What Is A Social Entrepreneur?
It is said that there is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur. For a business entrepreneur, such an idea is likely to result in the creation of a new type of industry that is expected to be financially profitable. In the hands of a social entrepreneur, however, the idea develops further, becoming not only an innovative venture, but also, and more importantly in the opinion of its creator, a force for positive social change.
A social entrepreneur works to change society for the better by using methods that are both creative and practical. Combining an altruistic attitude with a businesslike approach, social entrepreneurs set up organizations and ventures designed to reduce and resolve social problems. While there is no reason an enterprise established by a social entrepreneur cannot be financially profitable as well as altruistic, its main purpose is to bring about societal improvement. Among the great variety of issues addressed are health, human rights, environmental sustainability, economics, tolerance, security, and institutional responsibility.
The work of a social entrepreneur frequently starts in a small way with little or no budget, then grows and expands, sometimes to global proportions. This snowballing success is often attributed to the strength of will, ambition, and staying power of the entrepreneur whose determination to change a situation was initially responsible for the undertaking. In many cases, a project starts in a small village or regional center with the aim of improving the living conditions of local people. Encouraged and motivated by the social entrepreneur’s blend of vision, commitment, and business ability, these local people are inspired to join the project, helping it grow to a stage where it is able to effect the desired change and can continue to expand if required.
Often cited as an early example of social entrepreneurship is the work of Florence Nightingale, who revolutionized nursing practices in the 1800s, long before the term “social entrepreneur” was created. References to social entrepreneurship first appeared in articles on social change about 50 years ago, but have been more widely used since the 1980s. New Yorker Bill Drayton is sometimes credited with coining the “social entrepreneur” description. Whether or not this is true, he certainly has his own place in social entrepreneurship history. Born in 1943, the son of an Australian mother and an American explorer father, Drayton visited India at the age of 20, during a summer break from Harvard. While in India, he learned how one person’s idea could bring about a major social transformation by taking part in a walk led by a Gandhian, Vinoba Bhave, founder of the Land Gift Movement. Bhave planned the walk across India with the aim of breaking a poverty cycle by persuading people to give their land to him for a more equitable redistribution that would include less fortunate and less wealthy people. His campaign was successful, resulting in the redistribution of seven million acres of land, at the same time showing Drayton that social entrepreneurship could lead to a major change for the better.
While continuing with his studies, eventually graduating from Yale Law School, and entering the world of business management, Drayton continued to ponder his Indian experience and the idea of social entrepreneurship. In 1981, with the idea that potential social entrepreneurs should be encouraged and assisted even before they had proved themselves by effecting social changes, he founded Ashoka, a worldwide non-profit organization that works to discover and cultivate social entrepreneurs. Since then, thousands of people have become Ashoka Fellows, recognized for their social entrepreneurship in using practical solutions to bring about social improvements in their countries. The first Ashoka Fellow was Gloria de Souza, who established a method of teaching Environmental Studies known as Parisar Asha in India in 1982. Millions of students have since learned this method. Other people sponsored by Ashoka have included Fabio Rosa, a Brazilian who improved the living conditions of farmers by working out a system of supplying them with electricity at a reduced cost, and Jeroo Billimoria who founded Childline, a 24-hour emergency telephone and support service for children.
In the past two decades, an increasing number of organizations and educational institutions have been established around the world with the aim of advising, funding, and promoting social entrepreneurs in a great diversity of social projects. Some are profit organizations; some are not. Some receive government funding; others operate with the help of donations. Some, like Ashoka, identify potential social entrepreneurs who might have the ability to make a difference, funding them while they work with communities to improve lives and conditions. Others, like the Skoll Foundation in the United States, work with people who have already proven themselves by establishing programs that have brought about positive changes in communities. Through its three-year award program, the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, the Skoll Foundation helps these people continue or expand their work for social change in various parts of the world. With the help of such programs as the PBS Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Fund, the Skoll Foundation also funds journalistic works such as films and articles that document the efforts of social entrepreneurs and raise awareness of their projects.
In addition to organizations that support social entrepreneurs financially and publicize their efforts, there are also a growing number of educational programs at colleges and universities to train people in the area of social entrepreneurship. The School for Social Entrepreneurs in the United Kingdom, for example, offers courses to help aspiring social entrepreneurs develop their potential for helping create social change and improvement. Practical training provides the opportunity for students to develop their skills and to explore the most effective ways in which they can use their skills to help communities.
Definitions of a social entrepreneur generally agree that such a person is one who establishes a venture that addresses a social problem with the idea of bringing about a positive change. It is also generally considered that the work of social entrepreneurs is ethical, altruistic, and innovative, as well as being carried out according to businesslike principles. The question of who can actually be classed as a social entrepreneur, however, is sometimes a moot point. For some, the term should be confined to people who establish organizations that depend mainly on direct payments received from their consumers for their existence. Another line of thought suggests that people should also be regarded as social entrepreneurs, if their organizations receive income from work contracted by public authorities as well as from paying consumers. Some, even more liberal in the terms of their definition, believe that people whose organizations receive donations and grants as part of their income should also be regarded as social entrepreneurs, if their work is bringing about positive social change.
While displaying such common characteristics as altruism, enterprise, dedication, and commitment to social improvement, social entrepreneurs themselves can also differ in the approaches they adopt to achieve their aims. Some prefer to work from the start as part of a general team, enlisting people from the local community to build up support systems through which a particular program can be put in place and then maintained. Other social entrepreneurs like to work with a small group of people with strong leadership qualities to get a program in place. The support that social entrepreneurs can hope to receive at government level, whether this support is financial, moral, or both, can also be expected to differ according to the countries in which the programs are being established. Demands for the work of social entrepreneurs also differ according to the needs of the time and the situation. Susan B. Anthony fought for women’s rights in the United States in the 19th century; Jean Monnet worked to reconstruct the French economy after World War II, while Vinoba Bhave, who inspired Bill Drayton, motivated Indians to agree to the more equitable redistribution of seven million acres of land. Many other people in many other countries have also worked, and are still working, to change conditions according to the needs they perceive. Despite the differences that may occur in their approach, problems, and solutions, all can be described as social entrepreneurs.
A social entrepreneur is, therefore, someone who works for the good of society, seeking to effect changes that will right a social wrong or change an existing social condition for the better. Their approach is businesslike; their ideas are practical, and their approach is usually hands-on, as they implement and carry out programs designed initially to help communities and then to expand into regional, national, and even global proportions. Through their evident enthusiasm for their cause and their ability to affect others with this same enthusiasm, they become role models for others, attracting supporters and helpers to assist with the task of getting their projects off the ground and operating efficiently. From beginnings that are usually small, social entrepreneurs are often responsible for big changes that continue to have a positive effect on many people and many aspects of society. While their undertakings may, under some circumstances, become profitable ventures, and while their approaches and projects differ, a genuine spirit of altruism seems to be the basic, common characteristic of social entrepreneurs, as well as the key to the seemingly tireless energy and commitment with which they inspire the support of members of the societies they are seeking to improve.
Friday, July 20, 2007
