Social Entrepreneurs at INSEAD

Five Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneurs took part in last week’s Social Entrepreneurs Programme at INSEAD Paris, one of the world’s five leading business schools. The diverse group comprised 30 social entrepreneurs from 19 countries and four continents. These individuals came from the private sector, NGOs and hybrid organizations. What we all had in common compared to other sectors was the clear difference in how we see the world and tackle its problems. Every single one of us has made innovations in the way we go about solving social problems while trying to keep in balance the social and commercial side of our organizations.

Professors Filipe Santos and Hans H. Wahl kept us busy during the course. Different approaches were discussed and analysed, with an emphasis on the activities of Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Yunus. Our colleague Bart Weetjens will probably not be surprised to hear that the HeroRat was mentioned as a great example of social innovation. Another Schwab Social Entrepreneur, Andreas Heinecke, introduced us to Dialogue in the Dark Social Enterprise and his personal insights and dilemmas, while Daniela and her three colleagues, all visually impaired, took us to the dark room and changed forever the way we see the world around us.

I enjoyed discussing the mindsets of individual social entrepreneurs and what makes them different from others. At the base of the discussion on mindsets were different skills of discovery and delivery. It was interesting to compare our individual results with those of other colleagues on interestingly designed individual and group charts.

Finally, the most interesting part of the executive programme was the tension between the social and commercial goals of our enterprises. Clearly, there is no one model that calms this tension as different things work in different environments. Still, I think these discussions were groundbreaking and many of us went home with a profoundly different way of looking at the work we are doing.

Zoran Puljic

 

Editors Note
Zoran Puljic, Director, Mozaik Foundation, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Regional Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Central and Eastern Europe, 2009

Mozaik Social Enterprise helps citizens in Bosnia and Herzegovina organize and advance their communities by providing financial and advisory assistance.