The concept of social entrepreneurship (SE) describes a process of opportunity identification, evaluation, and exploitation of mission-driven individuals towards creating social impact by successfully addressing social issues in the public or local communities. In this regard, SE practices can significantly vary in relation to the business environment, the social entrepreneurs act in.
With respect to the foregoing problem statement, this thesis aims at investigating how the four elements of new venture creation (i.e. individual, process, organization, environment) are understood and practiced in a Kenyan SE context. On that basis, it further examines what SE education in Kenya should embrace to address perceptions and needs of SE practitioners in relation to existent environmental dynamics (i.e. enablers and barriers) and support structures. For that purpose, the existing theory about SE is examined and the concept of SE education is presented. An analytical framework is derived that sets the reviewed literature into a Kenyan SE context and that serves as a basis for addressing the resulting research gap within a qualitative empirical research design. In that way, differences and similarities between Western and Kenyan perceptions and needs on SE shall be explored. Furthermore, requirements for future SE education in Kenya shall be determined that are drawn from a SE practitioner perspective in relation to the business environment they act in. Hence, with respect to Kenya’s institutional, social, economic, political, and environmental setting, the course of investigation will be based on the following overarching research question: “Which elements should future SE education in Kenya embrace to address perceptions and needs of SE practitioners in relation to the business environment they act in?”
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
1. Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
1.2 Research Questions
1.3 Course of Investigation and Research Methodology
2. Origins of Social Entrepreneurship
2.1 Emergence of the Social Economy
2.1.1. Emergence of new Requirements
2.1.2. Limitations of the State Model
2.1.3. Collapse of Traditional Business Models
2.1.4. Emergence of the Social Orientation
2.1.5. Evolvement of Social Economy
2.2 Organizations of the Social Economy
2.3 Boundaries of Social Entrepreneurship
3. Conceptualization of Social Entrepreneurship
3.1 New Venture Creation and Commercial Entrepreneurship
3.1 Domain of Social Entrepreneurship
3.2 The Individual: Social Entrepreneur
3.2.1 Motives
3.2.2 Skills and Know-how
3.2.3 Background and Experience
3.3 The Process: Social Entrepreneurship
3.3.1 Stages
3.3.2 Social Opportunity Identification and Evaluation
3.3.3 Social Innovativeness
3.3.4 Networking
3.3.5 Scaling
3.4 The Organizational Outcome: Social Enterprise
3.4.1 Strategy Elements
3.4.1.1 Social Mission
3.4.1.2 Social Impact
3.4.1.3 Social Impact Assessment
3.4.2 Internal Organisational Characteristics
3.4.2.1 Governance
3.4.2.2 Resources
3.4.2.3 Legal Form
3.4.2.4 Learning
3.4.2.5 Monitoring
3.5 The Social Entrepreneurship Environment
3.5.1 Environmental Dynamics
3.5.2 Support Structures
3.6 Conceptualization of Social Entrepreneurship Education
3.6.1 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship Education
3.6.2 Entrepreneurship Education Pedagogy
3.6.3 Designing Social Entrepreneurship Education
4. Analytical Framework
4.1 Social Entreprenurship in Kenya
4.2 Rationale for Social Entrepreneurship Education
4.3 Social Entreprenurship Education in Kenya
4.4 Enhancing Social Entreprenurship Education in Kenya
4.4.1 Developing a new Paradigm for SE Education
5. Empirical Research Methodology
5.1 Current Research Gap
5.2 Experimental Design
5.2.1 Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
5.2.1.1 Recruitment Strategy
5.2.1.2 Ethical Research
5.2.1.3 Interview Set-up
5.2.1.4 Interview Structure
5.2.1.5 Interview Protocol
5.2.1.6 Interview Analysis
5.2.2 Insights Workshop
5.2.2.1 Workshop Purpose and Design
6. Summary and Evaluation of Research Findings
6.1 Findings of Semi-Structured Interviews
6.1.1 Defining ‘Social Entrepreneur’ in Kenya
6.1.2 Defining ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ in Kenya
6.1.3 Defining ‘Social Enterprise’ in Kenya
6.1.3.1 Strategy Elements
6.1.3.2 Internal Organizational Characteristics
6.1.4 Environmental Dynamics and Support Structures in Kenya
6.1.4.1 Environmental Dynamics
6.1.5 Social Entrepreneurship Education in Kenya
6.1.5.1 Current Landscape of SE Education
6.1.5.2 Designing Future SE Education
6.2 Findings of Insights Workshop
6.3 Synthesis and Summary of Examined Research Findings
7. Implications
7.1 Implications for Future SE Education in Kenya
7.2 Implications for Government and the Private Sector
7.3 Implications for Future Research
8. Conclusion and Overall Reflection
List of References
Appendix
List of Abbreviations
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1 Introduction
The concept of social entrepreneurship (SE) constitutes a global change-oriented social phenomenon that is becoming increasingly important for business and academic practices. During the last three decades SE moved into the spotlight of political and academic discussion and gained recognition in public media. Despite similarities between various theoretical concepts, its nature is multi-interpretable and highly dependent of prevailing social, political and environmental local circumstances.
Megatrends such as the increasing complexity of society, globalization, economic crises, demographic shifts, climate change, and stagnation continuously worsen the already uneven global wealth distribution. Furthermore, the so-called “new poverty” leads back to factors such as the fragility of business relationships or job insecurity. Consequently, social and environmental problems grow while the systems progressively turn towards increasing productivity and competitiveness. This leads to a state-market binomial that cannot exclusively be experienced in developing countries.
Often, both state and traditional business models such as commercial entrepreneurship are not able to tackle the growing discrepancy between existing needs and the emergence of new ones. Instead, both revealed a high vulnerability to macroeconomic market- shocks, leading to severe economic and financial crises. Regularly, social, political and economic institutions fail to address the challenges at local, national and international levels.
For those reasons, politicians, society and disadvantaged communities address new organizational forms to provide innovative solutions that solve social problems innovatively and sustainably. In this regard, developments inside and outside of organizations facilitate new hybrid forms of organizations that are outperforming traditional business models in tackling social problems. The focus on market forces is considered to have the potential to substantially relieve the public sector.
Consequently, the social economy emerged to take responsibility for solving social problems bottom-up. Hybrid forms combine economic activities and a social mission. In this context, the relationship between social purpose and economic viability is crucial for a sustainable impact achievement. This balance was threatened by the economic crisis as spending on social purpose achievement was not affordable in this time.
Today, many different actors of the social economy are contributing to empower self- healing societies. Several hybrid organizational concepts emerged maneuvering in between the for-profit and non-profit sector. Whole new industries have developed such as the concept of microfinance and proved to have a socially disruptive potential.
As one of the hybrid social innovation players, the social enterprise turned out to have a strong social orientation while being most self-sufficient in comparison with other actors of the social economy. Successful social entrepreneurs continuously prove to be able to achieve triple bottom line effects. Furthermore, they create measurable and sustainable results that develop weak societies within a local and global context. Consequently, social entrepreneurial activity is flourishing across the world, reflecting the growing social orientation of modern societies.
1.1 Problem Statement
Developing countries are more affected by social concerns compared to developed countries. For that reason, they also record the most rapid increase in social enterprise activities. Low Income Countries (LIC) such as Kenya particularly suffer from the extensive range of social issues. These issues are mainly related to unemployment and poverty as well as insufficient education and health systems that cannot be solved by state or private sector organizations.
At the same time, the government struggles with corruption and tribal tensions that make it additionally unable to provide effective solutions to address social problems. For that reason, local and international aid organizations and development agencies raise their voice for increasing SE activities in Kenya that tackle severe social issues. In this context, social innovativeness is perceived to be promising in designing novel products and services that meet the wide-ranging unfulfilled basic needs prevailing.
Looking at Kenya, current SE practices are perceived being ineffective and inefficient and thus unproductive. Nevertheless, some pioneers already run ambitious projects towards creating social betterment in their country. Despite their strong intrinsic motivation to create social impact, only a minority enjoyed proper local SE education since Kenya lacks a standardized education for aspiring social entrepreneurs. For that reason, practicing social entrepreneurs often received their education from Western civilizations.
However, as the success of SE education is highly dependent on its fit to local social, political, and environmental factors, Western theory on SE and the institutional assumptions of Western SE education often turn out to be inappropriate to equip Kenyan entrepreneurs with practicable skills and know-how. Consequently, various stakeholder groups from different areas such as academics, private institutions, and the public sector claim a significant demand for new paradigms in Kenyans SE education. A SE curriculum would need to address local enablers and barriers as well as the highly competitiveness in the Kenyan marketplace. On that basis, a holistic and integrated model for SE education could fill educational gaps and provide SE educators with pedagogy and methods to design and deliver proper SE education.
1.2 Research Questions
SE describes a process of opportunity identification, evaluation, and exploitation of mission-driven individuals towards creating social impact by successfully addressing social issues in the public or local communities. In this regard, SE practices can significantly vary in relation to the business environment, the social entrepreneurs act in.
With respect to the foregoing problem statement, this thesis aims at investigating how the four elements of new venture creation (i.e. individual, process, organization, environment) are understood and practiced in a Kenyan SE context. On that basis, it further examines what SE education in Kenya should embrace to address perceptions and needs of SE practitioners in relation to existent environmental dynamics (i.e. enablers and barriers) and support structures. For that purpose, the existing theory about SE is examined and the concept of SE education is presented. An analytical framework is derived that sets the reviewed literature into a Kenyan SE context and that serves as a basis for addressing the resulting research gap within a qualitative empirical research design. In that way, differences and similarities between Western and Kenyan perceptions and needs on SE shall be explored. Furthermore, requirements for future SE education in Kenya shall be determined that are drawn from a SE practitioner perspective in relation to the business environment they act in. Hence, with respect to Kenya’s institutional, social, economic, political, and environmental setting, the course of investigation will be based on the following overarching research question:
“Which elements should future SE education in Kenya embrace to address perceptions and needs of SE practitioners in relation to the business environment they act in?”
For the empirical research design, the overarching research question is further broken down into four sub-questions:
(1) How are the terms ‘social entrepreneur’, ‘social entrepreneurship’, and ‘social enterprise’ understood and practiced in Kenya’s business environment?
(2) Which enablers and barriers do SE practitioners face in this business environment?
(3) What are current educational gaps from SE practitioner perspective to be filled?
(4) Which elements should a future SE education embrace to address these perceptions and needs and how should it be delivered to aspiring Kenyan social entrepreneurs?
1.3 Course of Investigation and Research Methodology
To give answers to the foregoing research questions, the thesis follows a four-step approach. In the first step, the theoretical foundation of SE is examined. For that purpose, the concept of new venture creation is applied to the domain of SE and the four emerging elements social entrepreneur (i.e. individual), social entrepreneurship (i.e. process), social enterprise (i.e. organizational outcome), and SE environment are unveiled. First, it is shown that social entrepreneurs are exceptionally-minded individuals that are driven by intrinsic motives to create social impact and thus require a core set of entrepreneurial and managerial skills and know-how. Second, the stages of SE and the related aspects of opportunity identification, social innovativeness, networking, and scaling are described. On that basis, the social enterprise is presented as organizational outcome of the SE process. Furthermore, its strategy elements and internal organizational characteristics are examined. Fourth, the SE environment (i.e. environmental dynamics and support structures) is described that sets the theoretical setting for the analytical framework. At the close of the first part, SE education is presented as an overarching pedagogical concept that facilitates successful SE practices.
In the second step, the analytical framework of this thesis is presented. For that purpose, SE in Kenya is examined. It is shown that a strong rationale for SE education exists. Furthermore, SE education in Kenya is examined from which implications for enhancing SE education in Kenya can be drawn to develop a new Paradigm for SE education.
In the third step, the analytical framework is applied to the substantial theory about SE to arrive at the research gap. On that basis, the definitions of ‘social entrepreneur’, ‘social entrepreneurship’, and ‘social enterprise’ in Kenya’s business environment are explored from practitioner perspective. Furthermore, local enabler and barriers as well as current educational gaps that need to be filled are investigated from practitioner perspective. Finally, elements are determined that future Kenyan SE education should embrace to address the explored practitioner perceptions and needs. As a research method for the empirical investigations, a two-phase approach was used. First, in-depth interviews were conducted in Kenya with selected SE practitioners (i.e. five social entrepreneurs, one SE incubator, one SE education expert) with respect to our research questions. Second, an insights workshop was conducted. Based on the output of the semi-structured interviews, seven interview participants and five stakeholders from the region attended a workshop to reflect and discuss the interview insights and to close given research gaps that need to be filled.
In the fourth step, implications are derived from the research findings. In that way, the implications for SE education, practitioners, politicians, and future research are presented. Finally, a conclusion is drawn from the foregoing steps and an overall reflection on the thesis is presented.
2 Origins of Social Entrepreneurship
The concept of SE has evolved as an innovative field of research, becoming a prevalent topic for discourse within the academic range of entrepreneurship. As a global change- oriented phenomenon, SE has not evolved in a vacuum. The growing importance of SE for academic and business practices can rather be explained by a complex set of mutually reinforcing social, economic, environmental, political, and institutional changes, occurring at local and global levels (Harding, 2006; Kramer, 2005). The uneven global wealth distribution and root causes of inequality such as poverty, lack of education, and related problems reflect the limits of the state-market binomial (Nicholls, 2006; Shaw, Gordon, Harvey, & Maclean, 2013). In addition, traditional business models exposed to these macroeconomic changes revealed their high vulnerability to market-shocks resulting in economic and financial crises. New needs have emerged, leading policy- makers, conscious citizens, and disadvantaged communities to address commercial entrepreneurs with the need for innovative solutions that approach social issues in a novel and sustainable way.
Over the last three decades, the global importance of the topic has been fostered by a substantial mass of academics, foundations, non-profit organizations, and pioneering social entrepreneurs, shaping SE as a concise discipline (Dees, 1998). Well-renowned institutions that are referenced on SE in the literature on a regular basis include Ashoka and One World Health. Simultaneously, highly reputed and successful social entrepreneurs attracted significant media recognition. Muhammad Yunus, who founded the Grameen Bank for microfinance received the Nobel Peace Prize for his engagement in 2006. Warren Buffet, who donated $30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, demonstrates how venture philanthropy can change the perception of sharing and transferring wealth. Underlining the significance of this phenomenon, targeted university curricula for future social entrepreneurs have emerged such as the Social Enterprise Initiative at the Harvard Business School. In addition, dedicated research centers such as the Skoll Centre for SE at Oxford University have evolved that systematically aim at funding, connecting, and celebrating social entrepreneurs towards advocating social change that benefits communities all over the globe. As was taking place at the World Economic Forum’s Conference in Africa in Cape Town (2006), these SE contributions are increasingly acknowledged in public.
These alternative approaches to sustainable developments attracted the attention of academics and researchers to investigate the relationship of entrepreneurial practices and behavior, focusing rather on social than on personal gains. According to Christie & Honig (2006), it is time for entrepreneurial engagement to tackle social problems, since SE brings together the disciplines of business management, innovation, and drive with the passion of pursuing a social mission.
Despite the increasing attention to SE and existing similarities between various theoretical concepts, its meaning often varies. According to Mair and Martí (2006), SE is a multi-interpretable concept comprising a mixture of related but different phenomena. From this point of view, “SE represents an umbrella term for a considerable range of innovative and dynamic international praxis and discourse in the social and environmental sector” (Nicholls, 2006).
2.1 Emergence of the Social Economy
The relationship between economic viability and social purpose resembles the core of the social economy concept, with SE being one phenomenon of this concept. According to Porter and Kramer (2006), business should reflect and even influence social expectations and norms. Corporations and society are mutually dependent, indicating that choices on social policies and business decisions both must create shared value to be beneficial. Hybrid organizations, combining both elements, offset the clear distinction between the for-profit and non-profit sectors. In that way, organizations such as social enterprises can figure out the most effective strategies for serving their social mission (Bornstein & Davis, 2010).
The emergence of the social economy was influenced by numerous elements that constitute the theoretical foundation and the gradual development of these types of entities. According to Nicholls (2006), two kinds of development can be distinguished that contextualize the evolvement of SE. First, persisting social issues require novel and innovative ways of creating social value (i.e., demand side). Second, developments inside and outside of organizations raise the probabilities for these issues to be approached (i.e., supply side). Hereafter, these trends and their role in the development of the social economy and social enterprises will be described.
2.1.1 Emergence of new Requirements
In our present economy megatrends like the increasing complexity of society, globalization, and economic crises and stagnation significantly impact the worldwide development (Singh, Bartikowski, Dwivedi, & Williams, 2009). In contrast to a widely shared notion, unmet vital needs do not exclusively affect developing countries. The growing differentiation of existing needs and the emergence of new needs made citizen claims more complex and wide-ranging. The care for elderly, the societal and economic inclusion of migrants, and a continuous diversification and enhancement of educational structures are just some examples of recent problems that require novel solutions (Gunn, Durkin, Singh, & Brown, 2008). Also, climate change and scarce natural resources became serious environmental issues, our planet needs to find appropriate responses for.
Over the last decades, economic and demographic shifts such as the rising expectation of life, migratory flows, women joining the workforce, and the evolvement of a more knowledge-oriented economy completely changed the living requirements of our population. From this point of view, the emergence of the so-called “new poverty” reflects the growing societal inequalities stemming from the fragility of business relationships, job insecurity, and the feelings of not fitting into a system that is dominantly driven by productivity and competitiveness. Poverty is no longer limited to a person’s economic well-being (i.e. money and income), but incorporates additional elements such as instability and uncertainty of living conditions (Hick, 2012). Consequently, poverty is critically related to the concept of social exclusion which leads to decimation against a person’s participation in community or social group activities. As a result, the “excluded” often have no access to education and personal development, employment, or the opportunity to create a family.
The changes coming from social and demographic developments led to new needs and an increasing necessity of innovative products and services. To overcome the issue of social exclusion, the concept of social cohesion is becoming increasingly important. Thereby, social, political, cultural, civil, and economic institutions articulate solid social ties (Lanzi, 2011). Often, social cohesion is core of the SE activities, where material and intangible means, welfare benefits, employment, and healthcare and social services are offered to eradicate social barriers.
2.1.2 Limitations of the State Model
The status quo is shaped by unparalleled and unique challenges at local, national, and international levels. To successfully address these challenges, new tools and strategies are required. As has been witnessed in the past, those strategies and tools cannot solely be served by the state or market. Social, political, and economic organizations that are supposed to secure the basic rights and needs of civilizations are regularly not able to protect larger parts of the global population. Worldwide, a more neoliberal approach by governments in face of the fee market ideology has led to decreasing funds. The focus on market forces as main distribution and redistribution mechanism of resources results in significantly less government interventions. From a state perspective, novel approaches are needed. Encompassing new political ideologies, they stress the self-care of citizens and emphasize market-driven welfare. Consequently, governments systematically retreat from providing public goods (Nicholls, 2006). In this context, the economic crisis made governments unable to satisfy the social demand of the population (Pless, 2012).
From the market view, the economic crisis has penalized several industries. Furthermore, the profit-driven purpose of traditional businesses is increasingly threatened by spending reductions of customers. Consumers become more aware of their indirect possibility to act socially responsible. As a result, today’s companies are also evaluated with respect to their corporate social responsibility and accordingly rewarded or punished by consumers. The megatrend of economic globalization offers high potentials for improved living conditions. However, the continuous global change and restructuring requires novel ways to promote social and sustainable economic development. In that way, the global economy can be recovered and the generated benefits can be diffused.
Innovation has emerged as key success factor of economic growth. It enables the creation of innovative ideas to approach recent social issues in our society. Innovative businesses can detect and exploit business opportunities through competitive and technological market changes. Thus, they are crucial to facilitate the innovation process as they aim at changing worldwide living conditions (Bornstein, 2004). Social entrepreneurs inspire by their primary intention to help others. Their designed solutions approach unmet social meets where traditional businesses are solely driven by capitalistic principles to rebuild and manifest their own legitimacy and reputation (Pless, 2012).
2.1.3 Collapse of Traditional Businesses Models
The crisis of traditional business models questions the prevailing business ethics and assumptions in which direction our global development should move. In that sense, the parts of the state, the market, the service sector and the individual need to be rethought. New organizational forms, moving away from the capitalist system through a social purpose, are rapidly evolving. From a perspective of sustainable development, they outperform traditional business models.
Social purpose is no longer limited to charities or non-profit organizations. Hybrid forms of organizations are evolving that combine economic activities and a social mission. Social enterprises blur the line between traditionally distinct kinds of enterprises, developing innovative ways support society (Porter & Kramer, 2006).
Development of new Industries
New industries have evolved in which traditional business practices have been substantially redrafted. The concept of micro finance, as being introduced by the pioneer and Peace Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, is one example to link economic viability with a social mission (Beard, 2012). In that way, he created ways to provide funds also to people that are generally excluded by commercial banks. Traditional banks do not support people without financial assets, since the profitability of financial institutions exponentially increases with larger saving accounts and loans. Consequently, poor people are excluded from money market operations and thus are limited to informal saving mechanisms and their shortcoming.
As a response, the core idea of micro finance is to provide financial services, loans, and savings to low-income individuals, empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty. In this context, the Grameen Bank, founded by Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh 1983, illustrates a socially disruptive example of a micro finance organization and community development bank. Without applying any legal or collateral instruments, the bank serves around 6 million borrowers, of whom 96% are women, lending more than half a billion dollars a year averaging USD $120 per loan. Focusing on economic activities fostering community and public development, the Grameen Bank especially lends for higher education, housing, and income-generating purposes. Those kinds of innovative enterprises optimally meet and represent the present emergence of the social economy
2.1.4 Emergence of the Social Orientation
Caused by traditional business models, the financial and economic crises led to social and economic dynamics associated with high social tensions. Simultaneously, the increasing global industrialization suddenly and significantly impacted severe environmental changes (Chui et al., 2012). These developments led organizations to highly important reflection. While serving market and customer needs, they additionally started considering their responsibility for environmental stewardship and the creation of trustworthy stakeholder relationships. Therefore, ethical production principles evolved, pushing other companies to follow socially endorsable behaviors, leading to the emergence of the social orientation.
The growing manifestation of wealth in the private sector is calling for more proactive engagements towards complex social problems as well as increasing corporate social responsibility activities (Zahra & Rawhouser, 2008). The social orientation evolved mainly along three dimensions. First, the behavior of individuals changed. Consumers became more aware of their purchasing behavior and the social and environmental impact associated with it. Consumer empowerment comprises easy access to information about firms, products, and services as well as the organization of collective pressures on regulators and producers. Responsible consumption roots in the increasing necessity of social and environmental production principles. Products and firms are rewarded that have a positive impact on local and global development and pursue ethical employment and production standards.
Second, the whole financial service sector is changing. New indicators to measure and evaluate investment opportunities with respect to social and environmental impact measures have been defined. Social impact investment models are designed to solve social needs. In that way, consumer behavior is extended towards directly investing money towards supporting organizational projects.
Third, a growing skepticism with an increasingly strong market sector arises, while ineffective and inefficient public organizations and non-profit institutions make practitioners more anticipatory. As a result, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) won significant importance and are increasingly discussed in academic research and contemporary literature (Rossouw, Van der Watt, & Malan, 2002). Ethical standards have been included in conventional practices that do not necessarily pursue a social mission (Zahra & Rawhouser, 2008). In this context, corporate strategies range from double and triple bottom line approaches combining the maximization of social and environmental impact with economic viability (i.e. sustainable development) to the funding of organizations that primarily address social goals. Additionally, pure philanthropists start devoting their fortunes and time earlier in life compared to previous generations. From their perspective, traditional philanthropy has focused too much on providing donations rather than creating measurable and sustainable results (Reis & Clohesy, 2001). With the growing social orientation of consumers, a shift from traditional CSR to a better structured form of shared value creation occurs where the engagement with public interests becomes the main mission of organizations (Porter & Kramer, 2006).
As a result, board members and managers of non-profit organizations realize the necessity of creating more self-sufficiency in their operations, leading them naturally towards entrepreneurship (Sullivan Mort, Weerawardena, & Carnegie, 2003).
2.1.5 Evolvement of Social Economy
The developments described in the previous sections significantly influenced the emergence of the social economy. The term ‘social economy’ is defined as being a non- profit sector that pursues entrepreneurial activities towards enhancing social, environmental, and economic conditions of communities (Restakis, 2016). It describes a specific part of the economy that exists aside from the state and private sector. The actors of the social economy pursue primarily social initiatives and are controlled by participative governance structures.
2.2 Organizations of the Social Economy
Organizations of the social economy are driven by their objective to create social impact while staying economically viable. Often, they are animated by social control of capital which makes them independent from the pursuit of profit and its distribution to shareholders. In that way, actors of the social economy can provide products and services to their community representing public interests (Sundin, 2011). Consequently, these organizations ensure the quality of service and fair employment even at the cost of reduced profitability.
The social economy can be divided into the market sub-sector and the non-market producer sub-sector. In this environment, social economy organizations are private organizations that are mostly formally organized. They value the involvement and participation of their stakeholders. Thus, ownership rights are assigned to employees, volunteers, and customers rather than investors. On that basis, democratic decisionmaking processes are established whereby all members are considered. Usually, the distribution of profits is not related to fees or capital provided by members, since they first and foremost work towards achieving of social change.
Organizations of the social economy often adopt a mixture of organizational forms. In general, there exist four types to be distinguished, comprising social cooperatives, voluntary associations, foundations, and social enterprises. First, social cooperatives are focused on the creation of social value by providing solutions to the needs of vulnerable groups or communities. They are member-owned and act based on principles of solidarity and democracy. Social cooperatives primarily involve training or social caring activities as well as initiatives towards environmental protection. Also, they provide job-placement services for underprivileged groups (Nicholls, 2006). Second, voluntary associations pursue a cultural or recreational purpose that aims at meeting societal interests. They provide services to the public (e.g. Save the Children) or community (e.g. Greenpeace). Their ownership structure can be formal, fulfilling membership requirements and laws, or informal. Third, foundations pursue systematic fundraising activities and aim at benefitting specific, often disadvantaged, groups or communities.
Social Enterprises
Fourth, social enterprises constitute a hybrid organizational form between for-profit and non-profit sector, performing social and commercial entrepreneurial activities simultaneously. Due to the growing needs of target communities in the context of reduced state funding and a growing competition for grants and donors, social enterprises adopt competitive positions in their operations. Thus, they create innovative methods of accomplishing superior value while engaging in the application of business expertise and market-based skills (Reis & Clohesy, 2001; Thompson, 2002). Also, they adopt an entrepreneurial perspective when making key decisions and build capabilities that differentiate them from competitors (Sullivan Mort et al., 2003). In that way, social entrepreneurs can earn income independently from grants and subsidies to achieve self- sufficiency in the long-run. As social enterprises primarily pursue a social purpose, generated profits are consequently used to create and sustain the delivery of social value towards accomplishing the social mission. In comparison to other actors of the social economy, at least 50% of turnovers should come from trading activities.
2.3 Boundaries of Social Entrepreneurship
The following section differentiates SE from other mission-driven, non-entrepreneurial activities. The term SE is experiencing growing popularity and frequently used by academics, public officials, and the media. This development can be explained by the increasing support social entrepreneurs receive from complex organizational networks that emphasize their contributions to society (Dufays & Huybrechts, 2014).
According to Peredo and McLean (2006), SE can be interpreted in a wide spectrum ranging from total social gains accrued to an organization to social ambitions being the organization’s single target. In this context, it is also crucial to identify clear boundaries within which social entrepreneurs act and to distinguish SE from other socially oriented activities such as social activists, foundations, philanthropists, or organizations that are simply socially responsible.
SE clearly builds on commercial entrepreneurship theory and practice. In this context, the social element of SE is often perceived the main differentiator to commercial entrepreneurship and the associated profit motive (A. Peredo & McLean, 2006). However, although grounded on moral and ethical concerns, SE could also encompass less altruistic motives such as job-creation or self-fulfillment. In correspondence, also commercial entrepreneurship can include social aspects, such as CSR.
On that basis, three key differences emerge that distinguish SE from commercial entrepreneurship. First, the main difference between SE and commercial entrepreneurship is reflected in the strong emphasizing of social value opposed to economic value creation (Mair & Martí, 2006). With respect to their governance structures, social enterprises can create sustainable triple bottom line impact, combining economic viability with social impact, and environmental stewardship (Harding, 2006). Second, SE focuses on effectively serving long-term, basic needs through innovative approaches rather than new and breakthrough needs. Third, the relationship between performance monitoring and the social impact created is very subjective and thus far more complex in the field of SE (Austin & Reficco, 2006).
3 Conceptualization of Social Entrepreneurship
In this chapter, the theoretical foundation of SE is examined that clarifies the scope of this thesis. For that purpose, the concept of new venture creation is applied to the domain of SE and the four emerging elements social entrepreneur (i.e. individual), social entrepreneurship (i.e. process), social enterprise (i.e. organizational outcome), and SE environment are unveiled. First, it is shown that social entrepreneurs are exceptionally- minded individuals that are driven by intrinsic motives to create social impact and thus require a core set of entrepreneurial and managerial skills and know-how. Second, the stages of SE and the related aspects of opportunity identification, social innovativeness, networking, and scaling are described. On that basis, the social enterprise is presented as organizational outcome of the SE process. Furthermore, its strategy elements and internal organization characteristics are examined. Fourth, the SE environment (i.e. environmental dynamics and support structures) is described that sets the theoretical setting for the analytical framework. At the close of the first part, SE education is unrolled as an overarching pedagogical concept that facilitates successful SE practices.
