THE GREATEST INVESTMENT

The Greatest Investment: Social Entrepreneurship

By Josh Duke

Ask most people what the greatest advancement in the last few decades has been and you will probably hear something related to the internet, computers, space travel or medical procedures. If you press for specific answers, you might hear about how the iPhone revolutionized our access to information and kicked off a whole new industry, how Tesla has created unprecedented excitement around electric vehicles, or maybe how CRISPR has accelerated our ability to modify DNA.

Virtually every part of our lives is shaped in some way by a visionary entrepreneur, many of whom have become household names, such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, to name a few. However, there is a movement growing that may not be as well-known but aims to have just as big of an impact on everyday life: social entrepreneurship. It takes many of the concepts that have driven innovation and the overall economy and applies them in ways that seek to address critical, systemic and foundational problems facing societies around the world.

A NEW KIND OF ENTREPRENEUR

Social entrepreneurship and our general understanding of entrepreneurship share some similarities, but there are some key differences that defines social entrepreneurship as something new and different.

Bruce Manciagli is the director of Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship at FSU and the social entrepreneur in residence at the College of Social Sciences & Public Policy. He believes that while defining social entrepreneurship is not straightforward, it is important to make the distinction.

Bruce Manciagli

“Historically, entrepreneurs were seen as innovators or change agents who spurred economic progress” says Manciagli. “While many of these entrepreneurs served this function by starting new business ventures, it was the creation of a new, more efficient equilibrium rather than the venture itself that was seen as the essence of entrepreneurship.”

Social entrepreneurs are similar but different. They are also “focused on creating a new equilibrium, although by definition their starting point is a problem or system that is currently unjust or inequitable, causing the marginalization of a segment of society,” he says. This difference, while seemingly small, is critically important because it shapes the entire way that a social entrepreneur defines their value proposition. While a commercial entrepreneur focuses on profits as a key measure of success in solving a problem, Manciagli says a social entrepreneur views financial value as “a means to an end. It is in service to achieving the social or environmental mission which, in their case, is how success is defined and measured.”

Manciagli’s formal definition of a social enterprise, one of the key tools used by social entrepreneurs, is “a mission-focused venture that applies market-based strategies to create social, environmental and economic value and uses the majority of net revenue to advance and sustain its social/environmental mission. It may be set up legally as a nonprofit, for-profit or hybrid entity.”

A social entrepreneur could look to help a society’s most impoverished people get out of the cycle of debt, or it could be an innovator

looking at ways to provide clean water in the face of changing drought patterns. One of the most renowned social entrepreneurs is Muhammad Yunus, who is considered the grandfather of the social innovation known as microfinance and was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in addressing poverty. Microloans allow low-income, marginalized individuals and families, who otherwise face predatory lenders at high interest rates, access to small yet critical working capital loans that they can invest in businesses and assets that can generate income and improve their quality of life.

BUILDING LASTING CHANGE

It is important to understand that social entrepreneurs are not charity workers. While they have altruistic and humanitarian tendencies, these individuals often build organizations that work within the framework of a capitalist world economy.

“Social innovation begins with understanding a social or environmental problem within its sociocultural context and becoming aware of the needs of those experience the problem,” he says. “It’s then that we can ideate innovative, systemic approaches that are empowering, sustainable, and scalable—solutions that not only create social impact but strengthen people’s capacity to act as problem-solvers themselves.

This process leverages the best thinking and practices from across the private, public, and nonprofit/civic sectors, which allows social entrepreneurs to achieve a triple bottom line that helps regenerate our economies, societies, and the planet in ways that are scaled and financially and environmentally sustainable.

ENTREPRENEURS OF EDUCATION

Social entrepreneurs apply their talent and penchant for innovation across all manner of fields and industries, and education is no exception. By addressing social needs through entrepreneurial practices, businesses have popped up around the world to improve access to education, supplement learning experiences, and help raise awareness of systemic problems.

For example, Dexterity Global is an organization started in 2008 by Sharad Sagar that aims to help children across India gain access to education. Sagar recognized the importance of education to the future of India and started the organization, which has received international recognition for its efforts. Beyond helping students get an education, Dexterity Global places a focus on servant leadership and role models. These students take a look at problems facing their local communities and come up with ways to solve them.

Why rely on a social entrepreneur to provide this service to India’s school-aged children? Because of the vast size, lack of adequate resources, and economic disparity of India, setting up and regulating schools becomes much more problematic. Social entrepreneurs can fill in the holes left in national policy to ensure that all students have access.

Another example is Ubongo, which has helped more than 500 million children in Africa through its edutainment experience. Similar to Dexterity Global, Ubongo addresses the challenge of educational access across a massive geographical area. Because children living across various

African countries have different access to media devices, Ubongo has created edutainment programming that can be enjoyed across a wide range of mass media devices. According to their 2020 learning report, their programming increased learning outcomes by 12%.

TEACHING NEW ENTREPRENEURS

Finally, the interest in social entrepreneurship has itself created opportunities for social entrepreneurs. Incubators, institutes and fellowships have sprung up around the world to encourage social entrepreneurs to find ways to address our biggest problems.

Florida State University is home to Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship @ Florida State University, or SIE@FSU, where Manciagli serves as director. In line with the university’s overall advocacy for entrepreneurship, SIE@ FSU seeks to foster the entrepreneurial spirit in students. However, unlike other efforts on campus, SIE@FSU puts an emphasis on social innovation and entrepreneurship.

Students at SIE@FSU come from a number of different backgrounds, but their common interest is the way that innovation and entrepreneurship can help change the world. While SIE@FSU gives students a deep

understanding of practices and skills necessary to succeed, Manciagli believes that students “must find a passion, a vision, and the kind of deep understanding of a problem at the ground level” in order to be truly successful. Fortunately for SIE@FSU, Florida State students are known for their ingenuity and innovation, and many students who come through SIE@FSU go on to work on major problems facing communities big and small.

THE MOTHER OF INVENTION

As we progress further into this new decade, catalytic events like pandemics and global warming promise to change everyday life. These events will shape societies around the world, requiring a tremendous number of resources and creative thinking.

But as the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention, and social entrepreneurs like the ones emerging from Florida State University will be ready to face the challenges of the day to help those who need it most. In its history, the university has produced a number of successful business leaders, but as it becomes more apparent that entrepreneurship can also play a role in addressing major social problems, expect to see FSU students continue to lead the charge. n