13th Annual International Management Conference Proceeding

TOPIC: FOSTERING SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN UGANDA.
BY
TUKAMUSHABA KUROBUZA EDDY
HEAD OF DEPARMENT LEISURE & HOSPITALITY
MAKERERE UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL
1.0 Introduction
Social entrepreneurship is a new and rapidly rising field of practice that is, as yet, under-researched in Uganada. Social
entrepreneurship involves innovative approaches to address issues in the domains of education, environment, fair-trade,
health and human rights and is widely regarded as an important building block of the sustainable development of
countries. Social entrepreneurship is likely to become even more important than for-profit entrepreneurship (Gendron
1996)
Social entrepreneurship is the process of founding ventures, both for profit and not-for-profit whose missions focus
on creating positive social change. According to Dees, (1988) the term “social entrepreneurship” involves: adopting a
mission to create and sustain social value; recognizing and relentlessly pursuing new opportunities to serve that
mission; engaging in a process of continuous innovation, adaptation, and learning; acting boldly without being limited
by resources currently in hand; and exhibiting a heightened sense of accountability for the outcomes created.
Social and business entrepreneurs share common traits including an innovative, risk-taking approach to a challenge, the
ability to seize opportunities, transforming “business as usual” and mobilizing scarce resources towards that end. The
economist Joseph Schumpeter called business entrepreneurs the “change agents in the economy”. He wrote that “by
serving new markets or creating new ways of doing things, they move the economy forward”. Social entrepreneurs are
the change agents in the social sector.
However, in contrast to business entrepreneurs, the way to best measure their success is not how much profit they
make, but the extent to which they improve the lives of those they mobilize through their actions. Social entrepreneurs
can set up their initiatives as for-profit or not-for-profit organizations, and that choice will be a function of their
vision and theory of change. Most social enterprises are hybrid organizations. That is to say,
they operate along business lines and may indeed aim to make a profit, but their primary goal is to promote social
change.
In Uganda, most organizations formed with the prime of objective of improving social welfare of the urban and rural
poor end up exploiting the very people they are supposed to help. For example, in a standard micro finance institution
operation, members of a society who can’t access normal financial markets like commercial banks are required to form
groups so that they can be aided through micro-lending program to start small businesses that improve their lot in life.
The loan agreement is organized under group loan arrangement. In order to get a loan, the individual must put up
their reputation as collateral – say five non-family members of the community must vouch for them and being willing
to pay their debt if they default. Under this arrangement, the groups formed are artificial and have no natural
characteristics, which create artificial bonding that does not reflect the benefits of social capital, characterized by
mistrust, sabotage, and lack of disclosure, which eventually leads to failure of enterprises formed (Radio talk show held
on Voice of Kigezi July, 2006).
Although entrepreneurial initiatives aimed at social and economic wealth creation are not new, they only recently raised
increasing interests among scholars (Wallace, 1999). Thus there is still relatively little known about the particular
dynamics and processes involved in Social entrepreneurship.
1.1 Statement of the problem
Social entrepreneurship has raised increasing interest among scholars, yet we still know relatively little about
the particular dynamics and processes involved. Women organizations formed in Kabale district with a
mission to create and sustain social value has continually failed to achieve their goal due poor perceived
desirability and feasibility of businesses formed, lack of cognitive and emotional characteristics, and Social
capital, poor behavioral intentions, leading to failure of Social enterprises formed.
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