THINK SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

"Combining the passion of a social mission with an image of business-like discipline, innovation, and determination" Gregory Dees.

The government cannot and will never have the capacity to address all our problems. It is time we begun looking for ways in which we can address some our challenges without surrendering ourselves to the mercies of politicians or to the charity those who seem to derive a peculiar kind of excitement in parading our miseries. 

This is where social entrepreneurship comes in. Social entrepreneurs are business people who first identify a social need and then apply entrepreneurial skills to address it. A traditional business enterprise sees the potential for profit first while a social enterprise sees a social problem first. 

Dr. David A. Jordan, an Adjunct Professor at Clark University in Massachusetts and CEO of the Seven Hills Foundation, says that an ideal social entrepreneur is one who combines the compassion of Mother Theresa and the business acumen of Richard Branson. 

Kenyans in the Diaspora remitted about 60 billion shillings last year mainly as money sent to assist their struggling families. Chances are 60 billion more will be required next year and the year after, if the few hundred dollars that you send are a “hand out” and not a “hand-up.” In other words, a more productive way of utilizing the 60b is by making sure that the 60b goes to work and bears a few more billions, in the process creating employment and permanently lifting people out of poverty.

Success in social entrepreneurship is measured not just in profits but also by how a program has impacted a society, the ability to bring about social change. One notable case of success is the Grameen Foundation, a microfinance bank which was started by the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Prof. Muhammad Yunus. Kiva.org has also done some tremendous good especially in terms of extending micro-credit to small scale business people.

Although we can learn from these two organizations, maximum benefits would only follow if we adopted a more “localized” approach. For instance, you could decide that instead of sending “marupurupu” to your people back home, you will band up with a few of your friends and create a pool of capital from which folks back home can borrow money just as long as they present you with a compelling business plan. That way you teach a man how to fish instead of having to provide a lifetime supply of fishes.