History of Social Entrepreneurship

A new breed of professional venture has been in the limelight for some time that is called social entrepreneurship which was not very useful and little known in years past. Mostly, the social enterprise changes the society, especially downtrodden. The social entrepreneurs are all out for a cause and profit is not the primary motive. They are associated with Non-Government Organisations.

Bow centre in East London, founded by Andrew Mawson is one typical example. He won the prestigious Lordship for his initiative in social entrepreneurship to bring in the upheaval of social structure.

Even though the nomenclature is a bit new, the work of individuals and groups were involved in the uplifting of society. To mention a few are, Vinoba Bhave, Robert Owen and Florence Nightingale. Vinoba Bhave’s movement in the distribution of land to the poor was a sensation not only in India but also globally. Robert Owen is the founder of the cooperative movement. Florence Nightingale had lighted up many a lives giving medical assistance to those who were deprived of earlier.

Many social workers and reformists did excellent work in last few centuries in eradicating social evil and injustice. Juvenile justice, women empowerment, environmental protection, eco-friendly way of waste disposal, alternative energy, etc. are few of the areas where social entrepreneurs are working. Like the Grameen Bank of Bangladesh founded by Muhammad Yunus, many social entrepreneurs have entered into microfinancing especially to the rural population. Well, the list goes on.

Now it is mandatory for corporates to have CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) but as usual, that turns out to be an eye wash without real commitments. The real social entrepreneurs do concentrate on education in remote locations, create awareness of health, encourage family planning and assess to low interest finance. The self-sufficiency and sustainability are the keys. Inducting more and more committed individuals and groups are more feasible with the change of mind-set in the present scenario.

The zeal of the youth in social activities is surprisingly on the rise.

Reference URL: http://www.managementstudyguide.com/social-entrepreneurship-history.htm

Social Entrepreneurs to the Rescue When Government Can’t

There was an international survey on the environment of social entrepreneurs covering 45 countries recently. And ironically Ireland was at 43rd place. That is in spite of the fact that during the last 12 years, the social entrepreneurs pumped in 6.7 million Euros in over 200 social ventures. This will translate to 520,000 people by creating job opportunities of over 1,230. This trend endorses the fact that with the right encouragement and support, Ireland can flourish to greater heights.

That, of course, is the hypothetical situation if Ireland can adapt to the social entrepreneurship in the right earnest. The attitude towards social entrepreneurs should be on par with that of commercial entrepreneurs.

Ireland boast of social equality, tax rebates, tax cuts and spending patterns every year but the solution for better results eludes. The World over significant changes in existing social structures, technological innovations and economic growth is taking place. But the problems of the economic slump, migration, illiteracy and inequality cannot be brushed aside. The answer is the new breed social entrepreneurship designed to tackle the situations. But the old concept that such ventures should be free from profit motive is changing for good. The social entrepreneurship is rewriting the future of Ireland as such.

One typical example is that of FoodCloud which advocates the need to avoid wastage of food. The retailers are encouraged to connect to their app, to divert the excess food to the needy. In just three years over four million meals were disbursed to the underprivileged. The Irish Men’s Sheds Association, another social entrepreneurship is helping people to regain mental health.

These social entrepreneurs solve the societal problems efficiently where the Governments regularly fail. The problem and solution are within; that is what these social entrepreneurs have learned in a hard way in a small country like Ireland which has tremendous growth potential.

http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/social-entrepreneurs-can-solve-the-problems-the-state-will-not-tackle-1.2828666

 

New Age of Acquisition in Social Entrepreneurship

The writing is on the wall; the concept of social entrepreneurship is out for a change. Neoliberal policies are dominating factor in the economic growth, acquisitions and GDP. Global meltdown, Brexit, US election and even the terrorist strikes have an impact on the whole scenario.

New approach

With new marketing techniques and innovative business models, few neoliberal starts ups with huge crowd funding resources are rewriting the element profit on social entrepreneurship, which was unknown till recent past. The new keyword on social ventures seems to be to create business tools on micro-scale in enhancing the business efficiency, especially in the economically weak sectors.

