Excerpt Three From A Recent Interview With University College London | State Of Social Enterprises Ecosystems In Kenya

Earlier this year, The Youth Café was interviewed by Eliana Summer-Galai, a Masters student with the Institute of Global Prosperity at University College London (UCL). This interview was to provide insight into her research on the Kenyan Social Enterprise Ecosystem. The research explores the actors across the ecosystem, looking at stakeholders from four stages of the entrepreneurial life cycle (entrepreneurial education, idea generation, funding, and growth), and the opportunities and challenges for local social entrepreneurs.

The questions asked and our responses form a series of 8 blog posts dissecting important issues with regard to the Social Enterprise Ecosystem in Kenya. This is the third post of the series on What do you think the role of the Kenyan SEE is?

Social Enterprises seek to maximize profits while maximizing benefits to the society and the environment at large. The profits mostly made from Social Enterprises are used to fund social programs. Social Enterprises address service delivery gaps mostly for the poor with Kenya and South Africa being among the leading countries in the Social Enterprise sector. Social Enterprises are privately owned either for profit, non profit or a hybrid of the two- that use business methods to advance their social objectives with a focus on maximizing social and environmental impact for target beneficiaries in contrast to maximizing the short term profits for shareholders and private owners. Because of a strong presence and understanding of local communities, Social Enterprises are able to reach underserved populations through flexible and innovative business models.

Social Enterprises balance activities that provide financial benefits with social goals, such as providing housing to low-income families or job training. Funding is obtained primarily by selling goods and services to consumers, although some funding is obtained through grants. Revenue plays an essential role in the sustainability of the Social Enterprise ventures. The priority of Social Enterprises is to reinvest profits into their social mission. Social Enterprises reach socially excluded people by providing volunteer, training and employment opportunities. Socially run businesses in neighborhoods can contribute to a sense of local identity, helping develop the self confidence of local people. 

Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector by adopting a mission to create and sustain social value, recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission, engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning, acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created. Social Enterprises are a constant source of motivation for employees, especially for Generation Y,  which is increasingly skeptical about the traditional corporate work environment.

The Youth Café works with young men and women around Africa as a trailblazer in advancing youth-led approaches toward achieving sustainable development, social equity, innovative solutions, community resilience and transformative change.

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