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| Global Development and Digitalisation ISBN: 978-93-93166-12-8 For verification of this chapter, please visit on http://www.socialresearchfoundation.com/books.php#8 |
New Emerging Trend: Social Entrepreneurship |
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Neha Devidas Nalawade
Associate Professor
Commerce
Shri Shahu Mandir Mahavidyalaya
Pune, Maharashtra, India
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DOI: Chapter ID: 16885 |
| This is an open-access book section/chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Abstract The topic of social entrepreneurship has recently
experienced fast growth and greater interest from a variety of industries. The
practise of seeking innovative solutions to social problems is known as social
entrepreneurship. It is typically defined as "entrepreneurship with an
imbedded Social purpose." The basic aim of social entrepreneurship as well
as a social enterprise is to further social and environmental goals for a good
cause. Social entrepreneurship is the recognition of a social problem and the
use of entrepreneurial concepts to organise, construct and manage a social
venture to achieve a desired social change. Particularly, social entrepreneurs
make it their goal to develop and maintain social value.The purpose of the
current study is to describe the concept of social entrepreneurship, to analyse
the distinctions between commercial and social entrepreneurship, the fields of
social entrepreneurship, and the challenges that social entrepreneurship faces
in India. Key words- Social Entrepreneurship,
Social Entrepreneur, challenges, India. Introduction In today's age of globalization, the term
"entrepreneur" has gained popularity. A nation's industrial and
economic progress depends heavily on entrepreneurship. As "an economy is
the consequence for which entrepreneurship is the cause," certain
philosophers have recognised its significance in the advancement of the
economy. A novel concept known as "social entrepreneurship" has
recently emerged in economic literature and is gaining popularity in the
socio-economic setting. Man needs to contribute back to society because he
obtains so much from it over his lifetime. Corporate Social Responsibility was
another expectation placed on businesses (CSR). In light of this, social entrepreneurship is just now
starting to take shape in our nation. Young Indians believe that social
entrepreneurship will enable them to alter India. Objectives of the study 1. To understand the concept
of social entrepreneurship. 2. To study the difference
between entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. 3. To describe the
challenges faced by social entrepreneurship. Methodology The research strategy for the study's initial collection
of descriptive type data and information indicates that the study's goals have
been achieved. The secondary data was gathered from a variety of websites,
books, periodicals, and research journals, among other sources. The Concept of Social Entrepreneurship The term ‘social entrepreneurship’ was first coined in
1980 by Bill Drayton of Asoka which is the global association of the world’s
leading social entrepreneurs. Social entrepreneurship is the recognition of a
social problems and the use of entrepreneurial principles to organize create
and manage a social venture to achieve a desired social change. Drayton calls
social entrepreneurship as a model for bringing social change in a society by
those individuals who combine the practical and result-oriented methods of a
business entrepreneur which the goal of a social reforms. In other words social
entrepreneurs are those people who use innovative ways for tackling various
socio-economic problems of the society in their chosen areas, whether that is
education, health care, environment economic development or any other social
field. (Dees 1998). Both a narrow and a broad viewpoint are taken when
looking at the concept of social entrepreneurship. In a limited sense, it is
viewed as a not-for-profit venture looking for alternative finance that seeks
for commercial solutions to social problems. In a nutshell, social entrepreneurship is the process of
bringing about social and economic transformation via initiative and the
application of business principles. Its main goal is to provide many people who
are trapped in poverty with financial alternatives. Entrepreneurs are innovative, highly motivated and
critical thinkers. When these attributes are combined with the drive to solve
social problems, a ‘social entrepreneur’ is born. Social entrepreneurs attempt
to solve society’s most daunting social problems. Social entrepreneurship and
social entrepreneurs can be found through history. Florence Nighitingale
(founder of the first nursing school and developer of modern nursing
practices), Robert Owen (founder of the co-operative movement), Maria
Montessori (developer of Montessori approach to early childhood education) etc.
are the examples of social entrepreneurs. Muhammad Yunus (founder of Grameen
Bank, Bangladesh) is a more recent example, who is the recipient of the 2006
Nobel Prize. In short, social entrepreneurs are the pioneer of innovations that
benefit humanity at large. Business Entrepreneurship V/s Social entrepreneurship : Following difference is found in business
entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship. 1. Profit is the main motive of business
entrepreneurship while social impact is the main motive of social
entrepreneurship. 2. A business entrepreneurs change the face of
business while social entrepreneurs act as change agent for the society by
creating sustainable solutions. 3. A business entrepreneurs feel satisfied by
earning more profit. On the other hand social entrepreneurs feel satisfied when
they generate transformational change that benefits disadvantaged people in the
society. 4. A business entrepreneur may create entirely a
new industry. Social entrepreneur offer new and innovative solutions to social
problems and then implements them on a large scale for the benefit of the
humanity at large. 5. A business entrepreneur measures performance on
profit basis. A social entrepreneur focus on creating social capital (economic
benefits). Focus Area of Social Entrepreneurship Social entrepreneurship aims solving social problems.
