Perspective Social entrepreneurship eye care model in Africa: A case of Kisii Eye Hospital, Kenya

Abstract

Many definitions have emerged to describe what social entrepreneurship stands for. A generic one goes ‘Social entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals, startups and entrepreneurs develop and fund solutions that directly address social issues’1. Mohammed Yunus in his book - Building a Social Business, described it as a new kind of capitalism that serves humanity’s most pressing needs. Therefore, the motivation for starting a social enterprise is not, so that you can be your own boss or to build an empire as it is traditionally, but rather to address a social problem that is bothering your conscience. Social entrepreneurs are individuals who identify a social problem and apply entrepreneurial spirit, business insight, and leadership to solve the problem. These are people with new ideas to address major problems, who are relentless in the pursuit of their visions, people who simply will not take “no” for an answer, who will not give up until they have spread their ideas as far as they possibly can2-4. Bill Drayton, the founder of Ashoka described social entrepreneurs as people who cannot just give fish or teach how to fish but rather the ones who cannot rest until they have revolutionized the fishing industry.