New business model

The enterprise capitalistic approach and crowd funding are a relatively new concept in the whole process. The old thinking that profit making is taboo in the charity-based social organisation is changing. The scalability these neoliberal ventures can attain is amazing. A social entrepreneurship with all the paraphernalia of a commercial establishment will slowly lose its sheen as the profit motive takes dominance leaving behind the apathy and humanity behind. But a social entrepreneur can instil the value of the clean environment, toilets, civic amenities, etc. at all levels of the society, especially the underprivileged. A typical example is garbage collection and disposal. The new segregation at source garbage collection could make better use of the pelleted garbage in landfilling, road laying, etc. Building up of infrastructure, covering of capital expenses, augmenting capacity, etc. could accelerate the growth of any enterprises and here iOS where the neoliberal approach gains importance.

The future

The very basics in amenities like water purification, sanitation services, including low-cost water, better garbage collection, and clean community toilets can be the starting point for a social revolution. The recovery of investment should be faster with the neoliberal model employed. Natural and organic agriculture venture is a classic example how neoliberal approach can alter the very fundamental approach to a cost-effective solution. Grameen Bank is another example.

Reference URL: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/a_neoliberal_takeover_of_social_entrepreneurship

Slide Rule for Social Entrepreneurship

So far no reliable scale to measure social entrepreneurship is available. So, Dr Shawn Carraher, the management Guru in Dallas, tried to fill the void. The scale he created typically has eleven graduations. On testing the scale of social entrepreneurship -which is radically different from traditional enterprise- he observed it’s the role on solving the social, economic issues. The prime motive is far from profit, and the social entrepreneurs take the burden from a broader perspective.

Creative solutions

NGOs follow the surgical procedures needed to solve a societal issue. This is not a problem solver as such but the way and means of improving awareness. Carraher asserts that the measuring mechanism is adequate to rely upon for further study. The standardised tool to measure the effectiveness can be used by individuals, organisations as well as employers. The ethical aspect of social entrepreneurship is another field which is being focussed upon.

Factors affecting

Further studies are of the personality factors/ cultural differences and its influence on the prospective social entrepreneur. When arriving at the unique slide rule in measuring the social entrepreneurship scale, Carraher and his co-authors analysed the effective as well as fading social entrepreneurs across the developing and developed countries

The 11 point graduation of a Social Entrepreneurship Scale can be summarised into the following points. Each of these points has its own significance:

• Creating social value priority so as to make the entrepreneurship in you to a greater height.

• Identifying new challenges in complying with the mission in totality.

• Dynamic approach in achieving the aim.

• In spite of handicaps, the will power to go ahead.

• Perseverance to new opportunities and challenges

• Analysing the outcomes and push the bar higher.

• Look to be the ‘world changer’ ability in you.

• Equip yourself for sustainability on the long run

• Continuous innovation

• Renewed accountability

• Continuous learning

Ref URL:  http://phys.org/news/2016-09-tool-social-entrepreneurship.html

 

Business & Change – Ways to Give Pace to Social Entrepreneurship

The business model of social entrepreneurship targets at combining the change in society along with profit making. This idea is full of potentials which can turn into one of the most effective forces to make the world a better place to live.

Social enterprises do not just aim at solving the current problem. Instead of providing an instant solution for a certain problem, they target at a complete transformation of the situation. The word ‘better’ is not accepted by the social entrepreneurs as they have set the goal to attain nothing less than ‘the best’. Those days are gone when social entrepreneurs worked in a restricted field and now is the time when the activities in this field are just booming with possibilities and scopes. The basic principles of social entrepreneurship are the combination of ideas from both government and commercial business. The initiatives taken by governments come through mandatory legislation with the sole purpose of doing something good for the entire society. On the other hand, the business outlook is absolutely different where the customer is the primary beneficiary and every step is taken by keeping this in mind. Social entrepreneurship is successful in making the unique combination of these two principles and the result is astonishing.

The opportunities in social entrepreneurship can be better understood when the various stages of transformation are identified. ‘Understanding the needs’ is the first step which is followed by the successful envisaging of the better future. The solutions are sorted out with the goal of removing the root cause of the problem. This step is followed by building of concrete model plan that can work without failing. Judging the scale of scope is equally important and creating the perfect model depends entirely on judging the right scale, before jumping into the real action.

