An Investigation of Social Entrepreneurship in India

Social entrepreneurship has become the buzz word in India and around the world. People have foundthis concept of philanthropy a bit intriguing in nature. It has the best mixture of social service andentrepreneurship; this combination makes it most attractive and so unique in nature. Usuallyentrepreneurship is related to economic activities and being ruthlessly profit making and ignoring socialbenefits or societal wellbeing. In the present era of heavy industrialization and economic growth,societal gains have taken back seat or even out of the sight all around the world, including India, withthe concept of social entrepreneurship rising in India and around the world has helped in serving thesociety in more meaningful manner than ever before along with living the spirit of entrepreneurship withits fullest. Social entrepreneurship is not a newer concept but the positioning of the concept has risen tonew heights in recent times. As government of India has made CSR a more realistic responsibility than amere formality, corporates are now looking for their grater roles in helping the society in a way that isboth economically and socially beneficial. As the definition of social entrepreneurship itself clarifiesthat its fine combination of entrepreneurship and societal gains. In recent times, the concept has takennew identities and shapes, and has been accepted among wider areas. Some of the prominentorganizations in India has accepted this form of doing business and shaped the society in a very positivemanner. This is the objective of social entrepreneurship that entrepreneurs are now more responsible forsociety and its well-being than earning profits only. This concept also addresses social need and socialinnovations in its totality, in the opinion of experts; social entrepreneurship is nothing but identificationof social need and addressing that need with a unique social innovation. This is where the social andeconomic entrepreneurship differentiate with each other, economic entrepreneurship focuses oneconomic need, on the other hands, social entrepreneurship focuses on social needs. This paper is adetailed study on variety of topics related to social entrepreneurship, including the conceptualframework and process of social entrepreneurship. This research paper also includes the variouschallenges faced by social entrepreneurs and puts forwards its recommendations to improve the overallsituation of social entrepreneurship/entrepreneurs in India. Research paper further discusses similarityand contrast between social and economic entrepreneurship along with explaining the traits for a socialentrepreneur. The paper also explains the concepts like social needs and social innovations fromentrepreneurship’s point of view. Social entrepreneurship has increased its scope and importance in recent years, this paper also includes both areas as well. At last, how social entrepreneurship can changeor impact on the social setup and social fibre in India and other developed nations specifically at thebottom of the pyramid level is also underlined in this research paper.