Social Entrepreneurship: An Approach to Development in Mexico

This thesis is a two-part investigation of the benefits and obstacles of social entrepreneurship in Mexico. It address the following two questions: 1) can social entrepreneurship promote socioeconomic development in Mexico, and 2) how can entrepreneurs overcome obstacles to the creation of social enterprises? It will initially identify and discuss two issues preventing social and economic development, and propose that existing social enterprises have succeeded in addressing those issues. Then, it will examine how certain political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) factors in Mexico have inhibited social entrepreneurship, and propose how educational institutions can act as vehicles to overcome those obstacles. Specifically, I investigate how one university, the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Tec), approaches expanding opportunities for social entrepreneurship in Mexico in order to examine how the integration of social entrepreneurship into curricular and non-curricular programs promotes the development of social entrepreneurs and allows them to overcome environmental obstacles in their way. Overall the thesis will help the reader better understand what it means to be a social entrepreneur in Mexico, and why social entrepreneurship is necessary in a country facing many issues on a path to development. It also encourages further research of additional barriers to social entrepreneurship in Mexico, different programs available to promote social entrepreneurship, and the sustainability of established social enterprises.Plan II Honors Progra