Social entrepreneurs are trying to marry civic problems with commercial solutions. They need to know how to move in many different worlds.
Entrepreneurs spot opportunities for new industry, they create jobs and grow stronger communities. It’s hard work. Success means not only having a great idea, but also having the drive to follow through on that idea, no matter the obstacles.
Kathleen Kemp is the co-founder of CigBins, an Ottawa-based company tackling the problem of cigarette-butt litter. CigBins installs and maintains butt disposal bins on their clients’ properties and returns to clean the bins on a regular schedule. On the surface, CigBins looks like any other small business, offering their services to clients at competitive rates and attracting new business with careful marketing and branding—but Kemp founded CigBins to do more than simply turn a profit.
The company recycles the waste they remove and, in partnership with Causeway Work Center, helps people with mental disabilities find a place in their workforce. “We want CigBins to be a positive force in the community— but to do that we need to be a sustainable business,” Kemp explains. “It’s all about finding the right balance between the social, environmental, and economic impacts of the company.”
Entrepreneurs like Kemp are innovators. They keep the economic engine running by taking great ideas and building businesses around them. Entrepreneurs spot opportunities for new industry, they create jobs and grow stronger communities. It’s hard work. Success means not only having a great idea, but also having the drive to follow through on that idea, no matter the obstacles.
Innovators are driven by values
Why entrepreneurs innovate is as important as what they innovate. It’s easy to be cynical and think that every business grows out of love for the dollar, but that’s often not the case. The truth is that many innovators are driven more by values than by financial security. Values are the backbone of great social entrepreneurship, a force which has been changing the world, both locally and globally, for a long time.
It might be hard to find two experts who agree on the same definition of social entrepreneurship. Depending on who you ask, the definition might include non-profits operating through grants and donations, or it might be restricted to for-profit businesses that put their values before their bottom line. No matter the specifics, the premise remains the same—the use of solid business practices to help solve society’s problems.
“Social entrepreneurs are some of the most fascinating people I’ve ever worked with,” says Craig Ryan, director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Business Development Canada (BDC). The mandate of BDC is to enhance the growth of the Canadian economy by offering flexible loans to small and medium businesses. Ryan’s job at BDC is to ensure that the organization considers environmental and social impacts, both in its own operations and when choosing companies to partner with.
Ryan landed in his current position after working in both the private and public sector and believes such diverse experience can be especially beneficial to the entrepreneurs he works with. “Social entrepreneurs are trying to marry civic problems with commercial solutions. They need to know how to move in many different worlds. Cross-pollination between sectors is important.”
The good of social entrepreneurship hasn’t gone unnoticed. Organizations of all sizes have sprung up to support and grow innovative social ventures. At the international level, institutions such as the Ashoka Fellowship and the Skoll Foundation search for committed people with great ideas and awards them grants and networking opportunities. At a local level, collaborative office spaces such as Impact Hub are bringing entrepreneurs together and allowing them to share ideas.
ENACTUS at a campus near you
Social entrepreneurship has also found a home on university campuses. ENACTUS aims to create student entrepreneurial action through competition. Every year, ENACTUS teams at universities around the world test their innovations in national competitions hoping for a chance to bring their ideas to the ENACTUS world cup.
Tanveer Mostafa joined ENACTUS during his first year at University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Business. He joined both to build his entrepreneurial experience and to make a positive contribution to society. However, he had to find a problem before he could solve one. This took him out into the community. “People think they can do all their research at their desk,” Mostafa explains, “but to understand the problems facing a community, you have to get out of your comfort zone and engage with that community.”
The problem Mostafa eventually identified was job insecurity in immigrant and homeless communities. Along with his business partner, Wendy Liang, and with the support of the University of Ottawa ENACTUS team, Mostafa founded Ontario Sports Officials, a company that provides free referee training to recent immigrants and connects them to soccer leagues across Ontario in need of officials. The company has since gone on to expand nationally into Canada Sports Officials—but Mostafa, true to his entrepreneurial spirit, is already looking for a new challenge.
While the idea of corporations making positive changes in their communities isn’t new, entrepreneurs who decide to walk this path have more support than ever before.
It’s easier to grow a socially responsible company from an idea than it is to take an existing company and make it socially responsible. That’s the real value of social entrepreneurs. By founding the industries of the future, today’s innovators can have a say in how those industries are run. By making social and environmental impacts a priority and combining those impacts with sustainable business practices, entrepreneurs can be a powerful force for positive change. It’s an exciting time to get involved.
