Our very first week, Rishi, our work supervisor, asked Daniel and I what we thought social entrepreneurship meant. My mind went blank. The phrase “social entrepreneurship” had been something I was used to just dropping into conversation without ever stopping to think about what it actually meant. As I racked my brain for any thoughts I could voice, I threw out some words like “creativity” and “innovation” and eventually landed on the conclusion that social entrepreneurship was when people developed unique solutions to social problems or issues. But what constitutes an innovative solution? And how big does the social problem have to be? Rishi made Daniel and I realize that being a social entrepreneur and having a social impact is much more than simply “doing good.” It means that your idea solves an issue in society that has become so large that it is currently burdening people in their everyday lives and is in need of immediate attention. I think that is the important distinction between volunteer work or starting a business or something along those lines versus acting as a social entrepreneur—a social entrepreneur is developing a solution for a problem people are facing and in need of help with as soon as possible. That is why social entrepreneurship is so important to the world we live in. While we obviously need those people who are trying to do as much good as possible or start a business that helps a small sector of the population, we also have a crucial niche—of helping to solve an unrelenting issue—that must be filled as well. This niche is what social entrepreneurs fill. They are the ones that come into a problem area that so many have tried to put at ease, and create an idea that no one else has yet thought of. Upon arriving in Detroit, I have been surrounded by so much social entrepreneurship that it almost seems commonplace. Last Sunday, we went to the East Jefferson SOUP competition. It is run by a community of people interested in empowering locals, who are doing really cool things and coming up with really innovative solutions for a ton of significant issues the east side of Detroit is facing, by giving them money to support their ideas and a space to share their ideas and gain support. It was incredible to walk into this arena where it could be so easy to become bogged down by all the problems, like lack of access to good foods or a solid arts program, and see residents propose such unique ideas. We heard three pitches: one focused on building a community garden space, another on creating a community café and meeting area, and a final on holding dance classes for children. All three ideas had very clearly taken some ingenuity to develop, but it was also clear that each person wanted to help solve a dire issue in their community above anything else, be that making profits or gaining name recognition. It was evident in the way they put themselves out there in this environment to voice their ideas and it was evident in their willingness to take suggestions and listen to the audience’s questions. Watching the competition all in all was a great way to see social entrepreneurship in action—people filling the much needed niche in our society.
Some of us outside The Alger Theater, where the SOUP Competition took place.
RSS Feed
