10 Years Of Social Business: Anniversary Report And 2021 Annual Report
10 Years Of Social Business: Anniversary Report
Has it really been ten yeas? Looking back, it is staggering to see how far we and the social-impact sector have come since that first fateful encounter between our Chairman Nobel Peace Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus and our CEO Saskia Bruysten.
The concept of picking up the tools of business and applying them to tackle social and climate challenges was, at that time, almost unheard of. When we brought the idea to funders and corporations, we were almost always met with a roomful of blank stares and raised eyebrows.
Now, a decade later, we are happy to see that we have been able to prove this model. Our portfolio of social businesses overall has served 17.8M customers, supported incomes for 1.3M people, and avoided 5M tons of carbon emissions in India, East Africa and Latin America.
Discover the facts, figures and faces behind our journey in our 10-Year Anniversary Report.
It takes a village to build a world of three zeroes
Needless to say, the increased global focus on business as a force for good has not by a long shot been the work of our team alone, nor, for that matter, has even our own success. Rather, both have been the patchwork tapestry of thousands of hands: social-business entrepreneurs, forward-looking funders, intrepid social intrapreneurs, our teams in all our operating countries and supporters in manifold forms.
For this reason, we have made our theme for this year ‘It Takes a Village.’ That is, it takes a village to create a world of zero poverty, zero unemployment and net-zero carbon emissions. We wish to take this opportunity to highlight some of the incredible partners who have shared our vision, taken chances on us, partnered with us and worked together towards achieving our ambitious goals. For those of you reading this to whom this refers - and you know who you are - a big, big thank you goes out to you!
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Sector Spotlight Report on Plastic Waste: Learn from insights gained from over 60 social businesses
Condensing the insights gained from over 60 social businesses around the world, this report identifies opportunities for tackling the global fight against plastic via social procurement. Learn about social business product and service offerings, the types of plastic they work with, and their impact focus areas to discover the potential of partnering with these innovative organisations.
Accelerating Female Entrepreneurship in Brazil: Launching AMEI in São Paulo.
According to a survey by the Brazilian Federal Government, 3 out of 4 households are headed financially by a woman and 41% of them own their own business. Female entrepreneurship has become an important tool for social transformation and has directly contributed to the growth of Brazil’s economy.
Grameen Veolia Water Ltd – fresh drinking water
Fresh water is abundant in Bangladesh, in the form of numerous groundwater resources that are shallow and easy to exploit. However, for essentially geological reasons, almost all of the groundwater is contaminated with arsenic, very often at levels that make it a health hazard.
