Applying Social Entrepreneurship

I am invited by one of Sri Lanka's leading business consultancy firm, BDC (pvt) Ltd to develop a training module on Social Entreprneurship (SE) for a group of retail dealers in telecommunication industry. The telecom gient Dailog PLC wanted to apply SE to build capacity of its retail delers in a way to help rural people to access modern telecommunication services. It was owsome and really works with small timers who need to expand customer base and turnove by involving social activities.


Many of the leading thinkers remain true to the Say-Schumpeters' tradition while
offering variations on the theme. For instance, in his attempt to get at what is special about
entrepreneurs, Peter Drucker starts with Say's definition, but amplifies it to focus on
opportunity. Drucker does not require entrepreneurs to cause change, but sees them as
exploiting the opportunities that change (in technology, consumer preferences, social norms,
etc.) creates. He says, .this defines entrepreneur and entrepreneurship.the entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it, and exploits it as an opportunity.. The notion of opportunity has come to be central to many current definitions of entrepreneurship.

However the social entrepreneur seems to be rather different from the so called entrepreneur;

Social entrepreneurs play the role of change agents in the social sector, by:
• Adopting a mission to create and sustain social value (not just private value),
• Recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that mission,
• Engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning,
• Acting boldly without being limited by resources currently in hand, and
• Exhibiting heightened accountability to the constituencies served and for the outcomes created.