Social entrepreneurship and the future of international business

What is a social entrepreneur?

A social entrepreneur is a new breed of business-owner that has emerged over the last decade, defined by a notable move away from solely profit-motivated endeavours and businesses being geared towards socially beneficial outcomes. Often, younger university and high school graduates have taken business-creation opportunities in order to address a social problem or need, resulting in a new type of business. The scale also varies, with some new ventures covering just a town, while those that have flourished taking on entire continents. At its heart, social entrepreneurship is about innovative approaches to improving the world around you.

Bright sparks

There are lots of different start-ups that have emerged as successful businesses from all over the world, driven by ideas that benefit communities on a small and large scale. Some view globalisation and increased connectivity as bringing increased homogenisation to otherwise diverse countries and cultures, while others view it as an opportunity to create a platform for social development. It is this latter opinion that has resulted in ideas, ranging from sustainable development to education projects, that frequently utilise the connectivity we are afforded for social change. There is also a lack of geographical limitation that comes with an increasingly connected world (thanks to developments such as cloud comupting), that enables entrepreneurs to create a business that has a social impact on the other side of the world. The idea may have originated as a way of combatting a social problem and then developed into a business, or it may have been envisioned as a business from the outset, but the main difference from traditional business models is that, while profit may be one goal, it isn't the only goal. Often, the main tenant is to bring about some form of positive social change.

How to fund your start-up

Like the nature of many of these businesses, the funding can also often be without geographical boundaries. While some may benefit from an angel investor, others may go down the route of more traditional financing, seeking venture capital or private equity funds. In countries where the concept of social entrepreneurship is more developed, businesses may benefit from government regulations surrounding taxes and funding. There are now also social venture capitalists or social impact investors, who are actively seeking out start-ups that are socially driven. These are often regional or international, though some may focus on investing on projects solely in the US, for example. Another way of raising both capital and awareness of the product or service is through one of the many crowdsourcing platforms, which seems rather fitting for the nature of many socially focused businesses. However, the type of financing sought will depend on whether the business is intended to be profit, non-profit or a hybrid. Some may start out as non-profit, with a view to become for-profit once a certain level of growth is achieved.

Be the helping hand

It is this desire to help or make a change that results in so many new social entrepreneurs in a wide variety locations, be they more or less economically developed countries. In more economically developed countries it may be a business that attracts more young people to technology, or more girls to STEM subjects, while, in less economically developed countries, it might be about improving access to education or utilities. As previously mentioned, it doesn't need to be on a grand scale (especially not at first), so even very local projects can develop into a successful businesses. It may be the case that you have moved abroad and have spotted a social need that you can address, and, if so, you might find yourself joining the ranks of the many social entrepreneurs around the world today.