3.1 New Venture Creation and Commercial Entrepreneurship
According to Gartner (1995), there are four key elements that critically affect the success of new venture creation. First, the entrepreneur as individual sets the motivational foundation for starting the enterprise. In this context, his personality, skills, and know- how are of importance. Second, the entrepreneurship process represents the stages of value creation. Based on continuous opportunity identification, the entrepreneur systematically iterates ideas, concepts, and prototypes towards launching a marketable product or service. Third, the enterprise represents the organizational outcome of the entrepreneurship process. Being the tangible contact point for customers, the enterprise’s mission, goals, and impact are crucial for the venture’s success. Lastly, the environmental framework in which the venture creation takes place sets external conditions. In this regard, environmental dynamics and support structures act as social, economic, political, and institutional enablers or barriers.
Commercial entrepreneurship describes “how, by whom, and to what effect opportunities for creating future goods and services are discovered, evaluated and exploited” (Shane & Venkataraman, 2007). The definition implies the fundamental purpose to create profit through managerial efficiency. This profit is further divided into interest earned by investors and the retained profit of the entrepreneur. In this context, the creation of entrepreneurial opportunity involves three activity types (Venkataraman & Sarasvathy, 2001). First, entrepreneurs are embedded in a social community and thus engaged in social activity. From this basis, they can draw encouragement, resources, and operational models. Also, the social community provides an environment for exchanging and evaluating ideas, raising and discussing needs, and creating dreams and visions for business. Second, entrepreneurial opportunity identification requires cognitive abilities towards understanding venture creation in the entrepreneur’s organizational and cultural context. In this regard, being part of a highly dynamic and turbulent business environment, entrepreneurs need to control and manage uncertainty and complexity (Venkataraman & Sarasvathy, 2001). Third, entrepreneurs need to engage in entrepreneurial actions. This comprises all kinds of pragmatic tasks that need to be undertaken in searching and devising viable solutions to a specified problem.
Entrepreneurs are characterized as individuals with exceptional mindsets that perceive the world differently. They accept risks and demonstrate skills and know-how to envision the future better than others. In that way, they identify, evaluate and transform opportunities, that otherwise would go unnoticed. Consequently, by creating and satisfying needs, entrepreneurs are key to venture growth incensement and economic welfare.
3.2 Domain of Social Entrepreneurship
Based on established literature, the terms ‘social entrepreneur’, ‘social entrepreneurship’, and ‘social enterprise’ are often used synonymously. However, it is crucial to define clear distinctions for understanding them. First, definitions of social entrepreneurs direct to the founder of the social initiative. Here, the social entrepreneur’s motives, skills and know- how, and background and experience are of importance. Second, definitions of SE typically refer to the process of providing social benefit to underprivileged representatives of society. Therefore, they facilitate an entrepreneurially entity that is economically viable, self-sufficient, or sustainable. Thereby, primarily the aspects of opportunity identification, innovation, networking, and scaling are discussed. Third, social enterprise definitions focus on the tangible organizational outcome of SE, having a strong culture of innovation and openness. Most notably, they describe the organization’s strategy elements and internal organizational characteristics.
In the following sections, each of these aspects will be analyzed and described according to their key issues and contributions. In relation to Gartner’s framework of new venture creation, also the environmental element of SE is described. It involves the environmental dynamics and support structures social entrepreneurs are facing.
3.2 The Individual: Social Entrepreneur
Social entrepreneurs are reformers and revolutionaries that fundamentally impact social structures and processes (Dees, 1998). In this respect, they take risks on behalf of the stakeholders they serve (Brinckerhoff, 2000). The public interest in and acknowledgement of social entrepreneurs evolved from their growing importance in addressing severe social issues. Their devotion towards satisfying a wide range of social needs and the increase in life quality they provide to communities in need represent their key role as change agents in the social sector (Zahra & Rawhouser, 2008).
Social entrepreneurs are community-centric and base their activities strongly on support structures and networks (Harding, 2006; Sharir & Lerner, 2006). Although many social entrepreneurs act in local communities, their enterprises can create worldwide impact in various areas such as education, health, economic development, and environmental stewardship (Dees, 1998). Opposed to autocratic bureaucracies, social entrepreneurs have a strong capacity for innovation. This combination of innovation capacity and closeness to the community enables them to add social value that would often not be possible through mainstream policies (Hall, Matos, Sheehan, & Silvestre, 2012). In that way, they can facilitate systemic social improvement by changing behavior on an international scale (Huybrechts, Nicholls, Huybrehts, & Nicholls, 2012)(Nicholls, 2006).
3.2.1 Motives
Social entrepreneurs are driven by a combination of distinct motives. Like their commercial counterparts, they seek occupational independence, achievement, and self- fulfillment. However, while the commercial entrepreneur seeks competition and profit, the social entrepreneur prospers on innovation and inclusiveness for developing societal patterns and systems (Phillips, Lee, Ghobadian, O’Regan, & James, 2015). Social entrepreneurs are driven by internal values and mission-related motives and desire systematic change and sustainable improvements (Hemingway, 2005). They look at social return on investment from a long-term perspective and seek to meet collective interest rather than simply achieving economic goals. Social entrepreneurs have a vision to create social betterment and can achieve this vision (Bornstein, 1998; Dees, 1998). In that sense, social entrepreneurs develop revenue-generating strategies towards straightly serving their mission of delivering sustained social value (Shaw et al., 2013). This mission is served by relentlessly recognizing and pursuing new opportunities, engaging in continuous innovation, adapting and learning, and operating confidently without having resource constraints. Furthermore, social entrepreneurs exhibit great accountability to stakeholder and the outcomes they create.
3.2.2 Skills and Know-how
Like commercial entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs face several challenges during the startup process, thus a core set of skills and know-how seems indispensable. Social entrepreneurs need capacities to cope with a changing policy environment (A. Peredo & McLean, 2006). In this context, different elements play a role in initiating and implementing innovative programs (Sharir & Lerner, 2006). While managers are perceived as facilitators for entrepreneurial projects, social entrepreneurs are rather critical for seeing social initiatives through (Thompson, 2002). Thus, knowledge about the local culture and its legal, social, and political elements as well as community management practices and macroeconomic perceptions are of importance.
A social entrepreneur’s objective to create social value is characterized by creating something new (i.e. social innovation) using a mix of entrepreneurial and managerial skills. The latter involves skills such as administrating funded programs, monitoring outcomes, and managing finance and budgets. On the other hand, entrepreneurial skills involve opportunity recognition, innovativeness, proactiveness, networking, partnership creation, people management, mentoring, sustainability, risk management, fundraising, and technical skills (Weerawardena & Sullivan Mort, 2006). In addition, a social entrepreneur’s total dedication and the skill to acquire strategic partners, employees, and volunteers by sharing an inspiring vision is important (Thompson, 2002).
However, not all skills necessarily need to manifest in one individual. Drawing on networking abilities also other individuals can equally provide the skills required. In the context of coping with distinct stakeholders, the relevance of pronounced networking capabilities for social entrepreneurs is emphasized (Alvord, Brown, & Letts, 2004). Hence, both building and using networks are significant to social entrepreneurs. According to (Kirk & Shutte, 2004), sovereign community leadership calls for the accumulation of social capital. In this regard, internal collective social capital refers to networking with a broad spectrum of community groups, while external collaborative social capital refers to networking with private or governmental partners. These networks represent enforceable shared norms, flows of information, and mutual obligations for outstanding favors. In the same vein, people with leadership talent and confidence should relate to those who make up innovative ideas (Dufays & Huybrechts, 2014).
3.2.3 Background and Experience
Background and experience of entrepreneurs are important since they assemble effective links with their stakeholders. According to (2006), prior experience in venture management can be a crucial enabler for starting and running a social enterprise. The entrepreneurial ability is defined as a conglomeration of managerial practice and role cognition and thus strongly influenced by an entrepreneur’s managerial background. In this context, acquired experience in different management positions and managerial courses can shape the entrepreneurial mind. These individuals are more likely to behave entrepreneurially involving a greater strategic attention, an external orientation, and an active leadership style (Vecchio, 2003). Prior experience in venture creation can also increase the desirability and acceptability of engaging in future social initiatives.
3.3 The Process: Social Entrepreneurship
According to Shane & Venkataraman (2007), the process dimension of SE describes how opportunities are identified, evaluated, and implemented. Thereby, the exploitation of opportunities involves a continuous combination and re-combination of management and entrepreneurship practices with physical resources, institutions, and other organizational forms (Mair & Martí, 2009).
The development of social and economic initiatives is considered as a time-consuming, long-term process in which localized and contextual influence factors alter while the initiatives mature. Hence, the creation of community-based social enterprises can take many years until results become tangible (Peredo & Chrisman, 2006). Social entrepreneurs need to continuously make sense of gaps, ambiguities, and contractions. In this regard, a ‘learn as you go’ perspective supports the success of social enterprise creation, enabling a truly entrepreneurial culture.
3.3.1 Stages
According to (Haugh, 2006), the process of creating community-led social ventures can be depicted in a stage gate model, involving opportunity identification, opportunity evaluation (i.e. idea articulation and idea possession), stakeholder motivation, opportunity exploitation, and stakeholder reelection. Social venture creation uses resources unavailable to commercial ventures. Compared to commercial venture creation, it also involves the management of volunteers, a greater number of stakeholders, and a longer times scale. With respect to stakeholder mobilization, the application of scenarios analyses can be a great tool to confront them with relevant uncertainties and to create a shared understanding of enablers and barriers.
3.3.2 Social Opportunity Identification and Evaluation
According to Weerawardena and Mort (2006), social opportunity identification describes an entrepreneurial activity in which social entrepreneurs actively search for opportunities to create social impact. SE opportunities emanate from social issues and embrace the social entrepreneur’s drive to create social value (Dufays & Huybrechts, 2014). Hence, SE describes a process of serving basic needs of local communities not addresses by traditional organizations. The two stages of opportunity identification and evaluation are influenced by environmental dynamics, organizational sustainability, and the venture’s social mission. In this regard, the individual’s vision or perceived necessities can serve as sources of opportunity identification. Also, institutional voids can be transformed into opportunities for social entrepreneurs. They describe “situations where institutional arrangements that support markets are absent, weak, or fail to accomplish the role expected of them” (Mair & Martí, 2009).
3.3.3 Social Innovativeness
According to Weerawardena and Mort (2006), innovativeness, together with risk management and proactivity, features as a core behavioral dimension that distinguishes SE from other expressions of community work. SE is described as a bounded multi- dimensional construct which is directly related to and deeply rooted in a social enterprise’s social mission, sustainable development, which in turn is characterized by environmental dynamism.
Innovation is understood as an integrative process of know-how acquisition where social enterprises monitor changes in their external environment to learn from market changes (Mort et al., 2003). Accordingly, social entrepreneurs must not necessarily be inventors, but rather demonstrate creativity in putting things together in a new way. In this respect, the willingness to be innovative is a core attribute of successful social entrepreneurs that continuously explore, learn, and improve (Dees, 1998).
The term ‘social innovativeness’ can link to products, services or processes. It further includes innovative ways to promote or deliver products and services. Types of innovations include structural changes to overcome social problems, serving a widely- distributed collective need, and capacity building of local actors towards solving their own problems (Alvord et al., 2004). Innovations may also appear in forms of innovative program structures or novel ways of assembling resources or collecting funds.
Due to the continuously increasing competitiveness, social ventures are required to demonstrate social innovation in all their value-creating activities. In the same vein, mission-driven organizations are perceived to develop and adopt innovations faster than competitors (Sharir & Lerner, 2006). In this regard, the degree of innovativeness can be related to the absolute number of innovations developed and approved. Ashoka, for instance, defines the level of innovativeness as its main criteria for deciding if to support a social entrepreneur or not. A so-called ‘Ashoka Fellow’ is expected to provide a fresh idea, solution, or approach to tackle a social issue that will involve pattern-breaking.
3.3.4 Networking
The importance of networking has already been emphasized as core skill of the social entrepreneur and re-occurs in the social entrepreneurship process. Along the process stages, two types of networks contribute to the acquisition of resources and assists progression for a community-led social venture. First, a formal support network refers to organizations with responsibilities for economic development such as community development workers, local authorities, and central governments. Second, the tailor-made support network selects those network participants that are promising to add value to the social enterprise’s social mission. Contributions comprise added values such as expertise, information, know-how, and resources (Haugh, 2006).
SE can be viewed as process that catalyzes social change with respect to cultural and socio-economic developments. In this context, social capital refers to a social entrepreneur’s networks and relationships from which institutional support can be derived. Social capital is cumulative and leads to social benefits that can even be converted into other capital forms.
SE seeks to reconstruct welfare by building social bonds between the private, public, and social sector. For that purpose, it utilizes market dynamics with a focus on public interest. In a social partnership between for-profit and non-profit organizations, Weerawardena and Mort (2012) state several success criteria involving a real and tangible vision and mission, commitment and reliability of partners, trust, funding purposes free from competitiveness, and power-based action plans. Also, leadership is important for the emergence and sustainability of a social venture partnership.
3.3.5 Scaling
According to Alvord et al. (2004), three scaling patterns exist that increase the reach of a social ventures. These patterns directly correlate with the above-mentioned types of innovation. First, organizations which deploy capacity increases can simultaneously enhance their social impact by expanding product and service coverage. Second, the dissemination of innovation packages expands services and functions to initial target groups. Third, initiatives for movement-building indirectly scale impact by initiating social change activities with respect to behaviors of actors with relevant social impact. Like for commercial entrepreneurship, franchising is also a scaling strategy for social entrepreneurship (Tracey & Jarvis, 2007). Social enterprise franchising is primarily driven by resource limitations. It allows increased access to resources such as local know- how, managerial expertise, and resources. In that way, an economically viable social enterprise can be created that simultaneously retains social and environmental values. Also, social enterprise franchising ensures a rapid dissemination of the social vision and mission while involving only insignificant risk and minimal acquisition expenses of assets (Dixon & Clifford, 2011).
3.4 The Organizational Outcome: Social Enterprise
The social enterprise constitutes the created outcome of a social entrepreneur, following the social entrepreneurship process. With respect to Gartner’s (1995) framework of new venture creation, characteristics of social ventures relate to strategy elements (i.e. social mission, social impact, social impact assessment) as well as internal organizational characteristics such as governance, resources, legal form, learning, and monitoring. Due to their hybrid nature, encompassing elements from various areas, a proper definition of social enterprises is not easy. Nevertheless, their undisputed objective is the creation of social impact and the delivery of social value, rather than shareholder return or personal enrichment.
3.4.1 Strategy Elements
Social enterprises are financially independent organizations in which social entrepreneurs plan and executive earned-income strategies. With respect to fostering social entrepreneurship, six major themes contribute to the success of sustaining a social enterprise, comprising people, branding, confidence, cost minimization, operational excellence, and know-how application and transfer (Luke & Chu, 2013). Also, a social entrepreneur’s behavior towards risk is a key success factor. Requiring external funding arrangements that support the enterprise financially implies the risk of bankruptcy once the funding comes to an end. Thus, social enterprises aim at reducing their dependency on stakeholders and the government by adopting business-like goals such as generating independent revenue streams or cost reductions (Bornstein, 2004; Sharir & Lerner, 2006). For that purpose, social enterprises need to structure and restructure their service delivery to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Also, organizational level management needs to be held accountable for their managerial practices and the related social impact created.
3.4.1.1 Social Mission
According to Dixon and Clifford (2011), the social mission gives role and direction and illustrates the social enterprise’s culture. It empowers a social enterprise to accomplish goals that create social impact to benefit the whole society. Simultaneously, generated revenues can be reinvested to generate growth and to ensure the economic continuity of operations. Consequently, social enterprises can keep themselves independent from potentially constraining funder requirements. In this context, the role of the mission needs to be incorporated in the social entrepreneurial process, considering the social enterprise’s drive for sustainability within its competitive environment (Weerawardena & Mort, 2006). The high importance of the social mission should also be reflected in its products and services.
3.4.1.2 Social Impact
Social enterprises have an enormous potential to create social impact. In this context, sustainable development has already been taken up by many organizations, affecting their strategy and mission statement. Hence, it is of interest how to incorporate the social and environmental dimensions of the triple-bottom-line in programs and projects. According to Alvord et al. (2004), the basic areas of social impact are economic, political, and cultural, addressing various activities such as poverty, education, or health.
3.4.1.3 Social Impact Assessment
Social enterprises pursue the mission of solving social problems. In this context, they need to be sure about the actual achievement of their social mission. A proper impact assessment has pivotal meaning for these organizations. An efficient impact assessment helps to optimally allocate resources to increase social impact. In that way, it offers strategic opportunities for social entrepreneurs to improve the enterprise’s performance.
On that basis, the concept of ‘Social Impact Assessment’ (SIA) is emerging that deals with the question which indicators and processes have the highest impact relevance and thus should be adopted. SIA involves direct feedback from beneficiaries and thus plays a key role in enhancing the involvement of stakeholders and other parties. Furthermore, it provides insights on how received investments address social issues (Grieco, 2015). Especially in the context of a growing competition for social fundraising, this communication is of high strategic relevance. Social outcomes can be better assessed and investors have a better transparency of where to invest. This aspect is key since investors become increasingly important in reflecting ethical practices throughout the economy (Esteves, Franks, & Vanclay, 2012; Porter & Kramer, 2006).
3.4.2 Internal Organizational Characteristics
Social enterprises possess organizational structures that enable them to fill gaps in the intersection of the social economy with the private and public sector. Their organizational set-up determines how activities are organized. This can be reflected in joint constructions between demand and supply where users and providers cooperate in the social entrepreneurship process (Defourny & Nyssens, 2013). The internal organizational characteristics are clustered around five themes comprising governance, resources, legal form, learning, and monitoring.
3.4.2.1 Governance
According to Sharir and Lerner (2006), the governance of social enterprises has a participative nature, involves multiple stakeholders, and is based on democratic management. Stakeholders can be involved by creating partnerships and networks that facilitate know-how and expertise transfer as well as the creation, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities. Hence, stakeholders such as interest groups and collectives play a key role in making decisions and in achieving a mutual overarching social mission. For that reason, multiple stakeholder involvement should only be discouraged if it limits the effectiveness of the enterprise’s hybridity to achieve social and economic goals simultaneously. According to Vidal (2005), governance can be measured by the degree to which board members are involved in scaling activities, personal funding, planning, and decision-making. In this respect, a typical failure of social enterprises is to retain implementing power which should be avoided (Sharir & Lerner, 2006).
3.4.2.2 Resources
Social entrepreneurs are perceived as individuals that pursue their social mission with total dedication. Thus, they will not reduce their efforts due to resource scarcity, but rather find innovative ways of combining multiple sources within their social network. According to Peredo and McLean (2006), “social entrepreneurs decline to accept limitations in available resources”. In that sense, they discover creative strategies of mobilizing local, existing assets within their partnership network instead of sourcing external help (Alvord et al., 2004).
According to (Haugh, 2006), a general distinction can be made between financial and human resources. First, financial resources address direct funding, grants, subsidies, fixed asset disposals, assets received by donation, material goods and resources, and access to infrastructure, know-how and expertise. Second, human resources involve volunteers in the workforce, employment contracts, and other professional resources,
3.4.2.3 Legal Form
The decision which legal form a social entrepreneur adopts depends on the specific purpose of the social enterprise (Dees & Anderson, 2006). According to Leadbeater (2010), SE is conceptualized as an intersection of the voluntary, private, and public sector. This definition includes for-profit and non-profit organizations as well as public sector initiatives. However, it does not consider organizational forms that do not pursue trading activities or only engage in social activism (Swanson & Zhang, 2011).
According to Vidal (2005), social enterprises adopt diverse legal forms. The choice often depends on the local legislation environment the social enterprise acts in. In that sense, the legal form is no obvious indicator of the underlying multiple or single stakeholder structure. As social enterprises focus on creating social impact the legal form and sectoral belongings are less relevant if social change continues (Mair & Martí, 2009).
Also, the process of starting up is often mediated through support organizations, advisors, or professionals. However, the degree of autonomy is an important requirement in the social venture creation which puts some restrictions on the judicial form. For that reason, social enterprises should not be managed directly or indirectly by other organizations or public authorities.
3.4.2.4 Learning
(Alvord et al., 2004) state that social enterprises that demonstrate superior social impact creation emphasize continuous learning. Successful learners have a strong commitment to the training and development of their staff in terms of financial and human resource dedication. Accordingly, they design performance evaluation and management systems that generate insights on optimal staff development. Also, networks can be the source for accumulating and exploiting social capital which in turn can generate learning effects by transferring knowledge and expertise (Spear, 2006).
3.4.2.5 Monitoring
According to Sharir and Lerner (2006), monitoring and evaluating are only poorly developed in social enterprises which constraints the development of the whole sector. This is essentially caused by the high complexity of measuring and quantifying social value (Arvidsson, 2010). In this context, the main difficulty is not the act of measurement itself but the conversion of qualitative data related to a social mission into qualitative metrics (Emerson, Wachowicz, & Chun, 2000).
However, due to permanent, dynamic changes in the SE policy environment, social enterprises are required to constantly monitor and evaluate their social impact to counteract if necessary. In this context, indicators need to be developed and applied around an intensive performance monitoring in regard of their social impact (Esteves et al., 2012). As a result, improved information and relevant insights can be generated for strategic decision-making. For example, the inclusion of social benefits into financial statements can create a more adequate representation of the overall performance (Richmond, Mook, & Quarter, 2003).
3.5 The Social Entrepreneurship Environment
According to Gartner (1995), the fourth component that needs to be considered in the process of new venture creation is the environmental framework in which upcoming social entrepreneurs are attempting to establish new social ventures and in which the social enterprise is embedded. SE is highly responsive to and constrained by environmental dynamics and local support structures (Weerawardena & Sullivan Mort 2006). Thus, from a strategic point of view, the relationship between a social enterprise and its environment are affected by environmental determinism.
Structural social change questions institutional structures and patterns that are responsible for prevailing social problems. Thus, according to Mair & Martí (2009), institutional voids and arrangements constitute an object of potential change, however, simultaneously serve as a viable source of opportunity identification.
Institutional Theory and Social Entrepreneurship Across Countries The environmental setup in which the social venture creation comes about can significantly influence the development of a social enterprise. This reflects the importance of various environmental factors that need to be considered in the SE process.
According to Bruton, Ahlstrom & Li (2010) and Scott (2008), entrepreneurs are both constrained and enabled by institutions within their environment. This mostly refers to existing institutions influencing non-profit sector growth (Salamon, Sokolowski, & Anheier, 2000), socio-economic factors (J. A. Kerlin, 2009), and entrepreneurship trends affecting society and government (Vecchio, 2003). The development of SE is affected by the civil society and the economic environment, both constituting a mix of political- economic histories, hierarchies, and culture. Thus, with respect to Kerlin’s (2013) macro- institutional social enterprise framework, the state has a strong impact on the SE model.
According to Estrin, Mickiewicz, & Stephan (2013), national institutions facilitate the emergence of commercial businesses and SE and thus has an effect on individual entrepreneurial decisions. Consequently, the national prevalence rate of SE certainly influences the practice of commercial activity. While a country’s governmental activism negatively affects social and commercial start-ups, institutional frameworks serve as an enabler.
The analysis of an environmental context is important, since it allows the identification of local macro-trends. On that basis, a social entrepreneur can make general statements about enablers and barriers of a targeted region, from which necessary features for a potential social enterprise can be drawn.
Concerning the relation between social enterprises and their environmental framework, countries can be categorized by their stage of development (Estrin et al., 2013). In this respect, it can be distinguished between three types of country-related distinction. First, factor-driven countries that focus on exploiting natural resources. Second, efficiency- based economies that rely on large-scale manufacturing. Third, innovation-driven countries based on service provision and innovation. According to Lepoutre, Justo, Terjesen, & Bosma (2013), in developing countries such as Kenya, goals related to fundamental self-interests must be accomplished first, before a philanthropist propensity is developed. In comparison to developed countries, this indicates higher opportunity- cost of SE. Furthermore, the OECD (2013) revealed that most social enterprises are at an early stage of development (i.e. less than 42 months).
3.5.1 Environmental Dynamics
According to Sharir and Lerner (2006), the acceptance of social enterprises in the public discourse is crucial for a social entrepreneur’s success. Thus, a lack of recognition implies a critical barrier that a social enterprise needs to overcome. In this context, Anderson et al. (2006) argue that SE potentially constitutes “an effective way for states to address the socio-economic circumstances of its indigenous people while at the same time addressing their ‘national aspirations’”. Consequently, the plain replication of SE practices and education programs that turned out to be successful in Western communities does not necessarily lead to a successful transformation of an economy in a developing country.
Hence, the hostile business climate and the local discourse of gender stereotypes and citizen entitlement are important factors for country-related SE strategy (Phillips et al., 2015). Also, intellectual property rights can pose a barrier for practicing social entrepreneurs as they result in a disincentive to innovate. Strategies that utilize local enablers and overcome barriers related to an economy’s environmental dynamics can vary and need to be adapted accordingly (Pastakia, 1998).
3.5.2 Support Structures
According to Korosec & Berman (2006), social entrepreneurs severely suffer from a lack of supportive infrastructures. The absence of public (e.g. municipal) and private advice structures that can provide best practice information and customize social business models to local environmental conditions constitutes a serious barrier. Issues that need to be particularly addressed comprise intellectual property questions, legal questions, and a general lack of current support data for social enterprises. In combination with a lack of resources as described in the previous section, social entrepreneurs often spend unnecessary time to “reinvent the wheel.”
Successful SE requires the establishment of a supportive environment (Sharir & Lerner, 2006). Several possibilities from state and market perspective exist to support social entrepreneurs and social enterprises. Support structures comprise activities such as the implementation of coordination and support programs, assistance in resource acquisition, or community awareness and information building. However, the level of support can significantly vary according to the environment in which the SE activities take place (Korosec & Berman, 2006).
Strategic Incubator Models
In general, strategic incubator models for social enterprises distinguish between individual subsistence centers and satellite centers. These incubation environments serve as a knowledge and expertise intermediary between social enterprises and the environment in which they act. Incubators provide training, technical advice, and access to capital (e.g. micro finance) through supportive networks (Sharir & Lerner, 2006). Furthermore, they offer local and international marketing support.
Academic Support
Social enterprises employ a combination of self-help, business skills, and community involvement and address social issues such as unemployment, social exclusion, poverty, and deprivation. Targeted academic support focuses on those aspects that are not included in standard management and leadership practice. According to Haugh (2005), academic SE support can hardly be provided with respect to theoretical frameworks. Rather it should rigorously be based on evidence-based learning.
3.6 Conceptualization of Social Entrepreneurship Education
The economic value of entrepreneurial skills and know-how which can be acquired through education are substantially undervalued. Although, entrepreneurship is often perceived as innate skill, entrepreneurship education significantly influences an individual’s business behavior and future intentions. In this context, proper education and training can visibly enhance a practitioner’s personal skills as well as the ability to identify business opportunities (Gibb, 2002).
Since the phenomenon of SE is relatively new, only a few institutional mechanisms are currently available to support this work (Johnson, 2002). However, following the perception that SE principally employs managerial and entrepreneurial skills within the non-profit sector, it can be assumed that capacity building and training of skills are quite replicable. On the other hand, as SE involves highly innovative and creative approaches by individuals, replication is limited to developing conditions in which entrepreneurialism could be utilized for ultimately creating social value (Hamidi, Wennberg, & Berglund, 2008). As for commercial entrepreneurship, SE is strongly affected by proper provision of and access to modelling, training, and education. In addition, the promotion of SE as an alternative to traditional business models within the curricular of primary and secondary schools, technical colleges, and universities can induce early-stage activities of SE. In this context, also a positive link between the perceptions of successful SE and competence building and development for SE can be mandatory (Sharir & Lerner, 2006). This could also create transparency for potential social impact investors and simplify funding requests, since they often require concomitant capabilities for adding the desired value.
On that basis, SE has evolved as a fundamental alternative to government policies and private initiatives for addressing societies’ most critical social issues. Following the social movement, also academics have started to engage in the topic. However, only a small number of higher education institutions offer opportunities for SE education (Said, Ahmad, Md Yusof, & Jusoh, 2015). Compared to traditional entrepreneurship education, there is only little information available on the design of SE education programs regarding content and pedagogical objectives. Hence, reputed higher education institutions such as Harvard and Oxford undertake substantial engagement in creating different educational models to educate and support future generations of social change makers. An introductory course at the New York University “provides a socially relevant academic experience to help students gain in-depth insights into economic and social value creation across several sectors areas including poverty alleviation, energy, health and sustainability” (New York University). Predominantly, SE is taught and practiced in collaboration between practitioners and universities and promoted through industry partnership participants.
3.6.1 Characteristics of Entrepreneurship Education
With respect to the economic development of nations, entrepreneurship education plays a crucial role. However, many young entrepreneurs fail in starting and running an enterprise, which leads to a global uncertainty about whether and how entrepreneurship can be taught (Gibb, 2002) Research shows that conventional academic practice on entrepreneurship is primarily undertaken through teaching about what entrepreneurship is. Thereby, the focus lies on traditional pedagogic methods that rather follow a didactic than explorative nature, deterring students from experiencing real-life entrepreneurial activities and projects (S. M. Pittaway, 2012). Contemporary entrepreneurship practitioners face uncertain and turbulent business environments where bold and fast decisions and flexibility in responding to market changes are required. In this context, the attempt to draw the design of entrepreneurship education from in-field experiences of others is limited (Venkataraman & Sarasvathy, 2001).
