Maryanne Mathias, Sauder MBA student, founded Osei-Duro Clothing as a social enterprise based in Ghana, West Africa. This venture is aimed at being socially responsible, while producing sustainable clothing. In a country where women are viewed as incapable, it looks to give back socially by training women and providing them with job opportunities.
According to her online discussion and audio interview with The Glob and Mail, Maryanne finds it difficult to balance her enterprise while working towards her MBA. But beyond this personal issue, there are many other complications with running a social enterprise in Ghana. Geographically, it is should be expected that Maryanne be faced with social and cultural barriers. These cultural barriers are likely to influence her employees, as they may respond to different incentives and have different work ethics. Although there are many other clothing companies aimed at providing opportunities to underprivileged populations, a main point of differentiation for this company is that they are a social enterprise, where profits go back to helping humanity. This standpoint makes companies seek them out to get a hold of their merchandise, however as they grow, other marketing tactics will be necessary.
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