Social entrepreneurship seems to be a completely new concept in Africa. This is abit strange as our very mode of life revolves around the community. Walking in both the rural and urban Kenya today, communities are deeply organized around a particular social problem. These communities take the form of religious entities, schools, families etc. All are talking of a particular project in the name of a CBO, Self help etc. Somehow a majority of the people are involved in one project or another......... Several questions therefore arise as a result:
1. It so appears that social entrepreneurship is a practice that is in the communities. How can it be enhanced?
2. So far social entrepreneurship is a sector that provides services not satisfied neither by the public nor the corporate sector. Is this sector relevant in Kenya and possibly Africa today?
3. What structures are already present in our communities that can be enhanced to boost social entrepreneurship?
4. Arguements of quasi markets arise when discussing Social entreprise! Could this really apply when communities are addressing gaps neither satisfied by the government nor the corporate sector?
5. How can social entrepreneurship be modelled within the Afican community structures with a view to use it as a contributory strategy to poverty eradication?
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This blog and especially this post is simply very inspiring. As I read it it elicited a mixture of emotions that I can never ever be able to express in a very clear way. I am a Kenyan and I would like to share my ideas on some of the questions posed in the light of Kenyan reality:
ReplyDelete1. In Kenya communities have been encouraged to form intitiatives aimed at solving specific problems by the government. These initiatives have taken the shape of self help groups, youth groups and women groups. The initiatives address a myriad of complicated issues facing our communities primary amongs them being poverty. The recent introduction of the Constituency development fund (CDF) also provided a way in which these initiatives could be helped with resources to address issues of survival. It is however in order to say that there is high need for capacity building of the initiatives and professional way in which the CDF is administered.
2. Social entrepreneurship as a sector is relevant today in Kenya. It however should not be seen as a panacea to our economic problems in Kenya. It would be futile to think that the social economy could wholesomely replace the market economy that is in kenya. There is a need for both the market led economy and the social led economy in Kenya.
3. I find this question to be related to quetion one. However some of the issues that may come into picture here include:
a) There are various problems that call for innovative ways of addressing them
b)People are taking initiatives in their own hands by formation of working groups to address them.
c)The goverment initiatives such as the Youth Entreprise Fund, The CDF etc.
d)The availability of capacity building institutions such as KARDS amongst others.
e) etc, etc.
5) This is an important question! and the following are just a few of my suggestions:
a) KARDS and other institutes such as SOMIRENEC, the University of Nairobi and the NGO's that seem to understand this idea should develop it within the context of community initiatives.
b) Collaboration amongst institutions will be very important in making this as a tool that will ultimately build the poor in a very special way.
c) There is need to educate various stakeholders on Social entrepreneurship. These include the government, the corporates and the civil society.
And in finalising my comments, I really think that more and more people should give their ideas in this blog. It will be quite enriching.
Prof. James Ochieng, Nairobi