According to Professor roger Martin, scale and cost are the vital (and determining) factors for a successful social entrepreneurship venture.

 http://city-press.news24.com/Business/business-and-change-heres-how-to-ace-social-entrepreneurship-20160921

Innovative Social Entrepreneurs to Dominate Future

Reactive and Social Enterprises

The futuristic business revolves around the social enterprises. And innovative ones do find a place naturally in becoming a recognizable model. Keeping an eye open to the ever-changing concepts and outlook makes all the difference.

The supply demand theory introduced by Adam Smith came from the ideas of entrepreneurship of that day. The very definition of ‘the entrepreneur as a supplier of what the customer wants’ did change in present day context. The conceptual transformation is in the thinking of uncertain and volatile situations. The transformation is not only towards adaptability to the changing demand pattern but also to create demand. Here is where the social innovation shall have a significant role to play.

 

Anticipating the Unknown

 

Entrepreneurship is the art of anticipating what the reaction of the consumer would be. The positive response or reaction will solely depend on the ‘homework’ put in by the business person. The entrepreneur should be reactive and responsive enough to notice the dynamic nature of the need. The faster the reaction to the social media, the better would the result. Pushing the goals post further and circumventing the expected stumbling blocks should thus be the prime concern.

Pre-emptive Social Entrepreneurship

A new catalyst called Pre-emptive Social Entrepreneurship emerges as the formidable choice for the future survivors. The successful outsourcing process will result in more involvement and creativity. A classic example is the venture Business Collective which was introduced in partnership with Citi. These young and somewhat revolutionary entrepreneurs do find a stumbling block in their journey. But the difference is that they convert those stumbling blocks to their advantage. That is the right spirit. Autism or retarded mind which is usually seen as deterrent factors in business are changed to all new opportunities.

Business Collective

Business Collective, launched in partnership with Citi, is a virtual mentorship program powered by North America’s most ambitious young thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and small business owners.

 http://www.blackenterprise.com/small-business/reactive-entrepreneurs-can-prepare-future-business/

www.businesscollective.com

Unreasonable Alchemy’s Project Literacy Lab: Helping Social Entrepreneurs Tackle Global Illiteracy

Project Literacy Lab is the latest agenda from the Unreasonable Group that aims at wiping out illiteracy from the face of the globe. Unreasonable Group, founded by Daniel Epstein, is now further divided into a number of various companies including Unreasonable Alchemy and Unreasonable Media etc. that perform a diversity of tasks. Their mission is to become one of the best and by far the most effective platform for the social entrepreneurs.

The Unreasonable Alchemy works in association with different organizations to eradicate different challenges faced by the citizens, likes of which include lack of literacy/education or lack of safe drinking water. The representatives work in association with the selected ventures for approximately six months. During this time, the contributors share their views with the mentors and get guidance from them. In addition to that, the contributors get an opportunity to work together and create good relations with the investors.

The Unreasonable Group targets the well developed entrepreneurs with a neat experience in the field. They don’t strive for the upheaval of grass root level social entrepreneurships; but rather choose such organizations that are well set up and are ready to evolve further. “We’re not focused on working with seed and early stage companies. We’re working with entrepreneurs already doing it”, exclaimed Daniel Epstein.

The program is thoroughly global in nature covering over 30 different countries. They aspire to mark the progress of the successful ventures for complete 5 years. For example one of the recent ventures started a reading platform. It provided thousands of unique and effective assignments to the students that were willing to be educated. The students could then assess themselves with real-time contact with their teachers.

The Project Literacy Lab cares for the interests and rights of the entrepreneurs. They take care of the startup costs for them including the plane ticket. The social entrepreneurs are also provided with special residence and arrangements in a lush and lively rural area besides San Francisco. The contributors can think and work effectively in such a fresh and tranquil environment. Hence, producing better as well as more creative results throughout.

Hacking Poverty Through Mobile Tech and Social Entrepreneurship

Poverty is a great curse to humanity. The world has 7.5 billion people currently, out of which 4 billion people (that’s more than 50% of the total population) are a part of this heart-rending curse. Every year, millions and billions of variety of currencies are spent on poor lives to try to eradicate poverty. Despite of these huge numbers, the poverty in the world is desperately increasing.

The increasing population can be seen as one of the main causes of poverty on the planet. This means that as more efforts are made to wipe off poverty, more people are driven into this curse on the contrary.

1.1 billion people are unable to drink clean water. 2.5 billion people lack access to proper toilets. And there are billions of other poverty-stricken people who are suffering from hundreds of other problems.

