Which type of business is designed to achieve social goals as well as operate for profit?

• A. Cooperative
• B. Social enterprise
• C. Public sector
• D. For-profit corporation

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is blending a social mission with business activity. A social enterprise is built to tackle social or environmental issues while trading goods or services; profits are typically reinvested back into the social mission or used to fund community benefits, so the financial side supports the social goals as a core purpose of the business.

This distinguishes it from a cooperative, which focuses on member benefits and democratic control rather than a specific social mission driving the entire business model; it can still have social aims, but that’s not its defining feature. It also differs from the public sector, whose purpose is to deliver services funded by the government rather than to make profits. And it differs from a for-profit corporation, whose primary aim is to maximize profits for shareholders, with social goals usually subordinate to that objective.

So, a social enterprise is the type of business designed to achieve social goals as well as operate for profit.