SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP : ujjwal.anurag@businesssandesh.in MARKET
BASED SOLUTION TO ADDRESS SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENT PROBLEMS.
Social entrepreneurship
uses innovative, market – based solutions to address social and environment
problems. These solutions can be a new product, new approach to resolving these
community challenges.
Social entrepreneurship is about
applying practical, innovative and sustainable approaches to benefit society in
general, with an emphasis on those who are marginalized and poor.
A social enterprise
exists primarly to provide a solution to a social or environmental problem, and
must use a business approach that works financially. Social enterprises are
different from traditional enterprise in that their key focus is to positively
impact society and the environment.
They use their profits to
rainforce the social impact of their enterprise.
Social enterprises are not the
same as business focused on the use of social media (eg. twitter) or social
marketing.
Social enterprises are also not the same as
companies that only make philanthropic donations or organize and other
community engagement initiatives. Social entrepreneurship has gained renewed
currency in a world ever more divided between haves and the have-nots. They distinguish
themselves from other social venture players by doing, not talking. They are
relentlessly focused on impact.
A term that
captures a unique approach to economic and social problems, an approach that
cuts across sectors and disciplines grounded in certain values and processes
that are common to each social entrepreneur, independent of whether his/ her
area of focus has been education, health, welfare reform, human rights,
workers' rights, environment, economic development, agriculture, etc., or whether
the organizations they set up are non-profit or for-profit entities.
It is
this approach that sets the social entrepreneur apart from the rest of the
crowd of well-meaning people and organizations who dedicate their lives to
social improvement.
Social business ventures.
The entrepreneur sets up a for-profit entity or business to
provide a social or ecological product or service. While profits are ideally
generated, the main aim is not to maximize financial returns for shareholders
but to grow the social venture and reach more people in need. Wealth
accumulation is not a priority and profits are reinvested in the enterprise to
fund expansion. The entrepreneur of a social business venture seeks investors
who are interested in combining financial and social returns on their
investments.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS.
Social entrepreneurs drive social
innovation and transformation in various fields including education, health,
environment and enterprise development. They pursue poverty alleviation goals
with entrepreneurial zeal, business methods and the courage to innovate and
overcome traditional practices. A social entrepreneur, similar to a business
entrepreneur, builds strong and sustainable organizations, which are either set
up as not-for-profits or companies.
Social entrepreneurs tackle major social
issues, from increasing the college enrollment rate of low-income students to
fighting poverty. They operate in all kinds of organizations: innovative
non profits, social-purpose ventures, and hybrid organizations that mix elements
of nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Promoting systemic social change is
the real objective. Like business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs see and
act upon what others miss: opportunities to improve systems, create solutions
and invent new approaches that create social value. And like the best business
entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs are intensely focused and hard-driving in
their pursuit of a social vision.
Social entrepreneurs are driven to produce
measurable returns. These results transform existing realities, open up new
pathways for the marginalized and disadvantaged, and unlock society’s potential
to effect social change. Social entrepreneurs operate within a social context
rather than the business world, they have limited access to capital and
traditional market support systems. As a result, social entrepreneurs must be
skilled at mobilizing human, financial and political resources.
