Yunus Social Business
Yunus Social Business is a nonprofit organisation that finances social businesses and helps corporations develop social-innovation initiatives.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Yunus Social Business (YSB) is a nonprofit organisation focused on using entrepreneurial methods to address poverty, inequality, and environmental challenges. Its work is based on the social-business model associated with Muhammad Yunus, in which enterprises pursue defined social or environmental objectives while seeking a sustainable operating model rather than distributing profits primarily to investors. YSB combines impact investing with corporate advisory and innovation activities. The organisation was co-founded in 2011 by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, management consultant Saskia Bruysten, and entrepreneur and consultant Sophie Eisenmann. Its origins can be traced to a meeting between Yunus and Bruysten at the London School of Economics in 2008. Bruysten subsequently visited Yunus-linked social businesses in Bangladesh and helped establish the Grameen Creative Lab. Eisenmann, a former Boston Consulting Group colleague of Bruysten, later joined the effort. The founders then created Yunus Social Business to extend the social-business concept beyond Bangladesh. YSB's principal investment platform is Yunus Funds, a nonprofit impact-investing arm that provides patient loans and post-investment support to social businesses. Its stated geographic activity has included Brazil, Colombia, India, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. The fund has focused on agriculture and livelihoods, health and sanitation, education and training, and energy and the environment. Rather than treating capital as a short-term venture investment, the model is designed to give mission-driven enterprises time and operational support to develop sustainable products and services for underserved communities. Examples of businesses associated with the Yunus Funds portfolio include Tugende, a Ugandan company that helps motorcycle-taxi drivers access motorcycles through rental-to-ownership arrangements, and Impact Water, which provides water-purification systems to schools. YSB financed Tugende in 2017. Impact Water joined the portfolio in 2015 and repaid its loan before leaving the portfolio in 2022. These investments illustrate YSB's emphasis on enterprises that combine commercial activity with measurable social outcomes. The organisation's second major business unit, Yunus Corporate Innovation, advises companies and institutions on social innovation, social intrapreneurship, impact accelerators, and social procurement. Its projects have included programmes with Reckitt, Vodafone Institute, MAN Truck & Bus, the Melitta Group's Cofresco, IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, and McCain. The work has included accelerator programmes, corporate social-business joint ventures, and initiatives intended to connect large-company procurement with mission-driven suppliers. YSB has also collaborated with international organisations and foundations on financing and innovation infrastructure. In 2020 it co-initiated the COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship with the World Economic Forum, bringing together impact organisations to support social enterprises during the pandemic. In 2021 it co-initiated Unusual Pioneers, a corporate social-intrapreneurship accelerator, and launched the Take a Stake Consortium with the Waste Foundation, later joined by Sida and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship. Yunus Funds also helped create the Social Success Note with the Rockefeller Foundation and UBS Optimus Foundation, an outcome-based financing structure designed to encourage commercial lending to social businesses. YSB's broader positioning is that business can be a practical instrument for solving social and environmental problems when capital, corporate capabilities, and entrepreneurial execution are aligned. It operates at the intersection of impact investing, social enterprise development, corporate innovation, and sustainable procurement. Its stated mission is to harness the power of business to end poverty and the climate crisis.
