The Zoomer Report: Social entrepreneurship

It’s a business concept that’s catching on, and it’s especially
relevant if you’re starting a new career as your own boss. Social entrepreneurship
is based on the idea that a business can have a social mission as well as a
material one. For instance Auto Share, a company that allows members to use
cars whenever they need them, is not just there to provide a service and make
money – it has an environmental mission. Allyson Hewitt is the director
of Social Entrepreneurship at the Mars Centre in Toronto:

“You say ‘there’s a problem, I’m not happy with how
the environment is’, ‘I’m not happy with the issue of homelessness’,
‘I’m not happy about violence in youth’ – those are some of
the challenges that are out there, and then you figure out that you’ve
got an innovative way to deal with it. You may have an idea, you may have seen
something work somewhere else in the world and you want to bring it to Canada,
and then you go about doing it. Sometimes its a strictly for-profit with a social
mission, and sometimes its a not-for-profit that also generates income.”

You start a social enterprise like any other business – with the help
of mentors, a good business plan and some seed capital.

About The Zoomer Report

Libby Znaimer, a prominent Canadian journalist specializing in business, politics, and lifestyle issues, is producer and host of The Zoomer Report, a special feature on topics of interest to baby boomers and the 50+. It covers everything from health and wealth to leisure and volunteerism, from the special vantage point of the generation that has changed society in its wake.

Ms. Znaimer is also Vice-President of News and Information for Classical 96.3FM and AM740. Her first book, “In Cancerland – Living Well Is The Best Revenge” – was published in October 2007 by Key Porter.

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