GAIL Members The Lex Mundi Pro Bono Foundation, led by their California member Morrison & Foerster LLP, collaborated with more than 60 Lex Mundi member firms around the world to investigate how legal reform can act as a catalyst for social enterprise. The Report was commissioned by Catalyst 2030, a global movement bringing together social entrepreneurs and social innovators from all sectors to attain the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

A comprehensive questionnaire requesting information on laws and policies regarding enterprise form, funding, tax, government infrastructure, and miscellaneous questions directly related to social enterprise was created and distributed to member firms around the world. A total of 66 Lex Mundi member firms put hundreds of attorneys and countless hours into responding to the surveys for 83 countries, while Morrison & Foerster dedicated dozens of lawyers to reviewing responses and writing the final report. The entire project took more than a year to complete.    

The report offers a comparative analysis of how different countries support and enable the development of social ventures, including observations from each inhabited continent and every major legal structure. It also offers recommendations to assist policymakers in catalysing the formation and growth of social enterprises in their respective jurisdictions. Specifically, the report identifies six legal policy recommendations which could assist countries in helping social enterprises flourish, thereby contributing to a more sustainable end equitable future.

Explore the reviewed laws and policies of the 83 jurisdictions covered in the report through the interactive appendix.