A Megatrend
NEXT by Ramla — February 14, 2007 — Social Good
References: skollfoundation.org & nextbyramla.blogspot
Social Entrepreneurship is serious business - and some are calling it the business model of the 21st century.
So. Who are social entrepreneurs that your cool-hunting friend had been talking about so enthusiastically over coffee this afternoon? ASHOKA (http://www.ashoka.org), innovators in the field of social enterprise, describe the specie thus: "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."
SKOLL Foundation (http://www.skollfoundation.org/) describes them as "society's change agents; pioneers of innovations that benefit humanity."
NEXT> by Ramla (http://nextbyramla.blogspot.com) suggests: "Doing good + the right way + following your passion don't have to be exclusive from making a profit as was the case in the world of old business."
Examples of such souls? Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel-prize winning economist and father of micro-finance (Grameen Bank). Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf school - an alternative educational system based on non-competitive educational theory (Waldorf/ Steiner school). Anita Roddick, who created a beauty empire out of ugly, traditional and homegrown cosmetics recipes (The Body Shop).
I have recently learned of a group Pakistani mothers who are starting a homeschooling system to protect their children from institutional education. That's social entrepreneurship; big or small.
The challenge is to separate social enterprise from the compulsion to give charity. Social entrepreneurs such as Mohammad Yunus believe that it's far better to create socially-geared profitable enterprises than to give charity that we don't track.
Photo credit: Flickrite "carf" http://www.flickr.com/photos/beija-flor/
So. Who are social entrepreneurs that your cool-hunting friend had been talking about so enthusiastically over coffee this afternoon? ASHOKA (http://www.ashoka.org), innovators in the field of social enterprise, describe the specie thus: "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."
SKOLL Foundation (http://www.skollfoundation.org/) describes them as "society's change agents; pioneers of innovations that benefit humanity."
NEXT> by Ramla (http://nextbyramla.blogspot.com) suggests: "Doing good + the right way + following your passion don't have to be exclusive from making a profit as was the case in the world of old business."
Examples of such souls? Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel-prize winning economist and father of micro-finance (Grameen Bank). Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf school - an alternative educational system based on non-competitive educational theory (Waldorf/ Steiner school). Anita Roddick, who created a beauty empire out of ugly, traditional and homegrown cosmetics recipes (The Body Shop).
I have recently learned of a group Pakistani mothers who are starting a homeschooling system to protect their children from institutional education. That's social entrepreneurship; big or small.
The challenge is to separate social enterprise from the compulsion to give charity. Social entrepreneurs such as Mohammad Yunus believe that it's far better to create socially-geared profitable enterprises than to give charity that we don't track.
Photo credit: Flickrite "carf" http://www.flickr.com/photos/beija-flor/
Trend Themes
1. Social Entrepreneurship - Social entrepreneurship is revolutionizing the way business works by combining socially-geared profitable enterprises with innovative solutions to society's most pressing social problems and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.
2. Innovative Solutions - Innovative solutions are becoming increasingly essential to society's change agents as they tackle major social issues and pioneer new ideas that benefit humanity.
3. Profitable Enterprises - Profitable enterprises are now being created with social good in mind by revolutionary change agents who believe it's far better to create these kinds of enterprises rather than to give charity that we don't track.
Industry Implications
1. Education - The education sector has great potential for disruption with alternative, non-competitive educational theory-based programs and home schooling systems created to address pressing social problems.
2. Cosmetics - The cosmetics industry has disruptive opportunities with the creation of beauty products made from traditional, homegrown, and environmentally-friendly ingredients that help address pressing social problems.
3. Finance - The finance industry can be disrupted through innovative financial models such as micro-finance systems, which provide an alternative solution to pressing social issues.
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