How to increase the efficiency of social enterprises during the covid-19 pandemic?

Abstract

The paper considers the examples of economic activities of social enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is shown that often social enterprises are more effective than common enterprises in their responses to the processes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. A model of interaction between different actors enhancing the efficiency of social enterprises by means of providing the continuous source of cashflow is provided. At the macro-level of this model it’s necessary to mention such interesting program as Pay for Success which was initiated by B. Obama’s Administration in 2009. Indeed, this program was a way of government support of the social entrepreneurship programs, but only those programs which proved to be successful during the process of their realization. At the meso-level of mechanisms supporting social enterprises we should mention such institutions as the social stock exchange and microfinance institutions. In order to enhance the efficiency of the social stock exchange as a new financial tool for supporting social enterprises one should make some arrangements. First, we should conclude that this instrument should not act as an isolated unit. It should be implemented into the system of different actors supporting social enterprises, along with such potential investors as private sector companies and microfinance institutions. Second, these actors should interact in such manner that enables a cooperation between them. For instance, microfinance institutions should be encouraged to support the social stock exchange. They could do it through providing loans for attracting brokers who could find respectable institutional and strategic investors for the social stock exchange. These loans could be repaid from the profits that brokers could get from selling shares. The system would be enhanced by encouraging private sector companies to act in this process. The private sector companies could acquire shares at the social stock exchange, and they could be encouraged to do so by the policy of tax rate decreasing for those companies, who would invest into the social enterprises.