The series of articles that follow this introduction is a fascinating story of the hopes and struggles in developing a social venture in South Africa. The author is writing this saga as he awaits trial to tell his side of a story filled with the realities of blending the desire to help the poor with the need to create viable businesses.

As socially conscious entrepreneurs move into emerging markets around the world they face numerous challenges relating to laws, customs and competition from not so socially conscious mega-corporations. If we as consumers are to make a difference, it becomes ever more important to educate ourselves and support the products and services created by social ventures whenever possible. By doing so we help to give others dignity, self-sufficiency and hope.

Social Entrepreneurship in Africa

Social Entrepreneurship in Africa: A New Business Model in a Blossoming Continent

 By:  Brian Ray Dinning, JD, LLM and Social Venture Lawyer

 June 21, 2012

“I’m encouraging young people to become social business entrepreneurs and contribute to the world, rather than just making money. Making money is no fun. Contributing to and changing the world is a lot more fun.”
      

                             – Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank

 

Social entrepreneurship is a partnership – it combines both social objectives such as feeding the poor, creating jobs, promoting education along with traditional business objectives of profit-making. Traditionally, an investor– like a Mega-Corporation—thinks of a project the same way a predator thinks of its prey. The goal is to extract as much capital as possible with little regard for the well being of the…

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