Current academic perceptions suggest designing entrepreneurship education itself as an entrepreneurial process that resembles the best practice experiences, skills, and know- how of successful entrepreneurs (Douglas, 2015). For that purpose, Van de Ven and Engleman (2004) propose a multi-layered transformation. From their point of view, those students become entrepreneurs whose mindsets and skills are poled towards action. Thus, aspiring entrepreneurs need exposure to experimental elements such as workshops or cooperation projects with enterprises, practice time in companies, prototyping, or start- up challenges. In that way, students are habituated towards finding the most pragmatic solutions to real-life concerns. Furthermore, entrepreneurs are part of social communities that strongly influence entrepreneurial ideas, operational models, resources, and encouragement. Thus, social activity serves as an important driver for creating entrepreneurial opportunities.
Concluding, well-designed and balanced entrepreneurship education is based on building strong entrepreneurial key skills through experimental learning elements and mindful awareness of the social environment. This approach does not entirely replace a reliable set of managerial skills. Nevertheless, it enables aspiring entrepreneurs to control and manage practice-related entrepreneurial complexity.
3.6.2 Entrepreneurship Education Pedagogy
Acknowledging that SE is a practice rather than a theoretical concept suggest that experimental learning pedagogies are appropriate means to approach SE education. In that way know-how can be transformed into understanding via real-life experience within a realistic environment (Douglas, 2015).
Experimental Learning
According to Gibbs (2002), important emotions and feelings are crucial elements of deep learning experiences. The idea of experimental learning describes a process of generating learning insights through experience and reflection (Kolb, 1984). Types of experimental learning comprises apprenticeships, field placements, internships, and short- to medium- term projects. Experiential learning can occur either in a real-life or simulated environment. The domain of simulation involves case studies or business games as often used in business schools (Pittaway & Cope, 2007). In that way, situated learning as well as emotional exposure can be simulated. However, holistic entrepreneurial process elements such as performance management, exposure to financial risk, or resource mobilization are not covered sufficiently. On the other hand, real-life situations involve emotions and feelings and provide ground for deep learning insights and the development of personal motivations. Additionally, real-life situations improve the learner’s practical attributes and skills and create both explicit and tacit know-how (Gibb, 2002). Being an active participant in the SE process the students at the same time facilitates the development of opportunity identification abilities.
Kolb’s Learning Cycle
Kolb’s (1984) four stage learning cycle centers around experiential learning, involving the action and related experience of an event, the reflection, the conceptualization of alternatives based on the expierence, and finally the planning of future actions drawn from the learning. With respect to the field of social entrepreneurship Kolb’s learning cycle could enable students to engage with practicing social entrepreneurs and to learn about their motivation, operating principles as well as fail and success stories.
On that basis, pedagogy on SE could start with didactic methods providing general information what SE is all about. On the practice side, students should be confronted with real-life experience, followed by the provision of tools and methods to reflect the gathered learning and insights. Finally, the students should be encouraged to conceptualize how they individually might approach SE tasks in the future. The expierence of undertaking practical action followed by self-directed reflection and (re)conceptualization are crucial for students to conceive the complexity of SE and to habituate iterative thinking to adapt and apply learning to a future situation (McLeod, 2013).
Design Thinking
Creativity is a fundamental element of entrepreneurial opportunity identification. In this regard, design thinking is concerned with bringing together business skills and know-how with an actual design being mutually reinforcing (Brown & Wyatt, 2010).
3.6.3 Designing Social Entrepreneurship Education
Social entrepreneurs have a strong focus on achieving their social mission. In that sense, the social enterprise as organizational outcome must sustain its social purpose and impact in the long-run. For that reason, the education of SE requires more than providing business education combined with a basic understanding of social issues. While the educational foundation should be based on information on theory and practice, the SE process needs to be learned and internalized through real-life situations. SE students must understand business processes and simultaneously learn to organize their intended social change (Mair, Battilana, & Cardenas, 2012). Thus, they must understand social interrelationships on how society operates, cause and effect and structural development of social issues, and how to create appropriate change mechanisms in the environmental context they act in.
Global poverty constitutes an important social issue affecting almost half of the world’s population. Focusing SE on this major issue can provide students with a good understanding of how SE operates (Mensah & Benedict, 2010). In this regard, the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at Oxford University designed three courses providing major elements of SE education. The courses examine social problems with a focus on the concept of poverty and combine know-how on social change in combination with a business approach towards applying SE in practice. First, Innovation explores the range and nature of innovation in the context of international SE. Second, Social Enterprise Design investigates the development and design of social enterprises with respect to their institutional context. Third, Social Finance elaborates on the landscape of social investments and the development of social finance markets. Also, for practically applying acquired know-how and skills the institution offers students the possibility to partner with relevant communities of interest.
Education in the field of social entrepreneurship is complex rather than memorizing a straightforward set of know-how and basic workflows. An educational model of SE needs to reflect each stage of the SE process (i.e. ideation, planning, launch, commercialization) and should include real-life learning opportunities for students to reflect, evaluate, and discuss practical experiences (Gunn et al., 2008).
Social Entrepreneurship Curriculum
A potential suit of courses is designed as a mixture of basic SE introductions and some understanding of SE practice. In this context, four consecutive themes appear in the literature that seem to make sense in a SE curriculum.
First, students need to understand the context and different social structures and processes that cause social issues. Teaching on the concept of poverty and millennium development goals should be complemented by theory on social change, social activism, and social organizations should be included (Douglas, 2015). Furthermore, students should understand human-centered design and experience how partnering with target communities can be utilized to successfully address the social problems identified. Some academics also suggest integrating STI (Science, Technology, and Innovation) into all areas of the curriculum (Freeman & Soete, 2009).
Second, basic business principles, tools, and procedures relevant to social change practice should be investigated. Students need to learn how to identify and evaluate social business opportunities and how to build a sufficient revenue model around a social value proposition to sustain the proposed change initiative (Howorth, Smith, & Parkinson, 2012). For that purpose, different legal forms of organizations as well as governance policies need to be investigated. Also, students should be taught where and how to acquire financial and human resources and how potential communication systems and marketing methods can work. Finally, students should acquire knowledge on basic accounting techniques, negotiating methods, and project planning towards scaling and measuring social impact.
Third, aspiring social entrepreneurs need to learn how to design an appropriate change intervention that is theoretically informed and adapted to the dynamics and support structures of their environmental context (Pache & Chowdhury, 2012). This module could be taught as part of a change project or social enterprise startup that simulates a real-life business situation, including the creation of a social business model. Theory about change for social impact can also inform on the consideration of risks and unexpected scenarios and consequences.
Fourth, the intended change actions could be implemented over a time horizon of a few months supported by an academic advisor. In that way, it can be assured that the project or startup is supervised effectively and that the students have plenty of possibilities to learn and reflect. Lastly, the outcome of the project or startup should be compared with relevant theories.
4 Analytical Framework
This chapter presents the analytical framework of this thesis. For that purpose, SE in Kenya is examined. It is shown that a strong rationale for SE education exists. Furthermore, SE education in Kenya is examined from which implications for enhancing SE education in Kenya can be drawn to develop a new Paradigm for SE education.
With respect to the characteristics of entrepreneurship, and drawing on the domains of economics, psychology, and institutional theory, the previous chapter proposed a definition of SE and SE education. With respect to Low Income Countries (LICs), SE can have a strong impact on development and social betterment, outperforming other policy options. The current understanding of SE and SE education are based on the evidence that social entrepreneurial behaviors, skills, and attributes are crucial for the social entrepreneurial process of opportunity identification, evaluation, and successful commercialization.
4.1 Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
According to Mair and Martí (2006), the concept of embeddedness emphasizes the importance for social entrepreneurs to continuously interact with the environment they act in. Being largely characterized as a collectivist nation, embeddedness is highly relevant to Kenya, where a concept like Ubuntu and a high community involvement are prevailing. This community approach is an essential enabler for the collective nature of SE, as it builds on collective strengths and embraces socio-economic elements, rather than emphasizing deficits. Despite these requirements, the Kenyan government shows reluctance to directly engage with SE practitioners and SE educators, calling their activities maverick endeavors.
Kenyan policy makers show limited targeted social guidance. At the same time, the invisible hand of the market frequently fails in accomplishing the most favorable outcomes (Christie & Honig, 2006). Most social projects are conceived and directed by development agencies rather than community members, leading to a lack of ownership on the part of the target beneficiaries (Peredo & Chrisman, 2006). The state-owned social sector institutions are often perceived as unresponsive and ineffective. Simultaneously, the performance of Kenyan social enterprises is inhibited by the provision of poor products and services, budgetary burdens, and inefficiency losses. Consequently, Kenya suffers from extreme unemployment and poverty rates and massive inequalities in education and health.
Kenyan non-profit organizations are operating in a highly competitive environment, characterized by a growing demand for improved effectiveness and sustainability. This demand is additionally reinforced by diminishing funds from traditional sources with various organizations competing for the same donor funds (Weerawardena & Sullivan Mort, 2006). Many initiatives alleviating poverty have degenerated into insufficient global charity events rather than serving local community needs. This kind of beggar mentality emerged in many Kenyan communities and led to massive aid interventions (A. Peredo & McLean, 2006). At the same time, the rising proportion of wealth in the private sector is calling for greater social responsibility and more proactive responses to complex social problems (Johnson, 2002). On that basis, there are three central drivers affecting SE practitioners. First, the political devolution of social functions from the national to the local level and from the public to the private sector (Nega & Schneider, 2013). Second, the economic reduction of state funding activities. Third, problems of increasing social complexity (Swanson & Zhang, 2011).
As our literature review revealed, SE research as a field of scientific inquiry is still at the stage of infancy. In Kenya, where SE comparably remains an under-research academic area, the importance of SE as a phenomenon for social betterment is crucial. SE has significant application where traditional business models, government and philanthropic efforts fail to compensate for the social deficits and serves as a growing source of solutions to current social issues. Social entrepreneurs are required to provide alternative business models offering products and services in a socially and environmentally sustainable way (Harding, 2006). Funders of social entrepreneurs seek to invest into individuals that demonstrate the capacity (i.e. the skills and know-how) to create substantial change. According to Kramer (2005), this set of capacities primarily comprises innovative, strategic, managerial, and financial abilities of social entrepreneurs.
4.2 Rationale for Social Entrepreneurship Education
According to (Huq & Gilbert, 2017), entrepreneurship education encourages entrepreneurial action as it positively influences individuals towards entrepreneurial careers. In contrast, formal education is designed to prepare students for conventional careers and thus discourages entrepreneurship by reducing rather than increasing creativity and an entrepreneurial mindset (Plaschka & Welsch, 1990). For that reason, the relevant question arises what SE education should embrace and how it can be taught in the most appropriate way regarding the skill and know-how requirements of aspiring social entrepreneurs.
Our literature review reveals that the entrepreneurial process is primarily driven by society. However, in emerging economies such as Kenya, many entrepreneurs are unable to reach their desired outcome due to inadequate skill levels. Consequently, selfemployed, unemployed youth, and graduates require a better preparation in skills and know-how to contribute to sustainable social enterprises.
As pointed out in the previous chapter, Western scholars propose a model of contemporary SE education that combines classroom based education with experimental learning. These programs include courses on creative thinking and managerial skillbuilding delivered in an interdisciplinary way.
All over the world, policy makers refer to local capacity building as a viable strategy towards assisting impoverished communities in becoming self-reliant (Peredo & Chrisman, 2006). To achieve a ‘systematic social entrepreneurship in developing low- income countries such as Kenya a multi-disciplinary multi-level approach is required. Consequently, it is becoming clear that business school based education is only one of many components necessary for entrepreneurial capacity building. Peterman and Kennedy (2003) argue that the ideal age to develop entrepreneurial interest even occurs during childhood and adolescence.
4.3 Social Entrepreneurship Education in Kenya
With a population of more than 46 million Kenya is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC). Its economy is one of the largest in Central and East Africa by GDP, primarily targeting industries such as agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, energy, telecommunications, and financial services. With Nairobi as its commercial hub, Kenya ranks among the most entrepreneurial economies in East Africa, an environment that is characterized by a comparably strong presence of entrepreneurial activity.
Entrepreneurship education plays a crucial role for Kenyan economic development. The country’s development plan Vision 2030 embraces strong initiatives towards improving Kenya’s performance in science, technology, and innovation (STI). To meet the requirements of its rapidly industrializing economy, the country wants to create a globally competitive and adaptable human resource base. This involves life-long education and training programs and additionally tends to enhance partnerships between educational institutions and industry participants (The Ministry of Planning and Devolution, 2007).
This country-related orientation is shaped by concepts of entrepreneurship education as described in the previous chapter. Although some individuals may be exceptionally talented in social opportunity identification, business education can help to build know- how and foster managerial skills for starting and running a successful social venture.
It seems that Kenya endorses entrepreneurial activities as being captured in the country’s concept of Integrated Entrepreneurship Education (IEE). As part of Kenya’s national education system, the concept embraces the skills and know-how required to plan, start, and run entrepreneurial activities in the informal sector. In this context, social entrepreneurship can serve as a central mean by making use of the population’s ambition to utilize entrepreneurial potential while simultaneously creating social value (Mackatiani, Imbovah, Imbova, & Gakungai, 2016).
However, not all drivers are directed towards entrepreneurial activities. Particularly, among the youth where family and societal pressure promotes aspiration to white-collar jobs, educational advertising can be useful. Also, the poor and unemployed are not properly subject to SE education. Partly, this phenomenon occurs because contemporary education and training strategies neglect the potential contribution of SE and SE education to economic growth (Nelson & Johnson, 1997).
4.4 Enhancing Social Entrepreneurship Education in Kenya
On that basis, our study directly considers and emphasises the perspectives and interests of contemporary social entrepreneurs, since they represent the key stakeholder group that creates social impact and drives social change. In that way, we can generate highly relevant practical insights and draw conclusions from a Kenyan SE practitioner perspective on whether and how SE in Kenya can be enhanced and what SE education may need to embrace in a practical Kenyan context.
4.4.1 Developing a new Paradigm for SE Education
As described in the previous chapter, SE education is increasingly understood as a process of continuous learning and thus primarily taught in an integrated and experimental way. On that basis, successful practitioners and educators in the Western world have designed a comprehensive SE education framework, comprising a set of recommended social entrepreneurial attributes and skills. Related learning outcomes are defined in relation to a mix of teaching and learning approaches.
Traditional pedagogical approaches to business education that are based on analysis, planning and rational decision-making show significant limitations in LICs like Kenya where innovation is a key determinant of growth and survival (Gough, Langevang, & Namatovu, 2013). Thus, despite a significant upsurge in social entrepreneurial activity, the unemployment rate of youth and graduates in Kenya is continuously increasing. To a substantial extent this development is driven by antiquated perceptions of traditional educational models. These models are built on the assumption that future employees will join large organizations, leading to a widespread compartmentalization of knowledge (Mensch & Lloyd, 1998). At the same time, most failures of start-up initiatives occur due to an inadequacy of absence of appropriate business skills. In addition, most social entrepreneurs in LICs operate in the informal sector which dramatically lacks appropriate education. Current evidence shows that there is a mismatch between the traditional provision of business education and social entrepreneurial business requirements. For this reason, practitioners and educators of SE need to define educational models and their associated pedagogical methods in a way that is relevant to the reality of aspiring social entrepreneurs (Sautet, 2013).
As defined in the previous chapter, successful social enterprises demonstrate a capacity to enter a market, to learn and adapt and to mobilize and direct resources in a superior way. Intertwined, successful social entrepreneurs possess those skills and attributes necessary to identify and exploit opportunities and to manage the social enterprise as organizational outcome. In that sense, it is essential to address current limitations of traditional business education and to create processes that naturally unfold SE through appropriate practice-related SE education.
5 Research Methodology
In the context of our research methodology, the proposed analytical framework is applied to the substantial theory about SE to arrive at the research gap. On that’s basis, definitions of ‘social entrepreneur’, ‘social entrepreneurship’, and ‘social enterprise’ in Kenya’s business environment are explored from practitioner perspective. Furthermore, local enabler and barriers as well as current educational gaps that need to be filled are investigated from practitioner perspective. Finally, elements are determined that future Kenyan SE education should embrace to address the explored practitioner perceptions and needs. Based on generated findings and insights, implications can be derived in the following chapter that aim at answering our foregoing research questions.
Thus, this chapter involves a complete and accurate description of the equipment and techniques used to gather the necessary research data. Furthermore, it provides an explanation how the collected raw data is compiled (i.e. coded) and analyzed. On that basis, the implications of this thesis can be reviewed and the conducted qualitative fieldwork can be replicated.
5.1 Current Research Gap
Due to various theoretical issues and debates that have contributed to the emergence of SE theory and practice, the empirical investigations take a position relative to these debates.
The phenomenon of SE is still emerging, but has already been addressed notably by researchers and practitioners in Western societies. According to Weerawardena and Mort (2006), social entrepreneurship describes an entrepreneurial activity in which social entrepreneurs actively seek opportunities for creating social impact. In that sense, the notion of social entrepreneurial success has been examined in an economic and management context throughout the lens of the four elements of new venture creation (i.e. individual, process, organization, environment) for Western civilizations. However, an investigation that directly considers and emphasizes the perspectives and interests of contemporary social entrepreneurs in Kenya to generate highly relevant practical insights from SE practitioner perspective has not been conducted yet. According to Anderson et al. (2006), the plain replication of SE practices and education programs that turned out to be successful in Western countries does not necessarily lead to a successful transformation of an economy in a developing country. Hence, Western theories cannot simply be applied on the Kenyan business environment without understanding country- specific aspects. Our literature review revealed that Kenya currently lacks a conceptualization of SE that relates and responds to existent local enablers and barriers prevailing.
It has been shown that social entrepreneurs are exceptionally-minded individuals that are driven by intrinsic motives to create social impact and thus require a core set of entrepreneurial and managerial skills and know-how. Also, the stages of SE and the related aspects of opportunity identification, social innovativeness, networking, and scaling have been described thoroughly in the context of their key success factors. On that basis, the social enterprise has been presented as organizational outcome of the SE process. In this context, requirements for its strategy elements and internal organizational characteristics have been examined. However, an exploration on the definitions of ‘social entrepreneur’, ‘social entrepreneurship’, and ‘social enterprise’ in Kenya’s business environment has not been conducted with respect to the practitioner perspective. With respect to the SE environment, environmental dynamics and support structures have been explored that need to be taken into consideration by SE practitioners. However, local enablers and barriers as well as current educational gaps that need to be filled have not been investigated with an emphasis on perceptions and needs of practitioners. Lastly, SE education has been unrolled and its design and pedagogy have been set into relation with successful SE practices. However, the elements that future Kenyan SE education should embrace to address the explored perceptions and needs have not been determined.
Due to the newness of the SE phenomenon the provision of SE education at all levels of literacy and education, in both rural and urban contexts is unlikely to be comprehensive. For that reason, a paradigm for SE education needs to be developed that is based on the social and economic context of the practicing social entrepreneurs. Overall, the findings of our literature review demonstrated a need in enhancing SE education in Kenya systematically. We revealed a disconnect between traditional business education and the educational needs of aspiring social entrepreneurs (Njeru, Namusonge, & Kihoro, 2012). On that basis, this thesis explores these research questions on a qualitative research basis. As a result, the thesis aims to state implications for practitioners and politicians which elements future SE education in Kenya should embrace to address perceptions and needs of SE practitioners in relation to the business environment they act in.
5.2 Experimental Design
The experimental design describes the research plan of this paper and seeks to maximize the amount of research data that is relevant to answer the research questions. The nature of the study implied a progressive definition of the research gap and a continuous redefinition of the research questions according to what was learned. Therefore, the study design was chosen to be as flexible and iterative as possible. Exploring the current Kenyan social entrepreneurship landscape and methods for a tailored education concept, qualitative research methods allowed to deeply dive into the individual experiences of social entrepreneurship practitioners and experts in Kenya. The methods applied provided experts with the opportunity to share their expertise in their own words and to elaborate on topics they find most meaningful. The variation in the collected data enabled us to detect focus topics and fields for further investigation. Due to cultural differences between the interviewers and respondents, it was useful to choose a less formal method. The creation of a friendly interview atmosphere facilitated responses that were content-wise and culturally salient to the respondents.
Fieldwork was conducted between 15 March and 30 May 2017 in Kenya and was carried out in two phases: First, in-depth interviews were conducted in Kenya with selected SE practitioners (i.e. five social entrepreneurs, one SE incubator, one SE education expert) with respect to our research questions. Second, an insights workshop was conducted. Based on the output of the semi-structured interviews, the seven interview participants as well as five stakeholders from the region attended a workshop to reflect and discuss about the interview insights and to close given research gaps that need to be filled.
5.2.1 Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
Seven semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted in Kenya to explore perceptions and needs of local SE practitioners and to collect expectations of what SE education should embrace in relation these perceptions and needs. The objective of this interview type is to collect unanticipated data about a respondent’s personal history which can be categorized according to the questions posed. In-depth interviews offered us the privilege to engage with local social entrepreneurs in a trustful relationship. In that way, interview participants showed a high willingness to share success stories in a very personal and inspiring manner (Boyce & Neale, 2006). The research conducted created a rewarding face-to-face experience for participants and interviewers. On that basis, a broad data collection was ensured even within a relatively small research time frame. Compared to quantitative research methods, the in-depth interview is very dynamic and enables the interviewer to react and to ask probes whenever the potential for deeper investigations arises. Nevertheless, an in-depth interview also bears the disadvantage that some topics might not be sufficiently covered by the respondent elaborations (Longhurst, 2009). For that reason, a follow-up insights workshop was conducted to fill the given gaps.
5.2.1.1 Recruitment Strategy
Our study directly considers and emphasizes the perspectives and interests of contemporary social entrepreneurs, since they represent the key stakeholder group that creates social impact and drives social change. In that way, we can generate highly relevant practical insights and draw conclusions from a Kenyan SE practitioner perspective on whether and how SE can be enhanced and what SE education may need to embrace in a practical Kenyan context.
Our target sample for the survey did not include university professors as the purpose of our research strictly seeks to find those elements Kenyan SE education should embrace to address explored practitioner perceptions and needs. For the same reason, we we did not include government representatives. Furthermore, we did not consider large domestic and international businesses, NGOs, or institutions because the focus of our study was to gather opinions of SE practitioners that can inspire young entrepreneurs towards creating social impact by sharing hands-on experiences with respect to the SE process. Lastly, as our study focus was clearly to derive practical implications from the SE practitioners.
As strategy for identifying and recruiting the most promising interview partners, we prepared an extensive list of contacts that. On that basis, potential interview partners received an interview request via E-Mail and social media channels such as Facebook or LinkedIn. The number of people to be interviewed was planned to depend on the data quality of the first interviews taken, following the grounded theory approach (Strauss & Corbin, 1994). The identification of participants in the research study was initially based on a profound desk research on successful social entrepreneurs in Kenya. To guarantee the highest possible sample quality, this sub-sample was complemented by referrals from the first contacts. This chain referral sampling (“snowball sampling”) enabled the research team to detect inspiring personalities that were not accessible through the previous desk research (Chromy, 2008). Successful Kenyan social entrepreneurs that run micro- and small sized social enterprises are not always easily accessible with the limitations of the world wide web. However, they maintain strong social and business networks and could refer us to other experts who could potentially contribute to the study. Additionally, we adopted a convenience sampling approach that involved contacts derived from our personal networks in the sample design.
On this occasion, the sample contained potential interview partners from four main categories of stakeholders. First, social entrepreneurs that are still in the start-up phase. Being aspiring social entrepreneurs, they were expected to give valuable insights about the first stages of the entrepreneurial process as well as their motivation and impressions on existent environmental dynamics within the Kenyan business environment. Second, social entrepreneurs running a successful social enterprise were interviewed. In that way, we could explore more established organizational structures of social enterprises that have already implemented deeply-rooted organizational activities such as learning from substantial experiences and monitoring long-term social impact. Additional focus areas in this regard were the stages of scaling-up as well as facilitating social networking and established partnerships. Third, social entrepreneurship incubators which we considered to be experts for environmental dynamics and support structures were interviewed. In that way, we could include the perspectives of external service providers for social enterprises, functioning as intermediaries between the social, private, and public sector. Lastly, private sector social entrepreneurship education providers were interviewed who can share their perception of how to design practical social entrepreneurship education in a Kenyan environmental context.
Due to our limited mobility, the study population focus was restricted to Nairobi and its surroundings. We took care to reflect some level of gender balance among the target population.
5.2.1.2 Ethical Research
As we conducted the qualitative interviews in a foreign country and with representatives of a largely unfamiliar culture, a special focus was put on a faithful and pleasant interaction between researchers and the people studied. To facilitate deep insights into the respondents’ subjective experiences, we put high priority to their well-being before, during, and after the interviews. This is a matter of respect and helps to collaborate in a way that benefits all parties involved. We achieved informed consent about what to expect in the interview situation both with an informative and personal interview request and oral consent directly upfront the interview.
The personalized interview request informed the potential interview candidate about the project, the involved stakeholders, the purpose of the research and our considerations about the interview candidate’s role in the overall research. Further, it contained pictures, personal profiles, and contact information to introduce us to the candidates. In the follow- up communication, we provided information about what was expected of the candidate in terms of effort, time, and engagement. To achieve a final and comfortable oral consent upfront the interview, we highlighted the voluntariness and confidentiality of the interview and answered potential open questions of the interview partners.
5.2.1.3 Interview Set-up
The right interview setup further supports a comfortable interview situation and helps to create a friendly atmosphere. In-depth interviews are often conducted in the absence of outsiders. This can be a private place where confidentiality is completely protected. However, sometimes interview participants prefer a more open and colloquial setting. To guarantee that the candidates would feel most comfortable, we invited them to suggest a location by their own. This led to interviews in their company offices and public cafés. As the relationship between interviewer and participant is highly dependent on the first personal contact, we ensured to make a positive first impression. An open and gentle body language, friendly greeting and speaking, and business casual clothing conveyed respect to the participant. In-depth interviews, on average, last from one to two hours. This is a realistic goal to cover all topics which we communicated to the participants upfront the interview.
5.2.1.4 Interview Structure
The semi-structured interview structure was based on open interview questions. Each question provided the respondent the opportunity to elaborate on a certain topic that is closely or broadly related to his personal experience as being a social entrepreneur. On that basis, respondents were motivated to give reflected and narrative answers that contain deep insights into the research topic. The interview had a semi-structured design to guarantee unbroken discussion and to function as a topic guide making sure that all topics were covered.
The complete interview consisted of five primary fields of investigation derived from contemporary perceptions on social entrepreneurship theory with respect to the analytical framework and the derived research gap:
The first section dealt with the individual and tried to find out which motives are the main drivers to engage as a social entrepreneur. It was further examined which skills and knowhow are required to be successful in reaching the motives set with respect to study backgrounds and former experiences.
The second section focused on the process of social entrepreneurship. From opportunity identification to scaling up the business, various stages were reflected. In this context, the investigation especially focused on how networking and innovation affect the growth process and how social entrepreneurs value their effect.
In the third section of the interview, the social enterprise as organizational outcome of the entrepreneurship process was object to research. First, it dealt with strategic elements of a social enterprise. Here, the mission and related fear of a mission drift were relevant as well as the concrete social impact reflecting the mission statement. Second, it was examined how internal organizational characteristics influence the organization’s performance and how the performance is monitored. For the later, a special focus was set on the measurement of social impact and the definition of social performance indicators. Finally, this section was meant to find out how social impact measurement and organizational learning help to redefine the social business model to accomplish the social missions.
The fourth section of the interview examined the practice of SE in a broader political and sociological context. It investigated how environmental dynamics function as either enablers or barriers for SE to come up with an extensive and comprehensive picture of prevailing Kenyan SE practices.
The last section of the semi-structured interview dealt with SE education. It was investigated how the current SE education ladscape in Kenya is set up and which educational gaps must be filled with new educational means from SE practitioner perspective. To find out how what future SE education in Kenya could embrace this section further investigated on requirements for a successful SE curriculum. For the practical implementation of such a curriculum, research also identified suitable teaching practices and recommendations for teachers and practitioners of SE education.
Each of the sections contained two to four questions that were designed to lead the participant through a process of open reflection and a narrative description of related experiences and thoughts on the SE topic. Although we tried to facilitate responses to all questions, we handled the order of the questions spontaneously and with respect to the participant’s evolving preferences and the fluent development of the conversation. In case a respondent rejected to answer one of the questions we demonstrated immediate acceptance and went on with another question. Occasionally we used probes and side questions to encourage the participant to keep talking.
5.2.1.5 Interview Protocol
With the oral consent of the interviewed SE practitioners our interviews were tape recorded. Furthermore, we took field notes based on the five sections that were relevant to our research questions. After the interviews, the tape records were transcribed into typed transcripts. To facilitate a clear structure for the later analysis, we structured our transcription process according to the interview guideline as orientation. We labelled our material and stored the computer files to be available for the coding process.
5.2.1.6 Interview Analysis
In total, we conducted seven semi-structured interviews during our fieldwork. Two interviews were conducted with social entrepreneurs that are still in the start-up phase: Ivy Nitta and Wanja Kibuki. In addition, three interviews were conducted with social entrepreneurs already running a successful social enterprise: Ian Oluoch, Gabriel Dinda, and Gathoni Mway. As representative SE incubator, we talked to Jed Ondiko. Finally, Roshan Paul completed the sample being a private sector SE education provider. Both, Jed Ondiko and Roshan Paul run businesses characterized as established social enterprises which made them a value contribution in our research from practitioner as well as SE service provider perspective.
