Social entrepreneurship: concepts, models, and impact

Social Entrepreneurship

Our nation is built on the use of both entrepreneurship and capitalism to provide a steady means of improvement in the quality of life for society. The same concepts that have allowed America to prosper over the past two hundred years are still alive today. America has a meritocracy that allows the best people to be placed in the best opportunities that are equal with their skills and abilities. America has a market economy which provides goods and services to the individuals who demand them. By providing goods to those who demand them, redundancies are eliminated. Finally, America has capitalism which generates innovations that benefit society in return for a satisfactory profit for the entrepreneur for undertaking that particular risk. All woven together, this formula provides the foundation for entrepreneurship within America. Since its founding in 1776, American entrepreneurs have provided an important role in the value creation we now take for granted. Through entrepreneurship, the poorest person in America now is using goods and services that John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men of all time, could only dream of. Such is the power of entrepreneurship and its ability to generate a high quality of life for all stakeholders involved.

Social entrepreneurship is a more recent phenomenon that has created much attention for its community service initiatives. Subsequently, in the midst of a global recession, many large corporations have been shunned for obtaining seeming large profits while contributing to the vast inequality in wages we currently see. Names such as Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and others are generating large profits while increasing fees on those least able to pay. Social entrepreneurship, in contrast, is focused on equality and providing a benefit for those less fortunate. This message bodes well with Americans currently, as many feel distressed both economically and financially. As a result, social entrepreneurship has dramatically increased in acceptance.

What is a social entrepreneur? A social entrepreneur is an individual who utilizes business to solve a social or societal problem within the community. This can come in many different forms such as providing medicine, schooling, and basic necessities to under developed nations. Much likes business however, an opportunity must be identified, resources gathered, and utilized in the most efficient manner. Unlike traditional business, the major motive for social entrepreneurs is not that of profit, but instead that of "social value creation."