Origin of Social Entrepreneurship

Origin of Social Entrepreneurship

The words social entrepreneur and social entrepreneurship were initially used in literature concerning the social change in the 1960s and 1970s. But due to backing of it Bill Drayton the founder of Ashoka coined the term and Charles Leadbeater popularized it.

Gregory Dees, of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, described the evolution of social entrepreneurship. He pointed to the early 1980s as a point of origin for the social innovation models driving influential organizations like Ashoka, the Skoal Foundation, and others.

List of successful Social Entrepreneurs:

Bill Drayton of Ashoka - Godfather of social entrepreneurship

Muhammad Yunus- Founder of Grameen Bank and the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. He began offering microloans to impoverished people in Bangladesh in 1976.

Florence Nightingale - Founder of the first nursing school and the developer of the modern nursing operations

Robert Owen - Founder of the cooperative movement

Vinoba Bhave- The founder of Land Gift Movement.

Michael Young- One of Britain’s foremost social entrepreneurs. Drafted the 1945 Labour Party manifesto “Let Us Face The Future".

“ Were we to evaluate people, not only according to their intelligence and their education, their occupations and their power, but according to their kindliness and their courage, their imagination and sensitivity, their sympathy and generosity, there would be no overall inequalities of the sort we have got used to.” — Michael Young

Professor Daniel Bell

Social entrepreneurs use inspiration, creativity, courage, fortitude and, most importantly, direct action, to create a new reality – a new equilibrium – that results in enduring social benefit and a better future for everyone.

References:
http://sites.google.com/site/allaboutsocialentrepreneurship/
http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/jbl16110.htm
http://www.strategist.org.uk/tags/enterprise-software/