Ivy Nitta founded her social enterprise Kiondoo Kulture in 2015. Although she had successfully studied laws, she wanted to engage in something she found more fulfilling. As she was strongly interested in fashion, she planned to create a fashion brand that creates significant positive social impact in her maternal village and other weak communities. Today, she sells high-priced handbags, called Kiondoo. For producing the highly-customized products, she exclusively engages poor women in advanced years, representing a highly disadvantaged group in Kenya. Those women regularly have no income and are obliged to any chance that creates income. Ivy is currently collaborating with two groups of women that comprise thirty members each. From that basis, she plans to continuously expand the business. Furthermore, she wants to build community centers in poor communities that help women to gather, mingle, and share their knowledge and skills with younger generations. Traditionally, Kiondoos were given to African brides at their wedding day by their grandmothers. As this tradition in our times progressively dissolves, Ivy also wants to strengthen her initiatives towards preserving this cultural heritage.
Wanja Kibuki founded Vitabu Vyetu in 2014. Working as diplomat, she recognized that all processes that aim at bringing help to weak communities take a lot of time and are often executed ineffectively. For this reason, she started a social enterprise to provide poor children in Kenyan slums with educational books. Since then, she is building up libraries and improving the reading culture of the Kenyan youth. She is constantly evaluating the school exam improvements of her focus groups. Her vision is to help every child to receive a decent quality education, thereby reducing their illiteracy levels.
Ian Oluoch founded GreenChar together with his partner in 2013. Still in high school, they succeeded in a seed funding competition which facilitated a fast starting of their social enterprise. Being exposed to charcoal smoke in their plain home, the mother of his business partner had died of lung cancer. Therefore, the two young adults wanted to develop an eco-friendly and economical alternative to charcoal and firewood. They discovered that the waste of sugar factories, being omnipresent in Kenya, can be used to manufacture a substitute product. GreenChar is cheap in production and its use contributes positively to the Kenyan waste management problems. As an alternative to charcoal and firewood it burns approximately three hours longer and even some degrees hotter. While burning, GreenChar emits 80% less carbon monoxide than charcoal. For these reasons, Ian and his partner could offer a new healthy and cost-effective cooking and heating experience to families in the Kenyan rural areas. Distributing their product through many small kiosks they could further create employment for women who are supposed to own the kiosks after selling the product for a while. As GreenChar also substitutes firewood, it counteracts deforestation and achieves a remarkably small carbon footprint.
Gabriel Dinda founded the Writers Guild Kenya in 2014 as a student project in Kenyatta University, Nairobi. While he wanted to become a writer himself, he witnessed that young writers in Kenya were massively exploited by publishers and editors. Talented young people write articles but publish their intellectual property under the names of renowned editors which gives them only a marginal share of the generated revenues. To strengthen the position of young writers and to create sustainable structures that help ascending writers to support and help each other, he founded the Writers Guild Kenya. Today, the guild has more than 2000 members working for various clients on a regular basis. Gabriel hosts literature events, publishes anthologies, and promotes the utility of reading and writing skills. By now, the young writers can manage international writing orders and jointly fight against illiteracy and the vanishing of the Kenyan literary cultural property.
Gathoni Mway is program director and co-founder of AFROES (“African Heroes”). Her partner worked for the United Nations in Nairobi as she recognized that a social enterprise can achieve more impact with less budget in a shorter time span. One evening, she observed her son playing a video game. As she asked him to quit, he explained that he was learning about politics while playing. This inspired her to utilize the childrens’ desire for playing digital games for transferring knowledge that concerns the youth. In cooperation with the Kenyan ministry of education, schools and the police, AFROES designed mobile games that explain topics like sexual health, how to find a job or what to do in case of gender-based violence. With their games, they have reached more than a million users until now. Derived insights from analyzing the user data caused the ministry of education to adjust student course syllabuses towards more relevant education practices.
Jed Ondiko founded the entrepreneurship incubator African Garage in 2013. Together with a small team, he helps young Kenyan entrepreneurs to build up their business. He sustains a strong network of entrepreneurs, experts, advisors, and investors which enables him to connect the ones with ideas with those who can support their execution. In the long run, he plans African Garage to become the leading student society in Africa that unites, inspires, and empowers youth to become economic and social leaders. Practically, he wants to facilitate a highly productive student community that functions as a transformation driver for societal betterment.
Roshan Paul founded Amani Institute together with a partner in 2011, having ten years of experience working for Ashoka. In 2013, he launched his first prototype course for SE in Nairobi. This course brought many new ideas and was soon followed by a social innovation management course. Roshan seeks to raise the social innovation capacity in East Africa and to develop his own social innovation certificate program. Through partnerships with US universities, Amani graduates can achieve accredited degrees from leading universities.
During the data analysis phase of our research, we coded the typed transcripts with participant responses in relation to each question. The most prominent themes emerged not only within the frames of our semi-structured sections but also appeared over the whole course of the interviews. We used the content analysis to answer and redesign research questions which emerged from the literature analysis findings. The coding was carried out within the structure of our interview guideline. To merge the perceptions of our interview partners, we created a code collector that illustrates which codes emerge in the various sections, how often they were mentioned, and by whom. Furthermore, we created a quote collector, that allows to link the most valuable and relevant respondent quotes to the codes derived from the interviews.
5.2.2 Insights Workshop
To validate and complement the empirical findings of the semi-structured interview, we conducted an insights workshop. For that purpose, we invited the seven interview participants as well as five stakeholders from the region to attend a workshop. In that way, we could reflect and discuss on the interview insights and close given research gaps that needed to be filled.
5.2.2.1 Workshop Purpose and Design
A one-day workshop was conducted in Nairobi on April 22nd and attended by twelve Kenyan participants. The workshop had three primary objectives: First, to present, discuss, and enrich the preliminary results of the semi-structured interview fieldwork. Second, to bring together social entrepreneurs to facilitate networking and to create potentials for future collaboration. Third, to jointly reflect from SE practitioner perspective on the perceptions and needs of SE in Kenya and the requirements of future SE education related to that.
The workshop participants were selected from our fieldwork sample and complemented by suggestions from the interviewed social entrepreneurs. In this regard, we payed attention to gender balance and non-dominance by either young or established social entrepreneurs. The attendees included four representatives of young start-ups, four representatives of established start-ups, and three SE educators sent by Amani Institute. The twelfth person was a representative of a local newspaper who also had an entrepreneurial background. Upfront, the workshop attendees received a personal invitation to the insights workshop that explained informed on the purpose and program of the workshop.
At the beginning of the workshop we informed all participants about our research project. Second, we provided a comprehensive report on the theory of SE and SE education as derived from our literature review. In that way, a mutual understanding of Western perceptions on SE was ensured involving the most important concepts to be discussed in a Kenyan context. Third, we shared insights derived from the analysis of the various semi- structured interviews conducted to provide an overview of current perceptions and needs on SE and SE education. In this context, workshop participants were encouraged to add new ideas to the dialogue about what future SE education should embrace and how it could best be delivered to support aspiring SE in Kenya. For that reason, the discussion was led towards creating a more precise description of the inadequacies and requirements of the current Kenyan SE education landscape. In this context, we were also interested which stakeholders are affected most severely by the lacking educational system. Finally, participants were asked to come up with ideas how to overcome the inadequacies raised. Throughout the workshop, we engaged in a respectful and friendly atmosphere to facilitate open reflection and constructive communication.
6 Summary and Evaluation of Research Findings
This section comprises a summary and evaluation of findings made in the empirical research. In that way, implications for SE practitioners, SE educators, politicians, researchers, and other stakeholders can be drawn on whether and how SE in Kenya can be enhanced and what SE education may need to embrace within a practical Kenyan context in relation to these perceptions.
6.1 Findings of Semi-Structured Interviews
This section presents the findings of the semi-structured interviews. For that purpose, the results are structured according to the theoretical foundation presented in the conceptualization of SE.
6.1.1 Defining ‘Social Entrepreneur’ in Kenya
Based on our empirical research, shared opinions exist about the motives of aspiring social entrepreneurs. Most respondents showed an intrinsic motivation and are driven by the powerful desire to create social change and a social impact. In this regard, they correspond with academic perceptions to change societal patterns and systems (Phillips et al., 2015). In this context, Gabriel Dinda states: “I felt the pressure t o change something. For me it was no longer about my career as a business student but about achieving the greatest possible social impact.”
The main driver stated by our respondents is their perceived need to help their home communities. Having experienced all kinds of social issues during their childhood, young social entrepreneurs have a strong perception for the most harmful local conditions that are prevalent. Thus, as also stated in the literature, they want to meet collective interest and create social betterment (Dees, 1998). Kenyan social entrepreneurs want to give something back. In this regard, they take self-experienced problematic social circumstances as inspirational basis for engaging into responsive action. In this context, Wanja Kibuki states: “In Kenya, you find that illiteracy levels are very high. Best example is my maternal village. So, what my company does is that we build up libraries in slums”. This deep connection to the root-problem seems to be the main motivational driver to overcome setbacks on the way and to keep persistent when facing social opposition or practical obstacles. This finding complies with Thompson et al. (2002), stating that a social entrepreneur’s total dedication and his ability to communicate an inspiring vision to motivate partners, employees, and volunteers is important. Ian Oluoch states: “We need to have a deep connection to the problem. That will push you every day you wake up in the morning and you know that you must solve this problem out there”
Further, respondents were motivated to increase their impact by inspiring others to follow their example and by supporting aspiring young social entrepreneurs on the way. In this context, Ivy Nitta states: “These women I help can do some teaching for others I can create a snowball effect in teaching. So that would be a strong motivation to keep going.”.
By functioning as a role model and being exposed to individuals, groups, and communities in the field, they want to create a better future for all involved. In that way, they want to empower communities towards increasing their self-healing potentials, by aiming at creating learning and dialogue. Being a social entrepreneur in Kenya require a lot of braveness, effort and a willingness to take risks on behalf of the stakeholders involved. Kenyan social entrepreneurs demonstrate a prominent level of passion and can draw a strong motivation from recognizing the positive effects their work has on people. In that sense, Gathoni Mway states: “When you see one little child playing your mobile game and it has learned so much from it, that should be enough drive to keep you going. If you have the passion for it then you will survive”. This matches with academic perceptions that social entrepreneurs have a vision to create social betterment and are determined to achieve this vision (Bornstein, 1998).
Skills and Know-how
The empirical research shows that being a successful social entrepreneur in Kenya is strongly associated with people and communication skills, closely followed by a social entrepreneur’s degree of innovativeness. Furthermore, respondents stated that the ability to detect and develop opportunities as well as proper strategic and operative skills and the dedication to run a sustainable social enterprise are important. This matches with Thompson et al. (2002) as well as Weerawardena and Mort (2006) stating that opportunity recognition, innovativeness, people management, and sustainability are among a social entrepreneur’s core skill set.
In a Kenyan context, people skills refer to the target individuals, groups, and communities in which social entrepreneurs are engaged in. The addressed communities are often vulnerable to commercial activities occurring in their direct environment. For that reason, there exists a general mistrust towards entrepreneurs that consequently also social entrepreneurs face and need to overcome. Although they often originated from their own communities, social entrepreneurs are likewise treated with hostility caused by the community’s fear to be exploited or overruled in important decision-making processes. From that point of view, empathy and effective communication skills are required to function as successful change agent. Kenyan social entrepreneurs often take on intermediary roles to solve conflicting interests. For this reason, a close relationship to the communities and their leaders is essential for the entrepreneur’s success. Ivy Nitta states: “A social entrepreneur needs to be really in touch with their community and the community that they are going to impact. There must be a real close relationship. There is a real thin line between social impact and exploitation.” In this context, Thompson et al. (2002) refer to the ability to communicate an inspiring vision to motivate target communities.
As the social entrepreneur in Kenya is embedded in a strong network of people who share his ideals and contribute to his work, people skills also play a key role in terms of partner and network interactions as well as successfully working in teams. In this regard, Ian Oluoch states: “As a social entrepreneur, you should know how to interact with people. You are working for the people. Still, your success is dependent on how you work with the people. New contacts can eventually open a new business, they can be a new client. Everyone can contribute something. You just must be sensitive”. For that reason, communication skills are essential to share ideas and to convince potential partners to support the social mission: “Communication skills are very important because you cannot execute your idea alone. You need to communicate your idea to convince the right partners to help you. In this regard, you might talk to people who do not have any idea of the concept of social entrepreneurship.” For acquiring people and resources, also pitching and presentation skills have been stated to play a key role referring to the technical skill requirements stated by Weerawardena and Mort (2006).
Kenyan social entrepreneurs develop smart ideas to tackle social problems in their local communities. For this reason, they are required to be knowledgeable regarding their local environment and to be creative in spotting opportunities and need to be able to take the respective initiatives. This finding coincides with Thompson et al. (2000), stating that knowledge about the local culture and its legal, social, and political elements as well as community management practices and macroeconomic perceptions are of importance. Also, the finding is in accord with Dees (1998), stating that social entrepreneurs do not necessarily need to be inventors, but rather be creative in putting things together in a new way. With respect to our research findings, a Kenyan entrepreneur’s social awareness is complemented by research skills and innovative capabilities. In that way, opportunities can be identified to address a community problem and to create a potential solution, being the prerequisite for achieving social impact.
According to Alvord et al. (2004), innovations may also appear in forms of innovative program structures or novel ways of assembling resources or collecting funds. In this regard, Gabriel Dinda uses modern technologies that compensate a lack of accounting and finance skills: “As we do not have many resources, we are not able to employ an accountant. For this r eason, we use an application called “Wave Accounting”. The App is easy to be used by any person regardless of having an accountant background. With “Wave Accounting” we can list items, calculate costs and revenues, and give people receipts. Generally, it i s about having an efficient system”. His approach also demonstrates the holistic necessity of a mix between entrepreneurial and managerial skills to sustain operations.
Being self-employed social entrepreneurs often carry the entire responsibility for the success of their social enterprises. In this respect, Jed Ondiko highlights the necessity of Kenyan social entrepreneurs to be hands-on and to work hard to achieve their ambitious social goals: “We try to engage from a perspective where we just execute because we are not anyhow better or worse than anyone else. All the parties are facing the same political and societal influence. It is on us to look at the circumstances from a different perspective and take advantage. Just work”. This statement coincides with Sarasvathy (2001), stating that entrepreneurs need to engage in all kinds of pragmatic tasks that need to be undertaken in searching and devising viable solutions to a specified problem. Social entrepreneurs are exposed to many challenges on their way towards achieving their social mission. For this reason, many get frustrated and quit their businesses after a while. As Gabriel Dinda describes “Every day a social entrepreneur thinks of giving up at least three times.” In this regard, a key competence for social entrepreneurs is to keep their motivation high and to find answers to all questions coming up along the way. Additionally, our respondents raised the danger of losing the focus on the social mission due to commercial temptations or new business options. According to Gathoni Mway, it helps to “b e aware of who you want to help. For example, if you want to help young people. Go and help young people.” Hence, sustaining social enterprise activities in Kenya is not only a matter of self-fulfillment. For this reason, social enterprises are also required to generate enough revenue to provide social entrepreneurs with sufficient income, ultimately enabling them to keep pursuing their social mission in the long run. Total dedication as stated by Thompson et al. (2000) plays a key role in this context.
Not withdrawing, some respondents found it difficult to manifest social entrepreneurial potential in the presence of specific capabilities. Instead, they referred to an intrinsic entrepreneurial spirit that drives curiosity and the courage to take risks as being essential for entrepreneurial success. Jed Ondiko states that “A general not a Kenyan problem is that entrepreneurship skills are difficult to determine because there is so much personality of DNA that takes to be an entrepreneur. Most people do not have that. So, if it comes to entrepreneurial skills here around, the willingness to try something new is most important”. Additionally, our respondents indicated that some skills, for example technical expertise, are sector-dependent and cannot be general requirements.
Background and Experience
According to Sharir and Lerner (2006), prior expierence in venture management can be a crucial enabler for starting and running a social enterprise. However, the respondents of our empirical research share the opinion that a business background and entrepreneurship experience are not critical to be a successful social entrepreneur in Kenya. While some respondents stated their economics or finance background, others stated backgrounds unrelated to managerial practice, but still perceive themselves as equally successful. Nevertheless, from the perspective of a social entrepreneurship education expert acquired expierence and know-how on social entrepreneurship topics prior to starting up can serve as a boosting factor. In this respect Roshan Paul (Founder of Amani Institute) states “I worked for Ashoka for about ten years and so I got to work with a lot of social entrepreneurs. I learnt a lot like what it takes to be a social entrepreneur in that time.” His opinion matches with Van der Scheer (2007) who states that experienced individuals are more likely to behave entrepreneurially involving a greater strategic attention, an external orientation, and an active leadership style (Van der Scheer, 2007). Also, prior expierence in venture creation can increase the desirability and acceptability of engaging in future social initiatives.
6.1.2 Defining ‘Social Entrepreneurship’ in Kenya
According to Haugh (2007), the process of creating community-led social ventures can be depicted in a stage gate model, involving opportunity identification, opportunity evaluation (i.e. idea articulation and idea ownership), stakeholder mobilization, opportunity exploitation, and stakeholder reflection. Overall, none of the respondents follows a clear stage gate model like the proposed one. Interview participants state that most of Kenyan social enterprises start as an experiment and from this basis continuously develop on the way. They plan to innovate and to scale-up “as they go”, while getting more familiar with their social and economic environment. This observation corresponds with Peredo & Chrisman (2006), stating that social entrepreneurs continuously need to make sense of gaps, ambiguities, and contradictions. In this regard, a ‘learn as you go’ approach is key in the success of social enterprise creation, enabling a truly entrepreneurial culture. Ivy Nitta describes the process of becoming a social entrepreneur as a “challenge of experience”. As for setting up the business, some interview participants already started in high school, where they had the opportunity to receive early support such as wining a seed funding competition. Others have worked for an NGO or the United Nations and wanted to be more productive in accomplishing social impact. According to Wanja Kibuki, “Developing a social enterprise is a working progress and not a hundred percent set up. We are still learning”.
Opportunity Identification
Overall, the respondents show a high degree of problem consciousness in the Kenyan environment. Social entrepreneurs detect and evaluate problems that concern their communities. On that basis, interview participants state to take these social issues as potential for opportunity identification, evaluation, and exploitation towards creating social impact. This finding corresponds with Weerawardena and Mort (2006) who state that opportunity identification describes an entrepreneurial activity in which social entrepreneurs actively seek opportunities for creating social impact. In this regard, Ian Oluoch states “I came to a process of realizing that there is a problem in the world that I think I have a solution to that problem and so I had to go and create that new job”. This phenomenon is described by Roshan Paul as ‘Opportunity Entrepreneurship’. All interviewed social entrepreneurs turned out to belong to this category.
Roshan Paul compares opportunity entrepreneurship with necessity entrepreneurship, concluding that the latter is less sustainable: “There are two types of entrepreneurship: opportunity entrepreneurship and necessity entrepreneurship. Necessity entrepreneurship is typically a small business that would make the people survive and feed their children. If we think of social entrepreneurship as building and growing a company that seeks to accomplish social effects that is opportunity entrepreneurship. It means they are seeing opportunity that they go forward to solve problems rather than they must do some business to survive. Opportunity enterprises are more likely to scale and grow the business.”
Some respondents state that an entrepreneur’s primary interest can also lie in just creating a business. On that basis, they added the social dimension in a second step. This can also occur by identifying and filling market niches that others do not serve, either in terms of economic or social engagement. In this context, Ivy Nitta states that “First, it was just about producing clothes but what next? I did not find I had enough social impact. So, I thought about how can I make a change and do something that is more fulfilling”. This finding complies with Thompson et al. (2000), stating the two stages of opportunity identification and evaluation are influenced by environmental dynamics and organizational sustainability. In this regard, the individual’s vision or perceived necessities can serve as sources of opportunity identification.
Social Innovativeness
With respect to social innovativeness in the social entrepreneurship process, respondents stated to continuously increase the level of their innovation activities along the way of starting and building up the social enterprise. This finding corresponds with Dees (1998), stating that the willingness to be innovative is a core attribute of successful social entrepreneurs that continuously explore, learn, and improve. In this context, the interviewed social entrepreneurs mainly focus on improving product and service quality and delivery. Ivy Nitta states that “I am not very happy with the quality of the leather, the craftsmanship. That is what I like to improve to be able to sell a better product”.
In addition to portfolio improvements, respondents also stated the enlargement of their product and service portfolio being a perceived activity of social innovativeness. For that purpose, respondents adapt to customer behavior and use generated insights to redesign their social business model on a constant basis. Effects of innovation efforts can, for instance, be a reduction of production costs. This finding is in accord with Moort (2002) who states that innovation is understood as integrative process of know-how acquisition where social enterprises monitor changes in their external environment to learn from market changes.
Lastly, the respondents stated innovative approaches of product marketing and branding, for instance by using brand ambassadors. In this respect, Gathoni Mway states that “We have a team, we call them “motivators”. This is young people, community leaders. We equip them with a mobile phone, with the games. Then they go out to the schools in their communities and ask the young if they have heard of the game, show it, play together, have a d iscussion. This is how we address our focus groups”. As observed in the overall empirical research, the term ‘social innovativeness’ can in a Kenyan context refer to products, services or processes.
Most respondents of our empirical research share the opinion that their success is heavily dependent on a strong social and business network. In this regard, respondents describe an optimal network set-up where key strategic partners and a wide range of people with different backgrounds support and inspire the social entrepreneur. This opinion corresponds with Haugh (2007), stating that networking (i.e. formal and tailor-made support networks) reflects a core skill of the social entrepreneur in the social entrepreneurship process. In terms of inspiration, Jed Ondiko describes the network value as follows: “Creative and motivated people around you help to think in a new dimension. This can be industrials, professors, people in government, people in impact organizations, entrepreneurs, students, and many other”.
In the process of building up their network, respondents demonstrated a high openness towards involving multiple stakeholder groups. Nevertheless, potential partners, serving as direct or indirect supporters, have been emphasized. In this regard, the primary criteria for selecting partners was stated to be sympathy. According to the Kenyan culture, personality and the perception of liking someone is more relevant for selecting partners than specific skills or know-how, although they are still relevant. This finding is in accord with Weerawardena and Mort (2012), who state that commitment and reliability as well as trust are among five key success criteria for a social partnership. Wanja Kibuki states that “I am very particular about who I work with. My number one criterion is: Do I like you as a person? This is important because I can't work with you if I don't like you. The second criterion is: What valu e are you adding to my company at the end of the day?”.
In maintaining their network, some interviewees rely on modern tracking and communication systems as described by Ian Oluoch: “For our network monitoring, we use an internal system. It covers the entire context of our communication to new and established contacts. It is updated on a regular basis and all talks and letters are stored in there. This way, everybody is part of the conversation and we encourage our people to follow up the conversations and keep the network vivid.”
Based on our research, Kenyan social entrepreneurs tend to think about scaling up step- by-step as their social business model gets more concrete over time. Instead of scaling up to fast they first create a stable foundation of self-sufficiency, before scaling up purposefully. In this context, the main fear of practitioners was described as the danger to lose the focus on accomplishing their social mission on the way. Wanja Kibuki states “Before we expand and scale up too fast, we take our time and consider each step deliberately. It has taken us three years to get where we are, so it might take us another three years to figure out the scaling processes. Anyway, the time we will be done will be good and reasonable. Growing too fast carries the risk of destroying the core of the business, in our case the impact model”. Scaling up is considered not only as booster for economic viability but also as a critical mean to increase social impact. In this regard, most of the interviewed social entrepreneurs aim at scaling up by expanding their geographical reach. In this regard, Jed Ondiko states “For this reaching our social purpose, we try to connect several East African countries and then to reach out for the whole of Africa”. In addition, some respondents consider an increase in production capacity and sales volume to run a sustainable and economically viable business. An increase in pricing is further considered to enlarge the profit margin. These findings correspond with Alvord et al. (2004) who states that organizations which deploy capacity increases can enhance their social impact by expanding product and service coverage.
By offering high-quality products or services, Kenyan social entrepreneurs can also enlarge their distribution channels and expand to new markets. Also, respondents stated the use of extensive social media networks and the increase of their general branding and marketing efforts as viable strategy for creating more visibility and reach. In this context, entrepreneurial creativity opens room for new business opportunities. In this context, Gabriel Dinda states that “There are countries like Germany and Canada where the older generations are quite active in reading and writing. This is unlike Kenya where we have young people being very creative. So, we compare the markets and check if we can open markets for our business that we have not yet considered”.
Overall, respondents did not consider social enterprise franchising as theoretically presented by Tracey and Jarvis (2007). This finding could be reasoned with the fact that the interviewed social entrepreneurs were not visibly limited by a lack of resources.
6.1.3 Defining ‘Social Enterprise’ in Kenya
6.1.3.1 Strategy Elements
From a strategic perspective, all respondents stated to follow a hybrid strategy as typically used by social entrepreneurs. In that sense, the social entrepreneurs demonstrated a high level of confidence with respect to successfully marketing and selling their products and services towards creating self-sufficient revenue streams. The interview participants stated their wish to be independent in the process of starting and running their social enterprise and related decision-making processes. To protect their social mission, they stated a high cautiousness towards external funders. Consequently, they refuse to accept high degrees of external funding because they fear the donators’ influence on their business. This finding complies with Bornstein (2004), who states that social enterprises aim at reducing their dependency on stakeholders and the government by adopting business-like goals such as generating independent revenue streams or cost reductions. In this context, Gabriel Dinda states: “We don’t want free money. We just want to work as partners. Let us not work in a way that one is a lower partner, a lesser human being. If you can’t work with us as a partner then too bad. Just let us stay”.
On the other hand, the interviewed social entrepreneurs also see the potential utility of seed funding during the startup process. In some cases, they receive small funding for individual projects. In this context, they argue that dependency on funding is only justified if the social impact achieved by accepting the funding exceeds the impact without funding. The conflict between social and commercial impact reveals the typical concern of social entrepreneurs to run a profitable business while reinvesting revenue for achieving the social mission. The finding corresponds with Dixon and Clifford (2007), stating that generated revenues can be reinvested to generate growth and to ensure the economic continuity of operations. In this regard, Ian Oluoch states that “a social entrepreneur must find a perfect fit of profitability and social inclusivity because business must be sustainable and still it must be connected to the social purpose”. This two-sided strategy can have different manifestations. One example how it can be pursued in practice is provided by Wanja Kibuki: “You have project foundation, and you have a business. 50% of your profit of the business goes into foundation of the project and 50% goes into running and sustaining the business. I have been into a Canadian social enterprise and that is how their model worked. That is where I learnt and this is how I understand how a social enterprise works.”
According to Dixon and Clifford (2007), the social mission gives role and direction and illustrates the social enterprise’s culture. All our respondents formulated ambitious mission statements that aimed at achieving a double or even triple bottom line. As a fourth bottom line conserving cultural heritage is also of importance for some of the interviewed. Most often, social entrepreneurship activities of our sample deal with directly addressing the social issue of unemployment by creating job opportunities for disadvantaged individuals, groups, or communities. In that way, they can reduce poverty and help their maternal communities to prosper. Also, environmental protection is addressed by solving environmental issues such as waste management, CO2 emissions, and deforestation. According to Ian Oluoch, social entrepreneurs aim at addressing many social problems at once: “We create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya. Health is a social challenge, waste is a social challenge, waste disposal in streets and environment and unemployment. We are taking waste which is somebody’s problem and transform it into a substitute for charcoal to solve other probl ems.” Promoting health is also a strong driver for Kenyan social entrepreneurs. In this regard both, physical health and sexual health (i.e. addressing gender based violence) are topics addressed by the social enterprises within our research sample.
Social Impact
Within our sample, most of the social impact is related to empowering weak social groups such as women, old people and children. In this respect Wanja Kibuki states: “I would say my target is educating children”. As children are the future of Kenya, their empowerment is supported by all social entrepreneurs we interviewed. In this context, education in terms of decreasing illiteracy levels and higher education plays an important role. Furthermore, some social entrepreneurs empower practical education that supports targeted children to gain skills that make them more independent. In this context, Ivy Nitta states that “I want to teach young girls how to do the weaving in the village”.
Also, respondents stated social impact targets to improve the living quality of local and maternal communities. By providing cheap heating possibilities or by altering cooking habits and methods they can address health issues such as decreasing smoke emissions in households. With their consolidated actions, social entrepreneurs in Kenya manage to support their local economies and communities. In this regard, Roshan Paul highlights the importance of creating sustainable structures, for example, by building up Community Centers in maternal villages: “We want to sustain our business and the structures we create”. Overall, the interviewed social enterprises engage in the primary areas of social impact creation (i.e. poverty, education, and health) as defined by Alvord et al. (2004).
Social Impact Assessment
On that basis, the concept of ‘Social Impact Assessment’ (SIA) is emerging that deals with the question which indicators and processes have the highest impact relevance and thus should be adopted. With respect to our interview sample, the most common indicator used for social impact assessment is the number of people impacted by the social enterprise activities. Gabriel Dinda states that “The first indicator of our impact is the number of people that benefit from the service we offer. Right now, we have 2,231 members registered. That is new writers mobilized. This is a quite tangible indicator that is often displayed to potential funders to promote the projects.” This finding corresponds with Esteves et al. (2012) who state that SIA is a key component for the social enterprise success since social outcomes can be better assessed and investors have a better transparency of where to invest.
Another example of social impact assessment is given by Gathoni Mway who states that “Observing focus groups, the traceable change in people behavior is also used as a social impact indicator. Furthermore, in case of education being the social impact, the time spent with education can be an informative indicator: We can see how much time the people spend in the game being educated and how far they get in gaining knowledge. In this context, also changes in exam results could be a valuable indicator to consider.
