"Social Entrepreneurship Herald"

October 2025

Social Entrepreneurship Herald

November 2025 Newsletter

Food for Thought: Transforming Agriculture and Nutrition.

Dear Social Entrepreneurship Enthusiasts,

welcome to the November 2025 edition of The Social Entrepreneurship Herald! This month, we’re diving into the theme Food for Thought: Transforming Agriculture and Nutrition, shining a light on how social enterprises are revolutionizing the way we grow, distribute, and consume food.

From regenerative farming initiatives to community-based nutrition programs, social ventures across the globe are working to build sustainable food systems that nourish both people and the planet. These efforts are not only tackling hunger but also addressing deeper issues of food security, equity, and environmental resilience.

The featured article, “Sustainable Food Systems: The Role of Social Enterprises in Ending Hunger,” explores inspiring examples of innovation and impact in action showcasing how entrepreneurial solutions are feeding communities while planting the seeds for lasting change.

Sustainable Food Systems: The Role of Social Enterprises in Ending Hunger🌱

The challenge of global hunger remains one of the most pressing humanitarian and development issues of our time. Despite significant progress over the past decades, nearly 735 million people around the world still suffer from chronic undernourishment, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Hunger is not just about food scarcity but is closely tied to systemic inequities in production, distribution, affordability, and sustainability. While traditional development initiatives and government-led programs have made strides, the growing complexity of the problem requires innovative, scalable, and inclusive solutions. Among these, social enterprises have emerged as powerful actors that combine market-based mechanisms with social missions, aiming not just to alleviate hunger but to transform the very systems that perpetuate it.

Understanding Sustainable Food Systems.

A sustainable food system is one that delivers food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social, and environmental foundations of future generations are not compromised. The system encompasses the entire value chain from production, processing, and distribution to consumption and waste management.

Key characteristics of a sustainable food system include:

Equity and Inclusion: ensuring marginalized groups, particularly smallholder farmers, women, and youth, are integrated into food production and distribution networks.

Environmental Stewardship: minimizing environmental degradation by promoting agroecological practices, reducing food waste, and conserving biodiversity.

Economic Viability: supporting livelihoods and fair wages, enabling communities to thrive while making nutritious food affordable and accessible.

Resilience: building adaptability to climate change, economic shocks, and other disruptions.

Achieving such a system requires collaboration across governments, private sector actors, civil society, and international organizations. Traditional market forces and state interventions alone often fall short due to inefficiencies, corruption, or lack of inclusivity. This is where social enterprises step in.

What Are Social Enterprises?

Social enterprises are mission-driven businesses that prioritize social and environmental objectives alongside financial sustainability. Unlike traditional for-profit businesses, they reinvest profits to further their mission rather than maximizing shareholder returns. In the context of food systems, social enterprises aim to tackle hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity while promoting sustainable practices.

Their models often involve:

Supporting Farmers: providing access to markets, finance, and training.

Food Access Solutions: creating affordable distribution models for low-income communities.

Reducing Waste: innovating around surplus food recovery and redistribution.

Nutrition Advocacy: promoting healthy and sustainable diets.

Climate-Smart Agriculture: introducing technologies and practices that reduce environmental impacts.

Social enterprises bring agility, innovation, and local ownership, qualities that are often missing in top-down aid models.

Why Social Enterprises Matter in Ending Hunger:

Bridging Market Gaps: traditional food markets often exclude small-scale farmers, who produce about 70% of the world’s food yet remain some of the most food-insecure people. Social enterprises create platforms that connect farmers to markets, offering fair prices and stable demand.

Promoting Local Solutions: unlike global corporations, social enterprises tend to be embedded in communities. They understand local contexts, cultures, and challenges, which allows them to design solutions tailored to specific needs.

Driving Innovation: social enterprises experiment with new business models, from mobile-based platforms that connect farmers and buyers to blockchain-enabled food traceability systems.

Scaling Impact: by leveraging investment capital, social enterprises can grow their impact faster than many NGOs reliant on donor funding.

Sustainability: market-based approaches ensure that initiatives are not solely dependent on philanthropy but can sustain themselves financially while delivering social value.

