Social Enterprise Innovations_ Understanding the Business Solutions to Poverty

Globally, social enterprises are significant contributors to economic growth and prosperity - they provide a source of income and employment for themselves, create employment for others, produce innovative products and/or services, contribute to skills development and drive greater upstream/downstream value-chain activities. Housed within T&C, the Social Enterprise innovations program supports using social enterprises to improve the lives of those living in extreme poverty. The program identifies innovative business models in service delivery to the base of the pyramid with evidence of social impact. It then aims to realize the potential of these enterprises to be scaled, replicated or mainstreamed through public or private channels of service delivery, including Bank operations.

An increasing number of WBG projects are targeting social enterprise sector as an emerging new area of public policy: several countries seek to stimulate private sector contribution to development outcomes, and social enterprises could be important players in that agenda. However, those seeking a middle ground between for-profit and non-profit sectors to enable social enterprise have found data, policy research and legal frameworks to be lacking. The webinar will present the WBG work and findings in this areas and generate discussions about the lessons from various countries.