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The Social Entrepreneur: A Profile

Social entrepreneurship is a great path that a lot of former corporate men and women have followed. It also proved to be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling career that they have ever had. Muhammad Yunus, the father of microcredit comes to mind. He epitomizes the profile of a social entrepreneur.

Are you a social entrepreneur? How can you spot one?

A social entrepreneur recognizes a particular social problem that he wants to address. This may come as a result of exposure to developing countries and the endemic poverty that one sees there. Or perhaps an environmental issue arises near one’s home and one person decides to do something about it. At first, the solution to the perceived problem may not be evident. But the social entrepreneur will get to the bottom of the issue just to find solutions.

The problems that a social entrepreneur wants to address may also arise as a result of one’s upbringing. In the case of John Wood who founded Room to Read, he encountered lots of primary school children in Nepal who did not have access to books! He could not imagine a childhood without books so he decided to do something about it.

A social entrepreneur is a passionate dreamer. She often looks up to the stars and wonders how the world could be made better. He is not daunted by the seemingly impossible. Instead, she looks for ways to bypass the impossible, innovating her way to solving one of the world’s problems.

World changer. Bill and Melinda Gates are no longer with Microsoft. They have changed their focus to alleviate some of the world’s illnesses such as malaria. For this reason, they have partnered with so many organizations worldwide just to eradicate some of these illnesses. In doing so, they are changing the world.

You may not be as rich as Bill and Melinda Gates. You may not be able to move glaciers. But you can move ice cubes and deal with problems that are more manageable in your present expertise and situation.

As a social entrepreneur changes the world, she is also changed in the process.

Risk-taker. Some social entrepreneurs quit their day job to pursue a social venture or enterprise. This involves considerable risk. How will they support themselves? How can they change the world without being impoverished as a result? How can they establish a non-profit organization or a more-than-for-profit social enterprise?

Realistically Optimistic. The path is full of uncertainty and risks yet the social entrepreneur plods on in search of world change. The social entrepreneur does not heed naysayers and discouragers. Instead, he focuses on the results of his efforts and believes that in a number of ways, what he is doing matters in the world.

Further social and/or environmental cause. Through their efforts, social entrepreneurs manage to further a social or an environmental cause. This may not be through advocacy and information campaign only. Neither is it accomplished through mass action rally only! Social entrepreneurs actually identify certain products and/or services that should be delivered to where they are needed most!

Lastly, a social entrepreneur is willing to struggle and become sustainable. She is forward looking yet mindful of the present. While it can be great to be doing change now, if you don’t aim for sustainability, you end up exhausting your resources for the present. A true social entrepreneur recognizes the scarcity of resources and does something to ensure that his or her legacy lives on even after he leaves.

Social entrepreneurship is a noble path to take. In today’s contemporary world, more and more young people are discovering ways to practice social entrepreneurship and make it their career.

Are you willing to be one of them?

Some links for further reading:
http://www.fastcompany.com/social/2008/index.html
http://www.changemakers.com/home
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2006/
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31drayton.htm

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