Rural social enterprises are mission-driven organisations that address local needs while creating economic, social and community value. They emerge from the assets, relationships and challenges of sparsely populated areas, where traditional market and public solutions may be limited. Their strength lies in combining entrepreneurial thinking with community purpose, creating models that are both locally grounded and adaptable to change.
A rural social enterprise typically:
• Responds to unmet needs such as services, care, employment or local production
• Builds on community trust, shared responsibility and local knowledge
• Reinforces resilience through long-term commitment to place
• Integrates social, cultural, environmental and economic value in its activities
• Works with inclusive and democratic principles, ensuring those affected can influence decisions
Different legal forms exist across the MERSE countries, but the core idea remains the same:
An enterprise that operates for collective benefit rather than private gain.
These models strengthen rural vitality by creating opportunities, distributing value and fostering participation in local development.
Inclusive and Democratic Business Models
Inclusive and democratic business models place people and community wellbeing at the centre of enterprise development. They are built on the understanding that economic activity is not separate from social structures, but embedded within them. These models ensure that those who are affected by the organisation’s activities can influence its direction, decisions and priorities.
Democratic governance fosters transparency, shared responsibility and long-term sustainability. It supports participation on equal terms and encourages contributions from individuals with different perspectives and roles. Inclusion is not only a value but also a method: it strengthens innovation, improves legitimacy and builds trust.
In rural areas, these models offer particular benefits by anchoring initiatives in local knowledge and collective ownership. They contribute to resilience by distributing both benefits and responsibilities across the community, ensuring that the enterprise remains rooted even as it evolves. Inclusive and democratic business models align economic goals with social purpose and long-term community development.
- Inclusive and democratic business models place community benefit at the centre of enterprise development.
- They ensure that people affected by the organisation’s work can influence decisions.
- Governance structures are transparent, participatory and oriented toward long-term collective value.
- These models recognise multiple forms of capital: economic, social, cultural and environmental.
- Decision-making is shared, and ownership or participation is distributed in ways that strengthen local empowerment.
- The approach supports resilience by anchoring initiatives in local knowledge, relationships and shared responsibility.
- Democratic business models help align economic activity with community wellbeing and sustainability goals.
- They can be registered as co-operative organisations but in some countries they have legal forms of association for co-ops but in other countries there are no legal forms for co-ops.
A strong value proposition communicates the unique value the enterprise creates — not only for customers, but also for the community. In a social enterprise, this includes both social impact and practical services or products.
A clear value proposition answers three questions:
- Who benefits? (individuals, groups, the broader community)
- What problem do we solve? (service gaps, wellbeing, sustainability, inclusion)
- What value is created?
- Tangible: jobs, services, income, reliability
- Intangible: trust, belonging, empowerment, local pride
For rural social enterprises, it is often helpful to express economic and social value together:
“We provide essential services for local residents and create employment opportunities while strengthening community cohesion and long-term rural resilience.”
This approach reflects the inclusive and democratic logic of the enterprise: value is shared, outcomes are co-created and decision-making benefits the community.
Networking is a strategic resource for social enterprises in rural settings. Distance, limited services and smaller markets make collaboration essential. By connecting with peers, enterprises gain access to knowledge, role models, new methods and shared problem-solving.
Networking supports:
- Peer learning — learning from others who face similar realities
- Collective innovation — adapting solutions across regions
- Visibility and legitimacy — strengthening the voice of rural communities
- Cross-border collaboration — sharing practices, ideas and opportunities within the NPA region
Using Peer-to-Peer methodology (inspired by Social Enterprise Academy), networking becomes more than meeting others — it becomes structured learning. P2P methods emphasise:
- Listening to lived experience
- Reflecting before advising
- Creating equal learning conditions
- Building confidence, not dependency
- Turning insights into action steps
When social enterprises connect across borders, they discover new ways of organising, financing and measuring impact. Networks become a long-term support structure that continues beyond the project.
Facilitators play a crucial role in guiding rural social enterprises through change. The leadership programme supports them in developing the mindset, skills and tools needed to work effectively with mission-led organisations.
The programme focuses on:
- Participatory leadership grounded in democratic values
- Facilitation skills that support reflection, decision-making and collaborative planning
- Understanding social enterprise logic, business models and rural dynamics
- Peer-to-peer learning methods, enabling facilitators to guide learning groups
- Supporting inclusive and community-driven development
Participants learn how to create safe learning environments, where entrepreneurs share experiences, analyse challenges and develop solutions together. The programme strengthens facilitators
Peer-to-peer learning is a central method in the MERSE project, inspired by the Social Enterprise Academy approach. It is based on the belief that people learn best from others who share similar contexts and challenges.
Key principles of P2P learning:
- Equality: every participant is both a learner and a contributor
- Reflection: understanding your own situation before giving advice
- Experience-based learning: real cases, real challenges, real decisions
- Safe space: participants can explore, test, fail and adapt without judgement
- Collective intelligence: the group knows more together than any single expert
On the MERSE digital platform, P2P learning is supported through:
- Practical tools and worksheets
- Guided reflection questions
- Examples from real rural social enterprises
- Methods that help entrepreneurs explore identity, values, challenges and opportunities
P2P strengthens confidence, builds capacity and supports democratic participation in enterprise development — essential in rural contexts where collaboration and shared responsibility are key.
Support systems for rural social enterprises vary across the five MERSE countries. This section gathers key links to MERSE partners that help entrepreneurs find relevant advice, funding, networks and learning opportunities.
///LINKS FROM MERSE MINI WEBSITE HERE//
The aim is to make it easier for entrepreneurs to navigate the ecosystem, understand available pathways and connect with the right actors. MERSE partners also encourage cross-border collaboration, allowing rural enterprises to learn from each other and identify shared opportunities across the NPA region.
