What is Social Entrepreneurship?
A Brief History
The history of civil society and social change is rarely taught in high schools and universities. Students may do a brief examination of some social movements, but the brevity with which these subjects are covered reduces them to the common thinking that a small number of great men shaped the entire course of human history. The history of activism and social change is much more than the legend of a handful of key players: it is the tale of muddled, confusing, badly organized movements, and the way different people with different kinds of interests found common ground.
Robert Owen, founder of the cooperative movement, Vinoba Bhave, founder of India’s Land Gift Movement, Maria Montessori, educator and developer of the Montessori School model, and Florence Nightingale, founder of the first nursing school and developer of modern nursing practices are some notable people whose work illustrates traditional social entrepreneurship. However, the term “social entrepreneur” was first used in literature on social change in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and came into widespread use in the two decades that followed.
The social entrepreneur is different from his business counterpart who sees value in the creation of new markets: social entrepreneurs aim for value in the form of transformational change that will help underserved groups of people and in the end society in general. Social entrepreneurs have throughout history brought in solutions to difficult social problems, fundamentally improving the lives of innumerable persons by revolutionizing the way important systems function.
New funding streams have developed to sustain social entrepreneurs on their path to change as the field has grown. Ashoka, Skoll Foundation, Schwab Foundation, and Draper Richards Foundation are a few of the organizations that now provide first-stage and mezzanine-level funding. The White House website now lists and maintains the Office of Social Innovation, an indication that this branch of entrepreneurship is now a part of the mainstream.
For information on modern social enterprise, read Top 10 Leaders: Social Entrepreneurship in our Time.
New Technology and Innovations: Current vs. What’s Changing
Social entrepreneurs are becoming major sources of new innovations. The social innovation model is friendly to underserved consumers such as farmers, who may not be able to take advantage of agricultural innovations due to credit constraints. These farmers may qualify for micro finance, allowing them to benefit from new technology as it becomes available.
The Internet and social applications like Facebook and Twitter have helped level the playing field when it comes to discovering and aggregating talent and other resources. Developing nations are resplendent with would-be entrepreneurs and innovators in each sector. The Internet is the greatest medium the world has ever known for diffusing information among social entrepreneurs and the communities they serve.
Another trend that is shaping social entrepreneurship is mobile technology. Pay-as-you-go mobile service providers and inexpensive handsets proliferate even the poorest societies, and their prevalence in even isolated areas has given a free rein to entrepreneurial creativity. Cell phone companies now have a large and growing interest in the “Bottom of the Pyramid” market, and Nokia is even designing a cheap Internet ready phone for Africa and the developing world.
International development efforts around the mobile phone are growing as access and usage increase. In the Information Age, not having access to information can be just as devastating as lacking healthcare or housing. For instance rural farmers who don’t know the weather forecast or the latest price movements won’t know what to sow, when to reap, or how much earnings to anticipate.
One example of technology being used in social innovation is Pinetree, a social project in China, which aims to make technology and the Internet both available and fun for seniors. From basic computer skills like browsing the Internet, using search engines, sending and receiving email, to more complex tasks like conducting online video chats, Pinetree boasts a range of competency levels.
You can read more about the trends in social enterprise in 7 Principles of Social Entrepreneurship.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Innovation
One of the disadvantages of social innovation projects is lack of sustainability, especially when entrepreneurs are pressured into pursuing huge and difficult endeavors from the start.
Another bad thing about social enterprise is that the bulk of spokespersons, specialists and practitioners come from Anglo-Saxon countries, especially the US and UK. Surely the pace of the sector can be accelerated if participation is more diverse. The deployment of innovative ideas should not come from the Western outlook – there must be ways to use technology to exploit a wider range of viewpoints.
The lack of a definition is a third disadvantage when it comes to social enterprise. Although the field is attracting growing amounts of talent, money and attention, there is need for awareness of exactly what a social entrepreneur is and does. If the pledge of social enterprise is not realized because too many “non-entrepreneurial” efforts are included in the definition, then the sector will fall into disrepute, and the essence of true social enterprise will be lost.
The use of technology is an advantage in social enterprise, and is crucial to development. One example of this approach is KickStart, a nonprofit organization based in Kenya, which develops, modifies and markets technologies in Africa. KickStart uses the following steps, which are similar to a lot of existing social innovation approaches:
- Pinpoint high-potential small-scale business ventures that can be established by citizens with limited capital investment
- Build technologies and business packages – the tools, guidebooks and business plans necessary to set up small enterprises
- Teach manufacturers to produce the new technologies, for example new machinery and equipment
- Expand the market among small-scale businesses, ensuring that the new technologies are available for purchase
See 5 Social Entrepreneurship Ideas for projects that are needed in today’s world.
How Can You Become a Social Entrepreneur?
Starting a nonprofit and for-profit venture is pretty similar: the plan had better be innovative and entrepreneurs are still expected to do their research. Social enterprise might be for you if you’re an entrepreneur with the dedication, zeal and vision to deal with a large-scale social problem. For a social entrepreneur, it’s never just about the money.
Your social venture will essentially be a business, but with an extra bottom line beyond making a profit: making a difference or solving a social problem. You can now train to become a social entrepreneur at a number of universities, many of which host competitions targeted at bringing out the best ideas for this type of business venture.
Visualize yourself having a stimulating and satisfying line of business that gives you the chance to make a living doing what you love while making the world a better place. Do you feel motivated to use your gifts to assist others? Now is the time to begin doing work you have faith in by becoming a social entrepreneur and opening your own nonprofit business.
Social enterprise means being quick to respond to the needs of our times. Social entrepreneurs lead people to bigger dreams and higher heights. So what does it take to be a social entrepreneur? These pioneering individuals and groups do the following to effect change:
- Build and maintain social values: social entrepreneurs initiate societal improvements together with a social mission.
- Identify and work at opportunities in service of the objective: these objectives are what separate the social entrepreneurs from their business counterparts
Reaching people with social enterprise is easier than ever with the rise in social media. Entrepreneurs have readily adopted blogs, podcasts and videocasts, and are using applications like Twitter and YouTube to advance their causes. Social entrepreneurs must understand the importance of networking to begin with, so it should not be too difficult to take it online.
You can learn more about how you can save the world with social enterprise in How to Save the World With Social Entrepreneurship.
Related posts:
- 5 Social Entrepreneurship Ideas
- Top 10 Leaders: Social Entrepreneurship in our Time
- How to Save the World With Social Entrepreneurship
- 7 Principles of Social Entrepreneurship
- How to Find Venture Capital
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