Key success factors of community-level social enterprises

The Hunger Project (THP) works with over 17,000 communities in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America to develop innovative means of poverty and hunger reduction. With a special focus on women’s empowerment and social enterprise, THP aims to effect change in both social and economic aspects of development. Programming in Africa enlists the use of their “Epicenter Strategy,” which bands rural villages together to create self-sustaining projects that target community needs. As more and more programs are tasked with maintaining sustainable development after THP’s departure, a Capstone team was requested to identify and clearly communicate the key success factors of effective, scalable social enterprises. In order to analyze this issue, the team researched existing social enterprise efforts, completed an in-depth literature review, interviewed THP program staff, and visited Uganda to experience the “Epicenter Strategy” firsthand with the staff and community of three epicenters. Based upon this analysis, a final report was compiled, with case studies on deforestation and sustainability, maize milling, and Uganda’s “Safe Water Enterprise.” The team also included recommendations for program improvement and expansion.