Social enterprise - the gift that keeps giving

Developing ways for a project to sustain itself into the future is a big part of the design of Catholic Mission's projects around the world. Many of the projects in this booklet use a social enterprise model to help generate sustainable income, support livelihoods and promote economic development of the community.

Social enterprises, broadly speaking, are businesses that use the power of the marketplace to tackle social problems, strengthen communities, provide people with access to employment and training, and/or protect the environment.

In this respect, donations to a social enterprise can be likened to an investment, with each dollar directed to generating not just financial sustainability, but also social impact through the projects they support. Investments in social enterprises have been shown to:

• Create sustainable revenue streams

• Provide employment to vulnerable people

• Support livelihoods

• Provide a platform for economic and social development1

An initial, one-off investment in a social enterprise can be amplified over time, to cover business costs and sustain an ongoing cycle of social benefits, as illustrated in the figure below.

Using this model, Catholic Mission project partners are supported and empowered to manage their business for a profit, thereby reducing dependence on donors and enabling long-term benefits beyond a typical funding cycle of a few years, as they will be able to reinvest profit back into the project or community.2

Catholic Mission has had great success with social enterprise projects in Africa and Asia, such as the Farmer Training Centre in Ghana and the Phnom Voah Farm in Cambodia.