Abstract
Social Enterprise organisations (SEs) seek to assist communities to access their basic needs while using various mechanisms to remain financially sustainable. They do this in light of sustainable financial limitations of non-profit organisations (NPOs), especially since the 2008 global economic recession. However, SEs remain under-researched in South Africa. Therefore, this dissertation sought to understand the mechanisms used by four SEs in the city of Johannesburg and two townships around that city to survive beyond the aforementioned recession. Semi-structured interviews and documentary analyses were used to understand the efforts of these organisations to survive the recession. The finding of the study re not generalizable to all SEs that existed during the 2008 recession. However, the findings do show that upholding good management and business practices; as well as maintaining good relationships with donors, clients, and beneficiaries can potentially assist in surviving economic chaos. As the four SEs kept to the abovementioned practices, they did not need to make any drastic changes to their business models during the recession. The dissertation then makes recommendations relating to the South African government’s registration of SEs, the need for quantitative research in this and similar topic, and a call is made for social entrepreneurs to be able to analyse their context carefully.
M.A. (Development Studies)