Week 11 Journal

Week 11 discusses social business which was defined by Professor Muhammad Yunus as a “business created and designed to address a social problem, a non-loss, non-dividend company”. Such business is financially self-sustainable and profits realized by the business are reinvested in the business itself with the aim of increasing social impact.

The investors or the owners can gradually recoup their money invested, but cannot take any dividend beyond that point. Yunus said “the company must cover all costs and make profit, at the same time achieve the social objective, such as, healthcare for the poor, housing for the poor, financial services for the poor, nutrition for malnourished children, providing safe drinking water”

What did spark my interest is his ability to establish a social business like Grameen bank which allowed the poor to be an actor in the free market and to enjoy some of its fruits to try to come out of poverty. 

Research have repeatedly shown that income is one of the strongest predictors of measuring success and these can be linked with education. Since many are not privy to education many will continue to be in poverty. Lack of education makes up a major part of the poverty trap