A social entrepreneur is someone who has identified a social challenge and has stepped up to find innovative, immediate, small-scale

and large-scale solutions that produce sweeping and long-term change. We understand that social entrepreneurs are not only crucial to New Orleans' redevelopment but are also unique members of the professional community. They are driven to produce social impact while employing a selfless, entrepreneurial intelligence and innovative drive "Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society's most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change. Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Social entrepreneurs often seem to be possessed by their ideas, committing their lives to changing the direction of their field. They are both visionaries and ultimate realists, concerned with the practical implementation of their vision above all else. Each social entrepreneur presents ideas that are user-friendly, understandable, ethical, and engage widespread support in order to maximize the number of local people that will stand up, seize their idea, and implement with it. In other words, every leading social entrepreneur is a mass recruiter of local changemakers - a role model proving that citizens who channel their passion into action can do almost anything. Social entrepreneurship is the work of a social entrepreneur. A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact s/he has on society. There are 3 key components that emerge out of this definition and are more of less common when it comes other variations of the definition of Social Entrepreneurship: * the problem * a sustainable solution * social change

Examples of Social Enterprises:

AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) Social Entrepreneur: Dr. Verghese Kurien Type of Organization: Co-operative Website: www.amul.com Amul has been a sterling example of a co-operative organizations success in the long term. It is one of the best examples of co-operative achievement in the developing economy. The Amul Pattern has established itself as a uniquely appropriate model for rural development. Amul has spurred the White Revolution of India, which has made India the largest producer of milk and milk products in the world. Grameen Bank Social Entrepreneur: Muhammad Yunus Type of Organization: Body Corporate Website: www.grameen-info.org Grameen Bank (GB) has reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. GB provides credit to the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh, without any collateral. At GB, credit is a cost effective weapon to fight poverty and it serves as a catalyst in the over all development of socio-economic conditions of the poor who have been kept outside the banking orbit on the ground that they are poor and hence not bankable. Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank and its Managing Director, reasoned that if financial resources can be made available to the poor people on terms and conditions that are appropriate and reasonable, these millions of small people with their millions of small pursuits can add up to create the biggest development wonder. As of May, 2009, it has 7.86 million borrowers, 97 percent of whom are women. With 2,556 branches, GB provides services in 84,388 villages, covering more than 100 percent of the total villages in Bangladesh. Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad

Type of Organization: Society Website: www.lijjat.com Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad is a Womens organisation manufacturing various products from Papad, Khakhra, Appalam, Masala, Vadi, Gehu Atta, Bakery Products, Chapati, SASA Detergent Powder, SASA Detergent Cake (Tikia), SASA Nilam Detergent Powder, SASA Liquid Detergent. The organisation is wide-spread, with its Central Office at Mumbai and its 67 Branches and 35 Divisions in different states all over India. The organization started of with a paltry sum of Rs.80 and has achieved sales of over Rs.300 crores with exports itself exceeding Rs. 12 crores. Membership has also expanded from an initial number of 7 sisters from one building to over 40,000 sisters throughout India. The success of the organization stems from the efforts of its member sisters who have withstood several hardships with unshakable belief in the strength of a woman Note: The above initiatives were hand-picked to show diversity. There are numerous other initiatives small and big that would probably come to light through the rest of the articles in this series. What is a Social Entrepreneur? A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change (a social venture). Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur focuses on creating social capital. Thus, the main aim of social entrepreneurship is to further social and environmental goals. However, whilst social entrepreneurs are most commonly associated with the voluntary and notfor-profit sectors, this need not necessarily be incompatible with making a profit. Who are Social Entrepreneurs? Social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to societys most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change. Rather than leaving societal needs to the government or business sectors, social entrepreneurs find what is not working and solve the problem by changing the system, spreading the solution, and persuading entire societies to take new leaps. Social entrepreneurs often seem to be possessed by their ideas, committing their lives to changing the direction of their field. They are both visionaries and ultimate realists, concerned

with

the

practical

implementation

of

their

vision

above

all

else.

Each social entrepreneur presents ideas that are user-friendly, understandable, ethical, and engage widespread support in order to maximize the number of local people that will stand up, seize their idea, and implement with it. In other words, every leading social entrepreneur is a mass recruiter of local changemakers, role model proving that citizens who channel their passion into action can do almost anything. Over the past two decades, the citizen sector has discovered what the business sector learned long ago: There is nothing as powerful as a new idea in the hands of a first-class entrepreneur. What is a Social Enterprise? Social enterprises are social mission driven organizations which apply market-based strategies to achieve a social purpose. The movement includes both non-profits that use business models to pursue their mission and for-profits whose primary purposes are social. Their aim is to accomplish targets that are social and/or environmental as well as financial: is often referred to as the triple bottom line. Many commercial businesses would consider themselves to have social objectives, but social enterprises are distinctive because their social or environmental purpose remains central to their operation. Social entrepreneurship is about applying practical, innovative and sustainable approaches to benefit society in general, with an emphasis on those who are marginalized and poor. a term that captures a unique approach to economic and social problems, an approach that cuts across sectors and disciplines. grounded in certain values and processes that are common to each social entrepreneur, independent of whether his/ her area of focus has been education, health, welfare reform, human rights, workers' rights, environment, economic development, agriculture, etc., or whether the organizations they set up are nonprofit or for-profit entities. It is this approach that sets the social entrepreneur apart from the rest of the crowd of well-meaning people and organizations who dedicate their lives to social improvement. Typical Social Entrepreneurs can be described as..

A pragmatic visionary who achieves large scale, systemic and sustainable social change through a new invention, a different approach, a more rigorous application of known technologies or strategies, or a combination of these. Combines the characteristics represented by Richard Branson and Mother Teresa.

Social Entrepreneurs share common traits such as:

an unwavering belief in the innate capacity of all people to contribute meaningfully to economic and social development

a driving passion to make that happen. a practical but innovative stance to a social problem, often using market principles and forces, coupled with dogged determination, that allows them to break away from constraints imposed by ideology or field of discipline, and pushes them to take risks that others wouldn't dare. a zeal to measure and monitor their impact. Entrepreneurs have high standards, particularly in relation to their own organizations efforts and in response to the communities with which they engage. Data, both quantitative and qualitative, are their key tools, guiding continuous feedback and improvement. a healthy impatience. Social entrepreneurs dont do well in bureaucracies. They cannot sit back and wait for change to happen they are the change drivers.

Social entrepreneurs are: Ambitious: Social entrepreneurs tackle major social issues, from increasing the college enrollment rate of low-income students to fighting poverty in developing countries. These entrepreneurial leaders operate in all kinds of organizations: innovative nonprofits, social purpose ventures such as for-profit community development banks, and hybrid organizations that mix elements of nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Mission driven: Generating social value-not wealth-is the central criterion of a successful social entrepreneur. While wealth creation may be part of the process, it is not an end in itself. Promoting systemic social change is the real objective. Strategic: Like business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs see and act upon what others miss: opportunities to improve systems, create solutions and invent new approaches that create social value. And like the best business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs are intensely focused and hard-driving-even relentless-in their pursuit of a social vision. Resourceful: Because social entrepreneurs operate within a social context rather than the business world, they have limited access to capital and traditional market support systems. As a result, social entrepreneurs must be exceptionally skilled at mustering and mobilizing human, financial and political resources. Results oriented: Ultimately, social entrepreneurs are driven to produce measurable returns. These results transform existing realities, open up new pathways for the marginalized and disadvantaged, and unlock society's potential to effect social change.