• Social entrepreneurship refers to the practice of

combining innovation, resourcefulness and opportunity

to address critical social and environmental challenges. 
• Social entrepreneurship is the use of the techniques
by start up companies and other entrepreneurs to
develop, fund and implement solutions to social,
cultural, or environmental issues.
• A social entrepreneur is a person who pursues an
innovative idea with the potential to solve a community
problem.
Few examples of social entrepreneurs
Grameen Bank which
makes small loans to the poor
for small business
development and other uses.
Since its inception in the
1970s, Grameen has provided
$10 billion in loans to more
than 10 million people, and
has proven the need and
viability for financial services
to the poor.  Grameen
received the Nobel Peace
Prize in 2006 as a reflection of
its efforts and success.
 
D.Light designs affordable
solar-powered devices that
provide an option to people that
lack access to reliable energy
sources. In its eight-year
history, D.Light has sold more
than 10 million solar lamps,
improving the lives of 50 million
people.
After graduating with MBAs in
2007, they turned that class
project into D.Light design, a
for-profit social enterprise with
the purpose of providing bright,
affordable solar light to the 1.6 Co-founders
billion people worldwide that Sam Goldman
still lack access to electricity. and Ned Tozun
Greyston Bakery:
The bakery was founded in
1982. Later that
decade, Ben Cohen
of Ben & Jerry's ice
cream company agreed to
purchase Greyston Bakery
brownies for chocolate
fudge brownie ice cream.
Greyston provides the
homeless employment in a
bakery that makes
brownies for Ben & Jerry’s
ice cream. As Greyston
says, “we don’t hire people
to bake brownies, we bake
brownies to hire people.” Roshi Bernie Glassman
Dispensary of Hope

Aggregates prescription

medications that are

nearing their expiration

date and redistributes

these drugs to free clinics

in low-income

communities. Clinics pay

Dispensary of Hope a

monthly subscription fee

that covers basic expenses,

and drug manufacturers

save money by avoiding

Dr. Bruce Wolf
costs associated with
TerraCycle up cycles
packaging and other non-
recyclable consumer waste,
keeping it out of landfills and
turning it into new products.
Today, Terracycle has
established a recycling
network of more than 31
million consumers and 100
major corporate brand
partnerships, resulting in
more than 3 billion units of
garbage averted from landfills
and transformed into new,
100% recycled products.
Tom Szaky
Benetech:   Benetech was
founded in 1989 by high
technology
entrepreneur Jim
Fruchterman. It was created
to provide reading
machines for blind people.
During the period 1989-
2000, over 35,000 reading
machines were sold in sixty
countries, reading twelve
different languages.
The funding from the asset
sale was used to start the
Bookshare.org and Martus
projects.

Jim Fruchterman
 Warby Parker sells fashionable eyewear to customers
in developed markets, and makes a contribution to Vision
Spring for each pair sold that enables access to affordable
prescription glasses to people in developing countries who
are otherwise functionally blind. So far, this partnership has
distributed nearly 2.5 million pairs of glasses to those in
need.

David Gilboa, Neil Blumenthal, Jeffrey Raider and Andrew Hunt

 Types of social entrepreneurship
Social purpose entrepreneurship
Social business entrepreneurship
Social consequence entrepreneurship
Enterprising non-profits
Hybrid models of social entrepreneurship
Perspective of social entrepreneurship
A global perspective is structured in three parts:
Part 1: It provides an overview of the business
models pursued by social entrepreneurs in
different parts of the world, highlighting the
strategic, resource and legal factors influencing
their choice of model.
Part 2: It examines the growth options social
entrepreneurs pursue for scaling their initiatives
and how they seek to finance the expansion.
Part 3: It takes an inside look at the thrills and
challenges of being, or working with, a social
entrepreneur.
Boundaries of social entrepreneurship

• Risk of losing your non-profit status.

• Possibility that board, staff, volunteers, clients
and other stakeholders will oppose efforts to
generate profit and/ or charge for services.
• Time and money to start a new venture both
limited commodities for many non-profits.
• Unrealized fear that generating revenue will
reduce funding/ contributions from other
sources.
• Lack of financial support/ discretionary funds
for critical research and planning.
• Lack of business skills among current staff and
limited resources to hire new staff.
• No quick return for the investment of money,
time and energy.
• Fear of financial disaster, damaged reputation
and compromised mission.
• Challenge of managing the possibility of rapid
growth.