Types of Social Enterprise — External Model

When your operations and impact don’t overlap

In a previous blog post we looked at the different types of social enterprise model, and this time we’re going to go one step further by discussing some examples of the external model.

The external model is very interesting because it actually means any business can jump straight into being a social enterprise without necessary having any social or environmental goals linked directly to their product or service.

This does not mean however that the company can have a negative effect on either. They should still meet all the other social enterprise requirements when it comes to governance, transparency, stakeholder involvement and employee satisfaction.

Moreover it usually means that while they are busy selling and maximising their profit, there will be another organisation focused on solving a need. The need doesn’t necessary have to be linked with the social enterprises main operation either, which has enabled the funding of hard-to-fund groups through this model.

Example 1 — Ginerosity

One example of the external model is Ginerosity, a gin distillery social enterprise based in Edinburgh, Scotland. They ultimately produce and sell delicious gin all over the world. What kind of social…