What Is Social Entrepreneurship? How Your College Degree Can Help You Create Social Change

Today more than ever, the business world is working to create positive social change. Multinational companies and organizations have more reach than ever before, and with this comes the opportunity to practice and model corporate social responsibility to impact people’s lives for the better.Find out how social entrepreneurship is changing the way companies and their employees operate, and how you can earn a degree from an online university dedicated to social change.

What Is Social Change and Social Entrepreneurship?

Companies that practice social entrepreneurship, or altruistic entrepreneurship, do business for a social cause. Socially conscious companies focus on not just their products or services, but on how selling those goods can generate social change.

According to the 2018 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends report, a global survey of more than 11,000 business and HR leaders, today’s organizations are increasingly judged on the basis of their relationships with their workers, customers, and communities, as well as their impact on society.¹ Business enterprises are becoming social enterprises, and corporate social responsibility is a growing priority. Of the survey respondents, 77% said “citizenship and social impact” were important or critical to their organizations.

For socially conscious companies, making a good profit is not the sole definition of success, and improving the world in some way is a key objective. Social entrepreneurship can take many different forms, whether it be operating within a set of fair labor standards, donating a portion of proceeds to a certain cause, using fair trade ingredients or materials, providing microloans, or matching customer purchases with donating goods or services to those in need. Today, examples of social change are prevalent in the business world and practicing within the social change model can help elevate a company’s profile and sales.

Social entrepreneurs play an important role in today’s business world, innovating while finding solutions to a social problem. Beyond creating popular products or services, these organizations and professionals can create lasting and transformative benefits to society.

According to the World Bank, some of today’s social entrepreneurs are crowdfunding for education, helping people in developing countries become solar power “prosumers,” and assisting small farmers to insure their crops.²

Social Change Begins With Your College Degree

If you want a college education rooted in creating positive social change, look no further than Walden University. For more than 45 years, Walden has set itself apart by shaping students who become scholar-practitioners who apply what they’ve learned to effect positive social change.

Walden stands out among online universities with Walden 2020: A Vision for Social Change, a plan to foster social change through research, practice, and the education of motivated scholar-practitioners. Along with offering a range of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs with the flexibility of online classes, Walden is committed to helping students and faculty serve their communities.

By leveraging research and networks, strengthening curricular impact, raising social change consciousness, and committing to continuous improvement, Walden is dedicated to creating a positive impact on society. Walden offers degree programs in education, public health, nursing, social work, public policy, and more, giving students a way to get a meaningful education with the benefits offered by online schools.

If you’re ready to earn a college degree from an accredited online college committed to the greater good, find out how you can get started with Walden.

Walden University is an accredited online college committed to social change offering a range of bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs. Expand your career options and earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.

¹Source: https://hctrendsapp.deloitte.com/reports/2018/the-rise-of-the-social-enterprise.html
²Source: https://blogs.worldbank.org/category/tags/social-entrepreneurship

Walden University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission, www.hlcommission.org.