Meituan sets a good example with its bid to be a social enterprise

MEITUAN, AN ONLINE service provider that covers almost every field of life, recently declared that it had obtained funding of $4 billion in its latest round of financing, making it the world's fifth-largest unlisted technology company in terms of value. The estimated value of the company stands at about $30 billion after the latest funding. The company claims the investment will help it create more jobs, shoulder more social responsibilities and promote coordinated development. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Meituan is the first Chinese enterprise to make becoming a social enterprise a strategic objective for its development.

The investors/owners of a social business can gradually recoup the money invested, but cannot take any dividend beyond that point. The purpose of the investment is purely to achieve one or more social objectives through the operation of the company. The sustainability of the company indicates that it is running as a business. The objective of such a company is to achieve social goals, according to Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus, who first coined the term.