Social enterprises are children of crises, a good part of them are the result of the concern of an entrepreneur, or group of entrepreneurs, to change social realities and work on projects that have a real impact on the world.

In fact, the difference between sustainable social enterprises and other types of enterprises (financial or cultural) is the clearly social orientation of the projects, which, however, do not become philanthropic because they must be financially sustainable over time.

In changing or critical environments, when social policies begin to suffer cuts or less attention is paid to what is “important” in order to attend to what is “urgent”, that is when social enterprises manage to break through.

But is the desire to want to change things enough for a social enterprise to work? The answer is no”. Undoubtedly, the desire to make a difference in the environment and be part of the solutions instead of perpetuating problems is a powerful motivation to undertake a social project, but it is not enough.

That is why today we want to show the 10 keys to the success of social enterprises that constitute the basis for that good idea to materialize, grow, prosper over time and can achieve the desired social change.

1. The profile of the social entrepreneur

Not everyone is cut out to run a social enterprise. The profile of this entrepreneur is very specific because, although he shares the essence of a commercial entrepreneur, they have their own, very marked characteristics.

For example, it is a person who wants to improve people’s quality of life, innovation-oriented, creative, capable of balancing the urgency of satisfying people’s needs with the social transformation that will make this coverage of needs sustainable over time. .

In addition, it has a collective social vision that deprives individual interests, credibility, trust in teams and in the beneficiaries of social action, has a strong personal and professional ethic, as well as the certainty that it is acting to generate an impact on people’s lives.

2. A powerful idea and impact capacity

This is the part that almost all social entrepreneurs have covered: an idea that changes people’s lives for the better. That generates an impact, whether it is political, social, economic or environmental, the social entrepreneur breathes his idea every day with the desire to make it a reality for the benefit of a community or group.

This idea may be circumscribed to a local level, however, a social enterprise does not have geographical limits because many of the social problems are shared by different populations and even far from each other. But a powerful idea can be replicated in every place where the same social problem needs to be solved, to generate a positive social impact.

3. Have a social purpose

The goal of a social venture is to create social value rather than personal wealth. Its goal is social innovation and it focuses on collective problems rather than individual needs.

Although financial success is an important goal to achieve in order to sustain the project, it moves to a second place on the list of priorities. This, of course, completely transforms the vision of traditional business-oriented entrepreneurship.

However, these objectives can be achieved in very different ways. For example, the profits of a business (or business venture) can be used for a social purpose. Another option is for the enterprise itself to meet its objective of positive social impact thanks to its own actions.

4. Tons of creativity

There is no successful social entrepreneurship without large doses of creativity. Not only to find the “powerful foundational idea” but to overcome the obstacles of the day to day, being recursive and finding solutions out of the ordinary.

We said at the beginning that social enterprises flourish in environments of uncertainty, thanks precisely to the fact that they learn to make creative decisions, novel solutions and new ways of doing things.

5. Have a strong ethic

The commitment of a social enterprise with societies is difficult to break. Social entrepreneurs are motivated to create value and solve problems in their environments. However, there are not few obstacles that are in the way, so having non-negotiable ethical values ​​and principles is very important to stay “in the lane” and not divert efforts towards the personal benefit of those involved.

6. Be guided by a Mission

One of the aspects that helps to form an ethical code in social enterprises is to have a clear mission and share it with the team. This is aligned with the objectives item, however, a mission is much more powerful.

When we talk about social-oriented missions, the level of commitment multiplies exponentially. When the quality of life of people or the future of the environment are involved, you cannot fail.

Missions are also powerful motivators for a team. They are part of the reasons to go to work and commit: because they feel that it is worth it and that they are contributing something to the world. The power of solidarity should not be underestimated.

7. Different business model

Social enterprises are characterized by being responsible organizations with their collaborators, with the environment and with their surrounding communities. They understand that people are the center of their actions and they ensure that their own internal organization is committed to diversity, plurality, gender equity and flexibility.

