Advantages of Social Enterprises
Social enterprises tend to operate with a purpose of creating value for the society and also generate income (if not wealth). As a thumb rule, the solutions they offer are supposed to be innovative, unique, people and environment friendly; Cost effectiveness is also a huge consideration. All of these are challenges to the sustainability of social enterprises, but the ones that are able to scale these are the ones that are able to create a huge impact! They are the enterprises that are advantageous to the society, people and the environment.
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.
Since social enterprises do not work typically the way corporate setups or private firms work, they offer flexible working environment which is as per the liking of many people groups. This employment may be both short term and long term in nature or it may specially targeted to a specific workgroup or a geographic community or to people with disabilities. Self Employed Womens Association (SEWA), for example, offers various kinds of assistance to self employed poor women.
There are advantages of a social enterprise that are entrepreneur specific like:
Similarly there are advantages that are specific to the environment, society and the people concerned. Some of them are as under:
Although lots of organisations have also made corporate social responsibility an integral part of their business functioning but not many actually mean to create a difference. It is just a means to achieve more profits; there is an increasing need to watch out for the same and help and advocate those who really aim to add value.
Related Articles
- History of Social Entrepreneurship
- Who is a Social Entrepreneur ?
- Social Enterprises around the World
- What is Social Capital ?
- Negative Effects of Social Capital

Authorship/Referencing - About the Author(s)
The article is Written By Prachi Juneja and Reviewed By Management Study Guide Content Team. MSG Content Team comprises experienced Faculty Member, Professionals and Subject Matter Experts. We are a ISO 2001:2015 Certified Education Provider. To Know more, click on About Us. The use of this material is free for learning and education purpose. Please reference authorship of content used, including link(s) to ManagementStudyGuide.com and the content page url.