“Social Entrepreneurship–making this world a better place”
Nov 17th, 2011 by sammiechan
After learning about social enterprises in class a few days ago, I curiously searched for more information on the topic online. Luckily, I came across this blog, which focuses solely on spreading the word about how social entrepreneurship can positively impact the world. John blogged about an interesting social enterprise: Cards from Africa. Cards from Africa is an African business which makes and sells handmade high quality cards, and “offers well-paid employment to those who need it the most”. The purpose of this business is to serve as a stepping stone for their employees to gain money and possibly start their own careers in the future. The company is also looking into offering entrepreneurial and management classes to their staff.
So what makes this company a social enterprise? Different from purely making profits, the company utilizes the profits for a social cause: helping the needy in Africa gain money and business skills. The employees gain 4x more income per day than the average Rwandan (which is $1 per day). Cards from Africa could easily become a private business where making profits is the most important. I agree with the blog, the world needs more social enterprises!
Picture: http://cardsfromafrica.com/