8. Have mixed sources of financing

This is one of the most challenging keys to success for social enterprises because without financing, no project will last. The sources of financing for a social enterprise can be public or private. Most have mixed sources and also seek to generate their own income.

9. Breathe innovation

This may be, along with creativity, one of the most important keys to the success of a social enterprise. Innovation is practically part of the definition and the essence of these projects. Finding innovative solutions is part of what makes a social enterprise unique, they are distinguished by the ability of their members to imagine the future in different and unexpected ways and work to make that “difference” a reality.

Social enterprises work outside the established, just where the traditional has failed to provide answers. That is why the decisions of its leaders are based on innovation, proactivity and the absence of fear of taking on challenges.

10. Focus on education

The literature on social entrepreneurship stands out to the extent that a person has more academic training, their knowledge and interest in social innovation increases. That is why the emergence and success of social enterprises is more likely among people committed to the well-being of society who also have the necessary training to be able to undertake successful social projects.

As we pointed out, good ideas and positive intentions are not enough, social enterprises require leaders with very specific skills that drive them towards concreteness, sustainability and success. And people with higher educational levels are more oriented to achieve it.

That is why in the Specialization Program in Business Innovation of the Technological University of Peru we focus on training professionals to become agents of innovation that can provide innovative solutions to the social problems of the country, the region and also the world.

If the problems are common, then so are the solutions provided by social enterprises that seek to improve people’s quality of life.

During the last weeks, we have witnessed how many people, companies, institutions and social organizations have stepped forward to help. This social response to the coronavirus crisis is our light at the end of the tunnel. We are hopeful, and we trust that the empathy, generosity and love shown by so many in these difficult times will last when the crisis subsides.

What are social enterprises doing?

One of the characteristics of social enterprises, perhaps the main one, is that they are genuinely driven by their social mission and values. This explains why, in the face of the crisis caused by COVID-19, the first thing many of these organizations did was ask themselves what they could do to help.

We have compiled here some of these initiatives, the ones that are closest to us, although we are sure there are many more:

Kuvu connects older people who have a spare room with people from other generations looking for accommodation. Kuvu’s mission is to improve the quality of life of the elderly and that is why, given the situation caused by COVID 19, they did not take long to get down to work to create COVIDA , an application that connects the most vulnerable people to the virus with volunteers willing to help them when it comes to shopping, buying medicine or other needs.

AUARA dedicates 100% of its dividends to bring drinking water to people who do not have it in developing countries thanks to the sale of mineral water and other products. Faced with the coronavirus crisis, this social enterprise has turned to deliver bottles of mineral water to Spanish hospitals. Between their donations and their crowdfunding campaign they have donated almost 1 million bottles, more than 760,000 liters, to hospitals around the country.

Adopt a grandfather connects generations so that older people feel listened to, accompanied and loved and that young people learn values ​​and experiences through their visits. They have launched Minutes in company , a telephone number and ‘call center’ through which older people can alleviate their isolation during confinement by talking to volunteers. In addition, they have launched the #retoadoptaunabuelo to combat the loneliness of our elders.

Farmidable allows access to local, fresh, natural and seasonal products, connecting consumers and producers and facilitating quality, healthy, sustainable and environmentally responsible food. In the face of the coronavirus crisis,Farmidable is delivering the purchase for free to the most vulnerable people , mainly the elderly and high-risk groups.

Inbonis Rating is the first rating agency specialized in SMEs in Europe. Its mission is to improve the access of these companies to more agile, humane, transparent and wealth-generating financing. Faced with the threat of an economic and social crisis caused by the pandemic, Inbonis has prepared a report to guide public funds destined to face the economic and social impact of the coronavirus towards SMEs .

Zubi Labs promotes and co-creates companies that seek to generate a positive impact. From the beginning, the Zubi Labs team has turned to trying to provide an immediate response to the problems derived from COVID-19. They have created Zubi Help, adapting the activity of each one of its initiatives and creating new ones to solve some of the social and economic challenges resulting from this situation. From Zubi Go , a home food service, they have created a campaign to collect contributions with the intention of helping the most needy families. From this same ecosystem, and specifically from La Pinada Lab , Salvia was born , with which the aim is to help small companies identify business opportunities arising from Covid-19.

