Social enterprises growing under young leaders: Survey

Skills, access to finance barriers to its rapid growth

Social enterprises are growing in Bangladesh, with nearly half of those six years’ old or even younger, says a British Council survey report.
Some 90 of social enterprises are working with individuals from socially and economically disadvantaged communities creating job opportunities, especially for disadvantaged groups, reports UNB.
The report, released on Sunday, shows that lack of technical skills is seen as the biggest barrier to growth, followed by access to debt finance, lack of social enterprise awareness and cash flow constraints.
Lack of understanding of social enterprise is seen as a significant barrier to growth, with a quarter of social enterprises feeling it is constraining them.
Donations and grants are the most common sources of funding, with few social enterprises securing concessional loans or equity. Limited capital supply is seen as the primary funding constraint.
The British Council launched two new survey reports titled ‘The State of Social Enterprise in Bangladesh’ and ‘Social Enterprise Policy Landscape in Bangladesh’ in the city.
Social enterprises are made an impact on a number of fields. A third of respondents work in the education sector, although there are significant differences by gender of the leader. The survey found that male-led enterprises are far more likely to work in this sector - 39 per cent - than female-led enterprises - 6 per cent.
Other commonly selected sectors included services, business development services and entrepreneurship support, livelihoods and employment creations and health and social care.
The survey findings revealed that women in social enterprises make up 41 per cent of the full-time equivalent workforce, more than double the participation rate than women in the general workforce in Bangladesh.
Bangladeshi social enterprises are generating an average annual turnover of Tk 2.1 million and nearly three-quarters of the enterprises expect a substantial increase in turnover in the next financial year, said the survey.

Social enterprises growing under young leaders: Survey

Skills, access to finance barriers to its rapid growth

Social enterprises are growing in Bangladesh, with nearly half of those six years old or even younger, says a British Council survey report. Some 90 of social enterprises are working with individuals from socially and economically disadvantaged communities creating job opportunities, especially for disadvantaged groups, reports UNB. The report, released on Sunday, shows that lack of technical skills is seen as the biggest barrier to growth, followed by access to debt finance, lack of social enterprise awareness and cash flow constraints. Lack of understanding of social enterprise is seen as a significant barrier to growth, with a quarter of social enterprises feeling it is constraining them. Donations and grants are the most common sources of funding, with few social enterprises securing concessional loans or equity. Limited capital supply is seen as the primary funding constraint. The British Council launched two new survey reports titled The State of Social Enterprise in Bangladesh and Social Enterprise Policy Landscape in Bangladesh in the city. Social enterprises are made an impact on a number of fields. A third of respondents work in the education sector, although there are significant differences by gender of the leader. The survey found that male-led enterprises are far more likely to work in this sector - 39 per cent - than female-led enterprises - 6 per cent. Other commonly selected sectors included services, business development services and entrepreneurship support, livelihoods and employment creations and health and social care. The survey findings revealed that women in social enterprises make up 41 per cent of the full-time equivalent workforce, more than double the participation rate than women in the general workforce in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi social enterprises are generating an average annual turnover of Tk 2.1 million and nearly three-quarters of the enterprises expect a substantial increase in turnover in the next financial year, said the survey.