過去10年，經濟增長推動了全球發展。GDP增長率維持了十年的正增長，通貨膨脹很低，技術發展令企業效率提升至前所未有的水平。然而，伴隨種種成功則是更多不平等和貧富差距日益擴大。

想想看：據估計，世界上最富有的26人擁有的財富與最貧窮的38億人相當，38億人已超過世界人口的一半。隨著商業界保持近來時間最長的連續增長，公司明顯有義務和責任支持社會企業，利用自身影響力打造更具包容性的經濟繁榮。

20世紀70年代，社會企業的商業模式在英國首次出現，自那時起以來一直都存在。雖然這不算新概念，但今天的經濟、社會和環境正在重新定義社會企業，并推動了爆發性增長。

千禧一代和Z世代的人均已成年，也在數字工具中找到了力量，得以激發社會變革。這幾代人深切關注影響數十億人生活的問題，要么希望為體現相關意識的公司工作，要么就自己創立企業踐行理念。事實上，根據匯豐私人銀行的研究， 35歲以下的企業主中將近四分之一認為造福社會是創立公司的主要動機。

社會企業是具有明確社會或環保使命的營利性企業，高達50%或更多的利潤重新投入到為之努力的事業中。雖然這聽起來跟公司增長不是一回事，但行善的同時打造不斷增長的公司是有可能做到的?？纯疵绹膭撔履茉垂綛ioLite，或是英國的辦公用品公司WildHearts Office就知道了。該行業正在蓬勃發展，全球范圍內的類似公司已多達百萬家，其中80%是在過去10年中成立的。

公司的價值越發取決于對社會和環境的影響，投資界也注意到這個機會，意識到相關領域可以賺到大錢。但是，風險資本融資對公司的推動也只能走到這一步，公司要有與客戶建立聯系，才能實現真正的飛躍。

如果可以選擇，大多數公司都會選擇支持社會企業。思愛普公司正與英國社會企業組織合作提供連接，幫助公司找到社會企業并達成商業合作，主要方式是利用旗下的數字市場平臺Ariba網絡，全球各地的買家和供應商每年在該平臺上交易商品和服務的價值高達3萬億美元。通過將影響力驅動型公司與企業客戶聯系起來，就可以推動更具包容性和可持續性，也能創造更多利潤的經濟。

公司想要支持社會企業的話，不必非要自身轉型為社會企業。釋放勞動力支持社會進步，將社會企業整合到供應鏈中，密切觀察自身業務發展如何改變世界就可以。無論是傳統企業、公認的社會企業還是個人員工，要想真正幫助世界更好地運作并改善人民生活，都要拿出創業精神服務于每個人的社會使命，打造更加公平的世界，讓所有人過上美好的生活。（財富中文網）

Adaire Fox-Martin是思愛普的執行董事會成員。

Over the past 10 years, economic growth has fueled a global evolution. Gross domestic product rates are on a decade-long positive run. Inflation is low. And technology is enabling levels of corporate efficiency never seen before. However, with this success comes greater examples of inequality and a growing gap between the rich and poor.

Consider this: It’s estimated that the 26 richest people in the world have the same wealth as the poorest 3.8 billion—more than half of the world’s population. As the business world enjoys one of the greatest streaks of growth in recent memory, companies have a clear duty and responsibility to put their relevance to work for a more inclusive kind of prosperity, by supporting social enterprises.

A commercial model for social enterprise has existed since the 1970s, when it was first developed in the United Kingdom. While it’s not a novel concept, today’s economic, social, and environmental circumstances are leading to a redefinition of what social enterprise is and an explosion in the movement’s growth.

Millennial and Generation Z workers have come of age and found empowerment in digital tools that enable them to inspire social change. These generations have demonstrated that they care deeply about issues that affect billions of lives and want to work for companies—or start their own—that reflect this consciousness. In fact, nearly a quarter of business owners under the age of 35 consider benefiting society to be their main motivation, according to research from HSBC Private Banking.

Social enterprises are income-generating businesses with clear social or environmental missions that plow up to 50% or more of their profits back into their cause. While that may sound like a counter-intuitive move for growth, it is possible to build a growing business while doing good. Look no further than BioLite, an innovative energy company in the United States, or WildHearts Office, an office supply company in the United Kingdom. This is a burgeoning sector, numbering in the millions of companies worldwide, of which 80% have been founded in only the past 10 years.

A company's worth is increasingly determined by its societal and environmental impact, and the investment community is taking notice of the opportunity, realizing there’s big money to be made in this space. But venture capital funding will only get these companies so far. Their real surge comes with the power of being connected to customers.

If given the choice, most companies would opt to support social enterprises. At SAP, we are partnering with Social Enterprise UK to use our Ariba network—a digital marketplace where buyers and suppliers across the globe transact $3 trillion in goods and services every year—to provide the connecting fabric for corporations to find and do business with social enterprises. By connecting these impact-driven companies to corporate customers, we can power a more inclusive, more sustainable, and even more profitable economy.

You don’t need to be a social enterprise to support social enterprises. Unleash your workforce in support of social improvement, integrate social enterprises into your supply chain, and watch the world-changing effects of your operations grow. Whether a traditional corporation, a certified social enterprise, or an individual employee, if we want to truly help the world run better and improve people’s lives, we need to put our entrepreneurial spirit in the service of everyone’s social missions and create a fairer world where everyone prospers.

Adaire Fox-Martin is a member of the executive board of SAP.