“More people have access to mobile phones than to toilets.”

The term ‘hacking’ refers to the act of doing a very difficult task creatively and skillfully that’s considered impossible in nature. The social entrepreneurs are termed as ‘Hackers of poverty‘. They strive for a purpose to erase the problems of a society and to improve the living standards of the citizens. That is a very difficult task that the social entrepreneurs have decided to undertake. Hence, this earned them the title ‘Hacker’.

The creative and the innovative souls indulged in the business world as social entrepreneurs are looking for new ways to wipe off poverty. They utilize their skills and their knowledge of business to assist the impoverished people through loans, investments as well as credit.

Social entrepreneurs are developing new ways to enhance how energy or food is distributed among the masses. They aim to provide effective long-term solutions in communities themselves. This makes the common people in all likelihood to adopt those solutions and to strengthen over long periods of time.

The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals as well as the Pope Francis motivate us to innovate. All the creativity as well as efficiency guidelines are provided. Now we have to decide whether to sit back or go out and bring revolution in a society that needs us.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/22/hacking-poverty-through-mobile-tech-and-social-entrepreneurship/

REASON BEHIND THE SUCCESS OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS

Once you adapt from typical and traditional monotonous job to a risky yet innovative entrepreneurship, you have to make a choice between for-profit and non-profit. If you opt for the non-profit, you step into the boundaries of social entrepreneurship. And trust me, that is a choice you will not regret.

There are also a few people who get fired and then are forced to step into the social entrepreneurship. Even then, to our full surprise, they manage to gain a status that’s admirable and honorable in the whole society.

Social entrepreneurship is gaining excessive insight and attention from the people all around the globe, especially the youth. People are starting to believe that their business or firm has to be something more than just a money producing factory. More of the entrepreneurs are switching from for-profit to a non-profit organization because this way they can ensure that their existence means something to this world. They are not just living for themselves, but they are striving for other people so that they can bring a revolution in the society they live in.

Non-profit organization or a social entrepreneurship brings innovation. For example, there is a company who pays jobless people for its promotion. Now the company isn’t even in loss because it’s getting easier and cheaper advertisement; On the other hand, the jobless people finally have a job that they can thank the company for. This way the unemployment is prevented and the company also gets what it wanted.

If you are looking forward to becoming a great leader, you’ll have to accept the importance of social entrepreneurship. You’ll have to think radically and you’ll have to make decisions that will assist your business as well as the society. The reason is that many people are making their way to the social entrepreneurship, are progressing well and are living with the peace of mind and soul. I believe that’s what we all live for.

Indore is becoming an Entrepreneurial Hub

This coming August 20 and 21, IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) and IIM (Indian Institute of Management) will host the i5 Summit in Indore. This event aims to promote entrepreneurship for students, mentors and investors. The IIM student, Ankit Gulliya, is the coordinator for this event. According to Gulliya, there have been fifteen start-ups currently mentored and developed at IIM-Indore through e-Cell. Two of which will be part of the GetFunded! event during the summit.

Indore is a budding start up hub for investors and entrepreneurs. Many investors can see so much potential in the city. Indore has been known for its flourishing manufacturing businesses and being the commercial capital of the state of Madhya Pradesh. It has been catching up with the start-up industry as well. Some investors cite the advantages of having their business in Indore as having lower rental costs and easily finding potential talents among its young entrepreneurs. What may be considered as a great challenge for start-up entrepreneurs like WittyFeed’s co-founder, Vinay Singhal, is building an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Indore. Singhal has collaborated with other entrepreneurs in creating startup community networks for entrepreneurs and investors. Some of this start up community networks includes Indore Start-up Community and Indore Entrepreneurship Network. This helps connect entrepreneurs and allow them to share their ideas that investors will find significant. Through these networks, investors are able to scout for start-ups eligible for seed funding and potential entrepreneurs for mentorship. These networks will also address the need of aspiring entrepreneurs like Gulliya in capital acquisition.

Anand Govindaluri who founded Govin Capital in Singapore will join other investors at the i5 Summit to select outstanding business plans that will need funding. Investors like Govindaluri along with other entrepreneurs will continue to push the start-up industry of Indore forward. Indore is indeed about to witness the rise of entrepreneurship in its midst.