Entrepreneurs in service of the poor: Models for business contributions to sustainable development

Seelos C. and Mair J. 2004. IESE Paper: OP-04-16

IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Barcelona.

Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is trendy! It offers all the challenges and rewards of traditional entrepreneurship, combined with the vision of changing society, if not the world. One social entrepreneur has just received the "Alternative Nobel Prize"; in 2004 Jeff Skoll, the founder of e-Bay, donated 4.4 million pounds to establish a research center on social entrepreneurship; and many social entrepreneurs are mingling with their business colleagues at the World Economic Forum in Davos. At IESE, a first course on Social Entrepreneurship has received enthusiastic attention from MBA students, and a recent conference organized by IESE students brought together social entrepreneurs, managers of corporate social responsibility programs, and NGOs. This article provides an introduction to the exciting world of entrepreneurial creation of social value.

An adapted version of this paper was published in "Business Horizons", Vol. 48, No. 3, May-June 2005, pages: 241-246.