ABSTRACT
Social enterprises invariably pay less than companies offering positions with equal responsibilities, whether in manufacturing, retailing, banking, or almost any other industry. For a job seeker holding a more lucrative offer, choosing to work for a social enterprise means placing meaning before money. Nigerian computer whiz-kid ’Gbenga Sesan recognizes that what he cannot offer his employees in salary he might make up for by the experience he is providing. ’Gbenga founded Paradigm Initiative, a social enterprise that addresses the questions and concerns of students like those he met in Ajegunle by providing training in information technology, entrepreneurship, and life skills to help youth lift themselves out of poverty. Even when they are strapped for cash, social enterprises can arrange compensation using alternative economic approaches. Derek Ellerman, serial social entrepreneur and adviser, describes how timebanking might be used to support a social enterprise.
