Preparing SEWA's "Rural Airbnb" Initiative to Become a Social Enterprise

Hum Sab Ek Hain (HSEH), “We Are One”, is a rural homestay initiative of the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA), and seeks to financially empower rural women in Gujarat, India. Through a partnership with Airbnb, women host visitors and generate alternative income streams for themselves and their families. A team of five SIPA students worked with SEWA to develop a Social Enterprise Business Plan to incubate and launch HSEH as a self-sustaining and scalable business. The Plan’s framework leverages HSEH’s competitive strengths, increases its market opportunities, builds operational and financial capacity, mitigates key risks, and establishes a monitoring and evaluation system.