Bridge for Billionsis an online incubation platform that seeks to democratize access to the necessary tools so that entrepreneurs, wherever they are, can structure, develop and strengthen their businesses. At the beginning of the crisis, they launched a special edition of The Leap , their online incubation program, to support entrepreneurs who are developing solutions that improve people’s lives during the COVID19 outbreak.

Uninicio offers support , training and employment to young people in vulnerable situations through gastronomy and the production of food for restaurants and catering. They have launched a food donation campaign at home through their Homey page and also a crowdfunding campaign to bring food to people or families who are in dire need .

The Bolsa Social is a participatory financing platform for companies with a social impact. It has partnered with private investors and impact organizations such as Ship2B , Creas , Mumtree , Youandlaw and Open Value Foundationto launch an extraordinary call for participatory and open investment to finance companies that are developing solutions to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus at the health, economic and social level. The first company selected, Tucuvi, managed to raise € 160,000 in less than 36 hours .

ComGo , an acronym for The Common Good Chain, is the first blockchain platform for the management of solidarity projects and traceability of social impact. Faced with the crisis, ComGo has made its blockchain technology for traceability and management of social projects available to social entitiesthat work to improve the situation of the groups most affected by the coronavirus crisis for free under the common umbrella of stopcovid.io . Based on blockchain technology, stopcovid.io allows donations management in a simple, transparent and fully traceable way.

Debuencafé sells organic coffee in biodegradable and compostable capsules . In this crisis they are contributing their grain of sand – or coffee, in this case – by delivering more than 20,000 coffee services to health personnel in hospitals, workers in nursing homes and transporters from Mercamadrid.

Square Ventures is a social and environmental innovation consultancy that has launched the projectZero Hunger to help in the health crisis by distributing food to the most vulnerable groups. They have already distributed more than 110 tons of food .

RobinGood distributes food products with a social conscience. They have launched a crowdfunding campaign with the Can Roger Farm to transform into cheese and avoid throwing away the organic milk that the market cannot assume due to the coronavirus crisis.

And what are we doing at Open Value Foundation?

Social enterprises, like any other form of business, face great challenges derived from the COVID-19 crisis. From the Open Value Foundation we have contacted all the projects we support in Spain and the rest of the world to find out how they are affected and how we can help them overcome those challenges. We are here to help you minimize the disruption caused by this situation and take advantage of the opportunities that may arise.

On the other hand, we have had to cancel or postpone all the meetings, events and trainings that we had prepared for the next few months. We want to continue training society and strengthening the impact ecosystem and we are organizing ourselves to carry out some of these activities online. Among other things, in April we launched our first online introductory impact investing course and continue to host inspiring events in virtual form.

We want to thank once again all the people who, in one way or another, have mobilized to help. From the largest gesture, to the smallest. You are our light at the end of the tunnel. May this virus not prevent us from continuing to work together to build a better world.

We will update the initiatives that appear in this article and add new ones. Do you miss a project? Do you know of any other social company that, in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, has taken a step forward to help? Tell us here or on our social networks!

Social entrepreneurship is the part of entrepreneurship in general whose protagonists are people and institutions of the social economy at the service of values ​​that go directly beyond the mere personal economic benefit of entrepreneurs, to develop shared initiatives and networks capable of generate social added value in a broad sense.

The adjectival of entrepreneurship as “social” has the sense of differentiating itself from commercial entrepreneurship, which is aimed at economic activities in general, through the development of new activities and new organizations whose success directly benefits its promoters only indirectly to society in terms job creation or income and wealth generation. Social entrepreneurship is characterized by belonging to the private sector of the economy, and not the public sector.

Both commercial and social entrepreneurship have several points in common, such as the detection of unmet or insufficiently covered needs, innovation in products or services that differentiate entrepreneurial activities from the rest, the design of organizational structures capable of providing such goods and services on an adequate scale, or the initial difficulties of the startup projects (financing, minimum size, initial losses, etc.).

