7 Powerful Social Entrepreneurship Examples

Let’s agree on this one thing first. Social entrepreneurship, as defined by my former professors Neil Stott and Paul Tracey at the Cambridge Centre for Social Innovation, is the act of creating an organisation - whether for-profit, nonprofit, or hybrid - that delivers a tailored solution to address a social or environmental challenge. Often these ventures blend revenue-generation with impact; they're not pure charities, nor VC-driven scale-ups. They carry the tension of doing good and staying sustainable, an inherent paradox but also fertile ground for economic and social transformation. While there’s some debate around this and the definition isn’t clear cut, this is how both myself and Parayma think of social entrepreneurship and social enterprises.

During my postgraduate studies at the University of Cambridge, I studied how social enterprises evolved to balance direct service (“symptom fighting”) with systemic change - shifting underlying structures, mindsets, and power dynamics. Using frameworks like the iceberg model and ecosystem mapping, I've seen social enterprises function as both direct service providers and agents of structural change.

Below are 7 diverse social enterprises actually making a systemic difference. They’re not just organisations - they’re living experiments exploring how to hold direct service and systems change simultaneously.

1.  Grameen Bank (Bangladesh)

Founded by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus in 1976, Grameen Bank started by distributing microloans to locals experiencing poverty and has since become one of the world's most notable social enterprises. The bank has provided microcredit to over 9 million borrowers in Bangladesh - 95% of them women - and its model has been replicated in more than 100 countries worldwide. Beyond microloans, Grameen has expanded into savings services and inspired a network of social enterprises addressing energy, health, education, and telecommunications.

System-level ambition: Grameen Bank is not just a lender. It pioneered the microfinance movement and reshaped how the world thinks about poverty alleviation. By targeting women and landless poor, Grameen demonstrated that access to credit can be a tool for empowerment rather than exclusion. Its model has influenced national and international development policies, inspiring replication all over the world and shaping global financial inclusion strategies.

Funding model: Structured as a community-based bank, Grameen is owned largely by its borrowers, who hold the majority of shares and participate in governance. Its sustainability rests on repayment rates consistently above 95%, allowing it to operate without dependence on traditional donors or commercial investors. Unlike many microfinance institutions that pursued high-interest profit models, Grameen reinvests earnings into expanding credit, savings services, and social enterprises. The institution has avoided reliance on venture capital or speculative debt, maintaining financial discipline rooted in community ownership.

Systems lens: Grameen looks beyond immediate credit provision to ask: what structures perpetuate poverty? Is it lack of collateral? Gender exclusion? Market inaccessibility? The bank challenges these barriers by creating new norms of trust-based lending, collective responsibility, and women-centered empowerment. Its group-lending model builds solidarity, shifts social power, and normalizes financial participation for the poor - reshaping cultural and structural dynamics that traditionally excluded them.

Why it matters: Grameen Bank’s global respect and Nobel Peace Prize recognition stem from its radical blend of financial innovation and social transformation. It proved that low-income people are creditworthy, that women are central to development, and that banking can be designed to serve, not exploit. By combining community governance, financial sustainability, and systemic change, Grameen remains a model of how institutions can challenge entrenched exclusion while creating scalable, resilient pathways through and out of poverty.

2. Collaboratio Helvetica (Switzerland)

In 2017, I co-founded Collaboratio Helvetica, a social enterprise with a mission to catalyze SDG-aligned transformation through a cross-sector innovation ecosystem in Switzerland.

Hybrid model, hybrid objectives: Initially funded by private foundations, government actors, and philanthropy, our revenue was intentionally built through consulting, participatory design, and training. The most offered program was Catalyst Lab, a systems-oriented learning journey bringing together leaders from government, civil society, academia, and business.

Our design ethos was explicitly ecosystem-aware. We used the iceberg model and 5R mapping in workshops to help participants surface root patterns behind societal challenges (e.g., polarized discourse, urban-rural divides). Partnering with universities and municipalities, we institutionalized ecosystem thinking, embedding it into curricula, city training modules, and public-sector leadership frameworks.

Systemic exit strategy: The model required letting go of control when institutional partners took ownership. In other words, we solved the problem and built capacity for others to sustain the solution. That’s the essence of systems change.

