Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has recently announced in the Union Budget that the government proposes to create a social stock exchange (SSE). This social stock exchange will support social enterprises and voluntary organizations so that they attempt to raise capital.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Cabinet Minister in Ministry of Jal Shakti, has proposed a detailed road map to support strategic and long-term planning for the next five years.
The proposal has received a positive response among the social enterprise sector in India, where local social enterprises can have better visibility and grow capital.
Indulekha Aravind, editor of The Economic Times, broadly explains that a social stock exchange is a platform that enables "investors to buy shares in a social enterprise that has been vetted by the exchange."
SSEs exist in different countries in various forms. Aravind lays out a few global models.
They include:
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The World Bank’s Development Marketplace, a competitive grants program, has provided $1.4 million grants to 12 social enterprises in the northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram for development activities and capacity building investments.