Social entrepreneurship is an approach by individuals, groups, start-up companies or entrepreneurs, in which they develop funds and implement solutions to social, cultural or environmental issues. It mainly focuses on “value creation” rather than “value proposition”.
The term “entrepreneurship” is popular nowadays as it helps to uplift the economy and encourage new innovation. Similarly, the concept “social entrepreneurship” is also being highlighted nowadays. However, the concept is different than commercial entrepreneurship.
Social entrepreneurs seek to solve and address the social, environmental and cultural problems to create an impact in the society. In order to uplift a certain community, it is important to find the root cause of the society which directly or indirectly affects the community, environment, economy and so on. After the pandemic, the world has been facing crisis in terms of economy, environment, etc. Therefore, as declared by World Economic Forum, the concept of social entrepreneurship is growing because it can help to work towards bringing solutions to social problems and also uplift the community in various ways. Similarly, it also adds value to the concept of sustainable development.
Additionally, the literacy rate in Nepal is 67. 9% (2018 A. D) and unemployment rate is 1. 28% (2018 A.D) which are the two main factors for community development. After the covid outbreak, the unemployment rate has increased as many people lost their jobs especially people who have been working in the informal sectors. Therefore, social entrepreneurs find this as a great opportunity to create job opportunities by their business model with social inclusion addressing various issues in the community. Moreover, many donor-based agencies are transforming their organizations into social enterprise model so that such organizations can minimize relying financially from the donors and can sustain themselves, which is a great practice.
Nepal, being a developing country has a lot of potentials when it comes to creating jobs and we need to focus on gaps to be fulfilled for the development of individuals and the country. Therefore, social enterprises can be the changemakers and drivers of community development as it considers all the factors of inclusive practice that create a better space for all to live in.
