Social entrepreneurship is a topic that I find very interesting yet is a bit confusing. A social entrepreneur has a social mission. They are people who recognize social problems and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. The companies that social entrepreneurs create are called social enterprises.
An article on New York Times discuss what is important in a social enterprise. Some important points touched upon in the article include: moneymaking, venture capital, and hire creatively. I want to focus on moneymaking because this question aroused in class. The article mentions that moneymaking is not something to apologize for in a social enterprise. This also separates a social enterprise from an NGO. It is striving to complete a social mission while earning money at the same time. Some companies look like they are social enterprises but do not fall in the category of one. Tobacco giant Phillip Morris is not a social enterprise even though it donates money to social causes because it is not addressing any socioeconomic challenge.
Works Cited:
“A Fresh Look at Defining Social Entrepreneurship « Razesquire.” Razesquire. Web. 24 Nov. 2011. <http://razesquire.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/a-fresh-look-at-defining-social-entrepreneurship/>.
Moran, Susan. “Some Ways to Get Started as a Social Entrepreneur.” The New York Times. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/23/business/smallbusiness/23sbiz.html?pagewanted=all>.
Powerpoint: Class 20, Social enterprise and non-profit management, Nov 15