SSEKO DESIGNS: WEAVING WORK, WOMEN, AND THEIR WELFARE INTO ONE For for-profit organization Sseko Designs, its pri- mary motive is not profit; it is sending Ugandan women to college. Sseko Designs sells foot wear, leather bags, ribbon sandals, and other products that are made by Ugandan women. The firm offers these women a chance to join their work-study program so they can earn money for college. At the end of the program, Sseko matches their savings with a scholarship Sseko Designs is an example of a social enterprise, and its founder, Liz Forkin-Bohannon, is an example of a social entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur is someone who is driven to create social change by identifying and implementing solutions to social problems. Social enterprises can be for-profit, nonprofit, or government-run. However, they use entrepreneurial principles such as selling a product to create social change Many social entrepreneurs are finding that a franchise model works well in cre- ating a successful social enterprise. Like traditional franchising, social franchising involves a franchisor who licenses out a proven business model to a franchisee. In the case of social franchises, the primary purpose is to create social change instead of simply earning a profit. Social enterprise Living Goods, for instance, has adopted a social franchise model that licenses out its business model-selling medicines, solar lights, and other lifesaving devices door to-door-to entrepreneurs in Kenya and Uganda. These entrepreneurs are able to earn a livelihood through sales margins, and the community benefits from gaining access to life-saving devices." Discussion Questions 1. How does a social enterprise differ from a traditional for-profit? How about a tradi. tional nonprofit? 2. Describe how Sseko Designs and Living Goods are able to use entrepreneurial prin ciples to initiate social change. 3. Why do you think a franchising model might be suitable for a social enterprise such as Living Goods? CHAPTER 5 Small Business, Entrepreneurship, and Franchising 99