What are some of the innovative social enterprise models that you admire and why?

This is one of my favourite models that I've seen working more and more these days. A good example is the company Beam, that helps homeless people in the UK. They have a hybrid model, with a nonprofit entity that puts all the raised money into helping homeless people. And a for-profit entity that helps them run the business sustainably. I believe that in the years to come, this hybrid model will be more and more adopted by all sorts of organisations that want to create a positive impact in the world.

I admire innovative social enterprise models like Singapore's "Daughters of Tomorrow," which focuses on empowering underprivileged women by helping them gain skills and access to sustainable employment, and the Philippines' "Hapinoy," which empowers rural women through micro-retail, offering products, training, and micro-financing. Another standout is Malaysia's "Biji-Biji Initiative," which focuses on upcycling and sustainable design while providing training and job opportunities for marginalized communities. In Indonesia, there is "Du Anyam," which empowers women in rural areas by producing traditional weaving crafts. These models excel in addressing environmental and social challenges while ensuring financial sustainability.

Echoing previous comments, we should stop thinking about 'social enterprise' models and focus on responsible business models because all businesses should act like social enterprises in the context of caring about people and the environment. So many social enterprises focus on one specific aspect of delivering social value. Sadly, they may not be so good at other apects of their business. For example, a social enterprise focusing on homelessness might not be very good at looking after their people, collaborating with other local charities and social enterprises, and perhaps not having a clue about their environmental impacts. We need to get all types of prganisations operating ethically and rsponsibly across the whole organisation.

This model is commonly used as pure of social enterprise in which focus on both revenue as a company that sells stuff while also bring values to the their customer and social. The social startup from Indonesia, Plastic pay, is one of the list that enables society to exchange plastic bootle with money and recycled into a fashionable product such as bag and shoes which clearly more valuable both for environment and human lifestyle.

This is one of my favourite models as it combines the best of both worlds - you can make your own revenue to make the social enterprise financially sustainable, whilst ensuring that all that profit goes back into the cause. There are a few successful examples of this, and one of my favourites is Beam, by Alex Stephany, who are providing support to homeless people in the UK.

This is a key model for lots of social enterprises. Charging a fee for their services or products helps them become financially sustainable. This, in turns, helps them scale and reach even more people to impact more lives. It can be a great model for social enterprises that want to be independent of donations and at the same time have capacity to scale their impact. The profits can then be reinvested in the company to make even more impact. I can see more and more companies deciding to take on this model in pursue of the so-called "profit for purpose".

For some enterprises it is important to charge fees to make them sustainable and impact larger target population. The idea should be it has to be affordable for beneficiaries. Balancing profit with purpose is a significant challenge in this model. Organizations must carefully manage their finances to generate a surplus for sustainability and beyond that they should use the funds for their larger purpose to serve the society and the mission they have committed for. In fact some of the social enterprises fails to grow due to lack of funds to sustain their day-to-day activities. So Fee-for-service model is a good model for social enterprise

Fee-for-service social enterprises provide products or services to customers who are willing to pay for them. The revenue generated from these sales is then used to fund social programs or initiatives. One example is VisionSpring, which sells affordable eyeglasses to low-income customers in developing countries, using the profits to provide free or heavily subsidized eyewear to those in need.

aeioTU fundacion Carulla in Colombia is a great early years education model that serves parents and children across income quintiles. The higher income operations create income that helps with leadership development, training and excellent services that benefit all stakeholders

I admire all models and firmly believe that many more innovative models will emerge in the future! I'm inspired by Aravind Eye Care System, India, renowned for its innovative cross-subsidization model, which aligns with its vision of providing high-quality, affordable eye care to all, regardless of financial status. Founded by Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy, has grown into one of the largest eye care providers globally. Key elements of WOOW.. include Service Tiers: Paying Patients vs. Subsidized/Free Patients Revenue Redistribution Efficiency and Scale Innovation and Training Aravind's model exemplifies how innovative financial strategies can sustain a mission-driven vision, ensuring access to essential healthcare services for all.

In the cross-subsidy model, social enterprises charge higher prices to wealthier customers for goods or services, enabling them to offer the same products or services at lower prices to disadvantaged or marginalized communities. Grameen Bank, with its microcredit program for the poor funded by loans to wealthier individuals, is a classic example of the cross-subsidy model.

