to Watch

Everyday this week, we bring to you some key findings of our Indian Social Enterprise Landscape Survey.

Sectors to Watch

Education
Sector with a track record of profit
The Education sector has shown a marked degree of financial stability and growth potential. There are two key elements. First, the sector represents the highest number of profit-making enterprises (38%) among others, and also has one of the lowest numbers of loss-making entities (24%). Second, we observed a good growth potential; 38% of education enterprises are breaking even — which means the number of profit-making enterprises in this sector could increase in the coming years.

Health
Sector with large growth potential
Although the sector currently produces a very small number of profit-making entities, it has the lowest percentage (13%) of loss-making enterprises. Most importantly, at 73%, the Health sector has the largest segment of break-even businesses. If/when these enterprises begin to turn a profit, the Health sector could sustain a multitude of successful, profit-making enterprises.

Rural Development
Sector to watch out for future growth
Despite the fact that the largest number of social enterprises are in this field, it is the biggest loss-making sector at the moment. However, Rural Development demonstrated the largest revenue increases last year, so there could be more surprises in store.

The survey report, which offers an in-depth analysis of the results, is available for INR400/US$10. Just click the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey Report banner on the top of our website – www.beyondprofit.com or send an email to Asako Matsukawa at publications@intellecap.com.

See other data sets from the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey
Revenue Stream
Profitability

Everyday this week, we bring to you some key findings of our Indian Social Enterprise Landscape Survey.

Profitability

Through the survey we found that there are more enterprises that are loss-making (34%) than those earning a profit (25%). And 41% percent of enterprises are currently breaking even. If you look at the profitability by measure of years in operation, you can clearly see that making profit through social enterprise is no easy task. It is true that the percentage of loss-making enterprises steadily goes down as the companies get older. But there is virtually no disparity in the number of profit making entities across age categories. Many enterprises stop making losses as they grow older but do not begin to turn a profit; they merely start breaking even. Surprisingly, even after 11 years or more of operations, the percentage of profit making enterprises is only 27%.

The survey report, which offers an in-depth analysis of the results, is available for INR400/US$10. Just click the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey Report banner on the top of our website – www.beyondprofit.com or send an email to Asako Matsukawa at publications@intellecap.com.

Click here to see data on Revenue Stream.

Many Indian cities today are facing trouble accommodating the continuously expanding urban poor population due to the constant inflows of rural migrants. India is home to 52,000 slums with 8 million households and many millions more living on the streets. To find housing solutions for this low-income population has long been part of the country’s national agenda. However, nation-wide efforts to provide affordable housing to the urban poor may be missing the real need of the urban low-income population.

In 2009, the government announced the Rajiv Awas Yojana, a housing scheme that accords property rights to the urban low-income population and slum dwellers. It will allow them to construct and own homes, with the lofty aim to eliminate slums from Indian cities in five years.

» Continue reading “To Rent or Buy – The Housing Ownership Myth”

Last month, Beyond Profit launched the first ever Indian Social Enterprise Landscape Survey. The survey was designed to better understand social entrepreneurs in India, and learn more about their business structure, financial viability, and challenges.

Everyday this week, we bring to you some key findings. The survey report, an in-depth analysis of the results, is available for INR400/US$10. Just click the Social Enterprise Landscape Survey Report banner on the top of our website – www.beyondprofit.com or send an email to Asako Matsukawa at publications@intellecap.com.

» Continue reading “DATA: Is social enterprise a financially viable venture?”