Case Studies of Social Enterprises in Action:

One Acre Fund (East Africa).

One Acre Fund is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides smallholder farmers with financing, training, and market support. By offering seed and fertilizer on credit, coupled with training in modern farming techniques, One Acre Fund has doubled yields for millions of farmers. Their repayment model ensures financial sustainability, while their localized approach empowers farmers to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.

FoodCloud (Ireland).

FoodCloud addresses food waste and hunger simultaneously. It connects businesses with surplus food to charities via a technology platform. Since its inception, FoodCloud has redistributed tens of millions of meals, diverting food that would otherwise end up in landfills. The model demonstrates how technology and partnerships can repurpose waste into a resource for combating hunger.

AgroCenta (Ghana).

AgroCenta provides smallholder farmers with access to digital platforms for selling produce, gaining fair prices, and receiving financial services. By bridging the digital divide, AgroCenta empowers farmers to increase incomes and ensure steady food availability for their families and communities.

Last Mile Health (Liberia).

Though focused on healthcare delivery, Last Mile Health partners with food-based initiatives to ensure nutrition is embedded within rural healthcare. This demonstrates how cross-sector collaboration can strengthen food systems and reduce hunger.

Innovations and Business Models.

Social enterprises tackling hunger deploy a variety of innovative business models:

Pay-As-You-Go Agriculture: farmers receive inputs of seeds or fertilizer on credit and pay back after harvest, aligning repayment with cash flow.

Food Recovery Platforms: digital platforms connect surplus food from restaurants, supermarkets, or farms to food banks and community groups.

Urban Agriculture Enterprises: hydroponics, vertical farming, and rooftop gardens enable nutritious food production in cities, reducing reliance on imports.

Subscription-Based Models: enterprises deliver affordable, nutritious meals to households or schools, often subsidized for low-income families.

Cross-Subsidization: higher-income consumers pay a premium that allows subsidized access for lower-income communities.

Challenges Facing Social Enterprises.

Despite their promise, social enterprises face significant barriers:

Access to Capital: many struggle to attract investment due to perceived risks in low-income markets.

Policy and Regulatory Barriers: inconsistent regulations on food safety, imports, and taxation can hinder operations.

Scaling Without Mission Drift: as social enterprises grow, balancing profitability with their social mission can become challenging.

Infrastructure Gaps: poor transport, storage, and digital infrastructure limit efficiency in rural areas.

Cultural Barriers: introducing new food practices or technologies often requires overcoming deep-rooted traditions.

Opportunities for Scaling and Impact.

To maximize their potential in ending hunger, social enterprises can leverage several opportunities:

Impact Investment: increasing flows of capital into impact-driven businesses can fuel growth and innovation.

Public-Private Partnerships: collaborations with governments and corporations can expand reach and legitimacy.

Technology Integration: mobile technology, AI, and blockchain can streamline supply chains, improve traceability, and increase farmer incomes.

Policy Advocacy: social enterprises can play a role in influencing policies that support smallholder farmers and sustainable food systems.

Global Networks: platforms such as the Global Social Enterprise Network enable knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and collaboration across borders.

Linking Social Enterprises to the SDGs.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 2, Zero Hunger, provide a framework for understanding the impact of social enterprises. Their work intersects with multiple goals:

SDG 1 (No Poverty): increasing farmer incomes and improving livelihoods.

SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): ensuring food access and nutrition.

SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): addressing malnutrition and diet-related diseases.

SDG 5 (Gender Equality): empowering women farmers and entrepreneurs.

SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): reducing food waste and promoting sustainable practices.

SDG 13 (Climate Action): supporting climate-resilient agriculture.

By aligning with the SDGs, social enterprises gain a clear roadmap for maximizing social, economic, and environmental impact.

Ending hunger requires systemic transformation that goes beyond temporary fixes. Social enterprises are uniquely positioned to drive this transformation as they integrate innovation, sustainability, and inclusivity at their core. Their success, however, depends on supportive ecosystems, investors willing to take risks, policymakers who create enabling environments, and communities that embrace change.

