Social Entrepreneurship

 Social - relating to society or its organization.

 Entrepreneurship – is an art of observing current practices in managing and operating a self-owned
wealth-creating business enterprise by providing goods and services that are valuable to the
customer.
 Social entrepreneurship is, at its most basic level, doing business for a social cause. It might also be
referred to as altruistic entrepreneurship.
 It combine commerce and social issues in a way that improves the lives of people connected to the
cause.
 Social entrepreneurship is the combination of commerce with social issues. Social entrepreneurs
aren’t only concerned with profits. Success is also defined by how their business improves the
world. Unlike nonprofits, social entrepreneurship still earns a profit, but the focus is placed on the
social or environmental change made while earning that profit.

What Is a Social Entrepreneur?

 A social entrepreneur is a person who pursues novel applications that have the potential to solve
community-based problems. These individuals are willing to take on the risk and effort to create
positive changes in society through their initiatives. Social entrepreneurs may believe that this
practice is a way to connect you to your life's purpose, help others find theirs, and make a
difference in the world
 The word social comes from Latin word socialis, which means “an associate, ally or companion.”
Entrepreneur comes from the French verb “entreprendre” which means “to undertake”.
 CATALYST OF POSITIVE CHANGE.

According to the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurs share several
characteristics, these are:
 Achieve large scale social change.
 Focus on the social or ecological change they want to make while earning money to support the
change.
 Innovate when looking for a solution to a social problem.
 Use feedback to adapt and refine.

Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector through various means. Among
which are:
 Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value– the mission of social entrepreneurs is to
provide solutions to challenges faced by the society.
For example:
Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez have observed that most of the mothers in Payatas, Quezon City are
idle all day and do nothing but gamble, gossip, and do some errands at home. They are financially
dependent to their husbands whose jobs are also unstable. Because of these observations, the couple
provided them livelihood by means of weaving durable rugs for household use. The livelihood did not
only help the mothers earn money on their own and use their idle time productively, but it also provided
quality rugs to customers. The customers, on the other hand, felt that they are not just buying a product
but are also helping alleviate poverty in some families in Payatas.
 Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission– social entrepreneurs
see the opportunities, not just the problems.

For example:
Traffic has been one of the worst problems in Metro Manila , and a lot of strategies have been
done to try to address it. Jake Valeroso, a social entrepreneur, recognized this problem and came up
with a mobile app where commuters can book a taxi via carpooling. This saves the commuters money
since they only need to pay a portion of the transportation cost. This also helps decongest the streets
since only one car will be used for several passengers. Lastly, this also helps the taxi driver earn more.

 Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation and learning– innovation does not have
to mean creating something new, it can simply involve applying an existing idea in a new way or
situation.

For example:
Going back to Jake Valeroso’s mobile app for commuters, he also found out that one of the main
issues of the drivers is what to do during off-peak hours (when there are very few commuters availing
of the service). Based on the focus group discussion conducted by Jake’s team, there was also a need
to deliver documents and gifts from one person to another. Therefore, he innovated the mobile app and
included a delivery service for documents and gifts for a fee.

 Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand– social entrepreneurs use resources
efficiently, and they do not let limited resources keep them from pursuing their goals.

For example:
Going back to the example of Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez who helped the mothers in Payatas to
create quality rugs, it was apparent that despite the lack of resources, the couple still made use of the
materials available such as overstock cloths and indigenous fabrics. They acted boldly without being
limited by resources currently in hand.

 Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created–
social entrepreneurs take steps to ensure that they are creating social value. They seek to provide
real social improvements, and they work hard to be able to do what they set themselves to
achieve.

For example:
In the case of Mr. and Mrs. Fernandez, the couple wants to see positive change and
transformation among the mothers in Payatas. This vision fueled their passion to help these mothers
and to make sure that their standards of living become better. They did not just want to create profit;
they wanted to see a social problem resolved.

Social entrepreneurs are regarded as change agents as they always make a difference—
change, reform, or revolutionize—in order to create solutions in the social sector. They seek to create
systematic changes and sustainable improvements.

Creation of Social Enterprise

Many big companies came from small beginnings. Some were born out of one’s dreams; some
came out of one’s passion, while others materialized out of necessity. Indeed, ideas come in many
forms, shapes, and sizes, in different places, at different times. In generating ideas for a social
enterprise, each idea must be evaluated to ensure the likelihood that it can produce positive social
change, that there is a market for it, and it will be sustainable and feasible over time.
A social enterprise starts with the recognition of a need in the society, driven by motivation to
initiate social change. Here are some of the sources of ideas that spur creativity and change:
 Personal experiences.

 Hobbies or passion.

 Accidental discovery.

 Systematic or intentional search.

 Awareness through different channels.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP EXAMPLES

 TOMS: When the company was founded, it applied its “one for one” concept to shoes. For every pair
of TOMS shoes purchased, the company donated a pair to a needy child. The company has since
expanded the one for one concept to eye wear, coffee, and tote bags.It comes from the word
'tomorrow'—the idea that we can sell a pair today and give away a pair tomorrow.
 Grameen Bank: Founder Muhammad Yunus provides micro-loans to those in need to help them
develop financial self-sufficiency. Yunus received a Nobel Prize for his work in 2006.
 Badala.org: Founded by Joelle McNamara while she was still in high school, Badala.org is an e-
commerce site that creates jobs for African women by selling the products they make. Products
range from jewelry to wooden kitchen utensils.

