Page 132 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

Chapter 4

The Ecosystem of Social Enterprises

The business ecosystem (Business Ecosystem: SE) refers to a network of entrepreneurs and

organizations within the same or related production chains that work together by utilizing various
resources to enable business growth and success. It is comparable to a natural ecosystem in which
living beings, including plants, animals, and the environment, depend on one another for survival
under the laws of nature. Similarly, in the social enterprise ecosystem, there are entrepreneurs,
producers or service providers, customers, partners, suppliers, technology, infrastructure, and
other relevant factors. All of these components interact and function as an interconnected system,
governed and supported by social norms and state regulations.

Because social enterprises operate with dual goals, namely a social mission and the generation

of profit to sustain the organization and reward investors, their missions are more demanding
than those of purely profit-driven businesses. Therefore, promoting social enterprises requires
the creation of a supportive environment or ecosystem that facilitates their growth. This
ecosystem must build upon the general business ecosystem but include additional actors and
special support measures tailored for social enterprises. These may include social entrepreneurs,
both general customers and those who value socially driven initiatives, conventional funding
sources as well as social finance, regulatory oversight and promotional efforts from various

government agencies, and additional allies such as academic institutions and advisory bodies that
provide knowledge and incubation support. In fact, incubation activities may be even more critical
for social enterprises than for traditional businesses, as many social entrepreneurs emerge from
the civil society sector and often lack the knowledge, familiarity, or prior experience in business
operations. Nonetheless, these individuals possess a strong public spirit and must utilize market
mechanisms to conduct their social activities in a sustainable manner.

This chapter begins by presenting an overview of organizations within the social enterprise
ecosystem in the United States and the United Kingdom, with a focus on funding sources, which
are a key component of the ecosystem. The aim is to benefit social enterprises in Thailand that

may wish to seek international support in addition to domestic funding. The chapter also features
examples of social enterprises from various countries, in order to illustrate the diversity and
robustness of the global ecosystem. For readability, sources for information obtained from the
websites of individual organizations are not cited in the text, as these websites are regularly
updated and readers can easily access the information by searching the organization’s name
online. Additional details about other organizations are provided in Appendix 4.1.

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