This is a case study about Inova Urbis, a social business startup established in 2014 that helps residents in Brazilian slums who want to improve their housing conditions by offering them free renovation plans adapted to individual needs, assistance when purchasing construction materials, and recommendation of qualified builders.
There are four main key takeaways. First, housing renovation in Brazilian slums has huge market potential. Second, low-cost is key to answer renovation demand of dwellers in slums; Inova Urbis has built a hybrid business model relying on partnerships to realize its value proposition of low cost renovation. Third, tight multilateral partnerships between social business, for-profit enterprises and universities have benefited all participants in this case, and the fact that these collaborations are hard to replicate has created barriers of entry to the market. Fourth, apart from reinvesting in its own growth, social businesses can use its profits to incentivize investors and employees to obtain more funding and productivity.