Even though it started with a commercial purpose, entrepreneurial activities that are concerned about the solution of social problems as well as financial concerns are expressed as social enterprise.

Socio-economic inequalities, increasing environmental pollution, decreasing natural resources, many factors such as global warming, natural disasters, which we feel more and more each day, have pushed companies and institutions to operate in the field of social enterprise, and it is believed that a more livable world is at least as important as financial profitability. It has now been thoroughly adopted by almost every enterprise.

What is Social Enterprise?

Like the entrepreneurs who change the face of the business world, social enterprises are also the change agents of social transformation. They aim to solve the primary social problems without prioritizing material benefit and profit, and to eliminate the problem. Just like commercial entrepreneurs, they see what others cannot see, create new opportunities, change systems and find solutions to important problems of society by finding new approaches.

Social entrepreneurs use many different tools on their journey. While some lead social movements without establishing any institution, some work with non-governmental organizations, some with cooperatives, and some with social benefit company structures called social enterprises.

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Social Enterprise Funding

Social funding, which is a new model and is often confused with donations or grants; transferred to the relevant initiative for a social, cultural or environmental goal. However, financial return (making profit) is as important as reaching the goal. Therefore, the social impact created is also measured in a transparent way. Examples of social enterprise funding types are impact investing, microcredit, social donations and grants, philanthropy, crowdfunding.

Social entrepreneurs are trying to make a global difference in many areas from ecology to housing, from gender equality to education. While trying to find solutions to social problems within the framework of cooperation and creativity, it invites us to create a transformation. Examples are Ottan, which produces upcycled products from organic waste, and Twin Science, an educational initiative that aims to show children that science is fun.

Social Enterprises in the UK

The Hidden Revolution, supported by the Nationwide Building Society and the Co-op Group, offers a new analysis of the size and scale of the social enterprise industry. The contribution of the social entrepreneurship sector to UK GDP is £24bn in previous research, compared to £60bn according to this independent analysis. The Hidden Revolution brings together key statistics that show social enterprises are more competitive than traditional companies and confirm that they are the Future of Business.

For the first time, the research considered the impact of 5,000 large social enterprises as well as small and medium-sized social enterprises. Combined with other data, this means that there are around 100,000 social enterprises with 2 million employees contributing £60 billion to the UK economy.

Social Enterprise UK, the Co-op Group and the Nationwide Building Society urge the government to consider the growing importance of the industry and support it with a comprehensive package of measures. The measures can be built on the Civil Society Strategy published last month and the Industrial Strategy published by the government last year. Precautions may include:

• Using public procurement policies to support social business through strengthening the Social Value Act
• Change in company law for businesses to take more into account their social and environmental responsibilities
• Considering how the tax system can encourage businesses that have an economic as well as a social impact on society
• By incorporating social entrepreneurship into the school curriculum, making young people aware of the option to start or work in a social enterprise

Unless social enterprises are supported, the country will have a hard time staying competitive, and the country will be more fragile as communities are left to bounce back and forth.

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Most Famous Social Enterprise Examples

It is possible to count Muhammad Yunus, Kailash Satyarthi and Jimmy Wales among the world’s leading social enterprises. Mohammed Yunus, the father of the microfinance movement, provides small-scale loans to millions of the poor, helping them break the cycle of poverty they are in. Kailash Satyarthi has become the global opinion leader of this issue with the “workplace without child labor” certification system that he started against child labor in the world. 

Jimmy Wales is revolutionizing the practice of collecting and sharing information by creating Wikipedia, an online, free, multilingual encyclopedia created and updated with public participation. Mohammed Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2016 along with Kailash Satyarthi and Malala in 2014.

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