The Alcagüete case is an example of a market-focused social initiative (B Corporation) that encountered serious doubts regarding its mission while it was considering an expansion proposal that would allow it to grow exponentially in record time. Alcagüete produced and sold healthy snacks. A fundamental pillar of the business was its social value proposition of combating childhood malnutrition. This was reflected in the brand and its 1x1 cause-related marketing strategy under which for each product sold, a contribution was made to a social organization addressing childhood malnutrition in Colombia, becoming a mainstay of its positioning and differentiation strategy. A progressive growth strategy had been working, but a more significant scale-up was needed the following year. One of the company's strategic partners had offered to sell products at hard-discount stores, but at what cost? And if they didn't, what other growth options were available?

Propais is a non-profit organization founded in 1994 in Bogota by the public and private sectors and supported by 76 partner organizations. In October 2018, Maria Lucia Castrillon, general manager of Propais, was concerned about the future of the micro-franchising project (MFP) that had been active since 2012. The MFP was core to Propaís's mission of promoting "the development of micro and small businesses through strategic work, carried out jointly by public and private agents". It promoted the creation of 70 new enterprises that generated 350 direct jobs and produced over USD 1 million in annual sales. The IDB-MIF, a co-financer of the project with a total investment of USD 2,540,150, had recently announced its decision to withdraw in May 2019, generating great uncertainty about future feasibility. Propais had invested time and money to become a reference point in franchise structuring. Without MFP support both franchisers and franchisees could lose the opportunity to do business, and the potential would be lost to create five direct jobs at each franchise. Two options to keep the project going were: 1. Propaís could continue to manage the project but would need new financial resources from donors and investors, and 2. Propais could transfer its knowledge and processes to its partners (such as the Ministry of Commerce, Medellin Chamber of Commerce, private foundations or companies) so that they could in turn scale up the micro-franchise model. However, both options implied a long negotiation process and IDB-MIF support would end in just seven months. Moreover, Propais did not have enough resources to support the project alone during a transition.

In 2016, the Plan Foundation in Colombia was the organization with the largest investment in social programs of all those that made up the global organization of Plan International Inc. Its annual investment budget exceeded 24 million euros, almost three times higher than that collected by other countries in the region. In recent years, the Colombian organization had transformed its role within PII, from being an implementer of programs funded by organizations from economically developed countries, to an organization that combined the roles of collection and implementation.

The Austrian Republic School, an elementary public school in Chile, faced a severe crisis. Despite its management team and faculty's effort, the school's absenteeism and dropout rates kept rising. The solutions tried had failed to engage students and to secure their families' support. The absenteeism issue proved particularly acute for the vulnerable population served by this school and had called the attention of Chile's Education Ministry. This scenario was compounded by a financial distress: the school lacked the necessary resources to provide the additional support required by this population, such as psychological and social counseling or family engagement activities.Against such a complex backdrop, Luis Lacourt, the school's principal, caught a glimpse of a light at the end of the tunnel: a means to mitigate this problem. Chile's SEP Act offered grants to schools working with "priority" students coming from underprivileged social and financial backgrounds. Yet, access to these subsidies depended on good attendance rates. It was a catch-22-like problem: the SEP Act would enable the school to access the resources required to work on its problems, but the school would not qualify for this funding if it didn't show improvements in its key metrics. How should the school go about it? What could it do to engage families in order to lower dropout and absenteeism rate.

Papinotas is an app that allows schools to communicate with their students' parents through text messages. This social enterprise is supported by Socialab (a social innovation hub sponsored by the renowned NPO TECHO), and was created with the mission to improve Chilean and Latin American education by facilitating communication and involvement between families and educational institutions.

