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Day 5: WISE - Establishing Social Enterprises in Non-profit Organizations
WISE - ESTABLISHING SOCIAL ENTERPRISES IN NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Hosts: Solani Yoseph, Aster Tefera, Tsigie Haile
Building upon SEWA’s session on the promotion of social enterprises among members, WISE presenters presented on the role of social enterprises within the organization. At WISE, SACCOs are considered to be social enterprises because the profits generated are shared among the women and girls and the activities are for the good of society. The goals of WISE’s social enterprise division, Meleket Training Services, is to advance women’s empowerment and leadership, enable WISE to become a selffinancing organization through space and equipment rentals, and share learnings and trainings with others so they will replicate the good practices developed.
The influence of Meleket Training Services is far-reaching. Direct targets include thousands of women and men representing hundreds of like-minded organizations, government, nongovernmental, private and community organizations. Indirect targets include thousands of members addressed by its training courses and trainees. In the past year, hundreds of women and girls have benefited from income generating activities.
Session participants discussed social enterprise policy in their respective countries, and how social enterprises could contribute to the sustainability of their organizations. While one participant reported a lack of social enterprise policy, another spoke to a high degree of regulation and monitoring, and a third participant noted that a microfinance policy to accommodate social enterprise exists, but the culture may not support it. The differences in social enterprise in each country has an impact on the level of social enterprise that exists, and how it is approached.
DEEPENING GENDER LEARNING
Understanding the context of women’s economic participation is necessary to find solutions to problems. A Tanzanian participant reflected on her country’s efforts to eradicate FGM and the need to understand the economic impact on women who rely on that income. The solution was to create social enterprises to provide an income alternative. Making the link between self-reliance and social empowerment is ongoing. Relationship building with the surrounding community is also a strength that can be called upon in times of adversity. SEWA noted its capacity to respond quickly when the pandemic hit due to existing relationships with other organizations in their communities.
NEW QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE
How do we navigate the challenges of different contexts, understandings of social entrepreneurship, and frameworks that may not support non-profit organizations participating in business enterprises?
Given the different contexts, it would be helpful to see the spectrum from charity or NGO to a nonprofit with income streams, to a co-operative model with a social purpose, and socially responsible business, to a profit-driven corporation with no social impact goal. What structure fits best for what projects? The bottom line is the business is for the good of society. - Tsigie