Upcoming Events📅:

24-26 November

Global Entrepreneurship & Business Management

Summit 2025

- Bali, Indonesia

26-27 November

Impact Festival 2025

- Frankfurt am Main,

Germany

News Briefs📰:

On 31 October – 4 November, the Rural Social Enterprise Gathering took place in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. The event brought together rural social enterprises for networking, knowledge-sharing, and discussions about the future of rural social entrepreneurship. Hosted by the Sabah Creative Economy and Innovation Centre in partnership with the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF), the gathering created a vibrant space for connection and collaboration. Participants included social entrepreneurs, practitioners, innovators, changemakers, funders, investors, students, and many others with a passion for advancing the role of social enterprise in rural communities.
On 3–5 November, the AVPA Conference was held in Nairobi, Kenya. Centered on the theme “driving sustainable investments and innovations for resilient growth,” the annual gathering featured keynote speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions exploring how Africa can harness catalytic capital and scale impactful social enterprises to foster meaningful, lasting development across the continent. The event brought together investors, funders, social entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics, creating a dynamic platform for collaboration and shared learning.
On 3–5 November, the Convergence Blended Finance Forum took place in Washington, DC, USA. Marking its 10th anniversary, the forum brought together members of the blended finance community to discuss market trends and share insights with a focus on financial sustainability. The event gathered financial practitioners and institutions from across the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, fostering dialogue and collaboration around the future of blended finance.
On 3–7 November, the 10th EMES International Research Conference on Social Enterprise took place in Rotterdam and Utrecht, Netherlands. Hosted by EMES across two cities, the research-focused conference brought together researchers, academics, and social enterprise practitioners to advance the field of social enterprise studies and share the latest insights and findings.
On 4–6 November, the Belgian Impact Week took place in Brussels, Belgium. Organised by Impact Finance Belgium, the event brought together impact entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, civil society representatives, and asset owners and managers to discuss building resilient economies, advancing global progress, and finding solutions for a more equitable future, while also providing valuable networking and pitching opportunities.
On 10–21 November, the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) took place in Belém, Pará, Brazil. The 30th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) brought together global leaders, policymakers, scientists, and stakeholders to negotiate and advance international climate action, building upon the commitments of the Paris Agreement, with representatives from UNFCCC member countries, NGOs, and other dedicated actors collaborating to address the urgent challenges of climate change.
On 12 November, the 25th Entrepreneurship Summit Vienna: E-STEAM & Female Entrepreneurship took place in Vienna, Austria. As part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, the summit featured keynote speeches, panel discussions, and interactive workshops, highlighting business, social, educational, ecological, and cultural perspectives. The event also launched the NEXT GENERATION ideas and business plan competition and the YEPA mini incubator, offering young entrepreneurs inspiration, practical guidance, and networking opportunities.
On 19–20 November, Impact Week 2025 took place in Malmö, Sweden. Organised by Europe’s impact investing network, Impact Europe, the event brought together impact investors, social entrepreneurs, policymakers, corporate leaders, foundations, and other stakeholders to discuss and promote impact-driven initiatives across the continent, fostering collaboration, sharing best practices, and advancing the impact agenda through workshops, panel discussions, and networking opportunities.

*Our Book Club📚:

This November, we recommend ‘’Universal Food Security: How to End Hunger While Protecting the Planet’’ by Glenn Denning. A timely and insightful exploration of how we can transform global food systems to be more equitable, resilient, and sustainable. Drawing on decades of experience in development and agriculture, Denning offers a clear roadmap for ending hunger while safeguarding the environment. With practical strategies and inspiring examples from around the world, this book shows how governments, communities, and social enterprises can work together to secure food for all. For readers committed to building fair and sustainable food systems, it provides both vision and actionable guidance.

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Each of us, whether as consumers, investors, policymakers, or neighbors, has a role in shaping food systems that nourish rather than exclude. The end of hunger is not the work of a few visionaries, but of all of us choosing differently,

Dr. Agatha K. Rokicki, D.B.A., B.S.

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