Why becoming a Social Entrepreneur is your ultimate success?

Wangari Maathai

Do you know that making a better life for other people is a serious business which pays you an everlasting profit in your life? You will ask me how but the truth is a hand that gives normally receives. This might sound shallow to you but making the world a better place for all to live is the purpose you were born for, that is why you normally feel good and proud when you help people on anything, you normally feel safe in front of people you have helped and also you get a lot of rewards when you do something good for people or anything to the environment where people and other creatures live.

Try to reflect on the Nobel prizes, what it takes for people to get it, think of all who won that award, do you know what Wangari Maathai did in her big project of green belt in Kenya? She planted thousands of trees to serve the environment and we shall never forget her. Do you know what Profesor Muhammad Yunus did with Grameen Bank in Bangladesh? His idea of microfinance spread almost all over the world and most of the developing countries applies and poor people get capital to start their small investments to raise their daily bread income. 

Being joyous because you have done something good for others is your ultimate success you need, being loved by other people is what you are struggling for every day, creating good impression to people is what you fight for almost every day but perhaps you are using a difficult way, serving other people in the world will give all these success at once you better choose to become a social entrepreneur.

What is this social entrepreneurship?

Still there isn’t any agreed definition of this new concept in the world however we almost share the understanding that is a way of doing business with a directly social mission from which its profit is not directed to anyone’s pocket. It is doing business with social focus and adding value to the community. This is like screwing business as usual like how Richard Branson of virgin Unite put it. Most of the business as usual seems not to care the environment and people’s health and life in general then social entrepreneurs are there to cover that gap.

Social entrepreneurs are people with passion to the society, they always think about other people’s life, they are almost selfless that’s why they devote their time and resources to change the world for others to enjoy. When the government never think of supplying electricity to the interior villages, social entrepreneurs will come up with a solution and supply a cheap electricity for all people to access, when the industries cause deforestation in Kenya Wangari Maathai as a social entrepreneur had to think a way to plant many trees to rescue the environment under her big project of Greenbelt.

In the free market economy  

  

We definitely need social entrepreneurs to rescue the world because in this kind of economy there is big feature of selfish spirit where everyone minds his/her life and not of others. A business man normally think of the profit he/ she is going to make out of his/her business regardless all the destruction made up by such business to people and environment. Most of today’s government leaders mind their personal enrichments instead of taking care of their voters and the environment they live. All these gaps are covered by social entrepreneurs.

You cannot separate free market economy or capitalism and social entrepreneurship that is why it wasn’t there in most dictatorial governments or states in 20^th century. It was completely difficult to find it in the Eastern Europe, Russia and some of the African countries like Tanzania during the reign of socialism by that time. The fall of this ideology in the world and the dominance of capitalism and free market led to the rise of this concept of social entrepreneurship, even Bill Dryton the founder of Ashoka struggled a lot by the time he was imparting the idea of social entrepreneurship in India and Brazil where the dictatorial government felt so late.

It’s time for you to become a successful social entrepreneur

A social entrepreneur normally think big, he/she thinks to serve the community at large scale and sometimes a social entrepreneur thinks to serve the whole world because it is becoming connected more technologically and economically hence a single mistake done in Chine’s industry to pollute the environment affects the whole world up to South Africa and Latin America. Therefore a social entrepreneur like Bill Dryton with his Ashoka intends to serve the whole world by supporting social entrepreneurs who has brilliant ideas to serve the community anywhere in the world. Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh found a microfinance solution with his Grameen bank, an idea which is spread almost all over the world up to Tanzania. This is an example of how social entrepreneurs think big.

Look and think around your social setup, there is a lot of social problems which needs to be solved simply because the government and other stakeholders are not responsible. Look at the education system, see the health problems, a lot of vulnerable groups of people, look at that environmental degradation because of industries and other carelessness of people around; to a social entrepreneur all these are opportunities to undertake a business solution, you need to find a solution to those problems. 

You might directly and quickly think of starting an NGO so as you can ask for funds and give charity to vulnerable groups and think you are doing social entrepreneurship; that is not a social entrepreneurship I am talking about, think of this social enterprise in Tanzania by its name Wonder Workshop. The idea is to support disabled people to stop begging along the roads in Dar es Salaam city instead working to make their own income and support their families. 

A social entrepreneur gathered some of these people and started a workshop where they create a lot of ornaments using recycled materials and an organization find a market to sell them, the money they get are offered to them as a salaries in a monthly basis. Can you recognize how this social entrepreneur has solved a problem in a sustainable way? He first of all gave employment to disabled who were previously beggars and they are now risen up their esteem to feel like other normal people but secondly he is cleaning the city because many dirty materials are going to be dumped to the workshop for reuse. 

What makes one a social entrepreneur

I found that most of the emerging social entrepreneurs became so because of their backgrounds. If you listen to Wangari Maathai is because she was born in a village where they depended much on the trees to get natural water, natural air and trees to build their houses etc. and when she found this nature is distracted by industrial developments, it pained her, she was not ready to continue witnessing that destruction, she had to start a Greenbelt movement to plant trees. 

Professor Muhammad Yunus was coming originally in Bangladesh around the village he supported women with his 27$ as loans with trust to start their small business. It is due to the fact that he knew the situation since before and may be it was his dream to find a way to reduce poverty to women and the community in general.

There are other many social entrepreneurs who start becoming so due to the inspiration they get from other social entrepreneurs like Wangari Maathai and Muhammad Yunus however others are becoming sorry with big social problems which are occurring in the community and they decide to find a way to solve them. 

Not only these factors but others decide to be social entrepreneurs by simply envisioning and seeing the end in their mind hence create some new innovative initiatives in the community or the world at large which helps to make it a better place for all of us to live.

It is joyous and great feeling to do something big and valuable in your community or world before you die and that is the only success you need as you are alive. We remember, respect and honor all who did something good for others not those who killed others for their personal gain. We protect and defend only those who cared for others and are the one who live peacefully in the world. Decide to become a social entrepreneur today by adding value to your community and that will be your ultimate success you want before you pass away.

Good luck!

By Erick Chrispin