- What is Social Entrepreneurship?
A social entrepreneur is someone who recognizes a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Social Entrepreneurship aims at developing a sustainable business model, whila ta the same time, trying to help persons at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP).
- Why to participate in Eclairez?
- What do you mean exactly by social entrepreneurs ?
- How do you define social entrepreneurship ?
- What are the fundamental differences between a social and for-profit founders?
- What is the Structure and funding of social enterprises?
- Why Does social entrepreneurship Matter?
- What is the most effective way to lead a new organization? Getting people to buy into a shared vision/ strategy, and inspiring them to do so, as well as putting in the
- What are the things that keep potential social entrepreneurs from succeeding to fulfilling their potential?
Social entrepreneurs who run “social enterprises” have a major problem— which is the difficulty in finding patient growth capital targeted at businesses that seek to maximize social, environmental and economic returns at once. A corollary of this problem is the difficulty in recruiting and retaining highly talented people. Another blockage are the lack of two-way bridges between social entrepreneurs and both business entrepreneurs and governments
- What could government or society do to encourage more social entrepreneurship?
- Who is the most famous personality in the field of social entrepreneurship?
- What is microfinance?
- What is GEM?
- Why measure social entrepreneurship?
- What is the philosophy and mission of Ashoka Innovators for the public?
- How do you identify social entrepreneurs ?
- What is an executive summary?
- How to write a b-plan?
If you ever dream of a business venture but felt that profit is not your end but what matters to you is the social impact that it creates, then Eclairez is meant for you. Social entrepreneurs see opportunities where others see problems and crises. They apply innovative solutions to social and environmental issues, empowering people and communities to envision and create positive change. This competition is meant to combine business acumen with the gumption of solving social issues. The ideas which make to the final round will be mentored by high-profile people who are social entrepreneurs themselves. Besides, the winners will receive a handsome cash prize. Good ideas will get the opportunity to get funded by our partner organisations, venture capitalists and angel investors.
Florence Nightingale was a social entrepreneur. So was Mary Montessori who revolutionised early learning. Muhammad Yunus with his ideas on micro-credit was one too, and Craig McCaw, the pioneer in cellular and satellite communications, is a social entrepreneur. An entrepreneur who goes beyond just commercial success to transform hundreds of lives with his business model is a social entrepreneur. Running a charitable institute would not constitute social entrepreneurship but equipping thousands of people with a means to livelihood would.
Social entrepreneurship is a mechanism to create human capacity in the social sector. I will define it as people working for social causes while exhibiting entrepreneurship qualities like in business. This would include the ability to ideate, design and then implement the process, measure impact and give feedback and the ability to take risks in building the organization. They should also derive quality assurances and should also be able to develop best practices out of these and make this available to others. Our course is meant to create entrepreneurs and not jobs seekers. Some people may require more exposure. The aim of the course is that they should become self managed. Entrepreneurship is not always about profit making, it is about mission accomplishment. Social entrepreneurship is about working within the current constraints, creating an operating model that will adapt and sustain itself to serve the cause in any situation
. In terms of temperament, skills, drive, the way they ask questions and think about problems—social and business founders are very much the same creatures. The difference is really in terms of what the founder seeks to maximize .Social entrepreneurs are primarily motivated by an ethical imperative. They seek to respond to urgent needs. The question of why is paramount.
The profile of financing is similar to that of mainstream entrepreneurs. However, social entrepreneurs are proportionately more likely to have failed to gain access to finance because of the nature of their business. Interestingly, inadequate business planning is not the largest factor for established social enterprises, but unwillingness to share and the costs of finance are.
Social enterprises are businesses with “primarily social objectives, whose surpluses are reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximize profit for shareholders and owners” or, in short-hand, “businesses trading for a social purpose”. The essence of this definition means that any surplus or profit, is recycled for the benefits of the activity, rather than for shareholders or directors. Because of their structure and constitution, they are able to serve a triple bottom line achieving profitability, societal impact and environmental sustainability simultaneously.
There are many levels at which social entrepreneurship can and should be encouraged. At its essence, the goal is to help build a society in which many, many people have the confidence, skill and desire to solve problems they see around them. The most important qualities in social entrepreneurship are empathy, the ability to collaborate well with others and the stubborn belief that it’s possible to make a difference—which motivates and stimulates people to act. All these can be incorporated in the education .
