What is a social entrepreneur?
I’ve recently come across this term more and more. In my daily conversations with individuals from various backgrounds, I keep getting referred to as a social entrepreneur. This is not a new term, however, it is not a term that we use a lot where I am from. So I’ve decided to embrace the term and dive deeper into the meaning of what a social entrepreneur really is.
A social entrepreneur is an individual with “innovative solutions to society’s most pressing and difficult social problems”. Sounds like me right? Now let’s go deeper into what the characteristics of a social entrepreneur is. “They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change.”
Immediately, I found that is exactly what I am. Not only am I tackling a problem on a local scale, I’m helping to influence change internationally. Instead of leaving our collective needs to the government (big or small) or corporate sectors, I’m discovering what is not working in our communities and schools, and trying to solve the problem by changing the structure in which the way things are done. By doing this, I’m able to spread these ideas, solutions, and influence entire communities to move in different direction. All through this brilliant culture we call hip hop.
As a social entrepreneur, I’m often infatuated by my ideas of change and I’ve committed the last several years of my life to changing communities through education and mentoring. I have realistic expectations, but my vision of a better world community by community is what motivates me to continue. I’m using hip hop to engage widespread support in order to maximize the number of people that will stand up and implement these ideas in their schools and communities. The people who I’m getting to stand up and create change come from various circumstances and backgrounds but we can all connect through hip-hop.
Just as an entrepreneur tries to change how a business is perceived, social entrepreneurs are the change agents for humanity and communities. I’m seizing opportunities others miss to improve the system, one community at a time. As a social entrepreneur, my goal is to develop ground-breaking solutions to local community problems and then apply them on a larger scale. I’ve never considered myself an entrepreneur but I definitely am committed to change and willing to use what people see as a negative to influence communities for positive change. In the words of the late, great Notorious B.I.G., “I went from negative to positive”.