However, in the case of social entrepreneurship, the needs not adequately covered are characterized by being common to large social groups with less purchasing power, or none at all; innovation in products and services is characterized by providing widely shared social connotations in their production, distribution, etc., such as ecological restrictions on production, orientation towards preferred goods, the absence of profit or its reinvestment, etc. . The organizational structures through which the ideas of social entrepreneurship are applied are not market, in some cases, and in others, despite being market in the sense that most of their income from the market,

The financial difficulties of social entrepreneurship are alleviated as far as possible through resources to mechanisms such as patronage, microfunding, resources to the social work of the cooperative movement, the financing lines of some socially responsible entities, participation in incubators or incubators of social enterprises, or some public lines of financing under less restrictive conditions than usual. Often, the initial impulse of all this falls on specific social entrepreneurs, who are people who know in depth the needs of some social sectors with structural difficulties, are capable of organizing a community of potential beneficiaries and developers of the social project,

The current and future potentialities of social entrepreneurship have led the European Union to propose a strategy for its promotion, which contains as main elements:

• Increasing the visibility and recognition of social economy companies in a broad sense (by disseminating their social impact; putting into practice a communication strategy on social entrepreneurship at the EU level; developing international networks in the sector; and the incorporation of social entrepreneurship in all policies, programs and practices of public administrations).
• The development of a European economic environment that allows the social economy and its companies to access financing (in particular to promote the formation of its human capital; to facilitate the financing of its infrastructures; and for the development of incubators or accelerators specialized in social economy companies).
• The establishment of legal and regulatory norms that promote the creation and development of companies operating in this sector (for example, through appropriate social considerations in public procurement).

Social entrepreneurship. We hear more and more about it. This is a movement that is growing in popularity every year. However, do you actually know what a social entrepreneur is? Do you know how this kind of entrepreneur differs from the responsible entrepreneur?

Although both take care to do good through their businesses, these entrepreneurs differ among other things by the nature of their operations.

WHO IS THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR?

The definition and limits of social entrepreneurship are not yet clearly defined. So I present to you the definition of the Ashoka Foundation that I could translate as follows (Free translation):

Social entrepreneurs are individuals who provide innovative solutions to the most pressing issues in our society. They are ambitious and persevering. They tackle major social problems and come up with new ideas for large-scale change. 

Rather than leaving the resolution of social issues to governments or certain industries, social entrepreneurs find the different issues and solve them by changing the system in which it operates, by sharing their solution and by convincing society to move in one direction. different.

In short, the social entrepreneur is an entrepreneur whose mission, the axis of the company, aims above all to respond to a problem of great importance for society. Social entrepreneurship is therefore in itself a solution to address problems. It can be job creation, fair trade, environmental protection, etc.

THE SOCIAL MISSION AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING

For the social entrepreneur, the chosen issue – the one that will be put forward – makes up the vision, the heart of his business . Through his strong personal motivation to make a difference, he will use his business, his knowledge and his resources to achieve this social objective rather than maximizing his profits.

However, do not think that profits are not important to the social entrepreneur. Like any business, the social enterprise will have financial goals and must make a profit in order to survive.

What characterizes the social enterprise is not that the latter does not seek profit, it is rather that it has a social mission above all and that it uses its sales to achieve this impact. Thus, the more the social enterprise grows, the more its positive impact is important in its community.

WHO IS THE RESPONSIBLE ENTREPRENEUR?

Unlike the social entrepreneur, the responsible entrepreneur will above all aim for profitability. He will integrate social, environmental, economic and good governance objectives and strategies into his business model.

In fact, the responsible entrepreneur will voluntarily rely on strategies contributing to sustainable development to give meaning to his practices.

As consumers are more and more informed, companies must be aware that their social responsibility is an effective way to differentiate themselves from the competition and therefore to maximize their profits. Responsible entrepreneurship therefore becomes an interesting avenue for entrepreneurs who want to stand out from their competition and for whom such a type of responsibility is consistent with their ideals and lifestyles .