Thus, all social problems becomes areas of social entrepreneurship. Following
are some of the focus areas of social entrepreneurship. 1. Affordable Healthcare Over 60% of the population in India lives in
village and small towns while 70% of medium and large hospitals are located in
metros and large towns. Thus availability and affordable remains a key concern
in healthcare coverage. Affordable healthcare reduce the cost of service
delivery through innovative operating models. 2. Affordable Housing According to 12th five year plan
document, the gap in the urban housing market is estimated at 18.8 million
dwelling units. Moreover, about 73% of the self- occupied units are in bottom
40% of the urban households. Affordable housing developers create economic
value by minimizing construction cost and completion time through integrative
technical solutions and process innovations. 3. Water and sanitation Social entrepreneurs are typically involved in rain water
harvesting community water treatment, point of use filtration and small scale
water networks. Typical working models for sanitation management are household
toilet, pay and use of community toilets and “eosin” toilets where toilet waste
is used to create bio fuel. 4. Agriculture Above 70% of the rural population in India depends upon
agriculture and allied sectors. Social enterprise working in this sector create
economic and social value by eliminating inefficiencies from the current value
chain. 5. Energy Social enterprise enter this area in order to enable
access to environmentally friendly, affordable energy. Roof – top solar
lighting and low smoke cook stoves are some of the initiative in this area. 6. Education Social enterprise are very active in the education of the
under privileged children. They work around these challenges through advocacy
and capacity enhancing solutions. These enterprises cater from early childhood
to adulthood and exist in the form of pre-school and after-school classes, e-learning
and vocational and skill development institute. 7. Livelihood Promotion Social entrepreneurs in this area are broadly classified
into two categories: entities that promote livelihood and those that facilitate
skill development. Entrepreneurs in the skill development sector are mostly
structured as for – profit entities, but with low or subsidized or free
education to the beneficiary. Major Challenges for Social Entrepreneurship in India The social entrepreneurs in Indiahave to face many
hurdles and challenges which hinder the entrance of the new social
entrepreneurial venture. Some of the major challenges are outlined below – 1. Lack of Funding/Financial Assistance
Lack of capital is the major challenges for the social
entrepreneurs in India. Generally, they run their business with their own funds
or by raising funds from local money lenders at a high rate of interest.
Sometimes this becomes a financial burden on them. The banks deny to provide
loan facilities for social entrepreneurs become of various social complications
attached with them. This forces social entrepreneurs to approach venture
capitalist and philanthropic organizations. 2. Lack of Education in Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship in India is still encumbered by the
traditional educational system of the country. There is still a lack of
specific curriculum on entrepreneurship development in the Indian education
system. Currently, the entrepreneurship education is introduced but it is
limited to graduates of business schools and management institutions. For other streams of education like the arts and
sciences, there is not a single course on entrepreneurship in the curriculum.
Even business schools. Where, entrepreneurship curriculum developed, are also
lacking in terms of social entrepreneurship. This lack of social
entrepreneurship knowledge presents a major challenge for social enterprises in
finding competent and skilled promoters. 3. Comparative Disadvantages to Business Social entrepreneurs are not necessarily working in a
lucrative market. They identify a problem within society and try to find
affordable solutions for them. Once they find the way to earn some profit after
providing the vest low cost solution to the needs of the society, traditional
businesses will enter the market competing with similar solution and techniques
which increase transaction costs and competition for social entrepreneurs and
hamper3ed their future growth. 4. Lack of Skilled Manpower It is easy for every social entrepreneur to get manpower
from a variety of sources; professionals, volunteers, labours and community
participants. The challenge is to have manpower who are really talented in what
they are expected to do. For. Ex. Suppose a social entrepreneur wants to go and
teach computers in an orphanage. Here there is no use of manpower who
themselves are not fluent with computers. Thus, lack of skilled manpower is
another for social entrepreneurs in India. 5. Lack of Government Support Lack of government support is a major hindrance for
social business development in India. Currently, the government is not
providing any kind of assistance for promoting these social cause ventures. The
government policies and regulations are very complex and strict for social
entrepreneurs. The government does not provide any tax incentive or subsidies
for social entrepreneurs. This acts as major impediment to the growth of social
entrepreneurship in India. Conclusion The economy has been witnessing rapid growth since the
onset of liberalization from 1991 onwards. However, social and environmental
problems of the country are increasing year after year. On this background, the
emergencies of social entrepreneurship is very important. The bottom of the
Pyramid is getting benefited due to social entrepreneurship. Social
entrepreneurship holds key for future development in India. In coming days,
social entrepreneurs will pay a crucial role in the advancement of social change.
No doubt, social entrepreneurship in india have to face some challenges in
terms of procurement of finance, lack of skilled manpower, lack of government
support etc. though these challenges exist, there are many successful examples
of social entrepreneurial ventures like LIjjatpapd, Amul etc. There is lot of
scope of social entrepreneurs in India. References: |