Social and inclusive businesses in Brazil are on the increase, according to new research coordinated by the Brazil Chapter of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE), the AVINA Foundation and Potencia Ventures. The study also shows that those businesses are very much focussed on serving base-of-the-pyramid constituencies – 72 per cent of the beneficiaries of the businesses examined were from the lowest income groups, households earning less than two minimum wages, or approximately $680 per month. The intended beneficiaries of 38 per cent of the businesses are women; 30 per cent aim to help children and teenagers; and 16 per cent those with disabilities. The study, which looked at the businesses themselves, capacity development providers and investors, found a particular concentration of all three in the country’s south-east region – nearly half of the businesses, 75 per cent of the capacity developers and 86 per cent of the investors were there. Most of the businesses are relatively young, 70 per cent of those surveyed having been established within the past ten years. More than 90 per cent of them were established with the intention of creating social impact, and 93 per cent of investors take social impact into account when evaluating investments. In terms of capacity development, the education sector takes up the lion’s share. Seventy-five per cent of capacity development providers concentrate on this area, and it also absorbs the attention of a majority of investors – 64 per cent prefer to invest in this area.

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