The specific manifestations of social impact achievement can lead to various other meaningful indicators, as stated by the respondents, such as an income increment of the focus group, the number of ministry reactions to change implications, the number of trees saved from being cut down or the amount of CO2 reduction achieved by being socially active. In that sense, Ian Oluoch states: “For the carbon footprint, our goal is to offset 40 million tones CO2 until 2020”.
6.1.3.2 Internal Organizational Characteristics
In our interview sample, most respondents started their social enterprise on their own without external support. From that basis, they continuously enlarged their human capital base by engaging people that complement their skills or by collaborating with strategic network partners. This finding corresponds with Sharir and Lerner (2006), stating that stakeholders can be involved by creating partnerships and networks that facilitate know- how and expertise transfer as well as the creation, evaluation, and exploitation of opportunities. Ian Oluoch described the importance of having a trustful partner as follows: “For my partner and me, we complimented each other well. There should not be an over- lap in skills of course”.
According to Peredo and McLean (2006), “social entrepreneurs decline to accept limitations in available resources”. However, as a broad consent of respondents, Kenyan social entrepreneurs are quite limited in terms of human and financial resources. In this context, they often depend on a specific key resource. Thus, within our interview sample, proactive strategic planning and a sustainable purchase management are stated as being key requirements.
Like in the social entrepreneurship process, respondents describe starting-up as a matter of experience. Thus, they also develop their resource management step by step. In this context, Ivy Nitta states: “I am experimenting and continuously figuring out which resources I need.” Thus, project-based funding can facilitate the execution of ideas.
Legal Form
With respect to the legal form of their social enterprises, the interviewed entrepreneurs agreed that it is easy to register a business in Kenya. However, it is not possible to register a social enterprise. In this context, Wanja Kibuki states: “In Kenya, you can't officially register a social enterprise. For this reason, you must considerably figure out how to manage your taxes”. Alternative legal forms exist such as foundations or incubation
centers. This finding is highly interesting since the reviewed literature refers to social enterprises as a specific legal form that is clearly differentiated from other actors of the social economy.
The interviewed agreed upon the fact that social entrepreneurs are continuously learning in the process of starting and running their social venture. This finding corresponds with Alvord et al. (2004) stating that social enterprises which demonstrate superior social impact creation emphasize continuous learning. Kenyan social entrepreneurship is perceived as an experimental process that is open to continuously structure and restructure operations or even the entire social business model. Thus, SIA can help to enhance the operational effectiveness and efficiency towards increasing the social enterprise’s overall social impact. In this context, Ian Oluoch states: “Impact evaluation helps us to reshape our vision, and to reshape our strategy in terms of executing that vision”.
Respondents emphasize that a properly developed social business model in the startup process can significantly reduce the time and effort a social entrepreneur must put into later adjustments. In terms of research and development, they propose to test ideas as quickly as possible to be able to adjust or abolish them without having invested too much time and effort. In that sense, Jed Ondiko states: “From the very beginning, it is important to understand your business model. Most of the time, when we start-up, we do not know our destination. You need a plan to reach that destination. If you do not know where you are going, you never get close. My advice is: Know your destination and understand your model. Understanding your model is 90% of reaching your destination. There only remain 10% for execution. When we start-up, many of us put 10% in their model and believe 90% is execution. In this case, as much as you are executing, maybe you are executing towards the wrong direction. You might really go fast into the wrong direction. That is something that I would have done differently because we were just starting sort of blind”.
Furthermore, as key learning, respondents indicate that they did not have to carry all skills and know-how themselves to successfully start and run their enterprises. This finding is in accord with Alvord et al. (2004), stating that not all skills necessarily need to manifest in one individual. In this context, Gathoni Mway states: “You don’t need to be the best in everything. You can find other people who know things and who will support you. It is important to be able to own some skills and to know where to find the rest”. In this regard, respondents learned to be particularly careful in choosing whom to work with and whom to rely on.
According to Sharir and Lerner (2006), monitoring and evaluating are only poorly developed in social enterprises. However, all respondents stated to use focus groups to monitor their social impact. In that way, Kenyan social entrepreneurs can observe impact on the target group over a long period of time that would not be comparably tangible with other means. In this regard, Gathoni Mway states: “We have focus groups that we observe from the design of the game until after a year that they have played it. Then, we examine how their behavior and interactions have changed their relationships and lives. In alarming cases, we give the data to the ministry of education and indicate that something must be changed”. To display changing behavior or feelings, focus group members can fill in qualitative impact surveys or participate in in-depth interviews.
Within our interview sample, tracking systems such as matrix systems or the application of statistical data are used as monitoring methods. However, for social impact measurement, quantitative approaches are less promising to reveal valuable information. This issue has also been raised in the reviewed literature. According to Arvidson et al. (2010), a high complexity of measuring and quantifying social value exists. In this context, the main issue is not the act of measurement itself but rather the conversion of qualitative data related to a social mission into qualitative metrics (Porter et al. 2012) That’s why, some Kenyan social entrepreneurs increase the quality of their social impact measurement by collaborating with local social impact incubators. In this context, Jed Ondiko states: “We work together with an African social impact incubator. They deal with numbers, scalability in terms of potential of the idea as well as the execution ability of the idea.”
6.1.4 Environmental Dynamics and Support Structures in Kenya
6.1.4.1 Environmental Dynamics
Successful SE requires the establishment of a supportive environment (Sharir & Lerner, 2006). Several possibilities from state and market perspective exist that serve as an enabler for social entrepreneurs and social enterprises. Among respondents, there were mixed opinions about what enabling factors are most contributing to a positive social entrepreneurship climate in Kenya. However, a consensus exists that the high unemployment rate and the lack of perspectives for young Kenyans in traditional businesses carry a potential for a high interest in self-employment. Potential entrepreneurs in the startup phase also think about how to address social issues and how to add social impact in their future entrepreneurial activities. In this context, Jed Ondiko states: “The fact that employment opportunities are low is an enabler. Because of that, for some people still at school their focus is not on being employed. They focus on another thing and that will be: How can I help the society with the skills I am gaining at school? How can I get out and make more opportunity for others?”
However, self-employment is not an option that promises success for everyone, even if the alternative is unemployment. In this sense, Roshan Paul states: “A lot of people feel like there is a lot of youth unemployment and to solve that is by encouraging people to become entrepreneurs. In theory that makes sense, in practice not everybody is an entrepreneur and most people should not be entrepreneurs because they don’t have skills.” Notwithstanding, the lack of some skills is not necessarily in conflict with entrepreneurial success. Our respondents pointed out that Kenyan social entrepreneurs support each other well within social networks and partnerships. In that way, they create joint action for helping their society in its self-healing efforts. This finding is in accord with Haugh (2007), stating that a tailor-made support network selects those network members that are useful in contributing to the social enterprise’s social mission. Contributions comprise added values such as expertise, information, know-how, and resources. On that basis, Gabriel Dinda is convinced that future Kenyan generations have the drive, motivation, and energy to be successful social entrepreneurs: “Then there is the vibrancy in Kenya among the young people. Young people are so strong. They have so many challenges and when a challenge comes we normally think of a solution and the solution could normally come in form of a social enterprise.”
Based on our research findings, young Kenyans demonstrate willingness to substitute a traditional career for pursuing a social mission. With respect to the great number of unmet social needs in Kenya’s society, aspiring social entrepreneurs have a huge potential for social opportunity identification. In this context, Gathoni Mway states: “We are very lucky to be born in Kenya because right now there are so many needs that are unmet by the government, by aid agencies. We know what our needs are and it is for us to now go and solve them.”
From a geographical point of view, respondents noted that Kenya’s capital Nairobi also serves as an important enabling factor. Being centrally located in East Africa the city’s infrastructure offers social entrepreneurs import and export opportunities for distribution their products. In this context, also the United Nations headquarter which is located in the capital has been stated to be an enabler bringing many internationals business people and organizations to Kenya. The internationals can serve as strategic partners and inspire young social entrepreneurs by sharing their Western entrepreneurial spirit. Also, they bring capital to the city. Nairobi’s easy access for internationals is further reinforced by a huge central airport and relatively liberal VISA conditions. Since English is a common language in Kenya, the communication between locals and internationals is strongly facilitated. In that way, the city constitutes a perfect spot to mingle and develop ideas and a global entrepreneurial, social innovation, and financial hub that offers enabling conditions for social enterprise activities. In that sense, Roshan Paul states: “One of the big enablers is that Nairobi is a nice laboratory for people to try their ideas.” These ideas are often planned to be piloted in Kenya and to be spread over the whole African continent if tested successfully. Hosting numerous international conferences as well as social and political events, Nairobi continuously grows into the global spotlight. In this context, Roshan Paul states: “We are here because Nairobi is a social innovation hub and a hotspot for social impact and social ch ange.” Furthermore, respondents stated that Kenya is considered being peaceful and safe compared to its neighbor states which further attracts foreigners to the country.
In terms of governmental support, respondent opinions vary greatly. Most of the interviewed endorse the availability of governmental funds for social purposes. However, they criticize that those funds are relatively hard to claim. Financial governmental support is continuously increasing, but still lacking the necessary efficiency to be beneficial for aspiring social entrepreneurs.
Nevertheless, respondents noted the existence of governmental courses on social entrepreneurship and a governmental attitude towards social entrepreneurship activities that is rather supportive. Additionally, in Kenya it is easy to register a business, which facilitates starting up a social enterprise. In this context, Ivy Nitta states: “To register your own business is not tough and not expensive. You can do it yourself.”
Adding to this, the young generation of social entrepreneurs takes great use of the omnipresent technology advances in Nairobi and its surroundings. As an example, the affordable and stable Wi-Fi connection enables them to operate also outside of their office surroundings. Furthermore, the emergence of social media channels for effective and cheap marketing, PR, and sales campaigns was stated being an enabler.
The interviewed stated several barriers social entrepreneurs face when starting up their social enterprises in Kenya. Most of these barriers relate to the Kenyan culture. However, incapability of the Kenyan government and practical, business-related hindering factors also prevail.
Respondents perceive Kenyans to live a very competitive culture. Due to historic and prevailing resource limitations, Kenyans tend to be strongly focused on personal wealth and happiness. Although, they have a close relationship to their families and tribes, some do not care noticeable about other communities. Our interview sample highlights that Kenyans seek to receive reputation in their communities by differentiating themselves superiorly in terms of wage and job titles. In that sense, Roshan Paul mentions the high dependency between reputation and income: “There is an obsession of money. Kenya is a very materialistic country and the culture really celebrates that. It is all about the biggest company, big reputation, happy parents, and more money. The people are looking after themselves first. It is a very competitive and unity-oriented culture. People first think of their family, then of their tribe and their tribes are not connecting. They are not thinking beyond tribe. For this reason, they do not get that diversity of thinking, diversity of ideas that they could have mixing tribes as well.” In relation to Dees (2001), stating that social entrepreneurs seek to meet collective interest and to create social betterment rather than simply achieving economic goals, this finding constitutes a critical barrier for social entrepreneurship in Kenya.
Respondents stated that the competition already starts in the schools, where children are strictly ranked according to their performances. It is all about being better than others since the best and worst students expierence public exposure in front of peers on a regular basis. This leads to a mentality which significantly inhibits Kenyan students to substitute personal benefits for the well-being of society. Friends and families of potential social entrepreneurs often lack the fundamental understanding about what drives these people to break traditional habits and to take on the risks of being a social entrepreneur instead. In this context, Jed Ondiko states: “Social entrepreneurship is an extremely new thing.
People that you have attachment to, like family and friends, they will not understand and ask: ‘Why don’t you graduate and go to work?’ They do not understand your motivation.”
In this respect, social entrepreneurs take risks on behalf of the stakeholders they serve (Brinckerhoff, 2000). In Western societies, this risk is covered by a strong social system and a variety of compensative opportunities to continue after a failed startup project. In Kenya, there is no such a social system. According to Roshan Paul, Kenyans are afraid to fail because young families, being common in Kenya, dependent on a regular income: “People in Kenya don’t have the luxury to afford to fail. That is mainly due to culture. In Kenya, we find very religious people who get married young. They also get children in young age. They might want to become an entrepreneur but have three kids. So, they have no chance to take that kind of risk. Tolerance of taking risk goes down unless you have no option.” For that reason, becoming a social entrepreneur is questioned by many Kenyans so that young adults with promising ideas often prefer traditional jobs instead.
Due to the common competitive Kenyan mindset, potential customers are often not willing to pay extra for the sole purpose of supporting a social benefit. Instead, they prefer to purchase cheaper commercial goods. Not being experienced in dealing with financial resources, also young entrepreneurs can find it difficult to manage financial issues related to their business. In this context, Jed Ondiko states: “In African families, it is a taboo to talk about money issues. So, for young people the first time they get to interact with their own money they get really confused. For young entrepreneurs that often causes troubles.”
Hence, many Kenyans have a complicated relationship with money which seems to be an object of strong desire throughout the Kenyan society.
According respondents, some young adults hope to get rich by starting a social enterprise. They strive to collect social funds and tend to misuse them for personal purposes. This false motivation prevents their companies from flourishing and puts other social entrepreneurs in a bad light. In this context, Gabriel Dinda states: “So, there is that foolish mentality where people start social entrepreneurship with a view to getting attention from the donors and government so that they are financed, pocket the money and go home. So, if people come to me asking for assistance I will first ask them of their intention, what have you done? Is it genuine? Because if it is not genuine, it will die.” Consequently, it becomes complicated for honest social entrepreneurs to fund projects and to convince strategic partners of their intrinsic social motivation.
Adding to the cultural hindering factors, also a lack of efficient government support is described by most of our respondents. In this context, interview participants mentioned corruption to be an omnipresent field for discussion. For all kinds of government support young entrepreneurs must pay extra to responsible administrative sections. Consequently, being on a short budget, social enterprises suffer from a heavy stagnation of their business development towards becoming financially viable. In this context, Ivy Nitta states: “I cannot stand the corruption. In our country here, everything, all the processes you must facilitate, are subject to corruption. There is no room for justice. If you want something you have to pay for it. It is not straight- forward.” Although official government funds are available, our respondents mention a high dependency that social entrepreneurs have on political friends to get access to these funds. This finding corresponds with the importance of a formal support network which refers to organizations with responsibilities for economic development such as community development workers, local authorities, and central governments, as stated by Haugh (2007). In this context, respondents mention a preference of the Kenyan government towards supporting tech start-ups since they promise the highest reputation compared to other startup types. For that reason, social entrepreneurs struggle with close government collaborations and thus but rather rely on personal networks and private sector support.
Also mentioned by respondents, the Kenyan government shows incompetency in securing intellectual property rights properly. A property right registration in Kenya is very expensive and not centrally organized. In case of a trial, it is hard to prove ownership of intellectual property. For these reasons, many young entrepreneurs decide not to protect their intellectual property and prefer the fear of being plagiarized. Jed Ondiko mentions that in some cases, the fear of losing an idea leads to a situation in which promising ideas are never executed: “People with a great social idea often lack t he resources for executing it. However, they fear sharing the idea because when they share somebody else with the resources will execute it. So, it is about property rights and intellectual property. That way, many good ideas never get executed.” Consequently, many creative minds limit their communication and knowledge transfer which hinders the flourishing of the whole social economy.
Based on our research, social entrepreneurs within our interview sample were also affected by practical, business-related factors that they face in their everyday operations. Also, related to funding, they fear that venture capitalists change their business model as they take influence on the social enterprise. This goes in hand with a general lack of honest private sector support. The cost for support is high and drives young social entrepreneurs towards managing their business alone. Consequently, it often takes long for the social enterprises to scale up and to develop a significant social impact reach.
Furthermore, our respondents criticized that potential industrial clients and strategic partners often do not trust the young and unexperienced generation of social entrepreneurs. Gabriel Dinda mentions that it is hard for social entrepreneurs to generate sustainable and lucrative contracts and to expand their businesses: “Potential clients have prejudices. They look at you with contempt. They look at your age, the year the company started, and then they say they can’t deal with such a young company.
Another practical obstacle raised by respondents is the fact that young entrepreneurs must face high default rates. They contract with their clients and deliver their product or provide the service required. However, in many cases, they do not receive the agreed wage. Consequently, their liabilities exceed their budget and they fear bankruptcy or a loss of assets. In this regard, Gabriel Dinda states: “Next week on Monday we will not be in the office but down to the open space because for the past two months we have not been able to raise money to sustain the office expenses. We have worked for many people but they have defaulted to pay us. The default rate is high and the economic situation is hard. So, they have defaulted paying us but we are still following it up. However, the land lord is not as patient as you would wish. So, you must work harder to get back on your feet.”
6.1.5 Social Entrepreneurship Education in Kenya
6.1.5.1 Current Landscape of Social Entrepreneurship Education in Kenya
Current Landscape
Within our interview sample, all respondents perceived social entrepreneurship education in Kenya to be a growing field in Kenya. In this context, they were highly motivated to engage in practical social entrepreneurship education by offering workshops or practice days. Nevertheless, respondents were convinced that the degree of social entrepreneurship education provided in Kenya is insufficient. Only a few courses and trainings are offered by both private and public institutions. Furthermore, they provide only marginal skill and know-how development and are hard to detect and to attain for inexperienced aspiring social entrepreneurs. Also, the content taught is not tailor-made the Kenya’s economic, social, and political environment and thus does not provide ready- to-use practical value. In this context, Gabriel Dinda states: “They use the curriculum of other countries especially from Europe which is not contextual. It is not suitable for Kenya.” This finding corresponds with Anderson et al. (2006), stating that the plain replication of SE practices and education programs that turned out to be successful in Western countries does not necessarily lead to a successful transformation of an economy in a developing country.
Respondents added that the motivated youth is lacking the required financial capital to visit expensive private courses. According to Jed Ondiko, respondents thus do not have sufficient viable opportunities to learn about and practice the process of starting and running a business: “For the public universities, there is no curriculum present that is completely covering what a social entrepreneur needs to know to start-up and run a social enterprise. You can only access it in private universities which are very expensive and thus not an option for those with the right ideas a strong social commitment but rather for those who can afford but are lacking the intrinsic motivation.” Consequently, provided programs on social entrepreneurship are not customized to the Kenyan youth and do not reach the right target group. This finding complies with Nelson and Johnson (1997), stating that particularly the poor and unemployed are not properly subject to viable SE education.
Current Educational Gaps
According to Peredo and Chrisman (2006), social entrepreneurs face several challenges during the startup process, thus a core set of skills and know-how seems indispensable. However, based on our research findings, respondents identified several educational gaps such as a lack of self-reflection, insufficient social awareness as well as entrepreneurial and managerial deficits related to starting and running a social enterprise in Kenya. Also, a lack of creativity development within current educational programs on social entrepreneurship was mentioned. Based on respondent opinions, creativity is crucial for all innovative and entrepreneurial activities since it is core of identifying and exploiting novel approaches to tackle existing social problems. Furthermore, creativity can serve as a strong facilitator for product innovation where entrepreneurs need to combine their managerial skills with know-how to envision the future better than others. This finding is in accord with Brown and Wyatt (2010) who state that creativity is a fundamental element of entrepreneurial opportunity identification. Gathoni Mway states that creativity development can significantly broaden a student’s innovative horizon: “The Kenyan education curriculum is very much set towards A+B equals C. It is very structured and there is no other way. You are not given time to think about things. There is no outside of the box thinking. However, A+B can also equal F. F is new. F is a value.”
Respondents describe the Kenyan education system to train and rank students towards focusing on being better than peers at all cost. Being subject to the same recommended educational development plan, students are not motivated to grasp and define their own purpose of life which limits their perspectives drastically. In that way, individuality and plurality of different strengths and interests get lost on the way. During the startup process they must learn these skills by self-deduction. Thus, self-knowledge was mentioned to be an essential attribute of aspiring social entrepreneurs that should be included in future educational programs on social entrepreneurship. Furthermore, raising awareness for social problems is not part of current curricula, but a core attribute for aspiring social entrepreneurs who proposes on innovation and inclusiveness for changing societal patterns and systems (Phillips, Lee, Ghobadian, O’Regan, & James, 2015). Respondents highlighted that the Kenyan youth also lacks know-how of how to deal with money and how to contract with other people. Also, in terms of communication and presentation skills the interview participants see a lot room for educational improvements.
6.1.5.2 Designing Future Social Entrepreneurship Education in Kenya
Curriculum Requirements
With respect to curriculum requirements, respondents agreed that learning social entrepreneurship primarily is a matter of expierence. This finding corresponds with Gibbs (2002) and Kolb (1984), stating that important emotions and feelings are crucial elements of deep learning experiences and that the idea of experimental learning describes a process of generating learning insights through expierence and reflection. For this reason, interview participants mentioned a large proportion of real-life situations and regular interactions with social entrepreneurship practitioners as essential for designing a social entrepreneurship curriculum in Kenya. In that way, students can be involved in realistic entrepreneurial projects where they can work closely together with successful social entrepreneurs to expierence and understand the process of opportunity identification, evaluation, and exploitation. In addition, respondents see the requirement to include basic entrepreneurship theory into the curriculum to let students reflect on their social business model also in a classical strategic context. In combination of theory and practice, the social entrepreneurship curriculum should be flexible so that teaching methods can properly address different backgrounds and experiences and respect individual student expectations. This finding corresponds with Mair et al. (2012), stating that the educational foundation should be based on theory, while the SE process needs to be learned and internalized through real-life situations. To round up the social entrepreneurship mindest, respondents also advise aspiring social entrepreneurs to read newspapers and to visit public events and conferences.
According to Jed Ondiko, the social entrepreneurship curriculum should focus on putting theory into practice to apply the acquired know-how in a value-adding way: “It is not just about going to class, sitting, hearing a lecture, taking notes, at the end of the class you walk out to go learn for the exam, get 100%, pass, and wait for the next exam you need to gain some degree. It is more about are you able to put what you have learned into practice?” Once the aspiring social entrepreneurs realized their inherent qualities, their confidence can create and strengthen total dedication towards accomplishing the social mission.
To be fully exposed to the challenges and considerations of a social entrepreneur, respondents suggest a social entrepreneurship curriculum that provides opportunities to develop concrete social business ideas. Roshan Paul describes this practice as facilitator for all aspects of analytical problem-solving and storytelling as well as pragmatic thinking: “The only way to learn social entrepreneurship is to be an entrepreneur. You should think about a methodology that includes that. The most important orientation around social entrepreneurship education is to start social enterprises. These enterprises should not necessarily be something that must succeed. However, the students must go through the steps of starting something up. They should not do it in theory but do it for real.”
The social entrepreneurs within our interview sample have experienced various effects of local enablers and barriers on the success of their social enterprises. For that reason, they further recommend a social entrepreneurship curriculum that is sensitive to the changing factors of the Kenyan social, political, and economic environment. This finding is in accord with Peredo and Chrisman (2006), stating that social entrepreneurs need capacities to cope with a changing policy environment.
Teaching Practices
All respondents mentioned that teaching practices for social entrepreneurship education should enable students to create social awareness and to identify inherent motives and talents. For that reason, students should have the possibility to expierence social entrepreneurship to its full extent. In that way, students can create the valuable insight whether their personality, skills, and intrinsic drive fit to the profession of being a social entrepreneur. This finding is in accord with Gibb (2002), who states that real-life situations involve emotions and feelings and provide ground for deep learning insights and the development of personal motivations. According to Roshan Paul, those who already have a strong motivation for achieving social impact, can significantly benefit from awareness practices, for example, to determine in which area (e.g. health, poverty, and education) to engage in: “You may like to identify what is it that they really care about. One cares about catering, another one about malaria another one about HIV or whatever but they must deeply care about something. You start with what they care about and that is where they should start growing their business around.” Having identified where and how to socially engage in, teaching practices should build up a student’s confidence and encourage to pursue the proposed social mission. In this context, Ivy Nitta highlights the importance of self-esteem for reaching an ambitious goal: “If you tell your mom you want to be a musician, a DJ, or a social entrepreneur she will just laugh at you or slap in your face. Still there are people who made it. And why have they made it? Because they believe in themselves and in what they do.”
From respondent perspective, the identification of inherent strengths should occur as early as possible in a student’s development. To create mindfulness, interview participants primarily proposed unconventional teaching practices such as meditation and time in nature . Furthermore, they emphasize the importance of a healthy lifestyle, including sportive activities. In that way, according to Jed Ondiko, students are not misled by wrong motive and character perceptions in pursuing their life goals: “For the young, it is important to identify their strengths and help them to believe in these strengths. With interactions with that child you can know their strengths and interests. If it is football you must develop football, if it is reading you must develop reading. With the age of 14, things ch ange. Now it is more about promoting their development as they develop their interest.”
To grow a student’s practical innovativeness, methods such as prototyping or design thinking can be used which at the same time foster the creation of innovative social business models. Also, hands-on social innovating practices confront students with the essential necessity of working in teams. This finding is in accord with Douglas (2015), stating that experimental learning pedagogies can transform know-how into understanding via real-life expierence within a realistic environment. In this context, Roshan Paul states: “They also must come up with a prototype. They must try to produce something that they can show to others in a physical presentation. It is not about writing exams, not about writing a paper but about doing the project. For the example of a catering project: They must be able to show the food that they made, how they distribute it, etc. At the end of the program they must be able to present what their business does and how.”
Teaching practices in a social entrepreneurship curriculum should be state-of-the-art and thus also take technical advancements and other macroeconomic trends into account. This finding corresponds with Vecchio (2003), stating the importance of entrepreneurship trends affecting society, institutions, and government and thus ultimately environmental dynamics and support structures social entrepreneurs are facing. In that sense, respondents continue that not solely the teaching methods but also the range of addressed topics is essential to engage with students. For example, social media training can equip young entrepreneurs with knowledge about how to utilize digital social structures for marketing, PR and sales. In that way, teachers of social entrepreneurship can maintain a broad spectrum of teaching pedagogies that suit to the student’s world view, daily habits and related learning preferences. In this context, Gabriel Dinda states: “Maybe we can have a curriculum which is sensitive to the context and sensitive to the time. Right now, most people don’t like reading. They like watching videos and listening to produce. So, you can put the curriculum in that format. Something they can easily work with.”
Within our interviewed sample, most respondents mentioned the importance of learning through role models and inspiration. According to Jed Ondiko, mentorship constitutes an indispensable teaching method for social entrepreneurship education: “For young people, it is important to invite mentors for sharing a little entrepreneurial spirit in not so technical terms. That way, they can grasp something that they’ll be curious of. They will start asking questions. Here it is about raising curiosity. You can always find someone to look up to, in terms of whose footsteps you want to follow. Ask the children who they might be interested in. That will better suit their development than just bringing someone.
If they say: “I want to be a pilot, get a pilot.” This can facilitate a lot of enthusiasm, desire and identification. That is sort of a priceless feel. You will always remember the moment you met that person who showed you your own potential. It is about to start dreaming and then start working for this dream.”
Overall, respondents share the perspective that theory plays a subordinate role in SE education. For a fast development, students should instead focus on role modelling and experiential learning that is based on mutual inspiration and iteration. Roshan Paul sets this practical learning approach in a relationship with SE theory: “You don’t need th eory. Not for this targeted audience. If you are starting a business school, maybe, but I wouldn’t go to theory about social entrepreneurship in this context because it is about: What is your problem? What are you trying to solve? Why do you care about what? So, get the people working practically. I don't think you must focus on theory. Maybe if you have a group of intellectuals you may have evening classes to help understand the theory part of it.” These perceptions are mostly in accord with our literature findings. However, a profound theoretical foundation teaching on the concept of poverty and millennium development goals as well as social change, social activism, and social organizations has been stated by Douglas (2015) to facilitate social entrepreneurial success.
Role of the Teacher
Our respondents perceive SE education as a very interpersonal and experimental-driven process. In this context, teachers of SE education function as inspiring role models that give students the possibility for personal identification. For that purpose, teachers should optimally have prior entrepreneurial and managerial expierence. In that sense, Roshan Paul states: “You need people who have developed entrepreneurial skills in the past to teach them. It is very hard to have someone who has not been an entrepreneur to teach them. I think you need people who have done it, who have learned it from their successes and failures to be able to teach them how to do that. So, don't find a professor to do that but find an actual entrepreneur.”
To connect well with students, our respondents mentioned teacher character requirements such as empathy, non-judgmentalism and authenticity. In that way, students can build genuine rapport and a true identification with the teacher. In this context, Ivy Nitta states: “Live the life that you want the people to see you for. Be the person you want to see. Be the change you want to see” From respondent perspective, teachers should be open- minded, curious, and eager to utilize own learnings towards continuously becoming a better social entrepreneur and SE educator themselves. For that purpose, they should constantly engage in scouting and testing new teaching methods. According to Gathoni Mway, teachers can inspire their students to follow their example: “That is why I think it is so important to have teachers who are also engaged in learning and trying out new models.” In addition, good teachers are required to pay individual attention to students and for practice purposes should encourage them constructively to compete against each other in terms of innovation activities such as prototyping or design thinking.
6.2 Findings of Insights Workshop
According to the findings of the insights workshop, a general agreement of Kenyan SE practitioners exist that current SE education is insufficient in preparing for successful entrepreneurial careers. Workshop participants demonstrated a joint frustration about the learning resources that are provided to SE educators and criticize them to be insufficient. From practitioner perspective, there are too many tools and frameworks used by Kenyan teacher that are directly applied from Western model on SE education without considering the Kenyan business setting. Consequently, the conceptual frameworks used do not relate to Kenya’s social, political, economic and environmental setting and thus have little use for regional SE education. Furthermore, workshop participants highlighted the lack of industry relevance with respect to theoretical teachings given on SE.
