Social Entrepreneurship. A solution to social problems. Opportunities and challenges

Social entrepreneurship is a term that is not only heard so often today but has achieved a global presence. It is commonly understood as a business with a dual purpose that aims to achieve both social and economic value. Notably, most social entrepreneurs put emphasis on the creation of social value in order to differentiate themselves from ‘‘traditional’’ commercial entrepreneurship whose main aim is the attainment of profits and appeasing of shareholders. By addressing social needs, social entrepreneurship initiates long lasting changes that seem at first invisible but in the long run the impact is seen. According to Praszkier and Nowak (2012), social entrepreneurs apply relatively small interventions that nevertheless manage to produce disproportionately significant results and it is often understood as the ‘bottom-up initiation process’ that empowers groups and societies. Undoubtedly, the work of social entrepreneurs around the globe – both in developing and developed countries– cuts across many areas and sectors such as education, agriculture, health, economics, technology and among other fields. Moreover, numerous stories of such innovations for shared value have been published, awarded and recognised by foundations such as Schwab1, Ashoka2 and Skoll3 that are well renowned for their support of, rewarding and recognition of social entrepreneurs, who are contributing and making efforts to bring change in their communities and the world through their innovative business ideas