by Ken
Caplan
What’s in a name?
Over the past
few years, rather belatedly compared to other sectors, the water and sanitation
sector has begun using the phrase “social entrepreneurs”. The term
however is far from new – according to Wikipedia, it was first coined back in
the 1960s. The essence of the concept is that entrepreneurial principles
are applied to (re)solve social (or environmental) problems.
The term
came up recently on two television programmes here in the UK – The
Apprentice and Dragon’s Den. The first is a
programme aimed at whittling down a group of self-described “entrepreneurs” to
join a major corporation or win an investment in their business idea.
Similarly, Dragon’s Den sees a range of individuals or small businesses
pitching for investment in their idea, product or business from a handful of
“powerful” investors. Unsurprisingly, as both focus on the financial
bottom line (of making a return on an investment), it is easy to see how for
some the term “social enterprise” can represent an oxymoron, as was directly
stated on both programmes. Maybe the term hasn’t quite caught on in the
actual business world then? Enterprise is after all usually equated with
business, which requires profits to thrive. If someone is described as
“enterprising”, though, it can either mean that they take the initiative to
solve problems or that they are good at making money from whatever venture they
get involved in.
Social
enterprises have grown up most notably around micro-credit but also around
healthcare, the organic food movement, and a range of other sectors.
These are “social” in the sense that they provide a value that contributes to
society. They still require a “profit” to sustain themselves, to
incentivise or reward those involved, or to expand (although the social nature of
the initiative suggests that margins or return on the investment is presumably
not meant to be very high).
Although
perhaps not labelling it as such, in various ways BPD has been exploring
"social entrepreneurship", particularly in the sanitation sector, for
a few years now. For example, at present we are working with WSUP (Water
and Sanitation for the Urban Poor) to understand how community managed service
delivery can apply more business-like principles (to ensure their
sustainability) or how local private sector management can be more
poverty-focused by incorporating elements of community management. Our
work in this area is ongoing, but we will keep blog readers posted on how our
thinking evolves...
