Sink or swim: social enterprise as a panacea for non-profit organisations?

The institutional frameworks and contexts that support social enterprises and the growth of hybrid organisations in Sub-Saharan Africa require more concerted examination. Drawing upon a qualitative study, and examined through a framework of Postcolonial theory, this paper contributes to emerging discussions in this area through an investigation of the transformation of non-profit organisations (NPOs) towards the social enterprise model and exploring the impact of hybridity on the management of these organisations in Tanzania. The study suggests that NPOs mimic social enterprise ‘best practices’ to secure financial resources and integrate their traditional values into the social enterprise model creating tensions resulting from hybridity.