The most famous social entrepreneur would be Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank. Like Jobs, Yunus took a product—“credit”—that was once an exclusive item (like the early PCs) and brought it to a mass audience. In so doing, his bank helped to democratize access to capital in a way that is similar to the way that Apple Computer democratized access to information. The effect is similar: more choice and self- determination in the hands of more people globally
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to low-income clients, including consumers and the self-employed, who traditionally lack access to banking and related services. More broadly, it is a movement whose object is "a world in which as many poor and near-poor households as possible have permanent access to an appropriate range of high quality financial services, including not just credit but also savings, insurance, and fund transfers." Those who promote microfinance generally believe that such access will help poor people out of poverty.
The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) started in 1999. Now in its seventh year, this world-wide project will involve some 42 countries in 2006. This represents the largest and most rigorous longitudinal study of entrepreneurship in the world.
With the social enterprise sector as large as it is today, it is important to understand the cultural and entrepreneurial base that supports it, in the interests of developing policies to support more social entrepreneurship and, hence, more social enterprise.
Founded in 1980, Ashoka helps to make the social sector entrepreneurial, productive, and globally integrated. Ashoka believes that the most leveraged way to getting a social entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurship is a skill that we can give to people. While most of us are not born entrepreneurs, the passion and the mindset to do social work is a natural instinct. Social entrepreneurship is a set of social, managerial & leadership skills which you give to people who have a passion to do social work.
Refer to http://www.ecell- iitkgp.org/competitions/Concipio/resources/
Refer to http://www.ecell- iitkgp.org/competitions/Concipio/faq/
<ol> <li><strong>Why to participate
in Eclairez?</strong></li> <p>If
you ever dream of a business
venture but felt that profit is not
your end but what matters to you is
the social impact that it creates,
then Eclairez is meant for you.
Social entrepreneurs see
opportunities where others see
problems and crises. They apply
innovative solutions to social and
environmental issues, empowering
people and communities to envision
and create positive change. This
competition is meant to combine
business acumen with the gumption
of solving social issues. The ideas
which make to the final round will
be mentored by high-profile people
who are social entrepreneurs
themselves. Besides, the winners
will receive a handsome cash prize.
Good ideas will get the opportunity
to get funded by our partner
organisations, venture capitalists
and angel investors.</p>
<li><b>What do you mean exactly by
social entrepreneurs ?</b></li>
<p>Florence Nightingale was a
social entrepreneur. So was Mary
Montessori who revolutionised early
learning. Muhammad Yunus with his
ideas on micro-credit was one too,
and Craig McCaw, the pioneer in
cellular and satellite
communications, is a social
entrepreneur. An entrepreneur who
goes beyond just commercial success
to transform hundreds of lives with
his business model is a social
entrepreneur. Running a charitable
institute would not constitute
social entrepreneurship but
equipping thousands of people with
a means to livelihood would. </p>
<li><b>How do you define social
entrepreneurship ?</b></li>
<p>Social entrepreneurship is a
mechanism to create human capacity
in the social sector. I will define
it as people working for social
causes while exhibiting
entrepreneurship qualities like in
business. This would include the
ability to ideate, design and then
implement the process, measure
impact and give feedback and the
ability to take risks in building
the organization. They should also
derive quality assurances and
should also be able to develop best
practices out of these and make
this available to others. Our
course is meant to create
entrepreneurs and not jobs seekers.
Some people may require more
exposure. The aim of the course is
that they should become self
managed. Entrepreneurship is not
always about profit making, it is
about mission accomplishment.
Social entrepreneurship is about
working within the current
constraints, creating an operating
model that will adapt and sustain
itself to serve the cause in any
situation</p> <li><b>What are the
fundamental differences between a
social and for-profit founders?
</b></li> <p>. In terms of
temperament, skills, drive, the way
they ask questions and think about
problems—social and business
founders are very much the same
creatures. The difference is really
in terms of what the founder seeks
to maximize .Social entrepreneurs
are primarily motivated by an
ethical imperative. They seek to
respond to urgent needs. The
question of why is paramount.</p>
<li><b>What is the Structure and
funding of social enterprises?
