Social Entrepreneurship

A vision of Utopia is nice, but it won't happen without a transportation plan, a sewerage system and skilled workers.

Social entrepreneurship is a process by which a person or organisation identifies a social problem and uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas a business entrepreneur typically measures performance in profit and return, a social entrepreneur assesses success in terms of the impact s/he has on society.

Our world is changing at an unprecedented  rate and is full of dramatic contradictions. A  truly global system has brought millions into the economic mainstream for the first time. New  technologies have made our work and lives more productive and efficient. The numbers of people who are able to access good health care and education are growing steadily. Parts of the world that once knew famine are now feeding themselves.
 
And yet …
 
Within the shadows of the booming economies live millions who are unable to partake of the benefits enjoyed by the globalised world. Economic growth is uneven with some areas making great progress while others have hardly changed in centuries. Prejudice and fear continue to be the resort of people feeling threatened by the fast-changing world. Even as the majority of humanity becomes healthier, new emerging diseases challenge the public health systems of even the most advanced societies.
 
For decades the dominant response to the challenge of international development has been “Aid”. Much has been accomplished through the international aid system and there will remain a major place for aid projects far into the future. However, one of the ways in which the world has changed is a recognition that aid and governments will never be the entire answer to sustainable development.
 
Poverty alleviation and a strong healthy environment are seen as the responsibility of all parts of society. In recent years new challenges have been followed by new actors in development. Individuals and companies and agencies are beginning to look for innovative solutions to not only the new challenges facing humanity but those we’ve been struggling with for years. This is why IDSS believes we need to 'move beyond aid' if we are to have a lasting impact in poor communities.

IDSS believes that the communities with which we work, as well as our clients, are looking for outcomes that more effective, more scaleable and more sustainable. We are eager to work with partners, communities and clients to find an entrepreneurial solution to persistent social challenges.