The world of the social entrepreneur

The term “social entrepreneurship” is being adopted and used more extensively, but its meaning is not widely understood. In particular, the scope of social entrepreneurship in both business and the voluntary sector has not been mapped effectively. This paper seeks to do this. It begins by defining social entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurship. Then, using projects considered for a charter award under the Duke of York’s Community Initiative, it looks at what social entrepreneurs do and achieve for the community, at the wide scope of their world, and at the help that is available and needed. The paper includes two case studies of successful social entrepreneurs as a means of drawing out a number of important…