A community enterprise works very differently from a for-profit enterprise. A community enterprise considers long-term returns that substantially contribute to the community’s sustainability and growth. In this case, the growth aligns with gender equality and climate change mitigation.

A community of practice (CoP) is a key component of a community enterprise. A CoP is a group that follows a set of quality benchmarking standards and has a process to achieve that benchmarking. The community members also take responsibility for each other’s actions. The best examples of such communities are joint liability groups (JLGs) and self-help groups (SHGs).

Women’s JLGs and SHGs are groups of women who come together to help each other financially and socially. They are usually formed in villages or communities and are based on trust, self-help and working together.

Key characteristics of a CoP:

• Shared interest or goal: Members of a community of practice share a common interest or goal. This could be anything from learning a new skill to solving a complex problem.
• Learning: Members of a CoP learn from each other. They can do this through formal training, informal conversations or simply by observing each other.
• Knowledge sharing: Members of a community of practice share their knowledge with each other. They can do this through writing, speaking or mentoring.

Women’s JLGs and SHGs are groups of women who come together to help each other financially and socially. They are usually formed in villages or communities and are based on trust, self-help and working together.

Reading

Self-help group (finance). (2023, 1 July). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-help_group_(finance)

Licence: Open source

In a community enterprise, different groups take care of different tasks and responsibilities that can be aggregated as a single large enterprise. For example, one group collects raw material, another processes the material, and other groups take care of value addition, packaging and selling. This approach opens the way for opportunities for everyone and for inclusivity and scale advantage.

The advantages of inclusivity

• Diversity: Inclusivity celebrates diversity and recognises that everyone brings different perspectives and experiences to the table.
• Respect: Inclusivity promotes respect for everyone, regardless of their differences.
• Equity: Inclusivity creates opportunities for everyone to succeed and reach their full potential.

Inclusivity is important because it helps to create a more just and equitable society. It also helps to foster innovation and creativity, because people from different backgrounds can bring new ideas and perspectives to the table.

The benefits of scale advantage

• Bulk sourcing: Small businesses can negotiate lower prices for raw materials and supplies when they buy in bulk.
• Standardised processes: They can develop standardised processes for production and operations. This can help to reduce costs, improve efficiency and assure quality.
• Investment in technology: An aggregation of small enterprises can invest in technology and create common facility centres. This approach can have multiple impacts on a business in terms of increasing efficiency, production and quality assurance.
• Economies of scope: Small enterprises that produce a variety of related products or services can achieve economies of scope. This means that they can share resources and expertise across different product lines, which can help to reduce costs.

One of the strongest components of growth in such business models is the ability to enable all members of the community to participate and to be inspired and learn how to develop their own enterprises. The scope for horizontal learning — that is, learning from each other — eventually becomes the strongest factor in the economic development and resiliency of a community (see the case study in Unit 3).

The benefits of horizontal learning

• Increased knowledge and skills: Horizontal learning can help individuals to learn new things and develop new skills.
• Improved problem solving: Horizontal learning can help individuals to solve problems more effectively by drawing on the collective knowledge and expertise of the group.
• Enhanced creativity and innovation: Horizontal learning can foster creativity and innovation by exposing individuals to new ideas and perspectives.
• Increased engagement and motivation: Horizontal learning can make learning more engaging and motivating for individuals.
• Improved collaboration: Horizontal learning can help to build collaboration by encouraging individuals to work together and to share their ideas.

Discussion

Working in a group, discuss each person’s areas of expertise. Share your expertise with the others so that they can benefit from your knowledge and experience. For example, if you have a skill that other members in the group do not have, explain how they can build that skill and what they could use it for.

These are some of the important factors that are necessary to build and support a successful business model that is intended to lead to gender-sensitive and climate-resilient livelihoods and economic growth. Remember, you must consider and address the local community’s perspectives, issues, concerns and resources when you are designing such a business model.