Relevance: Collaboratio is proof that you can create a hybrid organisation with revenue-based sustainability that does both: action + advocacy, network + depth. And that a small team can hold ecosystem-level transformation without VC or debt.

3. the well (Online)

After burnout and a chronic depression and ADHD diagnosis, I started the well, a community-based, art therapy-inspired social enterprise focused on supporting activists, changemakers, caregivers, and other social enterprise leaders. Operating as a quasi-solopreneur initiative, I’ve collaborated with dancers, art therapists, and facilitators to design embodied workshops and programs priced as low as €35, with scholarships available.

Layered aim: The well doesn't just offer workshops; it addresses structural ecosystem issues - namely the isolation, overwhelm, and performance-driven culture in the changemaker sector. We engage deeply at the inner ecosystem with physical movement, creative embodiment, nervous system regulation, self-expression, and ecological reflection, while contributing to the broader ecosystem’s culture shift.

Revenue model: A mix of self-funding, savings, small grants, and earned income. No VC, no loans - just careful design, pricing for accessibility, and subsidized offerings for those who need support.

Why it matters: The well proves that systems impact exists at micro levels. You don't need scale or external capital to shift organisational culture - especially the internal kind. We’re building the foundation that allows others to grow stronger, healthier, and more grounded.

4. SPOKE (UK)

Founded in 2021 after a handful of personal tragedies by fellow University of Cambridge graduate Ariana Alexander-Sefre, SPOKE is the UK’s no.1 music-led mental well-being app tailored for young people, particularly those who feel alienated by typical ‘clinical’ or ‘spiritual’ wellness offerings.

What makes it different: SPOKE blends cultural resonance and science. The platform uses neuroscientist-validated processes to shape its provided experiences, working closely with UK artists to co-create audio sessions addressing stress, heartbreak, focus, anxiety, and more. The result: mental wellness that feels like music - not therapy. The app is mainly oriented to help males.

Growth and impact: Since launch, SPOKE has amassed over 150 audio sessions, tens of thousands of users, and won several awards She has raised over £2M in funding for SPOKE and won the SXSW Innovation Award 2024, East London Innovator Award 2020, 2x TEDx talks, WISE100 Woman Award 2022, NatWest Trailblazer Award 2023, and more. Her and her co-founder have also launched a mindful gig series in London, layering experience into real-world contexts.

Systems-thinking angle: The iceberg is present: SPOKE names the societal paradigm, norms, and intergenerational trauma perpetuating mental distress. They’re not just offering support - they’re narrating a new worldview that honors creativity, cultural resonance, and preventive mental care. They seek to shift cultural expectations about youth wellness while advocating with institutions to embed music into preventative mental health frameworks.

Why it matters: SPOKE shows that true social entrepreneurship can be profitable (app subscriptions) and mission-aligned. With the recognition that she’s received, her work is making waves in bringing awareness to the need for mental health policy change at the policymaker level.

If you want support in figuring out your cause or starting a social enterprise of your own, check out The Changework Compass - our flagship cohort program re-launching this fall!

Not ready? Then you'll want to check out the Find Your Purpose 101 FREE workshop.

5. TakaTaka Solutions (Kenya)

Launched in Nairobi, TakaTaka Solutions is Kenya’s largest waste management social enterprise. The name “TakaTaka” means “rubbish” in Swahili, and the organisation aims to build circular, inclusive, and dignified recycling ecosystems to serve all income levels and clean up large waste dumping sites.

What they do: They provide door-to-door waste collection, then operate sorting and recycling facilities. Remarkably, they recover and recycle up to 95% of collected waste - unprecedented in context. They also compost organics and purchase from informal waste pickers, creating formal jobs (85+ full-time staff, 60% women) instead of pushing pickers to the margins.

Systems entry points: TakaTaka thrives at multiple levels. Their model includes frontline service, inclusive job creation, infrastructure, and policy advocacy toward inclusive city waste governance. They’ve pushed local legislation to regulate composting, plastic bans, and water protection.

Funding model: Fee-based services, prize support (UN Global Climate Action award), and philanthropic backing helped them scale without debt. Strategic partnerships with municipalities, corporates, and funders strengthen systems embedding.

