Page 231 - Social Enterprise A New Business Paradigm for Thailand

communities and forge inter-community linkages; and 5) most importantly, citizens and
community enterprises, who served as product owners, producers, and service providers. At
the national level, Pracharath Rak Samakkee Social Enterprise (Thailand) Co., Ltd. functions as

the coordinating hub (see Figure 7.4). Its operations are guided by five core principles,
illustrated in Figure 7.5. In addition, the working group instructed Pracharath Rak Samakkee
Social Enterprise (Thailand) Co., Ltd. to launch the “San Palung for Hometown” project, aimed
at cultivating a new generation of community business developers aged 20–30. The program
begins with two months of intensive training to build skills in community business management
and place-based community development, followed by real-world field assignments in local
communities. Notable initiatives emerging from the Pracharath Rak Samakkee network include
the “Thai Handicraft Pha Khao Ma” project and the “Safe Food Hospital” program. The
company’s shareholding structure is governed by specific regulations on both ownership and
voting rights. Each of the five stakeholder groups is allocated equal voting power, 20% per group,

regardless of the actual shareholding proportion. This means that even if the private sector
invests heavily in the company, it holds only one-fifth of the total voting rights. At the national
level, Pracharath Rak Samakkee Social Enterprise (Thailand) Co., Ltd. is coordinated through the
Thai Social Enterprise Promotion Institute Foundation (SEDF), which assumed shareholder
status following a transfer of shares from Thai Beverage Public Company Limited, a key driving
force behind the initiative and its collaborative activities. The company’s governance structure
and roles are illustrated in Figure 7.6. The first four provincial-level Pracharath Rak Samakkee

Social Enterprises were established in 2013. By 2016, the network had expanded to all 76
provinces. In 2019, the group officially registered as a social enterprise under the Social
Enterprise Promotion Act and was subsequently granted exemption from corporate income tax.
As of 2023, the group had generated over 2 billion baht in total revenue. Among its initiatives,
the Safe Food Hospital project, which sources and delivers safe food ingredients to hospitals,
achieved the highest revenue for local communities, followed by the Thai Handicraft Pha Khao
Ma project.

Source: Working Group on Grassroots Economic Development, B.E. 2567 (2024), pp. 212–213.

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