“Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish or teach how to fish. They will not rest until they have revolutionised the fishing industry.” ― Bill Drayton
Today where every country is focusing on entrepreneurship, a new concept has come into the picture. This is social entrepreneurship. Although this is not very new, it is certainly making the headlines of many developmental projects implemented all over the world.
What is social entrepreneurship? There are several definitions available for it. But according to me, it can be represented with a simple mathematical formula:
Social Entrepreneurship = Entrepreneurship + Solution to Social Problems
As per the above formula, social entrepreneurship implies using entrepreneurial skills to overcome the issues that are existing in the society. However, there are several myths around it; one of which says that social enterprises are NGOs, not-for-profit organizations, working on grants, etc. But this is completely false. Social enterprises do make a profit, although their primary focus is to help the society by giving them maximum benefits. They intend to work for the people by creating a sustainable model where the benefits are both in terms of money and social impact. There are many examples of social enterprises which we will see in the later part of this article.
Why is Social Entrepreneurship needed when we have the Government, NGOs and other developmental institutions?
The reason is that these institutions are not sustainable in the long run. In the case of government, they are not able to cater to the needs of every individual and therefore, they fund NGOs for carrying out their work in the remote areas. Though many of them have succeeded in implementing the developmental projects efficiently, the rate of success based on this model is not appreciable. Hence, it is at this point which makes social entrepreneurship a better and viable option.
Creating a social enterprise is aimed at solving the social issues such as poverty, unemployment, lack of livelihood options, etc. It is not merely created to make a profit but to improve the social condition of the people involved with it thereby sustaining it in the long run.
One such enterprise is DesiCrew which has brought the BPO jobs to rural youth. It was set-up by Saloni Malhotra in 2005 in the rural village of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. She had an idea of targeting the issue of unemployment in rural areas by providing them opportunities in their own village thereby reducing the migration to urban areas for jobs. She made sure that there is no compromise in the quality of service when compared to urban areas by providing training to the youths. The enterprise was able to make a profit and provide salaries to its employees.
Another example is of Selco which created a model to cater to the problem of electricity in the villages. Selco was set-up in 1995 which used solar energy to provide electricity to the villagers. They aimed to solve the issues of poverty, education, health and women empowerment. They also provided livelihood to several thousands of people. The presence of electricity in the village changed how the villagers lived. People were able to set-up their stalls in the market late at night. Children could study at night. They also created other solar-based products. They have currently expanded to many places in India and are providing this eco-friendly solution to social issues.
Thus, in a nutshell, it can be said that social enterprises are the modern tool to fight against social issues and social entrepreneurs are the medium to build such a tool.