</b></li> <p>The profile of
financing is similar to that of
mainstream entrepreneurs. However,
social entrepreneurs are
proportionately more likely to have
failed to gain access to finance
because of the nature of their
business. Interestingly, inadequate
business planning is not the
largest factor for established
social enterprises, but
unwillingness to share and the
costs of finance are.</p>
<li><strong>Why Does social
entrepreneurship Matter?
</strong></li> <p> Social
enterprises are businesses with
“primarily social objectives, whose
surpluses are reinvested for that
purpose in the business or in the
community, rather than being driven
by the need to maximize profit for
shareholders and owners” or, in
short-hand, “businesses trading for
a social purpose”. The essence of
this definition means that any
surplus or profit, is recycled for
the benefits of the activity,
rather than for shareholders or
directors. Because of their
structure and constitution, they
are able to serve a triple bottom
line achieving profitability,
societal impact and environmental
sustainability simultaneously.</p>
<li><b>What is the most effective
way to lead a new organization?
</b></li> Getting people to buy
into a shared vision/ strategy, and
inspiring them to do so, as well as
putting in the</p> <li><b>What are
the things that keep potential
social entrepreneurs from
succeeding to fulfilling their
potential?</b> <p>Social
entrepreneurs who run “social
enterprises” have a major problem—
which is the difficulty in finding
patient growth capital targeted at
businesses that seek to maximize
social, environmental and economic
returns at once. A corollary of
this problem is the difficulty in
recruiting and retaining highly
talented people. Another blockage
are the lack of two-way bridges
between social entrepreneurs and
both business entrepreneurs and
governments</p> <p><li><strong>
what could government or society do
to encourage more social
entrepreneurship?</strong></li></p>
<p>There are many levels at which
social entrepreneurship can and
should be encouraged. At its
essence, the goal is to help build
a society in which many, many
people have the confidence, skill
and desire to solve problems they
see around them. The most important
qualities in social
entrepreneurship are empathy, the
ability to collaborate well with
others and the stubborn belief that
it’s possible to make a
difference—which motivates and
stimulates people to act. All these
can be incorporated in the
education .</p> <p><li><strong> Who
is the most famous personality in
the field of social
entrepreneurship?</strong></li></p>
<p><b> </b> The most famous social
entrepreneur would be Muhammad
Yunus, the founder of the Grameen
Bank. Like Jobs, Yunus took a
product—“credit”—that was once an
exclusive item (like the early PCs)
and brought it to a mass audience.
In so doing, his bank helped to
democratize access to capital in a
way that is similar to the way that
Apple Computer democratized access
to information. The effect is
similar: more choice and self-
determination in the hands of more
people globally</p>
<p><li><strong>What is
microfinance?</strong></li></p>
<p>Microfinance – the provision of
different and distinct levels of
financial service, provides poor
people , especially women , with
small loans .</p>
<p><li><strong>What is GEM?
</strong></li></p> <p> The Global
Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
started in 1999. Now in its seventh
year, this world-wide project will
involve some 42 countries in 2006.
This represents the largest and
most rigorous longitudinal study of
entrepreneurship in the world.</p>
<p><li><strong>Why measure social
entrepreneurship?</strong></li></p>
<p> With the social enterprise
sector as large as it is in the UK,
it is important to understand the
cultural and entrepreneurial base
that supports it, in the interests
of developing policies to support
more social entrepreneurship and,
hence, more social enterprise</p>
<p><b><li> What is the philosophy
and mission of Ashoka Innovators
for the public?</b></p></li>
<p>Founded in 1980, Ashoka helps to
make the social sector
entrepreneurial, productive, and
globally integrated. Ashoka
believes that the most leveraged
way to getting a social
entrepreneur.</p> <b><li> How do
you identify social entrepreneurs ?
</li></b> <p>Entrepreneurship is a
skill that we can give to people.
While most of us are not born
entrepreneurs, the passion and the
mindset to do social work is a
natural instinct. Social
entrepreneurship is a set of
social, managerial & leadership
skills which you give to people who
have a passion to do social
work.</p> <li><strong>What is an
executive summary?</strong></li>
<p>Refer to http://www.ecell-
iitkgp.org/competitions/Concipio/re
sources/</p> <li><strong>How to
write a b-plan?</strong></li>
<p>Refer to http://www.ecell-
iitkgp.org/competitions/Concipio/fa
q/</p>