From practitioner perspective, experimental learning and role model identification are essential to gain social entrepreneurial skills. In this context, workshop participants suggested a more practical SE education. They suggested the use of case studies to illustrate how successful social entrepreneurs grasp the preconditions and environmental dynamics of the competitive marketplace in which they pursue their business.
According to workshop participants, poor communities suffer the most from the inadequacy of Kenya’s SE education. Especially in rural communities, non-literate social entrepreneurs rarely find any help to successfully start up their social enterprises. Furthermore, disadvantaged groups like women or people with a migration background were perceived to be in particular need for targeted support in exploiting their social enterprise idea. However, the workshop attendants also perceived literate graduates and inhabitants of Nairobi not being adequately addressed by the current SE education.
6.3 Synthesis and Summary of Examined Research Findings
In the following section, the results of the semi-structured in-depth interviews and the insights workshop are synthesized and summarized. To analyze the contribution of these findings in answering the postulated research questions, the structure follows their logic:
RQ1: How are the terms ‘social entrepreneur’, ‘social entrepreneurship’, and ‘social enterprise’ understood and practiced in Kenya’s business environment?
Overall, the concept of SE is reasonably well understood by Kenyan social entrepreneurs. They pursue hybrid strategic purposes to accomplish their social missions such as creating employment or addressing poverty. In this context, economic viability is endeavored to facilitate a sustainable social enterprise development. Tackling the fear of a mission drift, Kenyan social entrepreneurs try to minimize their dependency on external funding.
Due to educational, cultural, and economic constraints, Kenyan graduates and the unemployed youth are still perceived preferring private- or public-sector employment over being self-employment. However, for those who take the risk of pursuing selfemployment within the social sector, a strong strategic network can be of help to fill experience and knowledge-related gaps.
Successful social entrepreneurs are driven by a strong intrinsic motivation to achieve sustainable social impact. The passion often evolves from a deep personal connection to a certain social problem. Social entrepreneurs serve as role models as they expand their social impact from their home communities to the greater public. Especially for rural areas, SE activities do not only tackle social problems but also support the local economy.
There is a strong agreement that an empathetic link to the concerned communities and a sincere problem consciousness are essential requirements for social entrepreneurial opportunity identification and exploitation. Moral integrity in this regard is a strong driver for social economic success.
To tackle the intangible nature of social impact creation, social entrepreneurs track the number of people impacted by their social activity and observe focus groups over long- time periods.
RQ2: Which enablers and barriers do SE practitioners face in this business environment?
According to the empirical research, Kenyans face a severe lack of perspectives in traditional businesses and are affected by a high rate of unemployment. For those who decide to choose self-employment as a viable alternative, SE carries the potential to add social impact in their future entrepreneurial activities as a second step. Kenyans even demonstrate an increasing willingness to substitute a possible traditional career for pursuing a social mission.
In Kenya, social entrepreneurs maintain strong social and strategic networks and support each other well in accomplishing their social missions. Contributions comprise added values such as expertise, information, know-how, and resources.
Kenya’s capital Nairobi serves as an internationally recognized social innovation hub. Attracted by the activities of the United Nations, international organizations and business people function as potential strategic partners for social entrepreneurs and inspire by sharing their Western entrepreneurial spirit.
Since English is a common language in Kenya, the communication between locals and internationals is strongly facilitated. Hosting many international conferences, Nairobi serves as an incubator for social start-up pilots that are planned to stretch over the African continent from there.
The Kenyan government is incapable to provide effective support for Kenyan social entrepreneurs. Corruption is an omnipresent field for discussion and administrative processes consume a lot of time and money. The access to funds depends on political favoritism and other startup types enjoy a preferential treatment.
Kenyans are strongly focused on personal wealth and happiness. Being very competitive in terms of wage and career reputation, they are not well able to meet the collective interest and to create social betterment. Some Kenyans start a social enterprise with the wrong motivation to get rich, exploiting initial seed funding.
The Kenyan education system pushes children towards peer-group competition. They are strictly ranked according to their performances. This prevents the youth from developing a mentality that allows substituting personal well-being for the good of society. Friends and families often lack the fundamental understanding for their children choosing a SE career. In this regard, the fear of social and economic failure dominates taking free decisions.
Social entrepreneurs are affected by practical, business related factors such as high default rates, insufficient intellectual capital protection, funders taking influence on their business models, and the distrust of potential strategic partners.
RQ3: What are current educational gaps from SE practitioner perspective to be filled? Social entrepreneurs agree that there is a general failure in all stages of social entrepreneurship education. The learning needs of potential social entrepreneurs are fit for purpose and educational gaps wide-ranging.
With respect to the specific skill requirements for social entrepreneurs, they emphasize a significant lack of soft skill enhancing teaching practices. In this regard, people and communication skills are associated with prior self-reflection and social awareness.
Also, social innovation-related factors such as creativity, intuition, initiative, opportunity seeking and exploiting novel approaches are absent in current curricula.
An overarching lack of industry relevant education prevents the Kenyan youth from developing practical skills related to networking, project management, negotiation, and trust building.
RQ4: Which elements should future SE education embrace to address these perceptions and needs and how should it be delivered to aspiring Kenyan social entrepreneurs?
SE practitioners perceive the necessity of proper SE education at all educational levels. This takes into responsibility primary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, private institutions, international agencies, and other institutions to provide a lifelong learning.
There is a discrepancy between current practices and what social entrepreneurs perceive to be essential methods of successful social entrepreneurship education. Theoretical learning is not considered to recognize the importance of core skill building in a Kenyan context. Current practices do not incorporate experimental learning approaches that could provide context specific learning insights.
Real-life situations and regular interactions with social entrepreneurs can facilitate a practical understanding of key entrepreneurial concepts such as opportunity recognition, networking, value creation and stakeholder management.
A flexible curriculum set-up addresses diverse backgrounds and experiences and gives respect to individual student expectations.
Current educators often lack personal SE experience and thus struggle with being credible examples for their students. However, the desire for sophisticated mentoring by experienced role models is clearly given.
7 Implications
This chapter derives implications from the examined research findings in relation to the reviewed literature on SE and SE education. In that way, implications for SE education, practitioners, politicians, and future research are presented. Finally, a conclusion is drawn from the foregoing steps and an overall reflection on the thesis is presented.
7.1 Implications for SE Education in Kenya
Based on our research findings and the theoretical foundation it refers to, we propose policy development, capacity building, and further actions in the following areas for SE education:
Enhance SE Education Practices and Policies
The inadequacy of the current SE education was one of the most important themes that occurred in our empirical research findings. This inadequacy is particularly acute when the needs of the poor, women, rural communities and non-literate entrepreneurs are considered. Overall, there is a discrepancy between current practices and what social entrepreneurs perceive to be essential methods of successful social entrepreneurship education. Theoretical learning is not considered to recognize the importance of core skill building in a Kenyan context.
The Kenyan education system pushes children towards peer-group competition. In this regard, the fear of social and economic failure dominates taking free decisions. Also, the current educational business pedagogy has been criticized in general since entrepreneurial learning methods such as experimental learning are not properly addressed. For that reason, we recommend integrating these kind of learning opportunities already within primary and secondary school systems to foster entrepreneurial learning throughout the entire education system. In this context, school teachers and SE educators could serve as powerful role models and identification figures for aspiring social entrepreneurs. For that reason, they should be properly educated themselves and optimally have sufficient managerial and entrepreneurial expierence. On that basis, Kenyas culture could be sustainably transformed into an innovative and entrepreneurial culture.
Social awareness is an important facilitator of SE initiatives and has been mentioned in the reviewed literature as well as the empirical research findings as crucial enabler for Kenyan SE. For that reason, national education policies should insistently communicate the valuable chance for aspiring social entrepreneurs to address social issues bottom-up and thus to fundamentally advance the self-healing power of their country. In that way, inherent motives of social entrepreneurs can be triggered more proactively while the phenomenon of SE additionally receives meaning and acknowledgement within the Kenyan society.
Create Conceptual Frameworks and Shared Know-how
To address the different target groups for SE education in Kenya, policy makers, governments, and other stakeholders should create conceptual frameworks and shared know-how. In that way, they can support SE education throughout Kenya while customizing the frameworks and know-how to local requirements if needed. In terms of content, the conceptual frameworks could reflect best practice examples of successful social entrepreneurs and their social enterprises. Sharing know-how is especially important to create, capture, and deliver multiple learning effects throughout the social networks and partnerships that are essential for Kenyan social entrepreneurs. A tool to share know-how and conceptual frameworks could be a well-designed web-based platform that is accessible for the multiple stakeholder groups and supported by government agencies.
Create a Curriculum from SE Practitioner Perspective
Based on our research, capacity building for SE education research and the consecutive process of implementation remains an opportunity that is linked to proposals for training and material development. In that sense, a significant increase in training capacity, with teacher training being regarded is a key point of leverage.
Overall, the concept of SE is reasonably well understood by Kenyan social entrepreneurs. However, many Kenyans still prefer private- or public-sector employment over being self-employment. In this context, a strong intrinsic motivation to achieve sustainable social impact can significantly increase the social entrepreneur’s drive. For that purpose, a SE curriculum should incorporate the development of soft skills such as people and communication skills that are associated with prior self-reflection and social awareness. An empathetic link to the concerned communities and a sincere problem consciousness is also an essential requirement for social entrepreneurial opportunity identification and exploitation. Finally, social innovation-related factors such as creativity, intuition, initiative, opportunity seeking and exploiting novel approaches should be included in a SE curriculum.
Design Highly Accessible Learning Materials
Based on our empirical research, especially the Kenyan youth shows a powerful desire for social changes within their country. In this context, respondents showed different perceptions and needs on SE practices and related SE education. Overall, learning materials should include theoretical foundations on SE both in a Western as well as Kenyan context. In addition, learning materials should provide experimental learning opportunities to create deep learning insights and to develop the student’s development of personal motivations. For example, context-related simulations such as case studies or business games can be used to create a situation learning environment and emotional exposure. Learning material could be uploaded and downloaded to the proposed web- based knowledge sharing platform. In that way, it could be highly accessible and used in multiple educational settings such as rural, urban, informal, and formal both for literate as well as non-literate learners. Learning materials should be designed using expierence and know-how of multiple SE practitioners from both the Western world and Kenya. In that way, various perspectives can be included into creating appropriate best practice learning materials and conceptual frameworks for aspiring SE students. In this context, the proposed online platform could also include an open ‘wiki’ such as Wikipedia where contributors of learning material can co-create and share content that is relevant to SE practitioners and educators. To address particularly poor groups, learning material should be free of charge and available via social media such as Facebook or YouTube. This material should be further customized to the educational system to reflect the different learning preferences and methods at all education levels (i.e. primary and secondary school, college, university). Additionally, real-life situations should be combined with the learning materials to improve the learner’s practical attributes and skills and to create both explicit and tacit knowledge. In this context, all four elements of social venture creation (i.e. individual, process, organization, environment) should be covered.
Prepare Teachers and Social Enterprise Support Networks
Current educators often lack personal SE experience and thus struggle with being credible examples for their students. However, the desire for sophisticated mentoring by experienced role models is clearly given. In the process of building SE capacity, educators play a key role. Hence, teachers of SE programs should be trained thoroughly before educating aspiring SE students. In this context, also the capacity of educational institutions as well as informal and formal SE programs in Kenya should be based on an agreed educational model. SE educators do not necessarily have to be faculties of universities or business schools. Current academic perceptions suggest designing entrepreneurship education itself as entrepreneurial process that resembles best practice expierence, skills, and know-how of successful entrepreneurs. For that reason, also experienced SE practitioners that directly teaches from ‘the field’ can be the perfect choice to teach SE. Probably the best way to maximize learning effects for all stakeholders are social enterprise support structures and networks. These networks can be developed by partnerships between individuals and institutions. In that way, Kenya can combine the advantages of a strong international support network with tailor-made and context-related national support networks.
Support Social Networks and the Informal Sector
Based on the empirical research, value creation in the informal sector has a high potential for social impact creation with respect to gender empowerment, economic growth, and social inclusion. Thus, rural economies with proper access to the market should be prioritized in SE education. For that purpose, local partnership creation should be emphasized and actively supported. These social networks should comprise multiple stakeholders such as local community and government agencies, schools, universities, and social economy organizations. Contributions could comprise added values such as expertise, information, know-how, and resources.
A strong strategic network can be of help to fill experience, skill, and knowledge-related gaps. Also, within the network environment, opportunities can be identified, evaluated, and exploited towards creating social value by exchanging know-how, skills, ideas, and resources. Also, these social networks could be an important facilitator in the creation and distribution of learning materials that meet the needs of aspiring SE practitioners as well as non-literate and disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Within social networks, also gender imbalances could be addressed.
To test the effects of social networks, partnership pilots in urban areas could be run where social networks are already established but where they lack basic entrepreneurial and managerial skills. In this context, urban social networks could benefit from collaborations with educational institutions such as schools, colleges, or universities.
Establish Research and Continuous Improvement
Based on our research, we determined a high importance of experimental learning methods referring to best practices and real-life experiments in different institutional settings. Above mentioned partnerships could be strategically expanded by think tanks and development agencies in the role of SE education. In that way, the design and execution of student SE initiatives that demonstrate promising social impact could be supported. Also, impact indicators could be identified to measure their success.
7.2 Implications for Government and the Private Sector
Based on our research findings, we derived implications for government, development agencies, and private sector organizations. In that way, opportunities for partnerships with respect to creating collaborative SE education initiatives can be explored:
Creating Governmental Support Structures
Looking at Kenya, current SE practices are perceived being ineffective and inefficient and thus unproductive. For that reason, Kenya’s government should provide structures that support social entrepreneurs in the efficient creation of social capital. In that way, social entrepreneurs can significantly increase their social impact. In this context, a wide range of stakeholders, including the private sector, should support social innovativeness to ensure that entrepreneurial resources are directed to economically productive activities. Furthermore, governmental support structures should address building human capacity by access to training materials and tangible infrastructure
7.3 Implications for Future Research
Based on our empirical research findings, implications for future research can be derived:
Create Stage-Gate-Model on SE Education
Our implications have depicted several characteristics that should be embraced regarding future SE education in Kenya. In this context, it was mentioned that future SE education and its related pedagogies should address future social entrepreneurs already at primary and secondary school level and continue throughout college and university. On that basis, future research could explore elements of a fully-designed stage-gate-model that illustrates insights and implications. The stage-gate-model could reflect the consecutive stages of a student’s educational development (i.e. primary and secondary school, college, university) and relate the respective stages to specific learning content and material. Overall, our research participants perceived too many teaching tools, pedagogies, and resources based on Western models of corporate business education. Hence, future research could explore which teaching tools, pedagogies, and resources best suit to the conditions that are prevailing in a Kenyan business setting.
8 Conclusion and Overall Reflection
This thesis examined the role of SE and SE education in a Kenyan context with respect to the perceptions and needs of practitioners. It has been shown that Western perceptions on the phenomenon of SE cannot necessarily be applied to the Kenyan business setting. In this context, the importance of country-related SE practices has been emphasized. In addition, elements have been explored that future SE education in Kenya should embrace in relation to these perceptions.
For the empirical research of this thesis, SE practitioner perspectives have been explored to answer four research questions. First, it was examined how thee terms ‘social entrepreneur’, ‘social entrepreneurship’, and ‘social enterprise’ are understood and practiced in Kenya’s business environment. Second, local enablers and barriers have been investigated that SE practitioners face in the Kenyan business environment. Third, current educational gaps have been explored from SE practitioner perspective that need to be filled. Lastly, elements have been examined that future SE education should embrace to address these perceptions and needs. Also, proper delivery methods for providing SE education to aspiring Kenyan social entrepreneurs haven been investigated.
Overall, it was observed that SE practitioners in Kenya have a proper understanding of Western SE practices. Also, respondents claimed to have a strong intrinsic motivation towards achieving sustainable social impact. On that basis, experienced social entrepreneurs showed willingness to act as role models for younger generations. In terms of measuring social impact, all respondents based their indicators on the number of people impacted by their social activity. Also focus groups interviews turned out to be used as feedback mechanism to generate valuable insights over a long period of time. These perceptions were in accordance with the literature findings conducted prior to the empirical research.
However, in the context of our problem stated, also country-related specifications evolved that need to be into consideration for future SE education activities. Overall, respondents stated poverty, unemployment, and a lack of education to be the major social issues Kenya currently must deal with. In this context, also corruption turned out to be an omnipresent field for discussion. Overall, poor and disadvantaged groups were mentioned to suffer most from Kenya’s social issues.
With respect to the third research question, respondents mentioned a general failure at all stages of SE education to be present. In terms of skills a general lack of soft skills such as people and communication skills were mentioned. Also, entrepreneurial and innovation-related attributes such as creativity, intuition, initiative as well as opportunity identification and exploitation skills were stated as insufficiently covered in current business curricula.
On that basis, interview respondents mentioned a significant discrepancy between current practices and essential methods for SE education required by SE practitioners and aspiring young social entrepreneurs. In addition, current educators were described as lacking sufficient SE expierence. For that reason, they struggle with being adequate role models for their students.
Based on the examined research findings, the thesis gives implications for SE education, politicians, practitioners, and researchers. In this context, the thesis gives recommendations on how to enhance SE education practices and policies. On this fundament, it further explores the role of support networks, continuous learning, the SE education teacher as well as conceptual frameworks and shared know-how into account.
Overall, this thesis aimed to give answer to which elements future SE education in Kenya should embrace to address perceptions and needs of SE practitioners in relation to the business setting they act in and needs of future SE generations. In this context, it attempted to emphasize the importance of country-related conditions that call for tailor- made approaches when addressing SE practices and enhancements of the SE education.
To increase the relevance of our research findings and implications a larger sample seize could have been interviewed and involved into the insights workshop. In that way, the sample could have been more heterogeneous and thus reflect more diverse perspectives on the posed research questions. Nevertheless, we intended the narrow focus of our research (i.e. five social entrepreneurs, one SE incubator, one SE educator) to give a clear picture from which targeted implications can be derived.
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Appendix
A: Interview Request for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
B: Interview Guideline for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
D: Interview Transcription 2: Wanja Kibuki - Vitabu Viyetu
E: Interview Transcription 3: Ian Oluoch - GreenChar
F: Interview Transcription 4: Gabriel Dinda - The Writers Guild Kenya
G: Interview Transcription 5: Gathoni Mway - AFROES
H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
J: Code Collector for Interview Analysis
K: Quote Collector for Interview Analysis
Appendix A: Interview Request for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
Appendix A has been removed for the publication
Appendix B: Interview Guideline for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
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Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is the purpose of your social enterprise? What is your passion about it? (Motivation)
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(2) What are your vision & mission & social and financial goals?
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(3) What is your social business model? How and where do you create social impact?
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Appendix B: Interview Guideline for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
(4) How do you create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya?
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Defining Social Entrepreneur (in Kenya)
(1) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya)
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(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
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(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
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Appendix B: Interview Guideline for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
Social Impact Assessment
(1) How do you measure your social impact?
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(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
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(3) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
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Appendix B: Interview Guideline for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
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(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
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Appendix B: Interview Guideline for Semi-Structured In-Depth Interviews
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
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(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like?
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a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
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(4) Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs?
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Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
Basic Information
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Introduce myself and the project.
Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is your passion about your social enterprise (Motivation)
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Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
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(2) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya) I feel like I just jumped into it, without much consideration. (3.2.1 _ (1))
I just found myself as a social entrepreneur. I did not plan for it (3.2.1 _ (1)) I do not think I thought about it. Maybe, I did not know the title. I just wanted to impact people in my community. (3.1.1 _ (2)
I do not have a very strong network (3.2.4 _ (1)) of social entrepreneurs that I work with. I
would be keen to talking to people and just hear what other people are doing. Like you, this is amazing.
I did not want to practice Laws. (3.1.2 _ (1)) I did not find it very fulfilling.
I had this passion for fashion. I am into trends and into clothes and bags. So, I was curious about “How can I do this?”. My first clothes brand did not work very well.
First, it was just about producing clothes but what next? I did not find I had enough social impact. So, I thought about how can I make a change and do something that is more fulfilling. (3.2.2_ (1))
I remember from my childhood, I used to see my grandmother doing Kiondoos, which is what my brand is about. She used to do it from SISAL and she did it from scratch and she did it like twist the fibers on her thigh. It was a very manual process. From there, I developed and I asked my grandmother if she could introduce me to some women who do this kind of weaving so I can make it into a business. So, I just experimented with that and it took off instantly. (3.2.1_ (1))
The response was very positive. The women were eager to work. They asked: “What else can we do? What more?”
At the time, I was like: “Woaah, you guys hold on. This many of you.”
Literally, I go to the village and there is like hundreds of women with just their baskets weaving. I´m like: “Woah, this is crazy.” So, I got the first initial baskets and I was wondering: “Maybe I can get some leather. Maybe, I can find someone who can help me stitch it and make it like a nice, finished product. And I did that, which is now right the stage where I am at.
So, I am also now thinking about how I can make their lives better. Because, when we meet with the women, they are meeting somewhere under a tree. It is very traditional and rural. It is like a very slow life. There is not much development there. So, I think I want to build a community center for them to just to be able to make their products there and to be able to sell them to other people. (3.3.1.2_ (3))
I am experimenting and continuously figuring out which resources I need (3.3.2.2 _ (1)) Also, to get the land. if there is other people who are willing to come onboard. (3.2.4 _ (2))
(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
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For now, I think it is because there is not a lot of people doing the same thing that I am doing. (3.3.1. _ (2))
Especially in the high-end market that I am aiming for, there is not many people who connect the women to the market out there. I feel like it is going to pick up and a lot of people are going to get into it. This market will be crowded. There is a lot of opportunity to do stuff and be creative. I need to be creative in that aspect, there is a lot to be done. I do not even think I can do it all on my own.
I am still small and starting out. It is a grow some process. I know I am going to grow and expand. At least, in the next one year. (3.2.5 _ (6))
What to do differently:
I would not start again with no experience, know-how, skills. I would really structure the business that I am going into to allow for expansion and growth. I would set up structures and know “before I do THIS, I need to have established THAT”. (3.3.2.5 _ (2))
(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
A social entrepreneur needs to be really in touch with their community and the community that they are going to impact. There must be a really close relationship. There is a really thin line between social impact and exploitation. There has to be that balance. (3.1.2 _ (1))
There need to be fairness and justice because a lot of the people that social entrepreneurs work with are vulnerable. If someone has a really strong personality and is bulldozing their way through it, it could lead to exploitation. (3.1.1 _ (2))
Business skills and (3.1.2 _ (3))
people skills, (3.1.2 _ (4))
communication, (3.1.2 _ (5))
strategizing is key. (3.1.2 _ (6))
In my experience that is what has been most helpful. Having those skills to handle people. (3.1.2 _ (4))
I sometimes get bullied by the women. Negotiating is very important. (3.1.2 _ (5)) So, that you set a price that is fair to both parties. It is fair to the artisans and it is fair to the entrepreneur. Poor people are really good at negotiating. I am an emphatic. (3.1.2 _ (4))
Skills bound to local environment in Kenya?
To know local dialects can be helpful. , (3.1.2 _ (5))
Essentially, as human beings we have the same characteristics. There is small discrepancies but other than the language not so many skills that you need in Kenya particularly.
Be in tune with yourself and trust your gut feeling. (3.1.2 _ (2))
Social Impact Assessment
(1) How do you measure your social impact?
Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
I will measure it when I see that Community Center.
Currently, I have about 30 women that I work with, (3.3.2.4.2 _ (1))
in each group. I am working with two groups that are in one village each. (3.3.2.4.1 _ (1)) Since I have only done a pilot project with them, it would be hard to measure. In future, it would be easier to measure how much impact and life changing solutions are brought to them and help them to facilitate it. For now, I have not quite measured it.
I could ask them “How has this helped your life?” (3.3.2.4.1 _ (2)). I like that my friends come up with ideas that can be implemented with the help of these women. It is about connecting the outside world to them. Somebody might have an amazing idea that could change something and there you have it.
(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
I do not have them yet.
(3) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
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Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of? a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
There is this agreement where the government has provided that local exports (AGOA agreement) can be traded out to some markets duty free. It is easy for social enterprises to export their products to certain kind of countries. (3.4.2 _ (1))
There is “Digital Hands Africa”. They run social entrepreneurship courses. It is a government initiative that is encouraging people to learn about social enterprise and how they can impact their communities and societies. It is free. NDUTA (her name is) (3.4.1.1 _ (1))
There is the “Government Youth Fund” where they enable youth and women to get funding but you must come as a group (more than 7 people). That is s good step towards enabling social entrepreneurship. (3.4.1.1 _ (2))
To register your own business is not tough and not expensive. You can do it yourself. (3.4.1.1 _ (3))
How do you judge on the impact that social media can have on your business?
Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
I raise interest at Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn. From there, I direct the people to my Website. I usually pay for adds. That is really helpful because they are not so expensive and they really, really, really help in terms of spreading awareness. (3.4.1.1 _ (4)) It does not necessarily translate into sales, I get lots of inquiries but not so many conversions but I am sure it is good for the brand. I am planning to flood a real big social media campaign about the history of the Kiondoo.
(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
I cannot stand the corruption. In our country here, everything, all the processes you must facilitate, are subject to corruption. There is no room for justice. If you want something you have to pay for it. It is not straight-forward. (3.4.1.2 _ (1))
People have a negative view of social entrepreneurship. (3.4.1.2 _ (2)) They want to get the products for cheap and do not like to pay extra for a social benefit. (3.4.1.2 _ (3)) That means that for the local market it is not a good idea. You end up having to target international markets. I find it quite tragic. I mean, if I can’t convince my own people to invest in my business and their society. When somebody else comes to take the brand, they complain because they do not understand that there is a reason why that is happening. There is more foreign interest than local interest. I find that is definitely a barrier. It is very disturbing. The local people do not understand that there is a lot of add up cost by the time they get their product.
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
I don’t think there is a lot of information out there about social entrepreneurship (3.5.1.1 _ (1)).
I consider myself to have a good knowledge of what is going on. I didn’t even have any insights until now. I did not even know social entrepreneurship was a thing until last year (3.4.1.2 _ (6)) (…until there was this article written about me.) I had no information. There is a lot of room for education in that type of business. It is about educating young people about being your own boss. There is an initiative: “be your own boss” by Safaricom. It is for really young people between 16 and 18 years of age. It started very recently. Social entrepreneurship education is growing. (3.5.1.1 _ (2))
I also want to get in there. I want to teach young girls how to do the weaving in the village. (3.3.1.2 _ (4)) I just don’t know how they will use it. Will they set up their own social enterprise? Will they just sell goods? At least it gives an opportunity. You have a choice. Just by me being there girls will see there is an opportunity. (3.1.1 _ (6)) I want just to be there. Also make it fun. If they see there is business and there is money coming in it will
Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
probably be a nice incentive for them. If we can get a factory or even just something to start small and keep on increasing, this could benefit so many.
(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like? a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
Is there such a thing? I haven’t had experience about what is what you learn in social entrepreneurship school. I am so inside out, upside down with everything. Business skills, (3.5.1.2 _ (1)) fashion skills, creativity. (3.5.1.2 _ (2)) Allowing people to be creative in whatever way. I would encourage a lot of meditation, (3.5.2.2 _ (1)) and quiet time in nature. , (3.5.2.2 _ (2)) Spending a lot of time being there mindfully. , (3.5.2.2 _ (3)) You have all these natural resources at your disposal. I would teach them to be more themselves, to take more care of themselves, their diet. There is not a lot of that available there. I would teach them to be more aware, , (3.5.2.2 _ (4)) to live a longer, healthier life. , (3.5.2.2 _ (5))
Educational Gaps
Business skills, accounting skills, (3.5.1.2 _ (1)) taxes. People need to know these things because they are going to be a part of their lives. It is basically about dealing with money (3.5.1.2 _ (3)). I really emphasize on that because I feel like: If I knew this then I would have made a different decision and I had a different pace but now I know these kinds of things. There are a lot of things that I think the education system is missing.
Teachers do not teach the children about how to be themselves, (3.5.1.2 _ (4)) to really live a purposeful life (3.5.1.2 _ (5)), to know who they are, and to know what they want. Of course, it is helpful to learn how to be a rocket scientist or a physicist but teachers should at a really early age concentrate on the children’s creativity. (3.5.1.2 _ (2)) That is what I would like to encourage in the curriculum. And then at some point there is no more awareness coaching being offered in the curriculum. It is all about science and math. Scrumming is also very important. (3.5.1.2 _ (6))
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
In all ages, even in adults, creativity has to be fostered. Teachers have to have a free spirit, be very empathetical, (3.5.2.3 _ (1)) be non-judgmental(3.5.2.3 _ (2)), take the people as they are. They should also be good listeners(3.5.2.3 _ (3)). Inspiring by being a good example is the only way to inspire(3.5.2.3 _ (4)). Live the life that you want the people to see you for. Be the person you want to see. Be the change you want to see. Be the environment you want to see. Here, it is about being authentically about yourself. (3.5.2.3 _ (5))
Becoming an entrepreneur is a challenge of experience. (3.2.1 _ (1)), You can learn how to write a business plan but in reality, it is not feasible. If you have real life situations(3.5.2.1 _ (1)),, you always remember what you have learned in school, and that can help you to deal with your challenges.
There is a social community that I work with. I have profiles of all of them. If someone is producing a bag for you, you literally receive a piece of this person’s life.
Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
I used to wonder: What makes all these celebrities so amazing? What makes the people look up to them? It is just the believe they have in themselves (3.5.2.2 _ (6)),, they believe in what they do. If you tell your mom you want to be a musician, a DJ, or a social entrepreneur she will just laugh at you or slap in your face. Still there are people who made it. And why have they made it? Because they believe in themselves and in what they do. That is really all that is to it but it is really hard being yourself. There is society, there is your parents telling you “don’t do it”. However, take whatever is your passion and go for it.
(4) Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs?
Could you imagine coming to JKR and telling your story to the people interested?
Yeah, that is not a problem at all.
I really want to get Rahab involved in the Kiondoo bridal.
Appendix C: Interview Transcription 1: Ivy Nitta - Kiondoo Kultuure
Appendix D: Interview Transcription 2: Wanja Kibuki - Vitabu Viyetu
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
Basic Information
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Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is the purpose of your social enterprise? What is your passion about it? (Motivation) I would say my target is educating children. (3.3.1.2 _ (4))
Our purpose is mainly to start libraries. In Kenya, you find that illiteracy levels (3.3.1.2 _ (8)) are very high. Best example is my maternal village. (3.1.1 _ (2)) So, what my company does is that we build up libraries in slums. On top of that we create a reading program for children in those libraries, so in such as much as we have given you books, the books are kept for good use. You get that and the end of the day these kids can read better and speak better and write better.
How do you choose your books? Right ones?
We go through them, we have a person who has done library and information science who goes through them and make sure they are right ones for that particular purpose.
Am just passionate about education. (3.1.1 _ (9)) It just happens when you volunteer a lot you get to be grateful for things you had growing up and I have volunteered for such long time. Have seen the good and bad tides and I was like I need to do something about it (3.1.1 _ (7)).
What do you like most about being a social entrepreneur, what is the most appealing aspect?
That a child who couldn't pronounce a book, can now do it. Can now read for you a whole page. Yeah, that's it. For me it is not all about the money. (3.1.1 _ (8))
(2) What are your vision & mission & social and financial goals?
We don't have major donors, everything is through our Social media platform, so I barely write requesting for funds (3.2.5 _ (2)). We are working on the revenue streams. (3.2.5 _ (4))
This solely started like an Ngo (3.2.1 _ (6)), we were not planning to be Social enterprise but later is when I decided to put it on the switch. Developing a social enterprise is a working progress and not a hundred percent set up. (3.2.1 _ (2)) We are still learning. (3.3.2.5 _ (1))
Appendix D: Interview Transcription 2: Wanja Kibuki - Vitabu Viyetu
We can give ourselves, we are very slowly in the learning process because I don’t like going to things without knowing fully what I am doing, am going to take my time until am certain it is going to work we are still not going to lunch it.
(3) What is your social business model? How and where do you create social impact?
We are still working on it, we a still doing a test on it, it’s not like a hundred percent working. What we do is like the children who comes to the library, their mother don't have work, so we teach them how to make a liquid soap and sell it so that the business model of it but we are still testing it, it is still not been launched.
Before we expand and scale up too fast, we take our time and consider each step deliberately. It has taken us three years to get where we are, so it might take us another three years to figure out the scaling processes. Anyway, the time we will be done will be good and reasonable. (3.2.5 _ (10)) Growing too fast carries the risk of destroying the core of the business, in our case the impact model. Unlike those Ngos that start up and scale so crazy and they just break down because there is nothing working.
You have project foundation, and you have a business. 50% of your profit of the business goes into foundation of the project and 50% goes into running and sustaining the business. (3.3.1 _ (1))
So, it is re-investment kind of and 100% almost?
I have been into a Canadian social enterprise and that is how their model worked. That is where I learnt and this is how I understand how a social enterprise works. (3.3.1 _ (1))
(4) How do you create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya?
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Defining Social Entrepreneur (in Kenya)?
(1) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya)
Out of volunteering. I felt grateful for my life and wanted to give something back. (3.3.1 _ (10))
Appendix D: Interview Transcription 2: Wanja Kibuki - Vitabu Viyetu
(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
I am very particular about who I work with. (3.3.2.5 _ (6)) My number one criterion is: Do I like you as a person? This is important because I can't work with you if I don't like you. (3.2.4 _ (7)) The second criterion is: What value are you adding to my company at the end of the day?
So, it is a matter of trust?
Not even trust, just like that. I must meet you; do we even agree. I will have to do my homework before I bring you on board.
I have partners who I will call, (3.2.4 _ (5)) we need to do this and they will come because we have been in 3 years of a very good relationship and a good track record. Again, when am bringing you to this network, I am also bringing you to my own personal life, so I don't bring someone who I don't see their value. If I think your money doesn't work I even won’t pursue it. For us we have a calendar, so you will not just come and we partner with you on this project, no. My calendar is already set or wait until next year.
I work very hard. (3.1.2 _ (17)) Kenya is a very competitive country. (3.4.1.2 _ (4)) As a successful social entrepreneur, you must find a niche and be super innovative. (3.1.2 _ (13))
(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
You just work hard, (3.1.2 _ (17)) Kenya is very competitive country (3.4.1.2 _ (4)), so there is no second mechanisms you just need to know what to do and be good at it (3.1.2 _ (15)), that’s all because there are so many people that have open libraries but everyone has their own model of having doing it. For me the moment I equip library I bring something extra like the reading program which nobody is doing. For me is like looking what other people are not doing (3.2.2 _ (4)) and what the children need and that's what I brought forward. You must be super innovative (3.1.2 _ (13)) in Kenya and you have to work hard (3.1.2 _ (17)) is not a joke.
Most of the things I have learnt on the way (3.3.2.5 _ (2)) but u have studied diplomacy and journalism. (3.1.3 _ (1)) I think diplomacy aspect helps especially like going in the meetings and all that and journalism aspect helps as well because of social media (3.4.1.1 _ (4)) for us do to everything on social media. So many education backgrounds really help. Yeah, mostly like that's how we started. It is just a social media, everything grew from there and actually in Kenya you will find most business starts on social media.
Social Impact Assessment
(1) How do you measure your social impact?
Yeah, they do exams. (3.3.2.4.2 _ (8)) We measure our impact through library exams. When the child comes in at the beginning of the term, they do exams, there are series of exercises and tests they do towards the end of the term, you can really tell the progress of the child.
Appendix D: Interview Transcription 2: Wanja Kibuki - Vitabu Viyetu
We observe focus groups of children. (3.3.2.4.1 _ (1)) So through the exams and library assistants you can actually see the progress. It is mainly through exams.
(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
For me what matters, I have seen the results of every children, the reports from volunteers, workers then I will get the report from the center managers and also these children do exams in their school, so I would also get those results from their schools. Communication is very important, is very open there is a proper chain.
Am taking this slow, like I always take like a week for school opens for me to go through all the reports and all that, do analysis and talk to everyone and do figure out the next term what is to be done. Am not on the ground all day, I need to rely on the results I get from the volunteers.
(3) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
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Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
Internet that's where I find everything. (3.4.1.1 _ (12)) I wish I was an Indian because they have access to everything, they have many incubators for Social entrepreneurs.
(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
These hubs say what they do but they actually don't do it. (3.4.1.2 _ (11))
I don't like talking about other people business. I tell you there is no hub in Kenya that tells you we will help you, we will take you through this. There is no government support as well. You are practically on your own, (3.4.1.2 _ (11)) that is why I genuinely taking my time to figure out what type of business we want to open to be reverse streak for my condition not rushed thing.
No one is teaching you to be an entrepreneur. (3.4.1.2 _ (6))
Appendix D: Interview Transcription 2: Wanja Kibuki - Vitabu Viyetu
Yeah, education for social enterprise you find there is no clear cut therefore there is no school you can go even three months and be taught this is how you are supposed to do, when you do this is how you figure out your taxes. In Kenya, you can't officially register a social enterprise. For this reason, you must considerably figure out how to manage your taxes. (3.3.2.3 _ (1)), it is not the law, this the business you must account for so much no one is cheating you, that its highly complex and there is no one that would teach you how you do it.
So, if you cannot register a Social enterprise as type of corporate, so what’s is your type?
Mine I have register as foundation (3.3.2.3 _ (2)), when we started hopefully one or two years we will have that availability, we are restructuring.
Kenyans even don't understand what is social enterprise, Kenyans confuse a social enterprise with CSR. For us we are the ones who have brought it, corporate still don't understand what it is, to them CSR and Social enterprise is the same thing.
They Kenyans they cannot be changed. They are pro-business nothing else matters to them. (3.4.1.2 _ (2)) It depends with people.
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
Most educational programs are running like NGOs not like social enterprise. I think we are amongst the first that are trying to switch over because when we started, all I used to know was NGOs and foundation and with the time and research (3.1.2. _ (16)), I realized I need this to be something more at the end of the day, it is very competitive in Kenya, I think foundations are opening like every single day. In Kenya, it is very competitive on numbers, we are very competitive, it still wants to remain on the top and people takes short cuts. If you started with good intentions, you know what you are doing, and you will fight it out.
Sometimes social entrepreneurs lose them on the way because they see the economic possibilities and options kind of. What do you think about this?
Yeah, you lose it (3.4.1.2 _ (12)), it gets to a point where you are like I can't do this. You find investors right left and center. I have been asked so many times and I am like no, they don't match am not going to use it, let.
Me, I remain at where I am making minimal but am still doing the work that I say. For me, I am that point where the day I scale let it be known that I have made impact until they are ready for scaling.
For me, it is about the foundation am literally taking things very slowly, I can't rest.
Appendix D: Interview Transcription 2: Wanja Kibuki - Vitabu Viyetu
(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like?
a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
We need school literally (3.5.2.1 _ (5)). This is not something you can learn on the Internet. What you think you knew is not actually there. For the company, I had intern with is like they get Maasai women in the Mara to make jewelry, they sell it to companies like Blue mean dials. You see jewelry money is what is bringing business to their project. Every Social company has its own model and that's why I feel like we could have like a school to just teach like this is how a different way you can do it. It is a learning process, it is crazy.
My first stage would be like 1-3years. I would not start with a business but with a real idea implementation project (3.5.2.1 _ (4)). That's how we started learning your project, learn what to do, figure out what project would relate directly to that project then start the business, let the business run and follow up.
I think they are kids, maybe we would have them start businesses (3.5.2.1 _ (1))., we would teach them to start business and from the money you make, 50% of that money you must donate to a charity of your choice. Just as we do. Be a good example. (3.5.2.3 _ (4)). I think that would be the easiest way to teach a child that this is how to run a social enterprise. So, in future if they have to start up the business then, they know this is how is supposed to be done.
So, it is really a practical focus? You would move from theory at the beginning?
Of course, there will be theory to know how to sustain the business and all that (3.5.1.2 _ (1)). I think as they grow older you teach them that social media should be a very key factor 3.5.2.2 _ (11) ). Social media must be a very big platform.
You can't force someone to solve a problem, it has to be a passion because it has to be something from within (3.5.2.2 _ (4)). Even if you teach it, it will not still make the same impact as someone who is authentically passionate about it. (3.5.2.3 _ (5)). With children, you can tell at early stage if they are passionate about helping others or not.
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
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Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs? Yes, of course. Any time.
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
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Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is the purpose of your social enterprise? What is your passion about it? (Motivation)
yeah, Greenchar, Greenchar is….yes, we as social enterprise founded two years ago, now two and half years ago and what we do is we take sugarcane waste that is the waste that comes out after processing sugar and sugar factories and so this accumulation of this huge amount of waste just behind the factories ,so we take that waste and then do processes one is we carbonized it and then we put it in small kilo and then we pass through a machine and then what comes out is small pillow shaped, the cold barricades ,yeah so a small-pillow shaped substitute to charcoal. So , anywhere where you use charcoal you can use this small-pillow shaped material as a substitute. The other kind of product we have is just same from sugarcane , we take the sugarcane just the way it is, the waste we pass through this special machine that compresses it and then u get like a log shaped product. So this replaces firewood and where is use of firewood bit in school for cooking in industries for boilers heating and steam conversion you can use this as a substitute.
Yes so first of the main reason why we started Greenchar is not only because it was an innovative idea that we had sort of learned upon because where I come from and were Tom came from like found Tom like you know this were…..thanksyeah so like every time is time cook you have to go get this sort of firewood which then now you use to light a fire and cook and this experience is not that pleasant you get the smoke heating your face all the time and you cry all time because of the smoke and so it is really not a pleasurable experience though you look forward to eating. The process of making that food is really quite a good moment . So what happened to Tom’s mom got diagnosed the respiratory tract infection as a result of using this firewood to cook. That when we realize that despite all this things that we had read on internet about the smoke being number one killer of people globally we could actually see it in the real life that because from when your child ,when you a too old ,you don’t even ,is something never hit your head that smoke that you actually use inhaling while preparing food is actually slow poison, slowly killing you and so that was like an eye opener for us and it made us really concerned and passionate about solving , just taking away experience of lighting fire and smoke.
(2) What are your vision & mission & social and financial goals?
My vision to start the company was to transform the cooking environment from one which full smoke to one which is completely smokeless (3.3.1.2 _ (5)) and then provide a cheaper sort of cost. (3.3.1.2 _ (6))
overall vision to transform all that cooking and experience from people all around Kenya. (3.3.1.2 _ (7))
financially ,we have been lucky sort of a lot being young starting the company young then go to the market and then see things that you thought before actually in the market they become different something that initially you thought was to happen doesn’t happen the way it happens. (3.3.2.5 _ (1))
(3) What is your social business model? How and where do you create social impact? We are 14 people (3.2.5 _ (5))
For us to do this product and bring to people one thing is that why do people use firewood because its costly effective, it’s cheaper than either kerosene and electricity so that is why we result to this . In developing a solution to match this you have to create a solution cheaper(3.2.3_ (4)) so that people can be able to access it easily and that sort of like what we used as we the basis to start the company.
So I would say like a social purpose is structured in three ways ,the first one ,let me start with the new sort of like the latest development that we had like working around the market and trying to figure out the business model that actually works. So one is that we created something called IKO KIOSK ,so this basically like a normal kiosk but only stocks Greenchar products and then by building this IKO KIOSK we identify a woman who is trusted in the community and when people come to the shop see the woman (3.3.1.2 _
(1)) then they know they are purchasing the product that is trusted ,that already that works. So, identify a woman entrepreneur, initially gave a kiosk for free and then stock the product. When people start buying the products it helps paying the woman (3.3.1.2_ (3)) and then also pays for the kiosk. That one way we are doing empowering local women (3.3.1.2 _
(1)) to create this sort of many distribution points (3.3.1.2 _ (3)) because we realized that been like having a central distribution point for something as moving as charcoal which has like an organically distributed transport network and distribution doesn’t really make sense because charcoal is you get a total side is one person selling charcoal, you walk a bit like five minutes this is another person selling charcoal ,so you can’t afford to have one location. Have this sort of small many, then get a trusted woman an entrepreneur and empower her to sort of like own the kiosk. The interesting way we do this all is that we provide them with a small cook stove and they get to cook with the product (3.2.3 _ (5)). when people come they see a woman cooking and then she also gets to sell what she is cooking and this is cooking with fabricants sort of like helps both sides. (3.2.3 _ (6))
Second thing, is the help us smoke product 90% smokeless (3.3.1.2 _ (5)) so can cook with it indoors and you don’t have to worry about your health (3.3.1.2_ (4)) which like people really don’t care about it but it comes with a product ,so it’s like a by- product and then thirdly, a lot trees a cut down to provide wood and charcoal (3.3.1.2_ (5)) which is not as efficient as what we are taking waste which is somebody’s problem and transform it into a substitute for charcoal to solve other problems. (3.3.1.2_ (6)) That sort of the like third point where we sort of CO2 reductions from the atmosphere. (3.3.1.2_ (7))
We get the waste from the sugar factories. (3.3.2.2_ (2)) They pilled it up like if you go to where our factories is like there sugar factories around and they just pilled it up behind like a factory and is grown like a huge mountain of waste. definitely we can’t use all of it but the amount that usable is really significant.
Initially we used to take for free from factory, so we go and tell them ; hey what are you doing with this waste,nothing is growing day by day and it is huge problem for you, so we will come and pick the waste and whatever we will do it is up to us but will help you up and so they were excited take for free we don’t want that waste and then we started increasing the load taking more and more until they were like what are they doing with this waste and gradually introduced the price, now we buying the waste. Most of this sugar factories are government-owned . (3.2.4_ (3)) There is a lot of democracy that is an angle we used in approaching but were told it wouldn’t work to make them pay for us to remove their waste because of the simply of the level of democracy that goes on with government companies. Now we pay for it.
Do you have long lasting contracts that will ensure that they won’t higher the prices?
Right now, we haven’t reach the point where we can be able to level like such huge kind of contracts but we have like a short contract two years contract where we guarantee like as much as we want at fixed price. It is one of our hugest risk because the waste is quite depended. (3.3.2.2_ (3))
Your production facilities are they capable to cope with large up scaling of production? We were lucky through the fund we got initially to install like set of production facility to produce massively. (3.2.5_ (7))
(4) How do you create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya?
Greenchar burns for longer, two to four hours longer.
Our enterprise becomes social because it serves as staying healthy (3.3.1.2_ (4)), not inhaling the smoke, not being exposed to the smoke any longer and probably the second aspect is that for the same amount of the money people can have longer excuse to eat and to light kind of world (3.3.1.2_ (6)) . In terms of how do I get to come and be that, I came to a process of realizing that there is a problem in the world that I think I have a solution to that problem and so I had to go and create that new job. (3.2.2 _ (2))
This how we create social impact in three pillars: health (3.3.1.2_ (4)), carbonate (3.3.1.2_ (7)) and employment (3.3.1.2_ (3)).
So, this also how we create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya. Health is a social challenge, waste is a social challenge, waste disposal in streets and environment and unemployment. We take them all very serious.
Defining Social Entrepreneur (in Kenya)
(1) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya)
Yeah, so, how we started is kinder of when we were in high school the final of high school (3.2.1_ (3)) and we just been represented this idea to science congress there is a Kenya National science congress and then we got kicked out despite going through like all stages ,as John will know, we were gone through like all the district. So, we pretty sure was a good idea. We were shocked when national we were kicked out and we couldn’t proceed even further. So we came back to school and thinking about this. Luckily, i say the time was good. There was this competition called innovative Kenya and they were looking for ideas from high school students, ideas that are innovative and have like potential to reach mass full amount of people and so we decided to applied and we applied and we got accepted and we won some initial seed funding (3.2.1_ (4)) which will now use to sort of like do some test different kind of materials ,yeah that how we started ,we were lucky we got grand around $300 that is what we used to start and a couple of month down the line in December i remember is officially we started. We just finished high school and we been doing this project for while still in school I remember one time we were at classes were going on but we had missed the classes to go and sort of work on this prototype because we were working on deadline and deputy headmaster caught us and that’s was an interesting experience to us. We still manage to make the prototype though we had a bit of troubles and yeah…. (The headmaster) wasn’t supportive at all at initial stage especially because we were missing classes which is not good for a school, that pretty sum up how we started , how Greenchar was born.
I think for us i will use what we did like for us we were lucky to this innovative Kenya there are bunch of organizations that which people really don’t know about it (3.4.1.1_ (5)) and finding them out i think is a gap that somebody needs to fill because massive opportunities out there what people don’t know about it. We were lucky we got exposed to this opportunities through innovative Kenya the one who opens up funds (3.4.1.1_ (6)) us with IKO AND GREEN which are funds like social entrepreneurs in the world and it is through them we got know those kind of opportunities and since then that is the portal we been using . In terms of how this social entrepreneur get this opportunities is a gap something needed next to be done.
(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
Like initially we thought making this product cheaper is automatically going get the customers to buy but we realized along the way (3.3.2.2_ (1)) is that people even don’t care about the smoke because it is like a habit , they don’t care. If you bring them something that have slow smoke then they are like what is this? Does it even work? So challenges like this are what we faced like necessarily making it cheaper is not the like best solution. Now we match like the price of charcoal so that people can know is not an inferior product its actually its better than charcoal but this a not what people are really after, people are does it burn for longer and things like that. (3.2.3_ (7))
The most important thing is; why are we doing what we are doing, for us: We need to have a deep connection to the problem. (3.1.1_ (7)) That will push you every day you wake up in the morning and you know that you must solve this problem out there. ,that the first point and the most important i think what that has help us that has helps us to be where we are and then having that deep connection to the problem motivates you to look for the opportunities out there(3.2.2_ (2)) and that we look for opportunities ,how do we make this ideas serve more people than our families(3.1.1_ (2)) , you start with your family see how good it is(3.2.2_ (3)) and start see looking opportunities through innovative Kenya IKO AND GREEN and this opportunities allowed us go loud start, not just our families but doing to the community and the region.
If you found your business again is there something you will work differently ? Yes, one is test assumption quickly as possible (3.3.2.5_ (3)) with little resources as we can, that is like a the most important thing I can say I have learned. We have to believe on like business models a lot of times (3.3.2.5_ (4)) Sometimes you be asking yourself: It’s a social enterprise. Where does profit come in and when does social inclusivity come in? A social entrepreneur must find a perfect fit of profitability and social inclusivity because business must be sustainable and still it must be connected to the social purpose. (3.3.1_ (1))
(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
I think it depends on the kind of sector you are in, (3.1.2_ (7)) for us its technical expertise (3.1.2_ (8)) that is like biggest if you can get that you are good to go. Business skills (3.1.2_ (3)) I think sometimes you line this along the way as you move. You can be a business guy with all the skills, things do go wrong along the way, because market a very different. For my partner and me, we complimented each other well. (3.3.2.1_ (2)) There should not be an over- lap in skills of course.
Very important ,how you communicate is number one thing(3.1.2_ (5)) how your company grows ,you have to communicate your company through your customer and through your founders. Having a good command in writing is key.
The team really matters, (3.1.2_ (9)) it very hard to get a team when starting, having people believing your idea is key and getting them on board quickly as possible. Dynamic also needs to work. Tom is a good presentation guy (3.1.2_ (10)) like he can deliver all, package business well and be able to gather more resources and more partners (3.1.2_ (11) while i on other hand i am a finance guy -finance (3.1.2_ (12)) and business development(3.1.2_ (13)), i could easily look in that vision and break it down in small key action steps on how do we do this ,how do we ensure and especially being in a social business you have to make sure there is no over- lap.
As a social entrepreneur, you should know how to interact with people (3.1.2_ (4)). You are working for the people. Still, your success is dependent on how you work with the people. New contacts can eventually open a new business, they can be a new client. Everyone can contribute something. You just must be sensitive. (3.1.2_ (4)) For our network monitoring, we use an internal system. (3.2.4_ (4)) It covers the entire context of our communication to new and established contacts. It is updated on a regular basis and all talks and letters are stored in there. This way, everybody is part of the conversation and we encourage our people to follow up the conversations and keep the network vivid. So, it is extremely important because in that network you might be doing something then one person in that network is the key to connect you or to a company.
Social Impact Assessment
(1) How do you measure your social impact?
So far have three pillars ,we got matrix (3.3.2.4.1_ (3)) to measure carbon foot print(3.3.2.4.2_ (2)) , employment in terms of income increment(3.3.2.4.2_ (3)) from entrepreneurs they adding this how much a they earning now like IKO KIOSK (3.3.2.4.1_ (1)) and this products for them to sell . for the carbon foot print every turn of barricades you a reducing carbon foot by one turn. Every turn of our product is equal to around 25 trees that could otherwise been cut down. (3.3.2.4.2_ (4)) That how we measure our impact through environmental aspect. That is simple matrix we use how income increase. For help we still haven’t found a way really quantifying that data. So we count the number of households using our products. (3.3.2.4.2_ (1))
(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
Yeah, definitely we have changed a couple of times ,what interesting is that in all of our three pillars is that they haven’t changed from when we started the company. What has change is how we doing to get ,what we thinking. The most painful pivot we had to make is due to sustainability to continue to operate ,we had to change our business models by increasing the price, looking for new market segment which we found in industries and school (3.2.5_ (6)) which we haven’t used before . For the carbon footprint, our goal is to offset 40 million tones CO2 until 2020. (3.3.2.4.2_ (2))
(3) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
This some of the lessons which we have had along the week: Impact evaluation helps us to reshape our vision, and to reshape our strategy in terms of executing that vision. (3.3.2.5 _ (4))
How does that shape execution strategy, one means we have to sell more. How so we sell more which channel we use to push that kind of volume. (3.2.5 _ (8)) We hyped our institution products we just pushing much volume through that side of the business. As for the household how do we present this to the people(3.2.5 _ (9)) so that they don’t see it completely different, they could be using this other product who knows since when, so it’s a barrier even if you reduced the cost they still be still and they don’t even care about the health aspect. You can communicate on health. Price even if its cheaper you have to sell in a way that is more to that they are using. The product is pillow shaped and all in regular size but charcoal is irregulars, they look at it as different product how do we take that. Institutional l side of the business we are really pushing this business we really get more muscle to of help to finance and change this model.
I think it’s one of the most delicate topic in the company especially when we introduced this new product there is a fear of mission drift (3.3.1 _ (1)) and suddenly we are hundred percent focusing on .which stills serve our purpose.
Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
THE ease of starting of business have simplify that has enable more people to register their business, initially like it used to take long time and was a bit costly ,right now you can register your business using your mobile phone being paid a small amount to start .That has enabled more. (3.4.1.1 _ (3))
Nairobi is the heart of Africa , (3.4.1.1 _ (7)) it’s a financial hub (3.4.1.1 _ (8)) which is huge there a lot of resources pouring in to Nairobi and international spot light (3.4.1.1 _ (9)) put us in a map ,result activity brought by international events. Young people are using this to start businesses.
One of the most powerful culture is spirit of coming to together ‘ harambee’ , its huge that seem people owned people will come to support you If you have a good course regardless of which tribe you come from and that I think is huge for an entrepreneur here in Kenya support each other. (3.4.1.1 _ (10))
(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
I won’t say like the culture in Kenya when you are very young go to school get good grades ,get a good job ,in terms entrepreneur is seems as a you a rebel. (3.4.1.2 _ (4)) It comes out with a lot of pressure as you have mentioned ,people are one , afraid to fail, (3.4.1.2 _ (4)) two, they don’t how to start or where to start (3.4.1.2 _ (6)) that I thing is a huge problem that needs to be communicated a lot . people find that you have less much confidence in starting a business because one, there is a pressure from your family (3.4.1.2 _ (2)) -it need to make sense ,make really a lot of money than you go through traditional path go to school, get a job being employed and be stable. I think there is a lot of fear ,fear of failure and luck of how or do i start a business.
I haven’t really check on government support because that my personal opinion, I don’t see them effective (3.4.1.2 _ (7)) -to get them you have to know someone in government (3.4.1.2 _ (1)) , that’s my personal opinion.
I think one is funding (3.4.1.2 _ (8)), social business kinder hard in the bank that doesn’t really matter, second thing the age ,like trying to get a big client and your age 20 years old, it’s had to find audience and credibility(3.4.1.2 _ (9)) , third is a technical knowhow really business works ,just don’t start a business and get a client . You need to how to manage your cash flow.
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
There is like a huge lack of skills even schools and universities they are not churning out students this sort of skills and that is a huge problem.
I think many schools start to came up to teach people about entrepreneurship but with a specific focus on social entrepreneurship is a bit rare, I haven’t seen much activities regarding that. (3.5.1.1 _ (1))
(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like?
a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
I think clear distinction at the first place between social entrepreneurship and just other entrepreneurship (3.5.2.1 _ (2)) and way of addressing bring this two together depended to each other when it be becomes to social business . Trying to define it clear from the start it will be very important and then all other basic of social entrepreneur should also put there. Measurements people need to be taught how to keep track (3.5.1.2 _ (7)) of what they are doing and how to measure, and how to package inner story, you can be able to communicate with your clients (3.5.1.2 _ (8)) with potential funders. The definition and communication both from funders perspective like bank and customers to share problem that you have.
I think it is incredible important to have connection to the problem you are trying to be effective. (3.5.1.2 _ (9)) One can about social entrepreneurship and then forgets some basic factors. Asking the problem like what people is next to you.
It is a huge problem here in Kenya , people get in universities with degrees but they can’t even write a simple email or a CV that i think is a huge problem for universities for having graduate who have really not prepared for market.
It is quite important, how you package how you pitch your representation.
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
I am alumni of a school called Warta University it is in Colorado and it is social focused like entrepreneur school you apply and you graduate with a degree and you get your degree and you continue with your idea. Their modules are the best in the world I can say. There models of combining all these key pillars on entrepreneurship and then having you coming with your social idea then given back feedback, I think it is a good model to go with (3.5.2.1 _ (3)). As with instructors there way pretty casual (3.5.2.3 _ (6)) so you have access to lecturer as much as possible so individual attention (3.5.2.3 _ (7)) to each entrepreneur is important and ask any question about your business and how you can do it sustainable.
What do you think about transacting with some entrepreneur who comes in?
During my time at Warta they used to bring this master called they bring this people every week and you get to interact with them (3.5.2.1 _ (4)) , how to you measure key like matrix and that extremely important in my opinion and I think it works .In terms like not everyone comes with an ideas, like in Warta they don’t accept people with an idea, because along the time that idea doesn’t make sense.
(4) Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs? I would love to share my experience and know-how with aspiring young adults.
Appendix F: Interview Transcription 4: Gabriel Dinda - The Writers
Guild Kenya
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
Basic Information
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is the purpose of your social enterprise? What is your passion about it? (Motivation)
The Writer’s Guild Kenya is an incubation center for young writers. They have number of young writers across Kenya. People registered under their academy are 2331. One joins in as a writer who wishes to grow.