History
Yunus Social Business developed from Muhammad Yunus's earlier work in microfinance and social enterprise. Through Grameen Bank and related ventures in Bangladesh, Yunus promoted the idea that business could be organised around solving social problems rather than maximising distributions to owners. His work in microfinance and poverty reduction, including the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Yunus and Grameen Bank, helped give the social-business concept international visibility. A significant step toward YSB occurred in 2008, when Yunus met Saskia Bruysten at the London School of Economics during a talk about social business. Bruysten, who had worked in management consulting, later visited social businesses connected with Yunus in Bangladesh. She became involved in establishing the Grameen Creative Lab with a German entrepreneur. Sophie Eisenmann, a former Boston Consulting Group colleague of Bruysten, subsequently joined the initiative. In 2011, Yunus, Bruysten, and Eisenmann founded Yunus Social Business as an organisation intended to extend social-business activity beyond Bangladesh. YSB was structured around two complementary activities. Yunus Funds became its nonprofit impact-investing arm, providing patient loans and operational support to social businesses. Its focus has included agriculture and livelihoods, health and sanitation, education and training, and energy and environmental services. The fund has operated or maintained local activity in Brazil, Colombia, India, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. The portfolio model combines financing with post-investment support, reflecting the difficulty of building commercially sustainable enterprises for low-income or underserved customers. Among the portfolio companies described in connection with YSB are Tugende and Impact Water. Tugende, based in Uganda, helps motorcycle-taxi drivers gain access to motorcycles through a rental arrangement that can lead to ownership. YSB financed Tugende in 2017. Impact Water provides affordable water-purification systems to schools in Uganda and entered the YSB portfolio in 2015. By 2022, the company had reported installing systems at tens of thousands of schools and reaching millions of students. Impact Water repaid its loan and left the YSB portfolio in 2022. Tugende later raised a Series A round in 2021, although that financing was separate from YSB's earlier investment. The organisation also created Yunus Corporate Innovation, a consulting and innovation arm serving companies seeking to develop social-business models, social intrapreneurship, and more inclusive supply chains. Its work has included the Fight for Access Accelerator with Reckitt, the FLANE accelerator for female entrepreneurship with Vodafone Institute, the MAN Truck & Bus Impact Accelerator, the Vishuddh zero-waste social-business joint venture with Cofresco of the Melitta Group, the Micro Hub social-procurement initiative with IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, and the Campo Vivo social-business joint venture with McCain. YSB's research and ecosystem work expanded alongside its investment and consulting activities. With the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Porticus, INSEAD, and HEC Paris, its corporate innovation work examined the business case for social intrapreneurship. With SAP and Boston Consulting Group, it also contributed to research and practical guidance on social procurement. The organisation has maintained core partnerships with BCG, which has provided pro-bono consulting and secondees, and Freshfields, which has provided pro-bono legal support since YSB's incorporation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, YSB and the World Economic Forum co-initiated the COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship in 2020. The alliance brought together impact organisations to support social enterprises acting as frontline responders and contributors to a more inclusive and environmentally sustainable recovery. In 2021, YSB helped establish Unusual Pioneers, an accelerator for corporate social intrapreneurs, and launched the Take a Stake Consortium with the Waste Foundation to address financing shortages in water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste. YSB also helped create the Social Success Note with the Rockefeller Foundation and UBS Optimus Foundation. That mechanism uses donor-supported outcome payments to encourage commercial banks to lend to social businesses when predefined objectives are achieved. Today, Yunus Social Business is best understood as a nonprofit platform rather than a conventional consumer brand. Its activities connect impact capital, enterprise development, corporate transformation, and cross-sector partnerships. The organisation's stated mission is to harness business as a tool for ending poverty and addressing the climate crisis.
- 2022
Impact Water repays its loan and exits the portfolio
[1]Impact Water paid off its Yunus Social Business loan and left the portfolio.
- 2021
Unusual Pioneers and Take a Stake are launched
[1]YSB helped launch a corporate social-intrapreneurship accelerator and a consortium addressing financing needs in WASH and waste.
- 2020
COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship is co-initiated
[1]YSB and the World Economic Forum brought impact organisations together to support social entrepreneurs during the pandemic.
- 2017
YSB finances Tugende
[1]Yunus Social Business provided financing to Tugende, a Ugandan enterprise supporting motorcycle-taxi drivers with a path toward motorcycle ownership.
- 2015
Impact Water joins the portfolio
[1]The Ugandan school water-purification company entered the Yunus Social Business portfolio.
