NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

By Alexandra Nemeth

Social enterprises are paving the way towards a more equitable and sustainable future, and an entire ecosystem has developed around them to mobilize the business development support they need to succeed. Quality business development support is proven to accelerate enterprise growth in emerging markets — increasing incomes, employment, and resilience.

For that reason, most of the funding from donors and corporate sponsors is directed at the delivery of business development support to the entrepreneurs themselves, with little attention being paid to the organizations that actually facilitate that delivery. These facilitators are known as enterprise support organizations, or ESOs.

Photo courtesy of Cytonn Photography.