Sustainable impact through Social Business

Following the Grameen principles of social business to create new livelihood opportunities that meet not only economic needs, but social and environmental to work towards zero extreme poverty within impoverished communities.

Our Social Business models empower impoverished communities to become change-makers.

Discover how our models impact UN Sustainable Development Goals

Dana Asia’s commitment to sustainability

The Social Business Model

Social businesses are unique in that the investors’ main goal is not to make a financial profit, but to address a social need. The investment made is one that contributes to social welfare while creating new livelihood opportunities.

Our social business models are highly replicable and tailored to address specific social problems within impoverished communities. Training is a key component of Dana Asia’s social business program, along with improving micro-entrepreneurs’ access to financial services to fund business startup and growth. At the core of all models we focus on:

  • Equality & Empowerment – Supporting local communities to become the drivers and beneficiaries of positive change, with a focus on women and girls.
  • Life-changing impact – Impact that makes a real difference to a family in their day-to-day lives, with scalable and replicable projects that are sustainable long-term.
  • Sustainability – Delivering real, on-the-ground solutions to address the structural causes of inequality and poverty for lasting change.

Our Social Business Models change lives

Sustainable businesses created.
People helped out of poverty.
Small entrepreneurs are generating 30% more income.

Sustainable Agriculture

The planet faces a climate crisis. In the developing world, rural farming communities are already suffering the effects of climate change with increasingly unpredictable weather putting farms at risk. Dana Asia’s Sustainable Agriculture models aim to modernise farming practices and technology and promote organic techniques to turn small-scale farms into viable agribusinesses and provide a sustainable livelihood for farmers.

Youth Entrepreneurship

In the developing world, many young people do not complete basic education. Many are removed from school prematurely in order to work to contribute to household income. Without basic education they miss out on skilled work or further education, keeping them stuck in the cycle of poverty. Dana Asia provides unique vocational training and hands-on work experience opportunities for rural and urban poor youth to reduce education inequalities and inspire young people to take control of their futures.

Sustainable Communities

In Manila, Philippines an estimated 20 million people live under the poverty threshold of PHP12,000 (US$220) per month for a family of five. For these families, access to basic services like education, healthcare, housing and basic sanitation, and financial services is often limited. Dana Asia works to reduce social inequalities for highly-impoverished communities by improving access to training, financial services, and livelihood opportunities to build capacity at a community level to create new income and increase community GDP.

Interested in funding a social business?

Let us help you identify a social problem within an impoverished community. Together we will develop a sustainable business model to address that problem and create opportunities for people to escape poverty.

Sustainable Agriculture Models

The planet faces a climate crisis. In the developing world, rural farming communities are already suffering the effects of climate change with increasingly unpredictable weather putting farms at risk. Dana Asia’s Sustainable Agriculture models aim to modernise farming practices and technology and promote organic techniques to turn small-scale farms into viable agribusinesses and provide a sustainable livelihood for farmers.

Sustainable Community Models

In Manila, Philippines an estimated 20 million people live under the poverty threshold of PHP12,000 (US$220) per month for a family of five. For these families, access to basic services like education, healthcare, housing and basic sanitation, and financial services is often limited. Dana Asia works to reduce social inequalities for highly-impoverished communities by improving access to training, financial services, and livelihood opportunities to build capacity at a community level to create new income and increase community GDP.

Youth Entrepreneurship Models

In the developing world, many young people do not complete basic education. Many are removed from school prematurely in order to work to contribute to household income. Without basic education they miss out on skilled work or further education, keeping them stuck in the cycle of poverty. Dana Asia provides unique vocational training and hands-on work experience opportunities for rural and urban poor youth to reduce education inequalities and inspire young people to take control of their futures.