Social Enterprises Case Study

Chapter I – Introduction Social enterprises (SEs) have emerged as a businesslike contrast to the traditional nonprofit organizations. (Dart 2004). A Social enterprise is, first and foremost, a business. It means it is engaged in some form of trading, it trades primarily to support a social purpose. (DTI 2002: 13). According to different scholars we can also define social enterprises as the idea of “seeking business solutions to social problems” (Thompson and Doherty 2006a, p. 362) or as the “use of business acumen to address social goals” (Crofts et al. 2003). seeking business solutions to social problems’ (Thompson and Doherty

2006a, p. 362)

‘seeking business solutions to social problems’ (Thompson and Doherty

2006a, p. 362)

‘seeking business

362), In general, SEs are institutions that are involved in the sale of services and/or goods to a market, but that also have specific social causes that serve as their primary objective. Social enterprises are different from volunteer organizations because they operate as a business by selling in a market, and they can also be registered as for-profit or non-profit organizations. The profits they make are principally used to fund social programs. Social enterprises can be classified by their mission orientation, by the level of integration between non-profit social programs and for-profit business, and by their intended target markets (Alter 2006). Social enterprises exist at the intersection of the private and volunteer sectors. They seek to balance activities that provide financial benefits with social goals, such as providing microfinance, housing or job trainings to low income families. Funding is provided mainly through selling goods and/or services, but they may also receive money from grants as happens in many cases. The main difference between a social enterprise and a typical company is that maximization of profit is not their primary reason for

Pro Mujer is a development organization, dedicated to providing women in Latin America with microfinance, health, and human development services to break the so called cycle of poverty. According to the Hutchinson Encyclopedia: “the cycle of poverty is the set of factors or events by which poverty, once started, is likely to continue unless there is outside intervention”; a huge problem that affects developing countries in Latin America and to help solve this situation is why Pro Mujer came to existence. From a pioneering experiment in micro-lending, Pro Mujer has become one of the leading women’s development organizations in LATAM. Their approach offers access to finance, health and educational services. These are delivered in supportive social spaces that foster community building and equip women with education and tools to take on the challenges they face daily. Pro Mujer’s international headquarters are located in New York City, from there they support the organization’s national, regional and local operations in: Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua and