Social entrepreneurship: An overview

Social Entrepreneurship is commonly defined as an entrepreneurial activity with an embedded social purpose. It has become a global phenomenon, addressing the basic needs of the human society which are neglected in the race for development in the mainstream. Some of the striking examples of social entrepreneurship have originated in developing countries. Microfinance of Bangladesh is a powerful example which has been accepted and adopted globally. Social entrepreneurship is vibrant in developed countries as well. UK has a 3.2% of the working age population involved in founding and running social ventures as compared to 6.2% of the working population in commercial entrepreneurships. This also shows the importance, the field of social entrepreneurship is gaining in the global scenario. Alex Nicholls explains that Social Entrepreneurship is best understood as a multidimensional and dynamic construct, moving across various intersection points between the private, public and social sectors. The innovative solutions to local problems validated by the social entrepreneurs in a local context often have profound socio-economic implications and global relevance. They can be replicated in other localities and scaled to greater impact. Social entrepreneurship has the potential to impact economic system as it creates solutions to social problems and leads the beneficiaries to a better standard of life. This paper outlines the concept, Origin & Growth of Social Entrepreneurship, Characteristics of Social Entrepreneurs and the Process of Creation of Social Entrepreneurship Venture.