Why it matters: TakaTaka shows how hybrid urban services can solve urgent problems, shift public norms, politics, infrastructure, and demonstrate replicable models for sustainable cities.

6. Pollinate Group (India & Nepal)

Founded in 2012, this venture empowers marginalised women - called Suryamukhis, or "sunflowers" - who distribute off-grid solar lights, cookstoves, and water filters across India and Nepal’s informal settlements. Selling solar-powered lamps has contributed to these women entrepreneurs' financial independence, with over 200 opening a bank account for their savings. 

As of early 2024, Pollinate Group has empowered 2100 women, benefiting 862,000 people living in poverty. The growing community of Suryamukhi has successfully distributed over 305,000 products, reducing 1.66 million tonnes of CO2e and saving 1.92 billion INR by minimising the use of harmful fuels like kerosene.

What they offer: Women entrepreneurs receive training, inventory, and digital tools to sell clean tech products affordably. The model includes flexible payment plans and pivots based on feedback.

Systems approach: Besides direct hardware, Pollinate has shifted perceptions about women’s entrepreneurial roles, energy dynamics in poor communities, and access to clean lighting and health-supportive tech. They’ve influenced multiple governments and institutions to integrate women-led clean energy distribution into SDG-aligned rural strategies.

Funding path: They’re registered across Australia, India, USA, and Nepal, with blended funding - philanthropic grants (e.g. SDG7 Results subsidy), CSR partnerships, local government support, and sales. They operate debt-free, reinvesting margins in female leadership and ecosystem training.

Why it matters: Pollinate intertwines gender justice and ecological solutions; it’s not gadget distribution - it’s a movement toward rural economic agency and clean energy access.

7. Vanilla Feeds Tomorrow (U.S.)

In East Tennessee, teenager William Cabaniss founded Vanilla Feeds Tomorrow (VFT) in 2020 to fight hunger by selling homemade pure vanilla extract and donating all profits to Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee. The 501(c)(3) operates with volunteer labor to maximize funds directed to meals.

Scale & impact: As of the latest figures on VFT’s website, the nonprofit has donated $220,405, providing 661,215 meals (the site equates $1 to roughly three meals). VFT also highlights milestone gifts - e.g. $45,000 (135,000 meals) and $55,000 (165,000 meals) - showing steady growth in contributions.

System-level influence: VFT’s youth-led, product-funded model demonstrates how small, community social enterprises can plug directly into a regional food-bank network, translating consumer purchases into local food security. The effort has drawn national recognition, including a Points of Light feature documenting its early impact (over 135,000 meals by early 2021), helping spread the model’s visibility and credibility.

Structure and learning: VFT keeps a simple, transparent mechanism: sell a staple baking product via an online shop; run fulfillment and operations with volunteers; remit profits regularly to the food bank; and show meal conversions publicly. The site explicitly states its 501(c)(3) status, volunteer operations, and “all profits to Second Harvest” commitment, and offers service opportunities for community members to engage.

Why it matters: VFT proves a lean, debt-free, youth-driven social enterprise can deliver measurable, local outcomes at scale - turning everyday purchases into hundreds of thousands of meals - while modeling transparency, community ownership, and an easily replicable pathway for other regions.

What We Learn from These 7 Examples

1. Hybrid structures can thrive via customer-revenue-based, grant-supported systems.
   
   
2. Systems awareness grounds impact in deeper structures, not just direct service.
   
   
3. No-debt growth is possible with careful revenue models and ecosystem design.
   
   
4. Diverse contexts show realignment doesn’t require global scale to shift systems.
   
   
5. Founders’ stories - from burnout to bold innovation - remind us that vulnerability can be transformational. 

If you’re building your own social enterprise (or about to start exploring), be sure to know your venture’s role in ecological, emotional, or institutional systems. Apply the iceberg model to your system, map your 5Rs, and figure out a viable path to shifting norms, policies, and power that uphold your issue.

For funding, start by exploring no-debt options: philanthropy, grants for social enterprises, CSR, government funding.

And if you want support in building clarity, resilience, and ecosystem-informed strategy, check out The Changework Compass - our flagship cohort program re-launching this fall!

Not ready? Then you'll want to check out the Find Your Purpose 101 FREE workshop.