New Heroes - Social Entrepreneurs

Whom do you think is best positioned to solve the ills of the society?
1. Government
2. NGOs
3. Business.

Most of us think it is the government or the NGOs who could effectively solve the problems of the society like poverty, illiteracy, etc. But a new wave of people are changing that belief by showing that business could solve these social problems in a much more effective manner. They are united by their belief that there is a fortune at the bottom of the pyramid.

When a Social Entrepreneur recognizes a social problem, he uses entrepreneurial principles to organize, create, and manage a venture to make social change. Whereas business entrepreneurs typically measure performance in profit and return, social entrepreneurs assess their success in terms of the impact they have on society.

I came to know about 'Social Entrepreneurship' through my course in Northeastern University and it was interesting to learn about various Social Entrepreneurs like Dr V. (Aravind Hospitals), Muhammad Yunus(Grameen Bank) and how they used their unique business models to change the society.

And the most interesting part of the course was the live projects we were asked to do... Yeah! there were some interesting projects:-

• StudentSocialVentures.org - Creating Online Community to link students who are undertaking various social ventures
• Creating a Video for raising funds for Phoenix Charter Academy - http://youtube.com/watch?v=e29ccO-AwFQ
• Starting the Net-Impact Community at Northeastern University.
  

P.S:- Our Group Idea - Creating a Business Plan for Lending to Poor Students without collateral(similar to Microfinance).