Identifying Social Entrepreneurs Serving the Poor at the Base of the Pyramid

Abstract

The concept of social entrepreneurship as a characterization of social responsibility for business organizations has gained considerable popularity. There is growing belief in developmental and donor communities that this form of for-profit activity might be the long-sought panacea for solving poverty at the so-called Bottom of the Pyramid (BoP) - the poorest segment of the society. Yet, there is no consensus within these communities as to what constitutes social entrepreneurship, and how the BoP is defined. Confusion arises from the absence of generally accepted definitions for both terms, leaving much scope for some conventional for-profit activities to assert a higher social service status. This paper attempts to clarify what constitutes social entrepreneurships serving the BOP segment of the population, and how BoP may be defined to better represent the poor.