Social entrepreneurs are people who come up with innovative ideas meant to solve the most pressing social problems in the society. These individuals are ambitious and their innovative ideas help in tackling the major social problems while still offering novel ideas of bringing wider change.
Social entrepreneurs look for what is not working well in the society and tackle the issue by changing the system, sharing the solution and then convincing the entire society to adopt different ways of doing things. They do this instead of doing what many people usually do-waiting for the government or the business sector to come up with solutions.
Social entrepreneurs are not only visionaries but also realists who are concerned more with the practical implementation of their ideas. They go to the extent of committing their lives to bringing change in the society.
They come up with ideas which are user-friendly, ethical and easily understandable. This is to maximize the number of individual citizens who will support, adopt and help in implementing the idea. These social entrepreneurs are role models in the society and the leading ones are mass recruiters of local change makers..
Today’s social entrepreneurs include Jim Fruchterman of Benetech who brought the idea of using technology to address social problems like reporting human rights infringements. Another is Muhammad Yunnus of Bangladesh who started offering microloans to the lower income earners. His micro credit model has been replicated across the world.
While mentioning historical social entrepreneurs in the world, we cannot fail to mention the following:
i) John Muir from the US- He is a conservationist and naturalist who established the National Park System. He also helped in the founding of the Sierra Club.
ii) Jean Monnet of France who played a key role in the reconstruction of the French economy after the World War II. He is also responsible for the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This community together with the European Common Market are the precursors of the European Union.
iii) Susan Anthony –She fought for Women’s Rights in the US. She also played a crucial role in spearheading the adoption of the 19th Amendment.
iv) VinobaBhave – He is the founder and the leader of the Land Gift Movement. Vinoba caused the redistribution of more than seven million acres of land in India to settle the landless.
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