- 2013
Boston Consulting Group becomes a core partner
[1]BCG began a core partnership involving pro-bono consulting, secondees, and assistance to YSB portfolio companies.
- 2011
Yunus Social Business is founded
[1]Muhammad Yunus, Saskia Bruysten, and Sophie Eisenmann co-founded Yunus Social Business to expand social-business activity beyond Bangladesh.
- 2008
Yunus and Bruysten begin developing a social-business collaboration
[1]Muhammad Yunus and Saskia Bruysten met at the London School of Economics, an encounter that led to Bruysten's engagement with Yunus-linked social businesses and the later creation of YSB.
Products and positioning
A nonprofit social-business platform combining impact finance, enterprise support, corporate innovation, and partnerships for inclusive and environmentally sustainable development.
Impact investing
Yunus Funds
The nonprofit impact-investing arm of Yunus Social Business. It provides patient loans and post-investment support to social businesses in sectors including agriculture and livelihoods, health and sanitation, education and training, and energy and environment. Its stated activity has included Brazil, Colombia, India, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.
Corporate social innovation consulting
Yunus Corporate Innovation
YSB's corporate advisory arm, supporting companies with social-business development, social intrapreneurship, impact accelerators, social procurement, and partnerships with mission-driven enterprises.
Outcome-based finance
Social Success Note
An outcome-based financing mechanism created by Yunus Funds with the Rockefeller Foundation and UBS Optimus Foundation. It is designed to encourage commercial-bank lending to social businesses by providing donor-supported payments when predefined social objectives are achieved.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Unusual Pioneers
International
A corporate social-intrapreneurship accelerator co-initiated by YSB, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and Porticus.
Outcome. The first cohort included participants associated with companies and organisations such as Suez, Novartis, Unilever, Tata Trust, Accenture, Club Med, AXA, and Mastercard.
- 2021Take a Stake Consortium
East Africa · India
YSB and the Waste Foundation launched a consortium intended to address funding shortages for enterprises in water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste.
Outcome. The initiative was joined by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship, with an initial geographic focus on East Africa and India.
- 2020COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship
International
YSB and the World Economic Forum co-initiated an alliance of social-impact organisations to help social entrepreneurs respond to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.
Outcome. The alliance created a collaborative platform and called on members to support social enterprises as frontline responders and contributors to an inclusive, green recovery.
Brand decisions
2020
Coordinate support for social enterprises during COVID-19StrategyBackground
The pandemic placed social enterprises under financial and operational pressure while increasing demand for services addressing health, livelihoods, and inclusion.
Action taken
YSB co-initiated the COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship with the World Economic Forum.
Aftermath
The alliance connected impact organisations around support for social entrepreneurs and an inclusive, environmentally sustainable recovery.
2011
Expand the social-business model internationallyStrategyBackground
The founders sought to take the social-business approach developed through Yunus's work in Bangladesh beyond its original national context.
Action taken
They established Yunus Social Business as a nonprofit organisation combining impact finance with corporate social-innovation work.
Aftermath
YSB developed Yunus Funds and Yunus Corporate Innovation and became active across several countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Recent events
- 2022
Impact Water exits the Yunus Social Business portfolio[1]
Other
Impact Water repaid its YSB loan and left the portfolio after expanding school water-purification access in Uganda.
- 2021
Unusual Pioneers launches for corporate social intrapreneurs[1]
Campaign
YSB, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, and Porticus co-initiated an accelerator for employees developing social-impact initiatives inside corporations.
- 2021
Take a Stake Consortium targets funding gaps in WASH and waste[1]
Other
YSB and the Waste Foundation launched a funding initiative initially focused on water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste-related enterprises in East Africa and India.
- 2020
Yunus Social Business co-initiates COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship[1]
Other
YSB and the World Economic Forum co-initiated an alliance bringing together social-impact organisations to support social entrepreneurs responding to the health crisis and economic disruption.
Sources2 sources
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