Well, here is a term that has been floating around the edges of conversation lately. "Social Entrepreneurship" - sounds really fancy, but what does it mean?
Educo Africa with Regis University SOFE Program (Colorado, USA) and the University of Stellenbosch Graduate School of Business held a Learning Forum in March of this year. Professor Carolyn Love of Regis University held a session dealing with Social Entrepreneurship.
My understanding (like the regular guy on the street) of Social Entrepreneurship is basically when a social issue or need is adressed or solved by an innovative and profitable action. But, there are many views on the subject. Some people (as I discovered in our Learning Forum session) believe that it is more philanthropic than business-minded. For now, there is no right or wrong answer. There is no saying that a Philanthropist cannot be a Social Entrepreneur, or vice versa. For me however, just the use of the word "Entrepreneur" makes me feel that the concept has something to do with an attitude of business that will ultimately benefit the social issue/need.
For more food for thought, I've posted a link to an article on the topic published by the Greater Good SA website. I would be interested in your thoughts on Social Entrepreneurship and what it means to you. Post a comment here or email us with your views...
Thanks for letting me think out loud...
Chez
of the Educo Africa Team
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1 comment:
What does social entrepreneurship mean to me?
It brings to mind similar meanings to the general word 'entrepreneurship', in the sense that and entrepreneur is engaged with finding or creating innovative solutions to our everyday challenges and through their discoveries or innovations, they radically change our lives. Like the good folks who invented aeroplanes, motorcars, coca-cola, television, they all radically changed our lives.
Social entrepreneurship for me is almost the same, only that it is not so much focused on acquiring wealth/benefits for one or a few people only, but for a larger community or for the whole world. The innovations and creations of social entrepreneurs should also radically change the way we do things or how it allows us to build social capital or social wealth.
That's my thoughts on the topic, for now.
Alistar Harris
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