Understanding Social Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The importance of social entrepreneurship in social, cultural and economic terms is increasingly acknowledged. Drawing on data from the second Social Entrepreneurship Monitor report published by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) UK project, this article focuses on the social entrepreneurs who may grow the social enterprises of the future. After establishing an appropriate definition of ‘social entrepreneurship’, the author assesses how much social entrepreneurial activity there is in the UK, breaking that activity down into the categories of ‘nascent’, ‘baby’ and ‘established’ and examining regional variations. She then reports on the characteristics of both mainstream and social entrepreneurs, and analyses their respective demographic profiles. This is followed by a discussion of the nature of social enterprises, including such issues as their main sources of revenue and the reasons why so many find it hard to obtain finance. The article concludes with reference to the policy implications of the paper, highlighting the importance of formulating strategies to stimulate social entrepreneurship.