Role of Social Entrepreneurs

Social entrepreneurs often start their venture or initiative after recognizing the prevalence of a certain problem in society and creating a solution to address it using their entrepreneurial skills. Their overall goal is to make a positive societal change while creating social capital to further their objectives.

They firstly analyse the social problem/issue to be tackled. Try to find out the underlying causes and roots of the problem; this is done through thorough social entrepreneurship research, field analysis findings, surveys and observation methods. Then they study and link them in terms of the existing societal patterns and emerging social entrepreneurship trends in society. Then, ideas and strategies are developed to change the people’s mindset, bringing change in their lifestyle and attitude. They try to identify and develop change-makers from the society itself; these change-makers work as role models, motivators and leaders to bring about positive, progressive changes in the entire system.

These change makers form a team, social entrepreneurship network, and a platform for people with similar goals and objectives. This platform allows the interchange of ideas, feedbacks and development of effective strategies to resolve the problem. This platform also associates the funders who want to associate themselves with bringing about positive change in society and the change-makers. The social entrepreneurs collaborate with social innovators, funders, grass-roots leaders, social workers, and community organisations to bring about effective, long-lasting social changes in society.

Roles:

Social entrepreneurs certainly differ when it comes to individual personalities; however, they also share similar characteristics necessary for success as pragmatic individuals willing to undertake significant risks and uncertainties to achieve positive changes in areas that might be resistant to new ideas or approaches.

Social entrepreneurs firstly need to possess a strong passion that drives their desire to see their ideas and initiatives come to fruition, while also adopting a healthy impatience that ties in with their uncomfortableness with sitting back to wait for change to happen. They also need to come up with practical but innovative ideas to social issues and often use market forces and principles. It allows them to break away from constraints imposed by the traditions and customs within the fields of certain disciplines to take risks that others are afraid of taking.

Despite being hopeful of their success and ability to change the minds of others, social entrepreneurs are often able to monitor their own impact and degree of success and set high standards for themselves and their organizations in response to the communities with which they engage. They constantly review their performance using continuous feedback, both quantitative and qualitative, to guide their improvement.

Mission-driven

Social entrepreneurs often focus on generating social value and focus less on profits and revenue. When profits are generated, they are put back into supporting the social mission of the organization. While profit is an important objective of the organization, the money is used towards furthering the social cause and objective.

Ambitious

Social entrepreneurs often tackle major social issues and often strive to improve the lives of certain disadvantaged groups within society. They operate in all kinds of organizations from non-profit organizations, charities, ventures such as for-profit community development banks and organizations that mix elements of non-profit and for-profit organizations.

Strategic

Social entrepreneurs are adept at observing what others might miss. They identify opportunities to improve systems to create new solutions and approaches to create societal value and make a positive change in society. Social entrepreneurs need to be extremely determined and conscientious in order to be relentless in their pursuit of the social objective.

Results-oriented

Social entrepreneurs focus on the end results, which transform existing realities, open up new pathways for the marginalized and disadvantaged, and unlock society’s potential to effect social change.

Resourceful

Social entrepreneurs often lack the strong support offered in the business world of access to capital and market support systems due to their interest in the social context rather than profit generation for shareholders and other stakeholders. They need to be skilled at persuading others to agree with their ideas and support their ambitions through financial, political, and other means.

It focuses on gaining an understanding of how a social problem develops and how an entrepreneur, with the use of his innovative, practical ideas and business strategies, develop solutions to resolve the problem; and motivates him to utilize the available social entrepreneurship resources to overcome the problem to benefit the society as a whole. Social entrepreneurs focus on utilising the various available resources to create a better and progressive society. As social entrepreneurship does not have a concrete definition, groups focused on social entrepreneurship can be categorised into:

• Socially conscientious enterprises; these enterprises focus on sustainable development through social gains.
• Community-based enterprises; are based on societal ventures. The community as a whole utilises the capital to empower itself.
• Social service organisations and professionals; these work to expand social capital for individuals, community and organisations,
• Socio-economic enterprises focus on bringing about profits to the individuals and non-profit social change in the community.