Social Entrepreneurship on the Rise in the Region
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Social entrepreneurs are visionary individuals who create innovative solutions to some of the world’s most perplexing social issues to create a widespread change. They create socially responsible businesses that aim to generate profit whilst solving social and environmental problems and then implement these solutions on a large scale.
Social entrepreneurships are often confused with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The main difference between the two is the revenue model. NGOs rely on charitable contributions, public funding, and grants to support their programs and cover their overhead. When the economy is bad, donations, funding, and grants decrease if not disappear, causing many NGOs to shut down. Social entrepreneurships, however, have a steady stream of income; similarly to regular businesses, they take loans and form partnerships to expand and ensure that they and their programs are sustainable. Their aim is to create self-sustainable enterprises that do not rely on external funding or donors’ agendas, hence a much more powerful solution than charitable organizations.
Looking at the MENA region, an area with a high youth population who has been expressing dissatisfaction with the status quo, there has been a rise in civic engagement, so it is no surprise that there has been a rise in the number of social entrepreneurs. The socially committed young generation has been faced with several societal, political, and economic challenges and has turned towards social entrepreneurship as an opportunity to address those challenges. Through self-funding businesses, they aim to create a social impact at an accelerated pace.
Social entrepreneurship has highly benefited war-ridden and poverty struck regions in moving forwards in addition to addressing social development challenges. This new generation has the desire for independence and incorporates a sense of responsibility that goes significantly beyond themselves and their surroundings; and social entrepreneurship is particularly well suited and relevant to them.
In Dubai, Dumye has received recognition for their efforts in nourishing orphans. The concept is that with each handmade doll purchased, Dumye donates a doll to an orphan and hosts art workshops for orphans to create their own dolls. The enterprise has been selling dolls in over 14 countries and hosting workshops throughout the region, most recently to 200 orphans in Lebanon. This idea has empowered children to create something on their own, and it works as a form of therapy. Tahrir Academy in Egypt has been crowdsourcing knowledge to provide video content to deliver educational videos to teenagers, thus impacting education and increasing human rights awareness. Nawaya Network in Lebanon has provided a network to connect youth with resources to train them on skills through several workshops, providing youth with an opportunity in their lives that was otherwise unattainable, and providing them with a chance to generate income and with a sense of self-worth. Then there’s renowned Ahmad Ashkar, who, in addition to creating and founding Hult Prize, the world’s largest social entrepreneur completion, has co-founded PalestineWater Company, a public private partnership that provides clean water to the residents of Palestine.
With rising social problems across the region, the youth understand that there is a need for change. Many inspirational youths are opting for the path that fulfills them socially, morally, and financially. The region’s flourishing entrepreneurial scene has started to recognize the social component and has been providing workshops and mentorship dedicated to social impact.