Social enterprises
Social enterprises prioritise social impact alongside financial returns, aiming to address pressing social issues through innovative and sustainable business models. By leveraging entrepreneurial principles, social enterprises create scalable and impactful solutions that drive positive change in communities, as well as tackle challenges in emerging markets.
Resilience typically initiates and supports social enterprises to pursue untapped opportunities that result in environmentally and socially sustainable businesses. The principles of lean product development are applied to test and experiment the viability of such enterprises. Due to our extensive network of partners (SmartFarming BV, Iripo Lda, SmartCane BV) and offices, testing and experimentation can often be conducted without the need for heavy investment. Apart from a positive value proposition, a social impact assessment is carried out which then further refines the approach and strategies of the venture, ensuring that the intended social outcomes are achieved efficiently and effectively.
Social enterprises we are engaging with generally operate in agriculture or in sectors directly relevant to people working in agriculture, including healthcare (WASH and nutrition), education, renewable energy, inclusive finance, remote sensing and crop productivity. Typically, such enterprises target underserved and marginalised populations, often involving collaboration with local stakeholders, NGOs and governments to ensure that the solutions are contextually relevant and sustainable. By investing in social enterprises, we not only foster economic development but also enhance social inclusivity, rewarding those who choose to act for change, and creating dynamism and opportunities for individuals and communities to thrive.
Examples of enterprises that we have supported include:
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SmartGrain - which uses remote sensing to source maize for aggregators in Mozambique).
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Tackling the aged coconut palm tree plantations on the coasts of Eastern Africa, by leveraging the quality of the timber.
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Prosopis mapping, which transforms the invasive Prosopis weed in Ethiopia, Kenia and Madagascar into a profitable source of protein. The beans on this shrub can be eaten, but the tree itself uses huge quantities of water. The trees can be harvested for charcoal production.
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Nazava – which produces low-cost water purifiers:
100,000 sold in Indonesia per year
3,000 sold in Kenya per year.
