  We recount in this essay the decade-long story of Gram Vaani, a social
enterprise with a vision to build appropriate ICTs (Information and
Communication Technologies) for participatory media in rural and low-income
settings, to bring about social development and community empowerment. Other
social enterprises will relate to the learning gained and the strategic pivots
that Gram Vaani had to undertake to survive and deliver on its mission, while
searching for a robust financial sustainability model. While we believe the
ideal model still remains elusive, we conclude this essay with an open question
about the reason to differentiate between different kinds of enterprises -
commercial or social, for-profit or not-for-profit - and argue that all
enterprises should have an ethical underpinning to their work.
