Research: Designing a Social Business that Benefits the Core
Research: Designing a Social Business that Benefits the Core
This post was originally published at bcg.perspectives. By Douglas Beal, Florian Dahl, Sophie Eisenmann, Daniel Nowack, and Frauke Uekermann
A growing number of companies around the world have launched social-business subsidiaries as part of an agenda to bring about positive change. Such businesses are designed to solve a social problem, such as unemployment, malnutrition, or hunger. Unlike a charity, a social business aims to be financially self-sustaining; profits are reinvested to advance its social mission. It is notable and encouraging that large corporations, in particular, are joining this movement, given their deep expertise and ability to scale up initiatives rapidly.
Since 2012, BCG has been partnering with microfinance and microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus—a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and the founder of Grameen Bank and Yunus Social Business—to advance social-business initiatives. In the course of this collaboration, we have discovered that a social business does not just have a positive impact on the community it is designed to serve. It also delivers tangible benefits to the parent company. (See The Power of Social Business, BCG report, November 2013.) While some of these benefits are to be expected (such as positive brand perception and strong employee engagement), others are perhaps more surprising. We have also learned that companies do not automatically achieve these benefits when they launch a social business. They must be earned through careful upfront planning and thoughtful execution.
5 Questions with Audi's Social Intrapreneur, Lukas Petersik
In 2022, Yunus Social Business (YSB) and Audi embarked on a journey of social procurement together with the intention to learn, innovate, and take the lead on using business as a force for good. Now at the start of the 2nd year on this journey, YSB speaks with Lukas Petersik of Audi to hear about his experience as a corporate intrapreneur striving to turn value chains into a force for good.
The Social Business Revolution: Why is Venture Philanthropy the Most Effective Form of Giving?
How should we give? Along with the issue of how much, questioning the model into which we donate our money is becoming more and more pertinent in the modern age. As we seek to optimise the way we spend and invest our money, it’s not surprising that we are also looking to optimise the way we give. There is a scarcity in the philanthropic capital available - so it’s important that it is spent well.
We have launched an innovative new financing solution: The Social Success Note!
Today, the world’s first Social Success Note or "SSN" is launched at the Skoll World Forum by Yunus Social Business, The Rockefeller Foundation, UBS Optimus Foundation and Impact Water.
