"The goal is to help support, educate and develop local entrepreneurs," says Lisa Lake, who's in charge of the center in Jamaica, adding that the center works with existing businesses-not start-up ideas. "So we know they are serious."
The Branson Centres incorporate impact measurements from the get-go to track job creation and revenue growth on the ground.
It's working. The majority of entrepreneurs who graduate from the program see increased revenue and hire multiple employees. This is good not only for the entrepreneurs, but for their local communities. And that's the whole idea.
Mentors for both centers are sought. A gap the Branson Centre is trying to fill is the access to growth capital. Lake says the social enterprises are typically too small to qualify for traditional bank loans or venture capital.
Jean Oelwang, chief executive of Virgin Unite, which oversees the centers, says engendering growth among these entrepreneurs is important because it's how the business and investment landscape can be shifted to empower those who are typically disenfranchised by the conventional financial system.
"We see this as a way to kickstart new markets," Oelwang says.
Because social enterprises do two things-have a positive impact on society as a charity would and create financial return as a business would-these hybrid models could forge positive change in the world.
Moreover, by encouraging collaboration-Virgin Holidays, for example, is the lead Virgin business sponsor of the Caribbean center-people can learn from one another. Tenured business executives glean new insights and ideas from the entrepreneurs, and the entrepreneurs gain proven practices.
"It's very exciting," Oelwang says, "because it's also how we create new leadership models."