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

Monday, July 16, 2012

At the UN Social Innovation Summit held at the end of May in New York City, a plenary panelist stated that social enterprises and social innovation are “really the same thing.” This conclusion was not questioned and appeared to be a point of view the conference leaders and speakers were eager to adopt.

The summit was content rich and featured many of the best known nonprofits, but the absence of any Q&A prevented discussion of whether conjoining those terms makes sense. For many social entrepreneurs, including me, it is a topic worth examining more thoroughly.

Like most organizations, nonprofits and social enterprises seek ways to innovate. And entrepreneurs, whether starting a for-profit venture or a nonprofit one, tend to be particularly innovation-centric. What’s more, many social entrepreneurs are now utilizing a hybrid business model that combines revenue, borrowing, and donations.