Improving people’s lives is the goal of Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives (SEI), which are making an impact on the field of business management education. Social entrepreneurs are visionaries whose mission values social development over financial profit. These innovators are the perfect allies for companies wanting to enter under-developed markets at the Bottom of the Pyramid, since they know how local markets operate.

Executive Summary

What are Social Entrepreneurship Initiatives and where are they most commonly found? What kind of person is a social entrepreneur? This article answers these and other questions and presents the main contributions made in this field by IESE Professors Johanna Mair and Christian Seelos and their research team, whose work received many plaudits during 2007, including the IESE Alumni Association’s Award for Excellence in Research for their course “Entrepreneurial Strategies for Social Impact.”