Social Entrepreneurs: Agents of Change
By Kathy-Ann Fletcher
Do you know someone who is courageous and innovative, who inspires action in their communities to tackle issues that threaten to cause the decline of his or her society? Does he or she make use of a market model from the business world to motivate change to society’s most inequitable systems? That person is a change agent, a catalyst, a social entrepreneur who is a mobilizer of human and other resources to solve social problems.
The traits of a social entrepreneur
Social entrepreneurs are visionary and creative and have a tremendous heart for their societies. They often see themselves not as passive members of society but believe that we all play apart in the course of our society.
They are proactive. Therefore, instead of waiting for government or an established organisation to take the lead in setting the course of action to deal with the issue, social entrepreneurs create the conditions for the change they want to see in their societies.
The need for social entrepreneurs
The culture of the region has been generally to wait on the government to engender the change that we all want to see. More recently organisations that are socially focused are being formed within the Caribbean as we realise that Government alone is not able to create solutions and implement plans to deal with society’s concerns.
Social entrepreneurs are needed because they create plans at a time when society urgently requires a solution. They are the agents for the desperately needed change in society.
Because it is not generated by government initiatives which have the potential to beauracratic, social enterprises tend to be more responsive to changes in conditions and unlike non-profit organisations which depends on generous benefactors can grow to meet the needs of the community, country and even the region.
The function of a social enterprise
While the traditional entrepreneur seeks to spawn profits for self and company shareholders, the social enterprise is purposed to generate value for the society.
Some pundits use this social purpose to argue that these enterprises should be not for profit. Whichever side of that argument you fall, there is no doubt that social entrepreneurship noble and rewarding passion.
One example of a social entrepreneur that has added social value is Muhammad Yunus who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. He used best commercial practice at Gramean Bank and other ventures to create great partnerships between social enterprise and the business world to ‘create a world without poverty’.
Other popular examples of individuals who have used business to make important change within society are Nurse Florence Nightingale and educator Maria Montessori who both were great change agents in the sectors of health and education for the underprivileged in society.
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