Social Entrepreneurship involves innovating and creating new products and services to address specific social or environmental concerns in a for-profit business model. For more details, visit : https://mitidinnovation.com/recreation/role-of-social-innovation-in-entrepreneurship/

1. Role of Social Innovation
in Entrepreneurship
MITID Innovation

2. Famous architect, inventor, designer, and
developer of the geodesic dome R.
Buckminster Fuller once said that we need
to build new models that render existing
models obsolete to change something. A
multitude of crises plagues today’s world––
climate change, food insecurity, pandemics,
poverty, and many more––and so radical
solutions that go against the grain of
convention and bring about positive change
have become the need of the hour.

3. Social Innovation is the process of
reimagining societal structures to make
them conducive for positive and often
necessary change. Such a paradigm shift
can help foster new solutions for a wide
range of social and environmental
challenges. These include issues like:
What is Social Innovation?

4. • Social Justice
• Education
• Environmental protection
• Sustainable Development
• Governance
Social Entrepreneurship, on the other
hand, involves innovating and creating
new products and services to address
specific social or environmental
concerns in a for-profit business
model.

5. Adding the flare of social innovation to
entrepreneurship is another aspect of
businesses addressing environmental,
social, and governance (ESG) concerns
through innovative practices, products,
and policies. All of these go hand-in-
hand, and in many cases, the lines
between them are blurred.

6. Social entrepreneurs have in recent years
come up with brilliant solutions to many
issues, from innovative ultrafast diagnostic
kits to clothing that absorbs carbon dioxide
from the air to groundbreaking treatments
and drugs for diseases like cancer.
How Can Social Innovation be
Incorporated into
Entrepreneurship

7. But it need not be as radical as that––there
are relatively simpler practices that
companies can adopt to bring a more socially
conscious ethos to their brand. Some
examples include:
• Adopting a carbon neutral or carbon
negative business model
• Avoiding plastic use in products
• Empowering employees through paid leave
• Taking care and providing services for
employees’ mental health

8. These seemingly simple practices
combined with innovation are a step in the
right direction. The point is that instead of
focusing on shareholders as the sole
beneficiary, the focus is shifted towards
the wider community and the environment
so that businesses are beneficial to them
rather than detrimental.

9. Interestingly, a trend has been noticed in
recent years whereby stakeholders have
also been moving towards more socially
conscious business models and are
demanding ESG issues be at the forefront of
the businesses they invest in. A study
by Harvard Business Review that involved
70 executives from more than 40 global
investment firms revealed that ESG
concerns were at the top of their priority.

10. The importance of social innovation and
entrepreneurship and its role in the
betterment of society as a whole calls
for courses in innovation to revamp their
curriculum to be more socially conscious.
Educating leaders to innovate as a force
for good, rather than merely for profit, must
be a key mission undertaken by educators
across the country and the world to make a
better place for future generations.
Courses in Innovation

11. Moreover, businesses and investors alike
are readjusting their focus on addressing
key ESG concerns. Therefore,
incorporating social innovation into new
entrepreneurial ventures is fundamental to
improving the state of the world and
keeping up with the competition while
ensuring growth in today’s market.

12. MIT ID Innovation Programme curates
knowledge and experiences that
challenge the very paradigm of evolution.
And that's why we have set out to define
the future of industries, communities,
cities and ecosystems. MIT ID Innovation
offers the best Innovation Courses.
Conclusion

13. We’d love to
hear
from you.
MIT INSTITUTE OF DESIGN
Rajbaug,, Loni-Kalbhor, Pune-412201
innovation@mitid.edu.in
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