What is a Social Business?

The concept of social business is defined by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus as a non-loss, non-dividend company created to address a social purpose.

That means that, like a charity, the goal of a social business is to solve a social problem. But because it’s a business, it’s also financially sustainable, ensuring independence, security, and the ability/chance to exclusively focus on creating lasting impact. Instead of donors, a social business has investors. Instead of fundraising, a social business generates a profit—and then reinvests that profit in the company’s innovation and growth in order to increase its social impact.