Cooperative ownership, by design, spreads decision-making across a broader base of stakeholders. In times of uncertainty, this means pooling the knowledge, skills, and perspectives of diverse individuals who have a vested interest in the business's success. While a traditional shareholder model might emphasize short-term gains to please investors, a co-op considers the well-being of all its stakeholders, enabling it to navigate challenges with a broader perspective.

One form of co-operative is the Community Benefit Society, where members have withdrawable shares. This is effective in raising funds, especially for capital projects. Members also have the incentive to ensure the success of the organisation which has a social or environmental mission. It is often seen in community shops, pubs, farms or woodlands. One factor of particular note is the one-member-one-vote requirement, regardless of size of shareholding.

Cooperative social enterprises are owned and governed by their members, who are typically the primary beneficiaries of the enterprise's activities. Members may include employees, customers, or producers who collaborate to meet their common needs and goals. The Mondragon Corporation, a federation of worker cooperatives based in Spain, is one of the largest and most successful examples of the cooperative model.

An example i've seen in indonesia that has so many kind of small business especially micro financing enterprise are not sustainable due to the voluntary participation resulting bad management skill and sometimes bring the team more exclusive. The growth of this model tends to be slow because the share of responsibilities among the members make them rely to each other initiatives.

Amul in India and Arla in Denmark are great examples of very large diary firms that are cooperatives at heart. The cooperative model can scale to become huge and create a lot of wealth and impact.

This is one of the most effective models and I admire two social enterprises in this space. One is ‘Natakallam’ which literally translates to ‘we talk’ and it employs refugees as online language teachers. So they could be anywhere in the world and make money out of it. Another favorite is ‘SITTI,’ a social enterprise which trains and employs refugees to make soap and related products. ‘Sarah’s Bag’ has been around for a long time and has been employing refugee women to make super stylish bags and accessories for women. Giving refugees economic autonomy is such a humbling achievement for these social businesses.

Impact sourcing social enterprises leverage business process outsourcing (BPO) or other service-based activities to create employment opportunities for disadvantaged populations, such as refugees, women, or youth in underserved communities. Digital Divide Data (DDD), for instance, employs young people from low-income backgrounds to provide data entry, digitization, and research services to clients, offering them valuable job skills and economic opportunities.

Geopolitical challenges can disrupt traditional business operations, from supply chains to market access. More social business models offer a localized approach, emphasizing community and stakeholder well-being. This localized focus can mitigate the impact of geopolitical disruptions, as more social models, like cooperative, impact sourcing and share economy can rely on local resources and networks to sustain operations.

Any for-profit enterprise model can apply to become a B-Corporation, often referred to as B-Corp. These are businesses that balance purpose and profit, and undergo rigorous assessments by B-Lab to ensure they meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance. Think of Patagonia, Ben & Jerry's, Seventh Generation and many more!

I admire the work performed by Mary's Meals. Mary’s Meals is a 501 (3) (c) charity with a simple idea. Impoverished children receive one satisfying meal in a school. Most of the people at Mary's Meals work as volunteers. In a sense, the "recipients" of the charity are paid in the form of food for their children. The recipients are the family members that transport, prepare, and serve the children so that the kids can study. Otherwise, the children would be forced to work so that the entire family could afford to eat. Essentially, everyone at Mary's Meals is compensated with hope for the future!

When deciding for the right for your endeavour I would start with the customer (Who are you serving?) and your products/services (What are you offering?)Rather than starting from the model. I've been running different workshops with companies where we would generate different business models. It allowed us to explore the pros and cons of each set-up and pick the one that was the best response. There is more ideation and creativity in this process than we acknowledge. (It's hard to describe the full exercise in detail here but if you are curious reach out).

"One for One" model, which is a distinctive and innovative approach to corporate social responsibility.The "One for One" model is a business model popularized by Tom's Shoes, where a company pledges to donate a specific product or service to a person in need for every unit sold to a customer. This model is a form of cause marketing and corporate social responsibility, aiming to address social issues while conducting regular business operations. The "One for One" model is not limited to shoes; it has been adapted by various companies in different industries.