Chapter 4 Social Entrepreneurship

Social entrepreneurship combines

• Business innovation

• Risk taking

• Large-scale thinking to solve social problems

Government provides some

public services but cannot meet every need

Private sector are

strong at innovation and growth, but focused on profit

Social entrepreneurship bridges the gap of

social needs nobody serves (govt. and private sect.)

How the social entrepreneurship process works (entrepreneurship in general)

1. Spot the opportunity (I→ Idea)

2. Gather resources (C→ Capital)

3. Create impact (T→ Talent)

Spot the opportunity is to

recognize a social need and turn it into an enterprise concept.​

Gather resources acquiring

the money, people and tools needed to reach the goals.​

Create impact by

running the enterprise to deliver social change.​

Who is a social entrepreneur?

A person or small group who founds or leads an organization or initiative engaged in social entrepreneurship.​

Social entrepreneurs are

• Creative thinkers

• Change agents

• Root-cause solvers

Creative thinkers always seek

better technologies, supply sources, distribution and production methods

Change agents use

pattern-breaking ideas to cause large-scale change.​

Root-cause solvers tackle

the underlying causes of social problems, not just symptoms.​

What is a social enterprise?

it is

• Driven by social goals

and

• boundaries are blurry

Driven by social goals: there is

general agreement that the aim is to benefit society in some way.​

Boundaries are blurry it is debated what counts as a

social enterprise and social causes can come from personal goals.

Social entreprise mission is

social but it is still run as an enterprise

Six areas of social obligation are

1. Environment

2. Energy

3. Fair Business

4. Human Resources

5. Community

6. Products

Environment are

• Pollution control

• Recycling

• Conservation

Energy are

energy-efficient products and operations

Fair business are

equal opportunity and support for minority owned firms

Human resources are

Health, safety, training, child care​

Community are

Donations, education, arts, disaster help​

Products are

Safer, healthier, better-labeled products​

3 forms of sustainable entrepreneurship

• Ecopreneurship

• Social entrepreneurship

• Corporate social responsibility (CSR)

Ecopreneurship includes

Protecting nature: the earth, biodiversity and ecosystems.​

Social entrepreneurship is

Creating new or innovative ventures that increase social wealth.​

Corporate social responsibility is

companies doing social good beyond profit and legal requirements.

Social entrepreneurship creates

shared value joining profit and purpose together

Social issues become sources of value and innovation, not side projects.​

Changes how business thinks​

Business succeeds because society benefits.​

Wins on both sides​

The triple bottom line: 3 ways to measure success

• Economic

• Environmental

• Social

Economic

Income, expenditures, taxes, employment, business climate and diversity​

Environmental

Air and water quality, energy use, waste, land use, natural resources​

Social

Education, health, quality of life, poverty, income, life expectancy​

TBL goes ​

beyond profit and shareholder value to include environment and society.

Challenges of social enterprise

• Defining the boundaries

• Mixed motives

• Getting resources

• Measuring success

Defining the boundaries

Where does a social enterprise start and end?​

Mixed motives

Social causes may stem from personal goals.​

Getting resources

Funding and people must be found to carry out the mission

Measuring success

Profit alone is not enough, so impact must be tracked across all three bottom lines.​

Social entrepreneurs are creative change agents who attack​

root causes.

Social enterprises serve goals such as

the environment, community and fair practices (6 areas of social obligation)

Shared value links

business success with social benefit.​

The triple bottom line measures

economic, environmental and social results.​