Alquería was founded by Professor Jorge Cavelier and his son Enrique Cavelier with the motto, "A bottle of milk is a bottle of health." From Alquería's inception, the Cavaliers looked for ways to innovate on their products and to substantially improve the quality of the milk they offered to their customers, introducing new packaging formats and production techniques. In 1992, Carlos Enrique Cavelier took over at Alquería's helm. His studies in Sociology, Anthro¬pology and Public Administration abroad as well as his years in public service in Colombian po¬litics prepared him to become a business leader who cared not only about his family business' prosperity but also about the communities surrounding the company. During his tenure, Cave¬lier has shown a special commitment to his suppliers -small dairy farmers- helping them with training programs on nutrition and more updated, efficient and quality-enhancing production techniques. He has also played a key role in his organization's communication and identity buil¬ding efforts, as well as a strong network and partnership driver, engaging Alquería stakeholders. Headed by Cavelier, Alquería has taken a leading role in significant national debates, such as the ones on corporate responsibility in post-conflict scenarios, on free trade treaty challenges, and on Colombia's competitiveness issues, among others. The company's current management has received national and international awards. By 2013, Alquería ranked among Colombia's largest dairy producers, following Colanta S.A. and Alpina S.A.

Alquería was founded by Professor Jorge Cavelier and his son Enrique Cavelier with the motto, "A bottle of milk is a bottle of health." From Alquería's inception, the Cavaliers looked for ways to innovate on their products and to substantially improve the quality of the milk they offered to their customers, introducing new packaging formats and production techniques. In 1992, Carlos Enrique Cavelier took over at Alquería's helm. His studies in Sociology, Anthro¬pology and Public Administration abroad as well as his years in public service in Colombian po¬litics prepared him to become a business leader who cared not only about his family business' prosperity but also about the communities surrounding the company. During his tenure, Cave¬lier has shown a special commitment to his suppliers -small dairy farmers- helping them with training programs on nutrition and more updated, efficient and quality-enhancing production techniques. He has also played a key role in his organization's communication and identity buil¬ding efforts, as well as a strong network and partnership driver, engaging Alquería stakeholders. Headed by Cavelier, Alquería has taken a leading role in significant national debates, such as the ones on corporate responsibility in post-conflict scenarios, on free trade treaty challenges, and on Colombia's competitiveness issues, among others. The company's current management has received national and international awards. By 2013, Alquería ranked among Colombia's largest dairy producers, following Colanta S.A. and Alpina S.A. Case B looks at the advantages and potential of the strategy pursued to include suppliers in Alquería's overall strategy via an initiative deployed at La Macarena, which provides the grounds for a second debate, complementing and delving deeper into the learning objects set for this case.

The Yasuní-ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini) Trust Fund was established to receive contributions from donors supporting Ecuador's historical decision to permanently relinquish the extraction of crude from the ITT oil block, a field located at the Ecuadorean Amazonia's Yasuní National Park (YNP) that was estimated to hold a reserve of 846 million barrels of oil. Contributions would be used to fund renewable energy projects and sustainable development investments, such as deforestation reduction and ecosystem preservation in Ecuador's Amazon region. Thus, appealing to a global spirit of shared responsibility, President Rafael Correa's government requested that the international community compensated Ecuador with US$ 3.6 billion (paid over a 13-year period) to cover half of the revenues the country would fail to receive as a result of its decision to relinquish oil extraction at ITT. International contributions would be viewed as a compensation for Ecuadoreans' sacrifice, which would bring significant public benefits for the entire planet, including a less contaminated atmosphere. This case consists of three parts and has been designed for a two-session discussion. Sections A and B may be discussed during a first 90-minute class and require no previous preparation from students. These sections focus on encouraging class participants to make a critical analysis of the type and amount of information necessary to make a decision. Section C will be discussed in a second 90-minute session and requires students to prepare this case beforehand, making the necessary financial calculations for this analysis. Part A explores the period before November 24, 2009, when President Correa and UNDP announce the terms for the draft agreement for Yasuní-ITT's Trust Fund.

