Social Entrepreneurship: Creating sustainable community development with ethical trade practices

I examine how for-profit enterprises are able to structure their business models in order to effect social and economic development in impoverished areas. Major topics for my presentation will be how these... [ view full abstract ]

I examine how for-profit enterprises are able to structure their business models in order to effect social and economic development in impoverished areas. Major topics for my presentation will be how these businesses implement a circular business model, and the nonprofit community development projects that are created as a result. I will also explain the ethical reasons why these entrepreneurs decide to hold themselves to a higher moral standard.

I explain my delegation trip that I took in January to Chiapas, Mexico, with the nonprofit organization On the Ground, where I worked alongside the coffee importing cooperative and the indigenous farmers that produce the coffee. My experiences with the two groups will serve as a case-study for how other businesses can use the same trade practices to use their business as a force for good.