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The Genesis of Social Enterprises
Social enterprises evolved mainly during the last three decades of the 20th century to address the needs of those
segments of the society that had been neglected by the government as well as the corporate sector. Though non- profit
organizations have been existing since the mid-1800s in the form of cooperatives, they received a major boost in the
1960s, when US social enterprises started experimenting with creation of jobs for the poor and the underprivileged. One
such enterprise was set up in 1964 by JohnDurand who startedworking with sevenmentally-challenged persons to set up
MinnesotaDiversified Industries, a for-profit social enterprise engaged in assembly, packaging, fulfillment and distribution,
warehouse logistics, and plasticsmanufacturing. By 2002, the company employed over 500 people with revenue of $36
million...
StreetShine’s Business Model
In 2002, Grant, a property developer, came up with the idea of setting up shoeshine kiosks at airports and railway
stations after witnessing the popularity of shoe shining in the US. Other than shoe shining,Grant also planned to generate
revenues by selling advertisement space on its kiosks.During a discussionwith his friends,Grant realized the social benefits
that could be generated through this idea. In his newventure,Grant intended to employ the homeless in London, at aweekly
rate, for providing shoe-shining service in London’s corporate offices. He said, “We were talking about the Big Issue and
hownothing had really followed on fromthat. Then I realized that aswell as being a commercial venture, this idea could have
socialbenefits too.” After further market research,Grant realized that there was a need for a shoe-shining service asmany
people in London were ‘cash-rich and time-poor’ and would be willing to pay for convenient personal service...
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