SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Social entrepreneurs are one species in the genus entrepreneur. In today’s world, the word social
entrepreneurship has taken a whole different meaning. Social entrepreneurship not only includes
innovative non-profit ventures but also social purpose business ventures such as for profit
community development banks and hybrid organizations which involves both no-for-profit and
for-profit elements. For instance, we can take a classic example of homeless shelter that start
their businesses to train and employ their residents.

In contrast to entrepreneurship which means taking on a venture in the hope of profit; social
entrepreneurship has a different ring to it. Social entrepreneurship takes on the concept of
business-like discipline with non-profit ventures.

The difference between an entrepreneur and a social entrepreneur depends on the different goals
that they embark on. Business entrepreneurs value wealth creation. They try to shift resources
from an area of lower yield to an area of higher yield. On the other hand, for social
entrepreneurs; markets do not work as well as it does for business entrepreneurs.

Social entrepreneurs do not have the right discipline markets to perform in. The discipline of the
contemporary markets do not align with the missions of social entrepreneurship. Because of this,
they compete with economic oriented entrepreneurship since the social value creation of social
organizations aren’t directly measurable. Due to this they have to compete for donations,
charities and resources on the same scale as other businesses.

What defines or characterizes social entrepreneurship can be narrowed down towards the social
changes they make as change agents. Few points are outlined that social entrepreneurs strive to
achieve in an everyday process. Firstly, they have a heightened sense of accountability between
what they is needed and what needs to be served. They create a sound understanding of the
components they are catering to. This aids them in creating a value added product high in social
value true to its missions. Due to this they are taken as change agents in the social sector. They
try to create reforms for a better living through systemic changes and sustainable improvements.
Thirdly, they align with their values without compromising for any personal or private benefits.
They believe to be visionaries rather than a term oriented organization. They discredit the lures
of short term profits rather look for long term satisfactions.

For them profit is not the determinant of value creation, social impact is. Hence they don’t see
problems rather social gaps as opportunities. They don't hope or strive for revolutionary ideas or
creations rather they look for improvements and adjustments as one goes along. They recognize
those opportunities and go with willingness and persistence. This creates a continuous process of
innovation, adaptation and learning
SOCIAL INNOVATION

When new ideas are generated and when those ideas work to meet the pressing unmet needs and
improve the lives of people it becomes a social innovation. There is a huge gap between the
problems we face and the solutions that are present to solve those problems and between what
there is and what ought to be. For the social innovation advancement there are new methods, but
they mostly prevail in those fields where the intensity of problems is high, in fields where there
is failure of existing models, and where the new possibilities are not exploited in an optimum
way. Rising life expectancy, growing diversity of countries and cities, stark inequalities,
behavioral problems of affluence, difficult transitions to adulthood are some fields where there is
severe deficit of social innovation. Young Foundation can be taken as an example of a social
innovation that has helped to create dozens of new institutions and has pioneered new social
models.

Social Innovation differs from improvement and business innovation. In a simple sense, social
innovation are the new ideas that work towards meeting the goals and this separates innovation
from improvement. If we talk about social innovation in a narrower sense, it is the innovative
activities and services that are motivated by the goal of meeting a social need and that are
predominantly developed and diffused through organizations with primary social purpose and
this differentiates social innovation from business innovation.

Difference between Social Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship

Social innovation can be thought of as the umbrella under which social entrepreneurship falls.
This takes into account all of the people who may be socially innovative but not necessarily
social entrepreneurs. To this end, the purpose of social innovation is for social progress and
value creation. This purpose divulges ever so slightly from social entrepreneurship because
social innovation may or may not have a wealth generating component.

Social innovators are recognized and respected not just for the work they do but also by their
ability to change industries. Their success is often measured by the number of people who
replicate their work. While a social enterprise can perform very good work, they do not move the
social agenda forwards within their associated industries. They provide a much needed service
and their work should not be overlooked. But social innovation is a much more powerful force as
it has the ability to move industries, provide direction for new businesses and make a greater
collective difference to the social need it originally set out to address.