BCG and the Yunus Social Business join in partnership

The Boston Consulting Group and Yunus Social Business (YSB) have become partners. The partnership with BCG will provide YSB access to private sector best practice for its incubation of social enterprises in some of the world’s poorest countries. For BCG, teaming up with YSB provides its multinational clients with access to an YSB’s social enterprise offering.

Yunus Social Business (YSB) was co-founded in 2011, by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus*. The social business** is an incubator for small social businesses in seven countries around the world, providing local entrepreneurs with access to coaching and mentorship, leading them through a structured accelerator programme. The most promising social businesses are provided with finance and post-investment support.

On September 26th a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Yunus and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). One of the features that sets YSB apart is that it uses business concepts and practices in the training of the social enterprise. The partnership with BCG provides the organisation with access to the private sector’s best practices, skills, and knowledge, all of which are needed to deliver greater value and increase operational efficiency. For BCG, the partnership provides a means to reach out to multinational companies that are seeking to develop and foster social enterprises with access to the highly successful incubator YSB.

From right to left co-founder of YSB Muhammad Yunus, Global Head of Social Impact Practice of BCG, Wendy Woods, and co-founder of YSB, Saskia Bruysten.

“A charity dollar has only one life. A social business dollar can be invested over and over again,” explains Professor Yunus. “I am thrilled by this partnership with BCG, as the firm is uniquely positioned to help advance our social business initiatives.”

“We are honoured to support Professor Yunus and his network of organisations,” adds Wendy Woods, a BCG senior partner and the global leader of the firm's Social Impact practice. “On top of their nearly limitless potential for direct and measurable social impact, social businesses are powerful vehicles for corporate social engagement, allowing companies to use their skills, expertise, and business networks to build self-sustaining solutions that often become sources of innovation and competitive advantage.”

Ealier this week Woods was named one of the 12 most influential women in consulting.

* Muhammad Yunus won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in founding the Grameen Bank and the concept and practice of micro-credit.

** A social business has as its goal the improvement of one or more social, environmental or community practices, where profit is seen as a means, not the end, of the enterprise.