Thus, although the primary objective of the company is to develop profitable activities, responsible companies also integrate objectives related to sustainable development as part of their business strategy.

In conclusion, the key to differentiating these two activities lies at the very heart of the companies that will be created. As a result, it is at the very heart of the entrepreneurs who create them. If the social entrepreneur uses all his expertise and resources to solve a societal problem above all, the responsible entrepreneur, for his part, will build his business by first having a profitability objective in mind, to which he will give a responsible vocation thereafter.

So tell me, are you one of these two types of entrepreneurs? And if you came to be part of it, what problem would you tackle?

Based on the characteristics presented above, social entrepreneurs focus their actions basically on 4 fundamental pillars.

1. Collaboration with the local community social enterprises has their main focus on investing in alliances with government managers of local communities, charities, and companies. Through localized impact initiatives, they focus on the social issues they seek to address.

2. Large-scale resolution of issues

Unlike social servants, who act punctually and, often, focused on individual issues, social entrepreneurs try to identify problems of great impact on society.

The idea is that, from the identification of a specific problem, they can act as a new alternative, promoting changes that alter the status quo of society and improve the quality of life of people.

3. Values ​​above profit

This is one of the main moral guides of a social entrepreneur. Unlike traditional entrepreneurs, they value the social impacts promoted by their businesses above any type of individual return.

4. Long-term impacts

Finally, the result of the work of a social entrepreneur is almost always seen in the long term. Its actions focus on solving problems directly at their roots, so that solutions are permanent and have a great impact on society over the years.

Is social entrepreneurship possible?

As you have been able to realize through this reading, social entrepreneurship is possible as well as it has become a trend throughout the world.

Increasingly, social initiatives are gaining space in the market, in addition to having incentives from companies, government organizations and, mainly, the public.

Do you want to know more about entrepreneurship?

Social entrepreneurship and social innovation are two widely used concepts today, but they do not have univocal meanings in or outside the academic field. Is it possible to innovate in the search for a solution to a social problem? Can the degree of social innovation be measured?

Innovation goes far beyond simply having a good idea. It is an organized process to develop an idea and make it a reality. People are good at coming up with good ideas, but taking these ideas forward is not so easy. The success of innovations depends on the ability and determination to change things, on the willingness of companies or people themselves to face challenges and take risks. When all these efforts are focused, not only on the desire to create wealth, but on the will to solve social problems and create value for people, we speak of social innovation.

Thus, we understand by social innovation all those new ideas, strategies and processes that align with the needs of society. In this way, social innovation is aimed at improving human well-being by providing solutions to global problems and proposing alternatives that transform society. The social innovation process goes through four main stages:

• the detection of new social needs,
• the development of prototypes of new solutions that respond to these needs,
• analyzing the effectiveness of these new solutions
• and scaling up effective social innovations.

There are many individuals and groups around the world committed to the development and support of social innovation. These are the so-called social entrepreneurs , people who work to bring about positive change at all levels of society. They are entrepreneurs who, in addition to possessing the creativity, vision, persistence and determination of the traditional entrepreneur, work to create new solutions that produce significant social change.

So how do these social entrepreneurs create value ? These people not only work with the objective of designing solutions that generate improvements within a certain sector of society, but also try to find a way to make these solutions available to as many people as possible. To do this, they use three main forms of dissemination; the creation of an organizational model that allows the mobilization of resources and people, the elaboration of a program that brings together the set of actions necessary to achieve the specific objective or the establishment of guidelines and values on which the development of the social project is supported. These three practices are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In fact, the use of all of them allows greater dissemination of the proposed solutions.

In summary, social innovation seeks to find new ideas that are capable of improving people’s well-being, and that have a positive impact on society. Social entrepreneurs are those who seek to develop this social innovation. From ideas and social projects they try to create new solutions for social problems that improve people’s lives.

At Innovation Factory TM Institute we understand the importance of both aspects and we have related them by creating courses of innovation and creativity appropriate to the current needs of companies, providing them with the tools that professionals can then use in their jobs and from any area of the organization to be more creative and innovative. We invite you to take a look at our list of courses on innovation!

• Open Innovation and reverse innovation
• Inspire social responsibility with creativity
• Innovation: Creating ideas, identify opportunities and turn them into realities

These courses will allow you to deepen your knowledge about innovation-oriented to respond to social needs, how to creatively promote social responsibility within the company, and how to turn ideas into reality. This course is adapted to the current needs of companies and provides tools that professionals can then use in their jobs. We invite you to take a look at our courses on innovation and creativity!

The paradox of social entrepreneurship is that, while its ecosystem continues to grow, the term “social entrepreneurship” means different things in different contexts. This occurs, among other reasons, because there is still no general agreement that helps to clearly distinguish the business model behind the “social entrepreneurship” label.

Profit Generator Model

Organizations that carry out a commercial activity that does not have a direct social impact, with which they obtain economic benefits, and then transfer part or all of these to another activity that has a direct social impact.

In this model, commercial activity mainly seeks a financial return. It is assumed that this does not have a direct social impact. It may be that commercial activity may have desirable effects (eg, job creation) but this situation is contingent on the predominant purpose of economic activity (ie maximizing monetary profit).

Example: Businesses and multinationals with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs

Compensation Model

Organizations that carry out a commercial activity that has a direct social impact, but must manage a balance between financial profitability and the social impact obtained.

In this model, the commercial activity itself has a direct social impact, but it is necessary to strike a balance between generating benefits and creating social impact. This type of social enterprise can increase its impact by decreasing financial returns, or vice versa. Unlike model one, the social impact on this model is an integral part of the nature of the commercial activity. Even if no financial benefit is achieved, some social impact can be achieved.

The key question to identify this model is: Can you increase the social impact of the venture by decreasing financial returns? If the answer is YES, we are facing this type of social entrepreneurship.

Example: Fair Trade Businesses and microcredit institutions.

Direct Correlation Model

Organizations that carry out a commercial activity that, in addition to generating a direct social impact, offer a financial return in direct correlation with the social impact created. The key question to understand this model is: Can you increase the social impact of the organization by decreasing financial returns? If the answer is NO, you are facing a social enterprise of this type.

Examples: renewable energy cooperatives.

Social entrepreneurship currently plays a very important role for societies, as it provides solutions to real problems. Fortunately, many people, companies, and organizations take on this challenge and get involved; This represents the first step towards a better and more equitable world.

It could be said that social entrepreneurs are like bricklayers who come to ‘mend’ the holes that a community suffers, whether due to lack of skill, lack of resources or ignorance of the responsible State. These are people or groups of individuals who see a lack and try to find a solution for it.

As we have developed in other articles, there are several types of social entrepreneurship. This can be professional, private, awareness, innovation, need, etc. What is important is their purpose: far from pursuing profit, they make their resources available to do community well. 

5 inspiring examples of social entrepreneurship

If you are interested in contributing to the community that you integrate and have not yet found the way to achieve it, the following list may be helpful. We are going to discuss some examples of social entrepreneurship that you could take as a basis to build your path. Join us to review them!

1. L’olivera

The cooperative L’olivera has been operating in the town of Vallbona de Les Monges, in Lérida, since 1974. The curious thing about this undertaking is not the 17 wine specialties or the 5 oils that are manufactured there, but rather a method of inclusion for people with mental disabilities. 

In addition, L’olivera uses the resources of the area and industrializes them in a practically homemade way, which guarantees an environmentally friendly production. This project, which employs more than 70 people, also includes a residence and an occupational therapy service.

2. Sourcing Indonesia

The purpose of this social venture is to unify local artisans from marginalized places to distribute their creations in the most developed countries. It represents a way to comply with quality standards, in addition to boosting your sales.

3. Gram

This idea has solved an economic and environmental problem in Chile. Basically, it drives the distribution of automatic bulk dispensers of food and other products.

In this way, it contributes to families with fewer resources, who had to face the price premiums associated with products in small packages, which are the ones that tend to choose due to their lack of funds. Also, by using returnable containers, it reduces the use of polluting bags and containers.

4. Encore

Sometimes left out, the generation of baby boomers (people between the ages of 55 and 65 today) often find it difficult to find a job. Encore, an organization founded in 1997 in San Francisco and supported by donations, seeks to connect these people with scholarships, courses and jobs; a beautiful way to offer a new motivation for their lives.

5. Innova Materials

This initiative belongs to a group of young engineering students from the United States, who decided to create pipes that use antimicrobials to eliminate bacteria and improve the quality of drinking water.

Today, this six-employee company makes low-cost pipes for automakers, the US government, and other companies. 5% of its income goes to continuing research for water purification.

In short, we can conclude that social entrepreneurship is a movement that has come to the world to radically change it. When there is commitment and will for a fairer society for all, the projects are fulfilled.

The characteristics of a social enterprise are not so different from those of a traditional enterprise, but when we speak of a social enterprise, it is because it puts society and the problems it wants to solve at the center. We do not say that it does not generate profitability, of course, but if we made a list of the characteristics of a social venture, its focus would be headed by transforming reality in a positive way.

Social entrepreneurship arises to respond to a social or environmental need, and at the same time generate an economic return. It is based on a business model to achieve social, environmental, ethical and financial purposes in response to a problem. In other words, it consists of the use of market strategies to solve deficiencies in a sector of society.

There are different models of social entrepreneurship. It may be a project that arises with the need to solve a social problem, such as Fresh Water that seeks to improve the quality of life of people without access to drinking water. But it can also be a company that creates a spin-off in which it allocates part of its resources to collaborate profitably with its environment, and even, and even more interesting, an organization that decides to link its business and have a more B side, then its purpose is no longer only economic, but the generation of a triple impact:

• Social benefit.
• Positive environmental impact.
• Economic and financial revenue.

This triple impact is what truly differentiates social entrepreneurship from the merely commercial type. This plane is the one that predominates and is located as the center of the actions and decisions of the organization.

Note, however, that this statement does not mean that they are non-profit associations, rather, it refers to the fact that economic benefits go to the background, but of course, they continue to exist because they are the ones that will give it to the idea or the project, a sustainable and exponential future.

Why does social entrepreneurship arise?

Like so many other things, social entrepreneurship is born as a response to a socioeconomic model that generates many deficiencies in certain sectors of society. That is, they seek to be a solution to the problems that governments have not been able to solve (due to various factors) and it is based on the assumption that in an increasingly complex society, it cannot be a single body that is responsible for solving the things that are not going well.

On the other hand, it is also favored by a paradigm shift. Today, society is much more empathetic, proactive, and entrepreneurial; Probably, globalization and the possibility of daily living the misfortunes of others through the media have awakened this social side in many people, and we are now more aware of what is happening in our environment.

Due to this, a private entity assumes these types of roles are highly regarded, which is a benefit for the reputation of entrepreneurs. This whole pack has created the ideal circumstances for these organizations to emerge and gain more and more ground in the communities.

In short, it is about the emergence of new actors in society. With tactics similar to those prevailing in the capitalist world, even emulating productive, communicative, and distributive techniques, companies and public and private organizations get down to work to create a better world. Would you like to become a social entrepreneur? Please share your valuable comments.

All social entrepreneurship is an initiative that is born to promote and strengthen the development of a community, from the social and economic points of view, generating a better quality of life for all its inhabitants.

What is social entrepreneurship?

The term social entrepreneurship should not be confused as something rigidly established for each of the communities equally, on the contrary, it is variable because it depends on the development of each place and the priorities that its inhabitants have established.

Day by day, this innovative initiative is more widespread among society seeking to solve environmental or economic and social problems, which is why we hear more and more about social entrepreneurship .

Each proposal of social entrepreneurship is a challenge, where the only goal and end is the best quality of life, not only individual, but rather, looking for new alternatives to obtain collective benefits.

Both differ in the way in which they get monetary income and the way in which they spend it, that is, the benefits obtained by the communities dedicated to producing, the way of equal distribution of monetary income and the way in which it is generated activities aimed at developing and consolidating a sustainable society, always taking into account social, economic and environmental aspects.

The market receives a number of products, services and consumer goods from companies with a social impact, basically according to the following characteristics:

• The reason for commercial action is in the collective interest and is precisely the social objective, which is achieved through social innovation and the production of services and goods.
• To realize the social objective, they also rely on the reinvestment of the benefits obtained.
• The form of ownership and the way in which they are organized are also a reflection of the social objective.

They are oriented towards social justice, towards community participation, towards transparency, towards responsibility and towards democracy.

The social entrepreneur

A social entrepreneur is a person who seeks a solution, in an innovative way, to a community need or to a social problem that arises, through a sustainable way of producing some good or service that provides a clear solution to the requirements and that optimize the quality of life of the inhabitants who make life in it.

As it should be?

• This social entrepreneur can be characterized as a proactive, passionate person , very confident in himself and his idea, resilient and dissatisfied because he is always in search of new and better ways of doing things .

• Thus, social entrepreneurs are always looking for a change , a new way to improve the living conditions of the less fortunate people, thereby improving the community where they live.

• They are in charge of creating value for each activity they carry out , they will not always have it easy, in many occasions it is a titanic uphill race that they must know how to overcome.

• It is very important for them to have certainty about the idea they are developing to achieve their objectives and to get their business project started, on many occasions they can be viewed as true heroes because thanks to their efforts, even with many people and situations against them, It makes its action becomes a better life for many others.

Lately it is common to hear about social entrepreneurship, however, it is a phenomenon that has been present among us for a long time, perhaps forever.

This can be affirmed because the innovation and creativity of social entrepreneurs has always been ready to benefit communities to improve the quality of life of the other people who make up society.

The passion with which they start a project, their discipline and their enthusiasm will make the difference between a successful social project and a resounding failure, this is when he shows if he really has the characteristics of a social entrepreneur, with his tenacity and struggle to conquer achievements.

Not only to obtain economic gains, but rather to satisfy the requirements, needs and demands of a community or part of society, here money is not so important because what prevails is the social aspect.

Social entrepreneurship today

The world is full of innovative examples of social entrepreneurship, developed with the main objective of doing better and better, some that can be mentioned are:

1. Allowing Internet access to higher quality education free of charge, to guarantee the economic sustainability of the project uses strategic partnership relationships with advertising companies and affiliate marketing.
2. Facilitate financing to literate groups of communities around the world through the collection of donated books and their subsequent sale through the internet.
3. Check the forecast for the state of the weather to control the activation or not of the sprinklers for water irrigation, minimizing their unnecessary use in rainy seasons, a great idea to promote the saving of the precious liquid and protect the environment avoiding its unnecessary expense
4. The creation of a device to inject without the need for needles, specially developed for use in third world countries, thus avoiding some type of injury and the possible spread of diseases

Some famous social entrepreneurs are related to the world of computing, computing, telecommunications and social networks, including Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Matt Zuckerberg (Facebook).

Each of them has demonstrated their social initiative by promoting projects to collaborate to improve the water supply in some communities, to implement development programs and computer training and to help fight poverty.

Advantages and benefits of social entrepreneurship

The advantages and benefits of social entrepreneurship are undeniable, some of them are:

• The social entrepreneur is recognized by society as a person, or company, capable of solving a collective problem through an innovative change in their environment
• They help large numbers of people solve local situations and satisfy their needs, through ingenious arrangements in ineffective aspects of the market.
• They are an empowering agent of social progress and the transformation of a community to improve the quality of life of its inhabitants
• Their passionate nature allows social causes to be important as an object of improvement, for which they develop projects aimed at achieving them and obtaining both social and economic benefits.

Some may think that the idea that an organization or company may aim to care for and improve the environment while simultaneously obtaining economic benefits is not very credible.

That is why the importance of social entrepreneurship for the business world, every day, consumers are more demanding, organizations, in order to stay operational, must adapt to this situation and their needs.

Social entrepreneurship proposes innovative solutions, solves community problems, improves the quality of life for hundreds of people and makes this a better world.