What is Social Enterprise?

Social entrepreneurs are those who see a needs in the world and use their entrepreneurial skills to tackle the problems they see.    Bill Drayton (who first coined the phrase) explained it best by this:   “Social entrepreneurs are not content just to give a fish, or teach how to fish.  They will not rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.”  

IDEAS is using social enterprise to address needs of others overseas. 

Capacity Building

An IDEAS Associate who works overseas and has business skills employs young adults from a local orphanage to work in his bakery. He then teaches them baking and managerial skills as they build a community within the work force to support each other and foster growth.   After the program, these young adults have transferable skills to help them gain employment.  Any profits made from the sale of the baked goods are reinvested back into the program so that more young adults can complete the program.  

It is through this capacity building model that projects are able to achieve their goals of holisitcally impacting others through sustainable methods.