The Social Entrepreneur

When we think of an entrepreneur and are asked to name examples we often think of people with drive, strong personalities and of course new ideas. Richard Branson (Virgin), Anita Roddick (The Body Shop) and Tom Farmer (Kwik Fit) may be amongst those named.



But what makes a social entrepreneur? How are they different? What's the difference between a social entrepreneur and a social enterprise?

Firstport is collecting and collating profiles of social entrepreneurs. Click here to access the profiles.



UnLtd loosely defines a social entrepreneur as “a person who has the ideas and the commitment to make a difference in their communities” and it is what a social entrepreneur would define as success that makes a difference here. To the social entrepreneur success is community driven.



Unltd have done further research on the background of their awardees in trying to understand where the social entrepreneur comes from. To read more click on the link below:

http://www.unltd.org.uk/download/HPZ_UnLtd_Report_circulated.pdf

Social entrepreneurs can exist in many guises and while we often first think of the social entrepreneur as the person running a social enterprise this may not be the case. While a social entrepreneur may have first established a social enterprise it may no longer be managed by the founder. In addition, change for social benefit can be delivered in many different ways. A social entrepreneur may operate from within the public or private sectors or as an individual. Senscot (Social Entrepreneurs Network Scotland) are currently doing some work around intrepreneurs innovators in the public sector....to read more go to:

http://www.senscot.net/view_news.php?SK=21824ac60b783579746b3328fdf6fcc4&viewid=6366

We are currently building up profiles of social entrepreneurs to add to this site. If you would like the opportunity to showcase your initiative and share your learning and experience with others then please email info@firstport.org.uk