Alicia Polak; Social entrepreneurship; Khayelitsha Cookie Company (KCC); Entrepreneurial programmes; Societal wealth generation; Bottom of the pyramid; Non-governmental organisation; Community initiatives; Philani Nutrition and Development Project; Sustainable business; Scalability

The case discusses the social entrepreneurship initiatives by Alicia Polak in South Africa. Alicia Polak, was an Investment Banker with Merrill Lynch and Company in New York, who started a small business venture in the slums of South Africa. The venture was not started as a charity but as a profit generating business. With very little initial investment, Alicia employed women from the neighbourhood and taught them how to make high-end cookies, and that was the beginning of Khayelitsha Cookie Company (KCC). She marketed the cookies in hotels and to the tourists who visited South Africa. The cookies soon gained popularity, and she planned to replicate this model in other developing and underdeveloped countries. KCC was expected to break even by the beginning of the year 2007, and the cookies were being marketed in the US and European countries. The case is structured to enable students to: (1) understand the concept of social entrepreneurship; (2) analyse how small business ventures can make a significant difference in the lives of the poor; (3) critically evaluate the KCC business model and its potential for scalability; (4) study how commercially profitable ventures can be started in underdeveloped countries; and (5) critically examine the sustainability and replicability potential of KCC's business model. The case is aimed at MBA / PGDBA students and is intended to be part of the entrepreneurship curriculum. The teaching note includes the abstract, teaching objectives and target audience, teaching approach, assignment questions, feedback of case discussion, references and suggested readings. It does not include an analysis of the case