Making International Aid Effective: An Agenda for Aligning Aid to Social Business

In the context of heightened interest in social business and a renewed focus on the performance of international aid, this article explores the role and place of aid in addressing poverty in relation to the rapidly growing social business regime. Research on the subject is surprisingly limited. The article begins by operationalizing the key concepts, and developing a conceptual framework by exploring the possible nexus points between aid alignment and social business. It then addresses a number of key dimensions of aid; notably, a comparative account of possible aid investment in social business vis-à-vis conventional projects and private sector enterprises; an examination of the realities on the ground of the social business projects; and policy implications of the study together with some recommendations.