Liz Forkin Bohannon, Founder and CEO of Sseko Designs, a socially minded fashion and design company from Portland, Oregon, uses the company as a platform to empower women in Uganda and East Africa. In 2008, after traveling to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, she was appalled to see the extreme poverty of the people, especially that of its women. She discovered that the top 2 percent of high school girls who were eligible to go to a university were required to return to their villages and work for nine months while saving money for tuition. Most of these girls did not continue their education because the families needed the money for their subsistence. She also learned that these women preferred to work rather than receive a handout. 

Her first attempt at a socially conscious for-profit business was a short-lived chicken farm. It was then that Liz recalled an incident from her college days. She wanted to avoid the noise made by flip-flops, so she redesigned them by purchasing rubber flip-flop bottoms and tying them with ribbon, making a quieter sandal. Liz believed she could improve upon her original design using materials obtained locally. For two weeks she traveled through Kampala looking for suppliers while gaining skills in sandal making through tutorial videos on YouTube. She developed a business idea for a work-study model for Ugandan women who showed college potential. Liz would offer women employment during the nine-month period they had to earn enough revenues for college; the women would make sandals and other products that could be sold to consumers in the United States, thus learning new skills while they earned their tuition.

Questions for Discussion

1. Discuss Sseko’s social entrepreneurship model and how it differs from traditional charitable initiatives that other companies might take

2. Do you believe the Bohannons are too focused on their social mission? Should they compromise on their values in favor of profit

3. Are there ethical risks associated with the implementation of Sseko’s strategy