 Edukasyon.ph is a social enterprise in the Philippines founded in 2015. It is the largest online youth
platform in the country. They cater to Filipino students aged 13 to 23 helping them become self-
aware in making smart education decisions to guide them in a path towards a fulfilling career and
a better life. They do this by providing students with a free platform (website) that contains different
courses, schools, scholarship opportunities, online education and other resources that will “enable
them to find and take the paths best suited to their own interests, skills, and priorities.

 Coffee for Peace is a social enterprise in the Philippines located in Davao city southern island of the
country, this social enterprise was founded to help facilitate an informal conflict mediation between
migrant and Bangsamoro farming communities. These two groups were involved in armed conflict
because of land and crop ownership disputes. Coffee for Peace was a way for the founders to
help mediate this by inviting the two groups to start a proper dialogue over coffee. Coffee for
Peace produces arabica coffee as their “iconic product for peace and reconciliation”. They have
been training farmers on arabica production and not just in Mindanao but also in the Cordillera
Region. This social enterprise has been advocating principles of “Fair Trade in the coffee industry
for the past years to advance social justice and peace.
 Good Food Co. is a social enterprise in the Philippines that promotes an alternative food system
based on ethical and ecological farming. “Good Food Community aims to “change the world with
 food”. All fees from subscriptions and pledges are used to support local farmers and sustain
operations, while also providing consumers the opportunity to visit the farms where the food is
grown, learn about farmers’ stories, and gain a newfound respect and awareness of food and the
community around them.
 Happy Helper offers cleaning and housekeeping services around Metro Manila. They employ women,
who they call the Happy Helper, from underprivileged communities and provide them with life
coaching and skills training. “We strive to extend H.E.L.P. to all our Happy Helper nanays
– (H)onor and dignity to each individual, opportunity to (E)arn additional income, a (L)oving and
nurturing community, and (P)ersonal growth.”
 Operating since 2016, Taxumo is a social enterprise that automates various tax-related activities from
real-time tax calculation, to access to tax information, up to tax filing, and payment with just a few
taps from their mobile application. Taxumo provides guidance on tax activities through their
platform and through public webinars on social media. Taxumo continues to process tax-related
activities of freelancers and entrepreneurs, especially during this tax-filing season. In response to
the current crisis, Taxumo launched discounted annual subscription prices for freelancers, self-
employed professionals, and owners of small businesses to ease the impact of the pandemic on
their livelihood. In addition to this support, they are also offering their services for free to doctors
and medical professionals serving in the frontlines.
 Virtualahan is a tech social enterprise building an ecosystem for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs)
with digital work while helping businesses of any size grow. They provide virtual capacity-building
opportunities to PWDs to help them become highly-skilled individuals who can deliver results and
quality outputs despite their disabilities. In addition, they made job placement assistance available
to their clients by connecting them to companies who employ PWDs. Also offering their services
through online means, Virtualahan launched their Virtualanihan program to help their stakeholders
upgrade their skills and learn the work-from-home culture. The Virtualanihan is a free online
masterclass which covers topics such as online job mindsets, communication and language
training, social media marketing, work-from-home workflows, and many more.

THE SOCIAL ENTERPRISE PLAN

The social enterprise plan can help you assist in formulating and finalizing your social venture.
The outline is shown below:

I. Situation Analysis
A. Social Issue(s)
B. Social Impact
C. Market Analysis

II. Social enterprise

A. Product(s)
B. Mission and Vision
C. Target beneficiaries
D. Customers
E. Competitors

III. Operation
IV. Financial plan (budget or funding requirement)
 The situation analysis gives you an overview of the environment in which the social enterprise
will be operating. You may include analysis of current trends that are related to the enterprise you are
proposing, the social issue or issues that you hope to address, and the social impact that your social
venture may have on the society. You may consider the following in deciding on the social issue you
want to help resolve:
 Prevalence– is the social problem rampant in the society?
 Relevance– How can the social entrepreneur help solve the problem? Does he or she have
necessary skills and knowledge to manage the social enterprise?
 Radicalness– what are the solutions being proposed by the social enterprise? How innovative are
they to address the social problem?
 Urgency– how quickly should the social enterprise respond to the problem?
 Accessibility– what are the challenges in providing logistical support, mechanisms, and/or
operations of the social enterprise? How can this be resolved?

The second part of the paper that specifically focuses on the social enterprise requires you to
describe in detail the specific things about this venture. What are the products that you will be
making that are available to the market? You may also discuss your products’ competitive advantage.
The mission and vision will help you set the “guiding light” for your social venture. The target
beneficiaries and customers will give a clearer picture of who will benefit from the enterprise.
Competitors will make you understand how competitive the environment is and give you insights as to
what your competitors are doing.

The part on the operations asks you to provide specific details about your social enterprise.
Some questions that can be answered in this section are as follows:
 Where will your social enterprise operate?
 How many people do you need to manage and run it?
 Where will your raw materials came from?
 How long will it take for you to produce your products and make them available to the market?
The last part will show the viability of your paper. You may refer to the skills you have learned
in Business Finance to work on your Financial Plan.