Yunus Social Business – Global Initiatives
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| Industry | Impact investing |
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| Founder | Muhammad Yunus |
| Headquarters | Frankfurt am Main, Germany |
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Area served
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Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, India, Tunisia, Uganda |
| Website | http://www.yunussb.com/ |
Yunus Social Business (YSB) is a non-profit venture fund that turns philanthropic donations into investments in sustainable social businesses. Companies like Impact Water that have been financed by YSB tackle similar challenges to those traditionally addressed by aid agencies or charities, providing employment, education, healthcare, clean water and clean energy to almost a million people worldwide.
Founded in 2011, with headquarters in Frankfurt and Berlin, YSB's mission is to expand the social business model pioneered by Prof. Muhammad Yunus through the Yunus Center in Bangladesh, to countries throughout the developing world. The primary goal is to utilise the tools developed in the business world, to create financially self-sustaining companies dedicated to reducing poverty. A secondary goal is to finance social businesses that directly contribute to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
YSB has supported over 1000 Entrepreneurs, completed $12million of social business financing, helped create over 15,000 jobs and impacted the lives of over 2 million people in Colombia, Brasil, Haiti, The Balkans, Tunisia, India and Uganda.
Founded in 2011 by Muhammad Yunus, Saskia Bruysten and Sophie Eisenmann, YSB's aim is replicate the social business model, pioneered by Prof. Yunus, across the developing world. With a focus on providing financial and business support to social businesses outside of Bangladesh, the fund focuses on financing companies that either provide income or essential products and services to the poor. Yunus Social Business acts as the international implementation arm for Prof. Yunus's Social Business concept and operates under the same principles as the Social Businesses it finances, in particular, the social business model.
YSB currently operates in the following countries, Albania, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, India, Tunisia and Uganda. Local country teams focus on identifying and sourcing networks, communities and individual social entrepreneurs or existing businesses built around a strong social mission. Promising social businesses that have the potential to scale quickly can then apply for either financing or an accelerator program, to help them prepare for investment.
YSB operates social business accelerator programs in a number of countries. The programs are designed to refine and test business models, establish early market traction and also define and measure social impact metrics. These short 1 to 3 month programs offer social entrepreneurs the opportunity to strengthen their business acumen through workshops, leadership training and access to international and local mentor networks. Businesses that join an accelerator program are typically at the prototype or early-revenue stage and need small but meaningful financial assistance to test their prototypes, increase their productivity and/or scale up production.
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