Aftertaste Foundation: Dignified Livelihood through Art

Aftertaste Foundation (Aftertaste) was an organization that provided livelihood support to women living in the impoverished urban areas of Mumbai, India, who created sustainable handicrafts. Aftertaste was started in 2013 and initially employed three craftswomen. By 2021, the organization had expanded to two locations and had increased the number of craftswomen employed to 40. Aftertaste’s business model was focused on creating social impact by generating revenue through the sale of handcrafted items to corporate and retail buyers. For six years, Aftertaste was supported financially by the social impact organization Avanti Foundation. In September 2019, Aftertaste was registered as an independent entity. However, shortly after its transition, in March 2020, the foundation was confronted by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. A nationwide order for temporary lockdowns soon forced Aftertaste to stop all in-person operations. When the country started reopening after pandemic lockdowns, Aftertaste’s owner struggled to maintain the financial sustainability of her organization. Surrounded by enduring pandemic uncertainty, she had to decide what strategy to pursue for the future of her organization. How could she overcome her venture’s losses and lead Aftertaste on a path of financially sustainable growth?

The case is suitable for courses on entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, and venture development in business programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The case can also be used to introduce students to the steps taken by social impact start-up ventures and the various challenges they face.<br><br/>After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Identify factors that lead to the germination of a social enterprise and map the characteristics of social entrepreneurs.</li><li>Examine the business model of social enterprises aiming to create economic empowerment in their community.</li><li>Examine the challenges not-for-profit social enterprises face and identify strategies to mitigate those challenges.</li><li> Analyze future growth opportunities available to social impact enterprises.</li></ul>

• social enterprise
• scalability
• financial empowerment
• market linkages
• social impact
• entrepreneurship
• strategy