What is a social enterprise?
A social enterprise is a business that puts people and planet first. They trade like any other business but exist specifically to make the world a better place.
Social enterprises do three things:
- Have a social, cultural or environmental purpose
- Generate a substantial portion of their income from trade, and
- Invest profit & resources into their purpose so that public/community benefit outweighs private benefit
Social enterprises can be any legal structure, from sole trader to private company, listed company, not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, cooperative and more.
Generally there are three types of social enterprises:
1) Work Integrated Social Enterprises (WISEs), which train, support and employ people who might otherwise be locked out of the labour market, such as:
Soft Landing Mattress
The Freedom Hub
Jigsaw
2) Organisations that sell goods and services that fundamentally make the world a better place, such as:
Reverse Garbage
Green Connect
