Does Rwanda need a law on social enterprises?

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

People running social enterprises in Rwanda are increasingly concerned that there is no law governing social enterprises in the country which could have provided tax exemptions for their companies.

A social enterprise is an organisation that is directly involved in the sale of goods and services to a market, with specific social objectives that serve as its primary purpose.

It’s in that category that Elyse Habumukiza, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Ingabe Yacu company which sells porridge flour enriched with carrots and beetroots to fight malnutrition among children, finds his organisation today.

Social enterprises are not volunteer organisations in that they operate as an enterprise by selling in a market, and can be registered as for-profit or non-profit although any profits made are principally used to fund social programmes.

In an interview last week, Habumukiza said he finds it difficult to scale up his mission to fight malnutrition in his community in Northern Province’s Musanze District because he has to pay taxes on income that his company makes.

Photo courtesy of A’Melody Lee.

Source: The New Times (link opens in a new window)

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Tags
regulations, scale, social enterprise