Supplement to case AN0017. The Yasuní-ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini) Trust Fund was established to receive contributions from donors supporting Ecuador's historical decision to permanently relinquish the extraction of crude from the ITT oil block, a field located at the Ecuadorean Amazonia's Yasuní National Park (YNP) that was estimated to hold a reserve of 846 million barrels of oil. Contributions would be used to fund renewable energy projects and sustainable development investments, such as deforestation reduction and ecosystem preservation in Ecuador's Amazon region. Thus, appealing to a global spirit of shared responsibility, President Rafael Correa's government requested that the international community compensated Ecuador with US$ 3.6 billion (paid over a 13-year period) to cover half of the revenues the country would fail to receive as a result of its decision to relinquish oil extraction at ITT. International contributions would be viewed as a compensation for Ecuadoreans' sacrifice, which would bring significant public benefits for the entire planet, including a less contaminated atmosphere. This case consists of three parts and has been designed for a two-session discussion. Sections A and B may be discussed during a first 90-minute class and require no previous preparation from students. These sections focus on encouraging class participants to make a critical analysis of the type and amount of information necessary to make a decision. Section C will be discussed in a second 90-minute session and requires students to prepare this case beforehand, making the necessary financial calculations for this analysis. Part B focus on the analysis of processes used to request relevant information about a project.

Supplement to case AN0017. The Yasuní-ITT (Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini) Trust Fund was established to receive contributions from donors supporting Ecuador's historical decision to permanently relinquish the extraction of crude from the ITT oil block, a field located at the Ecuadorean Amazonia's Yasuní National Park (YNP) that was estimated to hold a reserve of 846 million barrels of oil. Contributions would be used to fund renewable energy projects and sustainable development investments, such as deforestation reduction and ecosystem preservation in Ecuador's Amazon region. Thus, appealing to a global spirit of shared responsibility, President Rafael Correa's government requested that the international community compensated Ecuador with US$ 3.6 billion (paid over a 13-year period) to cover half of the revenues the country would fail to receive as a result of its decision to relinquish oil extraction at ITT. International contributions would be viewed as a compensation for Ecuadoreans' sacrifice, which would bring significant public benefits for the entire planet, including a less contaminated atmosphere. This case consists of three parts and has been designed for a two-session discussion. Sections A and B may be discussed during a first 90-minute class and require no previous preparation from students. These sections focus on encouraging class participants to make a critical analysis of the type and amount of information necessary to make a decision. Section C will be discussed in a second 90-minute session and requires students to prepare this case beforehand, making the necessary financial calculations for this analysis. Part C delves into the following areas: 1. Financial valuation of oil exploitation projects; 2. Examining agreements and their compatibility with signing agents, and 3. Analyzing the social and political threats that may jeopardize a project.

This case describes how Codensa, an electricity company in Bogotá and Cundinamarca (Colombia), developed an easy-access consumer credit business model for low-income populations leveraged by the cost structure of its core business. Codensa offered consumer credit to low income populations through the Codensa Hogar business unit, by linking together a value chain of large retailers and manufacturers of household appliances. Codensa entered into this business as part of its commercial branding strategy, contributing its billing structure as credit collection instrument. During the first five years of the program, 95% of the 450,000 people who took out one or more loans belonged to the lower economic strata, and were between 25 and 45 years old. Sixty-six percent of Codensa users were people who did not participate in the formal banking system. After obtaining a credit history with Codensa, 45% of this population gained access to other financial services. Over the course of five years, Codensa Hogar surpassed the US$250 million mark in its credit portfolio, issuing loans up to three times the salary of electric bill holders. Nearly 50% of clients asked for new credit upon completing their payments. In 2006, the unusual growth rates of Codensa Hogar aroused concern among shareholders. If it were to sustain this rate, the surplus from the electric energy business would not be enough. Growth funds should be sought from within the company or from an outside source. However, members of the financial division disagreed. They argued that the funding cost that Codensa had to pay the electricity company should include an analysis of the risks assumed by the company. The difference between the commercial and financial visions posed a variety of challenges for general management. This case may be used in intermediate courses on financial management and strategy, financial strategy and corporate strategy or courses on business models oriented towards a "double bottom line."

Supplement for case SKE147.