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Is "social enterprise" just another fad?

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Margo Conner
Topics: Economic Development, Innovation, Microfinance
Attendees gather at Voice11, a 2011 "social enterprise event" in London. Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43781428@N04/5577158382/">Kristian Buus (Flickr)</a>
Attendees gather at Voice11, a 2011 "social enterprise event" in London. Photo: Kristian Buus (Flickr)

Helping people is pretty much always in vogue. But the way it gets done can go out of style.

Just like pop culture trends, the strategies that development agencies use to try to alleviate poverty fall in and out of favor. Last year, Global Envision reported on the Global Microfinance Summit, where many pointed to the weaknesses of an approach that is often lauded as a sort of silver bullet for impoverished populations.

We’ve reported on social enterprise in the past: Tom’s Shoes and Warby Parker, Oliberté, and SELCO in India are all examples. But is this a sustainable model? Check out this recent piece by GOOD Magazine, which asks some of Africa’s social entrepreneurs to weigh in on the future of social enterprise and the tension between making an impact and making a profit.

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Keywords: andrew youn, ashley murray, chid liberty, good, microfinance, microfinance crisis, oliberte, peter gross, SELCO, sharon chang, Social Enterprise, timothy wade, tom's shoes, tzamaret fuerst, Warby Parker

Comments

Thu, 02/16/2012 - 14:17 — Monica (not verified)

We can also ask, what is the

We can also ask, what is the cause of social entrepreneurship's rise in popularity? Aaron Hurst, writing for the Standford Social Innovation Review writes,

"The social entrepreneur is part of the folklore that makes the story of a state-less society seem possible and desirable. It fuels the modern pro-business and anti-government movements."

The full blog post is worth checking out if you haven't already.

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