Economic Development

A shared model for financial independence

Enkindle Enterprises is the economic engine of Empowerment Ecosystems.

We incubate co-owned businesses where income is shared between founders, workers, and local community projects. This allows community members to build financial independence while also reinvesting in the places and people they care about.

These are not short-term projects or grant-funded pilots. They are real businesses, designed to generate revenue, create jobs, and protect community-led work over the long term.

Enkindle supports small businesses with a clear difference.

Each Enkindle enterprise is:

  • Co-owned, so value and control are shared

  • Purpose-led, responding to real community needs

  • Financially viable, with a focus on long-term sustainability

The goal is simple. Build businesses that support individual livelihoods and strengthen the wider ecosystem at the same time.

By generating income locally, Enkindle reduces reliance on unstable funding and helps ensure community-led initiatives are not constantly reshaped by external priorities.

Why this matters

Many community organisations depend on short-term grants that shift with political cycles and donor interests. This makes it difficult to plan ahead or stay aligned with what communities actually want.

At the same time, many community members face barriers to stable, meaningful work. Skills and lived experience are often overlooked, and employment pathways rarely reflect people’s values or strengths.

Enkindle was created to address both problems at once.

For organisations, it creates a locally controlled income stream that supports independence and long-term thinking. For individuals, it offers a way to build businesses and jobs that are aligned with community values, not just market demand.

The shared profit model

Each Enkindle enterprise operates under a simple and transparent model:

  • 40% to the founder or lead entrepreneur

  • 40% reinvested into local community initiatives through Shoshama and its partners

  • 20% shared among staff through a profit-sharing scheme

This structure ensures that:

  • Founders are rewarded for their work and risk

  • Staff benefit directly from the success of the business

  • Community initiatives are supported without relying solely on grants

How it works

We work with purpose-led entrepreneurs to:

  • Develop and test a business idea

  • Build the skills needed to run and grow an enterprise

  • Launch with practical support and shared infrastructure

  • Operate within a clear profit-sharing structure

  • Grow toward long-term sustainability

Enkindle businesses are supported to balance commercial discipline with social purpose. They are expected to work, generate income, and contribute back.

Enkindle Enterprises, in Action

Kifkun Wellbeing

A community-based mental health initiative focused on challenging stigma and opening dialogue around mental health in migrant and refugee communities. Kifkun delivers culturally grounded workshops, peer support, and community conversations designed with lived experience at the centre.

Dunya Intercultural Learning

A social enterprise offering language learning and intercultural facilitation. Dunya supports schools, workplaces, and organisations to build communication and leadership across cultures, while creating employment and training opportunities for community members.

Each Enkindle business is built to last, grounded in purpose, and accountable to the communities it serves.

Get Involved

Enkindle is open to people and organisations who want to build economic models that work for communities.

We welcome:

  • Community members with a business idea

  • Organisations seeking to generate their own income stream

  • Partners interested in adapting the Enkindle model

If you want to explore what this could look like in your context, we’d love to talk.

📩 Get in touch to start a conversation