Initiative for Social Change – Social Entrepreneurship (SE)
(explaining SE - the concept, highs, lows, challenges and solutions)
This is part of my mini-project, where i intend to expose people to SE concept and take their response, inputs, doubts, suggestions, etc;. feel free to give the same in the comments, or mail ( abhigna4chocki@gmail.com ); orkut ( http://www.orkut.co.in/Main#Profile.aspx?rl=mp&uid=7070111364624652625 ) or through fone. u'll find more details of teh project on orkut 'about me'.Just like a business entrepreneur (known simply as an entrepreneur) organizes a business venture, whose aim is to gain profits, a social entrepreneur is one who engineers a project, with a motive to identify and work for a social cause. When we say that the business entrepreneur looks at maximizing profits through capital, we identify with the social entrepreneur (SE) as one works to create ‘social-value’, through a Social Enterprise, which is non-profit oriented. It was once said that SE aims at bringing social change, by generating something ‘more-than-profit’. Thus, SE’s success isn’t a mere monetary, but an ethical, social, or even political welfare measure.
Famous SEs: While there are an exhaustive number of SE’s, to get a grip of the idea, we shall discuss a couple of those worth mentioning.
Bill Drayton, who is credited for promoting the concept of SE, is also the founder of Ashoka: Innovators for the public that identifies and supports leading social entrepreneurs through a Social Venture Capital approach with the goal of elevating the citizen sector to a competitive level equal to the business sector. Mohammed Yunus, the noted Nobel Prize Winner for the innovative socio-economic welfare concept of financing the poor, ‘Grameen Bank’, is also a founding member of Ashoka. He hosted the Grameen-Ashoka Dialogue to explore the emerging trend of social-business ventures for poverty eradication.
The endless list of successful SE’s includes Michael young, described by Prof. Daniel Bell of Harvard, as 'the world's most successful entrepreneur of social enterprises' because of his role in creating over 60 new organizations worldwide, including a series of Schools for Social Entrepreneurs in the UK; Florence Nightingale (founder of the first nursing school and developer of modern nursing practices); Robert Owen (founder of the cooperative movement) and Vinoba Bhave (founder of India's Land Gift Movement). During the 19th and 20th centuries some of the most successful social entrepreneurs successfully straddled the civic, governmental and business worlds - promoting ideas that were taken up by mainstream public services in welfare, schools and healthcare.
Not just the big-shots, but also grass-root level SE’s have contributed in a great way. In fact, it is believed that the grass-root approach of dealing with social issues is the true way of eradicating social trouble.
Grassroot entrepreneurship could include anything from awareness campaigns among people of a particular locality, to lobbying for their rights, and coordinating with (or fighting) the administration and authorities for their cause.
The Landless Peoples’ Movement of South Africa; Narmada Bachao Aandolan of India and Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee in India are some notable grassroot movements.
The famous Nobel Laureate, Wangari Mathai not only revolutionised agriculture at her region through the concepts of sustainability and reforestation, but also led to the working on an international community, for the same, at a global level.
Social Enterprise: As we have learnt before, this is the platform through which the entrepreneurs build their ideas and work to make them click. Apart from Drayton’s Ashoka and Yunus’ Grameen Bank, we have wide-ranging enterprises, such as the Skoll Foundation, the Omidyar Network, The George Foundation's Women's Empowerment program (that empowers women by providing education, cooperative farming, vocational training, savings plan, and business development), and even By Stupid Common Man, which is a volunteer online association of Business professionals from various Industries for revival of sick industries in Andhra Pradesh, India.
SE has evolved over the times, and now, we find some stable for-profit organizations, like Vikram Akula’s SKS Microfinance, that has initiated a sharp social change amongst poor women from villages. Their standpoint is that, in this competitive world, especially when one takes up an enterprise, as one has to follow the rules of the business game, it would be advisable to shield oneself from the risk of losses, which could shut down the project. Thus, aiming at profits shall develop a skilled, efficient work force, thus building guaranteed social-value.
Challenges of an SE and tentative solutions: Social Entrepreneurship is, in effect, still a developing field, as it faces many questions, right from its definition to the uncertainty in predicting of the success of a project.
Issue: * While defining an SE, some have advocated restricting the term to founders of organizations that primarily rely on earned income – meaning income earned directly from paying consumers. Others have extended this to include contracted work for public authorities, while others still include grants and donations.
* Today, nonprofits and non-governmental organizations, foundations, governments and individuals promote, fund, and advise social entrepreneurs around the planet. A growing number of colleges and universities are establishing programs focused on educating and training social entrepreneurs. Youth social entrepreneurship is an increasingly common approach to engaging youth voice in solving social problems. Youth organizations and programs promote these efforts through a variety of incentives to young people.
Answer: * Focus should be made on the concept of entrepreneurship, and not just an entrepreneur, to take the initiative forward. Thus, we can solve the problem of restricting the definition of an SE, by concentrating on the Social Enterprise – its objectives, and the peripheral organizations that offer support to it.
Issue: * Also, while well-established enterprises know their game well, the new ones, especially those who deal with grass-root level issues, in innovative ways, have the challenge of acquiring right business skills and appropriate technology for the same.
* Another problem such SE’s face is the restriction in communicating with the people of interest (for whose welfare the SE’s work), and their mutual agreement on the identification of the ‘need’ or the ‘purpose’ that has to be tackled first. While an SE who works in a rural area chooses to focus on its proper sanitation, the residents might not be interested in it, and might demand focus on giving them decent employment.
Answer: * Knowledge of rules and skills of business, along with the initiative and urge to bring social change, are a must, in the corporate scenario. Thus, SE’s – grassroot workers, NGO’s and even individuals must adopt a professional approach.
* Integration of technical and profit aspects, with the social aspect can potentially multiply yields – especially, if the profits are used as a capital for the next leg of venture to build more social-value. If the profits are fully used up by the owners of the ventures as an income, it turns out to be nothing different from a capitalist, materialistic venture.
* As integration seems to be the key to a lot of solutions, inclusion of local people in the respective development of projects could help in associating with the masses.
* Also, active involvement with other SE’s, and even Corporate Social Responsibility personnel (whose motive is to build goodwill among the public about their company, through social welfare work), shall help cater to the other interests of the masses, too apart from what is prioritized by the SE’s themselves.
Thus, dealing with the above-mentioned challenges can make SE’s, truly, what they are expected to be - ambitious and persistent individuals, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.
