Social entrepreneurship, a hype or a sustainable business model?

I’ve come across a lot about ‘social entrepreneurship’ lately –small-sized companies that aim at doing well for their direct environment, for a profit. This is different from the trend towards ‘corporate citizenship’ where existing companies take some active participation in ‘doing good’ for their environment. Social entrepreneurship is about creating complete business model around the idea of ‘doing good’.

The idea is appealing and –from what I know so far- gained great traction in the US.

Looking to assess how important it is in the rest of the world, I came across the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship which organizes a yearly prize of best social entrepreneur by continent. The 2010 list of winners look quite interesting in all of the continents, except the winning initiatives from Europe who –with all respect- look a bit meager.

Nevertheless, social entrepreneurship is clearly on the rise, and educational programs across the world are driving youngsters to adopt –or at least be aware of- its potential. For instance, in the UK there is a school for social entrepreneurship, and in the US –as the video beneath testifies- there are experienced entrepreneurs going around high schools promoting the idea.

No doubt this trend that is more than a hype. looking at the aspirations and attitudes of Generation Y workers, this could become a major (business) trend in the near future. No doubt something to follow up on.