Social Entrepreneurship

Corporate Social Responsibility 'CSR' is the new hip in the business world. More and more companies around the globe talk of being more responsible towards the environment, their contribution to the society and so on.

CSR is the dedication of resources by a commercial entity towards developing and sustaining social value in the society it exists in. Repaying, or more specifically sharing its profits with the community/society as a whole.

The idea is to provide a better life to the people that help it make money/profits; more like repaying its moral debt to the community. Companies that operate across geographical territories and manage such projects on a global scale, at heart, have the same spirit like for example the Coca Cola Happiness Booths in the UAE - now were the Coke bottles handed out free to the blue collar populace, is in itself another discussion.

Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a business or a commercial entity with a view to make money in a way that is either different or no one has thought about; that is why probably they call it innovation.

Innovative entrepreneurship is about bringing to life an idea/venture in a manner that is new and preferably simple and entails economic benefits to the person(s) directly involved in its conception.

Social Entrepreneurship 'SE' is the process of bringing about innovative solutions to problems people face on a daily basis in the society. Helping those in need in a manner that they work towards gaining independent sources of income and breaking barriers of poverty and even physical disabilities.

Social entrepreneurship programs are basically charity based or not-for-profit, having said that, please do bear in mind that not all SE programs are purely not-for-profit, some organizations may have tendencies of being a for-profit organization but the underlying concept is always community and social services and development; so much so that many of them may even share profits with those that are directly associated with the organization, take AMUL from India as an example.

Being a philanthropist was more of a religious affair and an individual matter. SE has gone to raising the bar from individual helping another individual to selfless actions directed at helping others. Helping people to help themselves to be able to live a better life.

SE was popularized recently by a book titled 'the rise of the social entrepreneur' by Charles Leadbeater. The term SE is relatively new it has been around for quite some time.
 

Below are few names history has silently recorded:

Florence Nightingale 

(1820-1910)
England

Founder of the first nursing school  
Robert Owen 

(1771-1858)    
England  
Founder of the first cooperative movement  
Vinoba Bhave  
(1895-1982)  

India 

Founder of the Bhoodan Movement   
Akhter Hameed Khan  
(1914-1999)  
Pakistan 
Founder of the Orangi Pilot Program   
Muhammad Yunus 
(1940 - todate) 
Bangladesh 
Founder of the Grameen Bank