NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Social Entrepreneurship has become the new buzzword among start-uppers and venture capitalists across the world. Myths of ‘Hero-preneurs’ who change billions of lives are showcased daily by international foundations and leading economic media.

What is Social Entrepreneurship? Millions of people start their own business with the intention of helping others, integrating the weak and the disadvantaged into society while possibly making a profit out of it. In the broad sense, every entrepreneur who does not harm society could claim to be a Social Entrepreneur. In a nutshell, mass media need stories of Social Entrepreneurship to reassure citizens and demonstrate how money and greed can have a bright side.

In the narrow sense, Social Entrepreneurship was originally intended for underdeveloped countries, where government and public actors fail to provide minimum services and businesses try to fill the institutional gap. Thanks to micro-lending, local entrepreneurs can empower rural communities and bring hope of economic development to the poor. But why should there be Social Entrepreneurship in the first place?