Tag Archives: social entrepreneurship

Being a Social Entrepreneur

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social impactWith the rising problems in the region, such as youth unemployment, the lack of social care services, and many others, we have been seeing an increase of civic responsible people wanting to remedy these issues with their communities. Social entrepreneurs are people who are not willing to watch the world around them deteriorate further and suffer. They see a problem and they want to fix it using business acumen to tackle the issues.

Not everyone can be a social entrepreneur. It’s tough and challenging and some difficult ‘Sophie’s Choice’ decisions have to be made along the way to make the business sustainable while achieving its mission. There are several things to consider before making the commitment to become a social entrepreneur.

What is the problem you want to solve?
You need to clearly articulate a problem and the solution to make it clear how your organization is part of the solution. Clearly state what the social challenge you want to solve is while developing your business plan, how you are planning to raise capital for it, and how you plan to implement your strategy. By knowing what is at the core of what you are trying to achieve, you could convince people to trust you and fund you, to leave better paying jobs to join your team, plus simplify engaging the public. By mastering this, you would manage to build the scale and sustainability of your idea for maximum social impact over time.

Is anyone else tackling the same problem?
Do your research. Chances are that someone else is already trying to tackle the same issue you have identified. Look into the approach that they are using. Consider if adding another group would help the cause or have the different groups compete over the same limited resources. Consider if your solution can support the others, rather than compete with them. If you still feel like your idea is better than the others, benefit from learning from their experiences in the field.

Consider your business model.
Many startups that focus on social impact tend to face unique challenges that other startups would not. Social enterprises have to continuously focus on profit and purpose. There are times when they are faced with decisions that pit profit against purpose. You need to consider the hard decisions you will have to make in such circumstances, for instance, would you compromise the social impact to make budget or tackle it so that you find other necessary cutbacks that will not harm your purpose? Generally, investors are focused on profits and growth and the business model needs to demonstrate that while remaining true to the mission. When looking for investors, find those who believe in the social mission and are passionate about it, so that when the time comes to make hard decisions, everyone on the team has the same values set.

Hire an entrepreneurial and flexible team.
You are a startup with limited resources. Having a team who think entrepreneurially, are capable of wearing different hats, and work flexible hours will pay off. Having a passionate team infused with an entrepreneurial spirit will jump shoot your startup leaps forward.

Be able to measure your social impact.
As a social enterprise you have to provide investors with financial projections and let them know how the business model contributes to solving an issue. Additionally, social enterprises have to constantly articulate to funders, supporters and the public the social impact of their solution. By articulating the number of lives impacted and accomplishments made through measurable and quantified indicators, you would help the enterprise to retain and grow its investment pool leading to maximizing the social impact.

Your readiness.
Starting a social enterprise is a demanding challenge that will affect your current life. You will have to invest long hours, battle challenges, constantly look for funding, and be persistent and patient until the impact is realized.

This list was not created to discourage anyone from being a social entrepreneur. If you have a great idea for solving a pressing issue, then society does need you. However, consider all of the above before you take that leap forward so that you do it right.

 

Ahmad Ashkar – Hult Prize

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Ahmad Ashkar
Hult Prize, CEO & Founder

Ahmad Ashkar is the CEO and Founder of the Hult Prize Foundation, named by President Bill Clinton and Time Magazine as one of the top 5 initiatives changing the world. Ahmad is one of the world’s notable experts in crowd and venture philanthropy. He specializes in entrepreneurship, innovation and strategy, and global expansion.

As a Palestenian-American, Ahmad is also an active social entrepreneur in the West Bank where he recently co-founded PalestineWater Company, a public private partnership that delivers clean water to the residents of Palestine. His work has been regularly recognized across the globe receiving several accolades; Harvard Business Review recognized Ahmad as a social innovator, the World Economic Forum nominated him as Young Global Shaper, and he has also been nominated as TR35 Pan Arab Top 35 Innovators Under 35, and a Power 30 Under 30 nominee.

Ahmad also serves as an adviser to both private and government sector entities across the Middle East and Latin American consulting on youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, crowd science and social entrepreneurship. As a recognized expert, he regularly appears as a coach and speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative, World Economic Forum, UN Social Innovation Summit and other notable gatherings.

The Hult Prize Foundation is a startup accelerator for young social entrepreneurs. Hult Prize is the largest student competition for social good in the world: the annual, year-long competition which pits MBA and college students from around the world against each other in a bid to solve the planet’s biggest social issues. The winners receive US $1 Million in seed capital as well as mentorship from the international business community, to help launch a social enterprise.

Since the Hult Prize was founded in 2009, it has been bringing sustainable change to some of the poorest people in the world and tackling several of the world’s social issues. The businesses created generate sustainability through profitable business models that are designed to bring social and financial impact. Winners have gone on to create businesses that provide holistic services at affordable prices to slum-dwellers specializing in chronic disease management, the world’s largest solar lights distributor, an alternative protein industry in micro-livestock, and a few other notable businesses.

By creating Hult Prize, Ahmad changed the world of social entrepreneurship and has been making an impact on the world. Ahmad, one of the truly inspirational and influential people in our world today, will be speaking at BDL Accelerate 2015.

Social Entrepreneurship on the Rise in the Region

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social enterprise

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.