I felt the pressure to change something. For me it was no longer about my career as business student but about achieving the greatest possible social impact. (3.1.1 _ (1)).
Do you have to prove your skills?
No, you have to prove your passion and then you are guided through a number of processes to help you grow as a young writer. (3.3.1.2 _ (4))
Writer’s guild tries to find people who want to be written for e.g. an autobiography, literature review for papers on situation where one is busy, not able to edit or one is not effluent in English, at a cost. This helps create job opportunity for writers. (3.3.1.1 _ (3))
(2) What are your vision & mission & social and financial goals?
No, we do not have enough funding up to now. (3.4.1.2 _ (8))
Now that we want to be an international body (3.2.5 _ (1)) offering quality writing services and growing writing and encouraging reading, that is our vision (3.3.1.2 _ (8))
We don’t want to really depend on funding in all honesty. It could come but it is not our priority. We want to make our money (3.3.1 _ (1)); we want to like as said in my community to show you how to fish rather than giving you the fish itself. We want to show our writers how to fish so that the fishing is sustainable (3.3.1.2 _ (3)) not give the money, get donors to be part of our activities, they give money where money come with expectations (3.4.1.2 _ (10)), perhaps they disrupt us from our goal, what we would is struggle so that we make our money, be sustainable in our run. We have not yet received any funding, the only we received was this was a book which we did in 24th June 2016 as a result of our poets in
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poetry. We asked them to contribute their poems and we published it. It was on this book that we received funding from a person known as Doctor Johannes Michael Nembe from Germany executive of Elimu inayo Kuza Maendeleo. This is a club in Germany. So he gave us 1000 euros. So we invite people to buy the book at 500 shillings. After you buy some money goes to the poets while the other comes to the writer’s guild Kenya. Activities like this are sustainable. We give you the value, give you a good book, after the money we sustain our activities.
(3) What is your social business model? How and where do you create social impact?
We create an enterprise out of solving a social problem (3.1.1 _ (1)) by providing writing services. If you look at this generation, we are used to auto correct. We don’t want to write nor read. (3.1.1 _ (7)) So we first encourage you to read, if you don’t want still to read, we give you another option. Give us the chance to provide you with the service which you would have gotten by even reading or writing. If you can write it is okay but pay for it for us to write for you. By this we are solving your problem and at the same time we are creating an enterprise for a writer. So, we are paying for talent, intelligence and effort. Our business model is to solve a social problem through creating an enterprise in one aspect. The main thing we do to help sustain ourselves is offering writing services. Example is a company called Diani hotel in Mombasa. We text them and ask them, how about we market your products for you. You hire writer’s guild Kenya so that we can Brooke for you. We interview, for example a person from a holiday in Mombasa and make an article of his stay at Diani, so that a person in Frankfurt Germany can see it and become eager to visit the same Diani Hotel. So, we are bringing creative ways of marketing corporate products. (3.2.3 _ (5)) By that, we believe we are solving a problem by offering a solution and also sustaining ourselves. Assuming writer’s guild Kenya has been hired by Diani Hotel to write for them, who does the work? It is you the writer who graduates from our academy. So, we have curtained that SEB is good in writing about experiences. So, you write. Writer’s guild looks at it, inspects and clarifies if it is okay and good. The payment is paid to writer’s guild Kenya and we divide it into 60/40%. You take 60% and writer’s guild Kenya takes 40% of the earning. The 40& goes in organizing event like the ones on Friday to increase your capacity. It caters for transport for the team, editing cost, etc.
(4) How do you create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya?
We organize activities to bring writers together (3.1.1 _ (4)) so that we can be able to talk, discuss and help each other grow. Activities usually take place every Friday
How do you come up with the topics? Where do you get your topics?
It has always been our wish to get a schedule. We drew our schedule at the beginning of the year but we have not been able to follow the schedule strictly because it is dependent on the availability of the speaker. Normally we get the speakers, his/her area of strength, and then we get the topic. For example, next we have public relations expert coming.
First, we have two levels in the academy; one can register an affluent writer or an incubator. Affluent writer can register wherever you are. You just become part of us and we are able to guide you in writing. So, we send you writing opportunities, websites where you can write for. So, if you like writing about experiences, we can get you a website which pays you to
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write about experiences in the world. Like Washington monthly is a magazine which you submit 2500 words they pay 10 cents per word. This is in dollars. So, we offer our services on a global perspective.
Two we are looking for global partners (3.2.4 _ (2)). We have a working arrangement with the USA embassy. So, every month we usually arrange for an event so that people working with BBC and other international agencies can do a Skype with our writers. We can exchange capacity and they can send someone to train us. If they need writers we can provide services for them and so US embassy is helping us in doing that. That is one avenue which we are going into international platform through. In doing that, we also ensure international standard. Like if we have a CNN editing my work and it is worldwide, it will be international standard (3.2.3 _ (2)). So, this is some of the effort we are putting in place so that we can be able to match up the international standard. Generally, we deal with passion. (3.1.1 _ (9))
Which people are attending this?
People attending are young writers out of our network (3.2.4 _ (6)). People in our program and alumni. We try to make writing fancy. Especially the activities usually occur on Fridays a day in Kenya to relax after work. On such days invite the public to come for free, we offer impersonalized guidance and answers their questions. On such day, we have people performing poets. We have partners like media counselors of Kenya (3.2.4 _ (5)) who come and train us and guide us. Like they trained us on how to report sensitive topics and they give us some materials. They also trained us how to report on elections. We have a number of partners we work with in that regard.
Defining Social Entrepreneur (in Kenya)
(1) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya)
In 2013, I wasn’t taken dear in Kenyatta University when doing economics and finance. (3.1.3 _ (2)) I thought I could be a writer (3.1.1 _ (6)). I was trying to realize myself.so I started from photography, went to video, went to singing but all of them never succeeded. Each one of them was leading me to another. But there was something which was consistent, if you annoyed me, made me happy, I would write it down. Then I would file it. That started between 2011 and 2013. So, I have a huge file of the things I have ever written just for experiences. In 2013, there was to be an event at the university for career affair, so I wrote something to do with career and took it to the career office requested them to stamp it and put it in the notice board for students to read. Someone by name Mr. Munari read it and loved it and said that I could be a writer. (3.2.2 _ (1)) He asked if I had written before and what I had been doing. They also asked if I could edit their magazine and I agreed. They asked what made me think I can edit yet I had not done that before. I told them that I could learn and that I had passion. They gave me a chance to edit their magazine called Career Forecasting. I edited, put up the editorial team and then they wrote my name that if one wants to participate in this magazine that year one should contact Gabriel Dinda though the email. People started emailing me, for example sending their article and asking if their articles are good and if they could be published in the newspaper. A number of people asked questions and I also started asking myself, since I am in finance and economics and CPA, how comes people are asking many questions related to writing, I remembered I also
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had a problem, I didn’t have a platform to showcase my writing, by that time I had been reduced to one of the local media house not to mention the name. I was writing for them and someone was mentoring me. I would write my article, send to him, he looks at it. The next day I wound sit on the papers not with my name but his. For example, I did an article about Singapore, the way it raised from a struggling nation to a world class country. I haven’t been there though but I have read about it. So, I wrote it and I saw it in the newspaper the next day. I realized there was a problem. I realized that these big people supposed to mentor are just exploiting the young ones and not doing it from their hearts. So, I decided to come up with a platform to interact with other writers, where we can mentor each other without exploiting each other (3.1.1 _ (3)) and where people would come to ask about their articles with a guidance from a profession. That way I started Writers Guild Kenya. By then I started it as a club at the University of Kenyatta. I looked for the chair person in charge for Literature department and we agreed. He told me that there before 3 clubs had been started regarding writing and question why I thought mine would succeed. I told him that I had personal interest in it and had a national outlook and wanted to create an international platform where a writer in Kenya for example can interact and share with a writer in Germany. As a club, hence we held meetings every week and did various activities writing in the jungle, write in the forest etc. and it became popular. During that time, I had attended a number of events to do with branding and I opened a Facebook page for the writer’s guild. We were posting the activities we did and people got interested. People from other towns outside Nairobi like Eldoret, Kakamega, and Mombasa started inboxing asking how they could be part of us and I realize it was turning a big thing. We decided to register it as an incubation center for writers in Kenya. (3.3.2.3 _ (3)) So I registered it formally on 15th March 2015. We hence started doing other activities e.g. training people on writing, offering services from one university to the other. We realized that through engagement with other people we needed an international plat form. Our goal stopped being national to international. I could be able to interact. There are countries like Germany and Canada where the older generations are quite active in reading and writing. This is unlike Kenya where we have young people being very creative. So, we compare the markets and check if we can open markets for our business that we have not yet considered. (3.2.5 _ (6)), can they offer services for us, can we live over our writing. Writing have for a long time been mistaken over something we do for part-time, something one cannot earn from, but we are changing that narrative. So that is the brief about writer’s guild Kenya.
(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
We want to be competitive, successful, even our systems, we want to have an international system (3.2.5 _ (3)). We want to compete on a global platform
First, I would work harder because writer’s guild is a totally linen concept in Kenya. So, when you go somewhere and talk of writer’s guild, the will tell you, are you a media house? Are you a publisher? No. who are you? I am from the incubation center. What do you do? It is a totally linen concept in Kenya. So, it requires a lot of efforts to get it going. In every 20 people, you contact only one or two are interested. So, it requires us to work extra hard (3.1.2 _ (17)) to get ourselves out there.
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How do you create, maintain and engage with your network?
We believe in try and error principle (3.2.4 _ (8)). This is where I don’t even plan to go to work. I walk to you and introduce myself that I come from writer’s guild Kenya and I wish I can write for you, how can I help you? We meet your representatives at a tourist exhibition at salit center and we provide writing services. We would love to provide you with writing services. Example, we write a very creative poem to market your services. Can you be interested? In every 10 maybe 1 gets back and becomes our partner. So, we normally use try and error. We just try. Another example is, as I was walking in the street to go get the phone, I saw in the newspaper that nation media group is planning to glace a leader’s forum in the University of Nairobi. They say we can contact this two people. So, I just take a photo of it and after that I write a proposal request of participating there. If it is possible that’s an opportunity. Some agree some don’t. Once we get a partner, we give you value. Like the guest who comes on Friday. If he has done a book, we give him a platform. We can sell your book. Subsequently, you can come and talk to us so you can share your knowledge but you also give us a chance to sell your book. Later you can leave us with some copies of your book so that we can help you sell with our subsequent engagements. We try to create value with our partners past the engagement flame work. We write for you, we market your products because we have a huge network. So, like if you want to go to Mombasa or Nakuru I can always make arrangements for your stay there.
How do you organize it? Do you have an excel, do you have it all in your mind? How do you manage all these business cards?
We have a data base for our counterparts like Mombasa, Yali hotel, Kenyatta university Mombasa campus (3.2.4 _ (4)). So, if a customer needs something we can always refer to the data base.
(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
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Social Impact Assessment
(1) How do you measure your social impact?
First is by having systems. Like right now I am here and there is work going on at Salit Center. So, I don’t have to be there physically. So, setting up systems, good systems (3.3.2.4.1 _ (5)) to help us work with. Being efficient is also about follow up like embracing technology (3.4.1.1 _ (12)), using a new thing that comes with technology to maintain it. For example, during holidays we can contact our clients after looking at the data base and wish them a nice holiday (3.2.5 _ (9)) That way we keep the connection with the clients. You can
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wish them merry Christmas so they don’t feel you only need them while doing business. You can also have good systems to help you do follow ups. To help you know your clients better and to keep the conversation going. We are not capable in doing finance and accounting ourselves. As we do not have many resources, we are not able to employ an accountant. For this reason, we use an application called “Wave Accounting”. The app is easy to be used by any person regardless of having an accountant background. With “Wave Accounting” we can list items, calculate costs and revenues, and give people receipts. Generally, it is about having an efficient system. (3.1.2 _ (12))
Other things like google drive has really helped us. Like I don’t have a laptop here but Mary my colleague is having it at Salit center and she can use it for activities wherever she is. In case we don’t have this office the work still goes on. So, we can use such to scale up a social enterprise. It is not even a must. Let me tell you and I hope you don’t take me wrong. I have a skilled perception towards social entrepreneurs every time someone comes to tell me that he wants to start a social enterprise, I first tell them that I want to determine the intention of what you want to do. (3.1.2 _ (15)). This is because in Africa, with all due respect, most young people have grown up to the culture of been given things on your laps. So, you
people wakes up earlier, work and your GPD is doing well. You come and do foreign direct investments, sponsor NGOs. So, we are used to receiving. So, there is that foolish mentality where people start social entrepreneurship with a view to getting attention from the donors and government so that they are financed (3.4.1.2 _ (12)), pocket the money and go home. So, if people come to me asking for assistance I will first ask them of their intention, what have you done? Is it genuine? Because if it is not genuine, it will die. People start things like poverty eradication initiatives to phrase or get money. That is even why we have taken a different model. We don’t want free money. We just want to work as partners. Let us not work in a way that one is a lower partner, a lesser human being. No. if you can’t work with us as a partner then too bad. Just let us stay. (3.1.1 _ (1))
We are not capable in doing finance and accounting ourselves. As we do not have the resources, we are not able to employ an accountant. For this reason, we use an application called “Wave Accounting”. The app is easy to be used by any person regardless of having an accountant background. With “Wave Accounting” we can list items, calculate costs and revenues, and give people receipts. Generally, it is about having an efficient system.
(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
We have indicators and first it starts from the basic level. We have two programs. Affiliate program and incubate. The first indicator of our impact is the number of people that benefit from the service we offer. Right now, we have 2,231 members registered. That is new writers mobilized. How many of writers have we dully registered? (3.3.2.4.2 _ (1)) So for you to register with us formally, you have to fill up a certain form, then we call you, we tell you more about writer’s guild we tell you what we will offer you, send you some other links, then you pay one thousand shilling to register with us as an affiliate. So, our first key performance indicator is how many new writers have we mobilized. Two is how many new writers have we employed within a period. So, we normally evaluate these focus groups after three months. (3.3.2.4.1 _ (1)) How many new writers have we employed? Not directly but through our partners.
Are all 2,231 members active or are there also some that had registered and have never done a job and just use it as a kind of quality certificate?
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We have decentralized our activities. So, the Mombasa chapters are our affiliate writers who report there, Nakuru, Kakamega, Eldoret all the same. So, because it is fine number, writer’s guild Kenya cannot be able to fully ascertain the commitment of each and every one. But we put parameters. For example, each of all our branches has to have meetings once a week and has to have an outsider come and talk to them. We believe that one is called skill transfer. So, we do it here in Nairobi, the other day in Kakamega, Nakuru, Mombasa, and all that. So, for you to graduate you must have attended at least two (3.3.2.4.2 _ (7)), in a month they are normally four. You must have attended at least two per month in the last six months. That alone you must have attended. You must have written in our website writer’s guild block and you must have taken part in a writing competition which is not organized by writer’s guild Kenya, so that we can compare our standards with that of others. Right now, we are exploring options of introducing a common exam. (3.3.2.4.2 _ (8)) It is the exams called mocks where a university offers an online platform for other people to do free courses. So, university of Michigan is offering a course in writing. So, we would wish to put it but it would start being operational in June. So, we will have a common exam. You have to pass the exam; you have to attend two of the four in the last six months. When you do this is when you graduate and become writer’s guild alumnae. Affiliate program is a program where you become a certified writer, but right now we can’t certify a writer because we have not been certified by the government in the first place. So, we are still following up with NTA (national training authority) Media councilor of Kenya and Kenya publishers’ association so that we can be able to certify. At what point would you say that we are a certified public accountant? It is when an accounting body has certified you. So, us we would wish to be a writing body that certifies you but first we have to be certified. We have applied to the Kenya publishers’ association because of the 55,000 as we were not able to afford it. This is like 500 euros we could not afford from the beginning but we asked them if they can allow us to pay per month like 1,000 per month, 5,000 next month or like pay 5,000 in twelve months consecutively and we are done. So, they agreed and we are paying. So, we first start with Kenya publishers’ association, then we go to NTA and then to Media councilor of Kenya. Then we will be satisfied then we can certify other writers.
How long will it take you?
3 years. We hope by 2020 we will be able to certify people. The 3 years it’s okay as it gives us a chance to interact with international organization. Like I talk to a friend in Germany and he will give me all data base of all publishers in Germany so if you cannot publish in Kenya we ask where it can be done either in South Africa, America, etc. So that it gives a chance to bring other partner on board.
(3) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
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Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
Enablers would be; there are so many problems in Africa (3.4.1.1 _ (11)). So, if there are so many problems, you just pick one and solve it. So that is helping you to develop an idea (3.2.2 _ (2)). So many problems are an enabling factor for social entrepreneurship. Another thing is support. I would say support from donors and other partners. For example, if I started today something civil like training people on elections, civil responsibility, I would get support from the election body managing elections in Kenya, support from the government (3.4.1.1 _ (2)), support from an NGO whose interest is elections, so also support from partners (3.4.1.1 _ (5)) is an enabling factor. Then there is the vibrancy in Kenya among the young people. Young people are so strong. (3.4.1.1 _ (14)) They have so many challenges and when a challenge comes we normally think of a solution and the solution could normally come in form of a social enterprise. Those are some of the enablers I can think for now.
(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
Some of the barriers in social entrepreneurship would be the skilled perception. People don’t do it with clean heart. It is always said that when you go to seek justice you should do so with clean hands in court of law. Right!! People start things with bad perception and they don’t do it well. So that is a big challenge and a barrier. Then generally in all honesty are problems. I have the energy to wake up at five and by 6 I am at work to go for exhibition and get the contact. I am also blessed to have the Wi-Fi to enable me to send the emails. Blessed to have a place I can sit like the office. I mean personal values appreciation. So, I recognize not all people have them. Compassion. It’s not for everyone.
Economic will do and also social perspective. There are so many problems in Kenya and I was reading something and it says: Every day an entrepreneur thinks of giving up at least 3 times. (3.1.2 _ (15)). So, think of giving up but you don’t because there are quite a number of problems. Let me practical and be honest with you. Next week on Monday we will not be in the office but down to the open space because for the past two months we have not been able to raise money to sustain the office expenses. We have worked for many people but they have defaulted to pay us. The default rate is high (3.4.1.2 _ (14)) and the economic situation is hard. So, they have defaulted paying us but we are still following it up. However, the land lord is not as patient as you would wish. So, you must work harder to get back on your feet. Such challenges of financing, like if I go and request people to write for them, they ask what I have written before or did I study writing. I tell them I didn’t study writing but I am a passionate writer. I try to convince them with my samples that I can write but they need people like lectures. Potential clients have prejudices. (3.4.1.2 _ (9)) They look at you with contempt. They look at your age, the year the company started, and then they say they can’t deal with such a young company.
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Most social entrepreneurs start with a view of making money (3.4.1.2 _ (12)) and not with the view of solving the problem, the purpose to be solving. We can say this is a kind of a barrier that in Africa you have a perception that social entrepreneurs sometimes have the hidden intention to do it just to get sponsorships or else extra funding (3.4.1.2 _ (2)). It is a barrier and a bad barrier. Because most people in all honesty, start social entrepreneurship to make money. If you want to make money then it is better to focus on commercial entrepreneurship. But if you want to make a chance you better mean it. But people come to social entrepreneurship to gain sympathy which should not be the case.
Though in the report released by World Bank, Kenya increased in terms of doing businesses. But on the ground, there is still a problem. For example, today if I publish a book, there is this number I will always be given known as the international serial book number given by National library. So, this number is unique to this title of the book. So, you would expect that after I have registered this number with this book, they can be able to help protect the rights of this book. But I am required to pay 1500 shilling for this number. Then I am required to pay 3000 shillings to register with the Kenya copyright board so that this book is protected. When there is a court case I am required to pay to court the legal fees for the book. So, the Kenya copyright board will act as a witness. But in other countries, I believe if you have done this and the government has your details then they can protect you. You don’t hence need to pay another amount to other agencies. If I am going to do an exhibition organized by the Kenya publish association, there is an amount I need to pay. If I need to submit my book for an award in the Kenya publishers’ association which is a creation of the government, I need to pay some amount (3.4.1.2 _ (1)). Young people are not able to afford all these payments. So, you realize there are so many institutional barriers. (3.4.1.2 _ (15)) You do this, it is replicated here and so at the end of the day you say that, let me release my book and if anyone would wish to copy, then go ahead, because it is easier that way rather than following the route. You don’t have the means. So, you realize there are quite bureaucracy and some duplication of expectations. Then like writer’s guild, we are required to register with Media Counselor of Kenya for 50,000 shillings, register with Kenya Publishers Association for 50,000 shillings, register with National Training Authority 12,000 shillings, etc. What if we just register with the government? One amount and we start working.
Do you mean like the government is rather not supportive of social enterprise?
No! Now things have changed, the government is very supportive but still not to the efficiency level. But in all that, things are good now. That can give you a chance to imagine how it was ten years ago.
Appendix F: Interview Transcription 4: Gabriel Dinda - The Writers Guild Kenya
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
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(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like?
a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
Let me start from the curriculum that will take care of this age. I would greatly suggest and this has helped. It could be a curriculum which will be flexible to the users. (3.5.2.1 _ (6)) Evaluating the current situation, first there is no common curriculum in Kenya for social entrepreneurship in Kenya. (3.5.1.1 _ (1)) So, there are some NGOs who are doing social entrepreneurship training. (3.5.1.1 _ (3)) They use the curriculum of other countries especially from Europe which is not contextual. It is not suitable for Kenya. In Europe, I am told that you can email an organization like this and they are obligated to get back to you but unlike Kenya where you email and they never get back to you. So, it will be a curriculum which will be sensitive to the environment (3.5.2.1 _ (7)) also a sensitive one to the times we live in. For example, I found this useful and I did all the courses, so this is called young African leaders initiative. It is meant to help and empower African youths. So, they have a number of online courses. They have leadership, business and entrepreneurship, civic leadership, public management and it is free. So, like the first courses there is understanding renewable energy, understanding human rights, understanding the rights of girls, understanding the civic climatic change and under civic education there is creating and maintaining social enterprise. This is made for African. It is a website and you can access it. For example, we take social enterprise. Under it we have four lessons. We have creating your own NGOs strategy of plans. So, it is just a video or an audio (3.5.2.2 _ (12)) which you just listen for four minutes someone telling you creating partnerships managing and evaluating projects advocating for youths. Then you do an exam so the instructors are in one way or another related to Africa. So, they know the contextual. So, you do an exam and you get a certificate. So, with this you are able to increase capacity. (3.5.2.1 _ (8)) So, I would suggest a curriculum which is flexible. For example, I do not need to go to school to learn this. I can just learn it from my phone and the Wi-Fi that I can access. For example, if you are developing a curriculum for the children from 10 years, where are they, what are they using to communicate, is it phones? If it is the phones then the curriculum with phone is friendly so that they can use it. So, I find this very useful. Maybe we can have a curriculum which is sensitive to the context and sensitive to the time. Right now, most people don’t like reading. They like watching videos and listening to produce. (3.5.2.2 _ (12)) So, you can put the curriculum in that format. Something they can easily work with. In most interviews, you will realize that most entrepreneurs probably started their ideas in the university. That tells you that most people normally realize themselves in universities. Then the curriculum can think of that therefore, now that most people stated from the university, let the university have a curriculum with a social enterprise aspect, maybe a course, a club within which can advise you and tell or guide you on how to go about it. So that tells you, if you want to develop a sensitive curriculum. It has nothing to do with a 10 year old. It has everything to do with either university or late secondary school because when they start hearing it in secondary school and get to the university they are now good to go. So, address the topic when necessary because for this.
Appendix F: Interview Transcription 4: Gabriel Dinda - The Writers Guild Kenya
In think for a child or a young one, the best thing is not to teach them what to do or bring an idea of social enterprise to them. Help the child to understand himself first. (3.5.2.2 _ (4)) After they have understood themselves (3.5.1.2 _ (4)), they themselves will come up with a social enterprise. For example, if you helped me understand that I am a good writer in secondary school and the best course you can do is English and literature, so that I don’t go do economics and there is no direct relationship between economics and what your passion is. If I did English and literature, perhaps I would be in a better position to run writer’s guild because I would not be learning such things like that. This is learnt in class in English and literature. But now that we are here, we have to learn it from a fresh. If you come to me from early age and start telling me you should be a social entrepreneur, I think you are getting it wrong. What you should tell me is that you are creative (3.5.1.2 _ (2)) in something unique in you, this is the thing you need maybe a skill in football, it can help you. So, you start telling the child this and he thinks, what can be unique in me, they think and start realizing themselves and they become of help in the society. So, I would suggest that it comes from understanding self, in understanding yourself is when you understand the society.
I think the most important thing at that point is I would go back to the will. Do you have the will to do the social enterprise? So, before we go to the skills you need, before we go to the partners, how to raise fund, how to conduct your activities, how to be professional in what you do? It all starts from the will. If I have the will to run writer’s guild come rain come sunshine, if taken away from this office, wherever I will be, I will be running writer’s guild. If I don’t have the will but have the knowledge to write strategic plans, to write blue prints, I will not be so much relaxed. So first for a social enterprise I believe the greatest of all requirements you need is the will. But will is week if it stands alone. If I have the will now I will need partners. Maybe for people who came before me I need to talk to them. I need to attend events that are organized so that I can meet other people. I need to know how to raise money to sustain the will. The will enables you to even do like those online courses of managing people, partnership, and all this knowledge to add to the will so that you can be able to succeed in running of the social entrepreneurship. So, I would say some skills are universal. If you are running Drinks Company, running a social entrepreneur, if I am running a role Conception Company does not mean something are across the board like ethical and working, punctuality, there are some things that cut across the board which we should all have. But all this can be left with time if you have the will.
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
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(4) Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs? Yes, of course, I would love to. They are always welcome.
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
Basic Information
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Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is the purpose of your social enterprise? What is your passion about it? (Motivation)
I work for a company called AFROES where we develop mobile phone games for social impact. The company is headquartered at South Africa but we have an office now here in Nairobi and in Nigeria as well.
When you see one little child playing your mobile game and it has learned so much from it. (3.1.1 _ (8)) That should be enough drive to keep you going. If you have the passion for it then you will survive. The passion cannot be taught. (3.1.1 _ (9))
(2) What are your vision & mission & social and financial goals?
Our dream is to build sort of a mobile platform that will help empower, inspire and equip young people with the skills that they need (3.3.1.2 _ (4)). All games that we have created go towards this bigger goal.
(3) What is your social business model? How and where do you create social impact?
Do we have a business model? (Laughing)
At the moment, our projects are funded project by project. (3.3.2.2 _ (4))
Within the games we get minimal funding from advertising and things like that (3.2.5 _ (2)). We also sell the research and the analytics that we do. That goes towards funding the ideal platform. We are still at the very early stages with our business model. We haven’t broken even yet but again you see the impact that we are making justifies people continuing to support the work that we do. (3.3.1 _ (2))
For “Morabe” we have two models: We have an online based distribution and we have an offline distribution. Online, it had about 200.000 users. Offline: We have a team, we call them “motivators” (3.2.3 _ (6)). This is young people, community leaders. We equip them with a mobile phone, with the games. Then they go out to the schools in their communities and ask the young if they have heard of the game, show it, play together, have a discussion. This is how we address our focus groups. (3.3.2.4.1 _ (1))
Our games are all free to download.
You only need to be online to get a high score.
We have four games, one in production.
(4) How do you create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya?
In South Africa, we have the game called “Moraba” which is about gender based violence. (3.3.1.1 _ (8)) Basically, the game asks you a series of questions about these issues around gender based violence like the age of consent, what is rape, where to go in the event of rape. What we found in our research was that the majority didn’t even know the age of consent. So, we went to the ministry of education (3.2.4. _ (3)) and told them: “Look, from our game we can see that young people don’t know what the age of consent is so you need to restructure the sexual help education plans to be able to let people know. Because otherwise, they are just like living in a bubble of like “OK, she is sixteen, she said yes, so okay.” (3.3.1.2 _ (1)) Whereas, the age of consent is eighteen. So, people are not getting arrested as they should be.
We can take that data back to the ministry of education and are able to tell them “you need to restructure your sexual health education”. (3.3.1.1 _ (9))
Now they have actually started to restructure it and make it more relevant. Especially, aligned to “Morabe” and the issues that came up through the game play.
So, on that side we have had that impact. (3.3.2.4.2 _ (5))
Educational games compete with commercial games like “Angry birds”. So how do you promote an educational game? So, with “motivators” we are able to work around that and we are able to reach our target.
Already, we have the UN agencies on board. (3.2.4. _ (5)) We are also trying to get private sector support.
Defining Social Entrepreneur (in Kenya)
(1) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya)
Actually, I wouldn’t say that I’m a social entrepreneur. So, my boss is. She used to work at the UN. She was always very frustrated as to the way that the UN worked (3.2.1. _ (5)). In the sense that there was so much beaurocracy. As much as you want to do good, there are so many barriers that you actually cannot do as good as you want. She wanted to be more hands on (3.1.2. _ (14)), more interactive, more seeing the difference in the next year (what you did). So, one day she happened to watch her son play some video game in which he had to help an African leader do something. So, he was telling his mom: “I am actually learning while I am doing this.” She used to think: “Oh, that’s interesting. How could we use games to impact young people, teach them values, teach them about Africa, teach them about things that are relevant to them? How could we use games to teach them hope and inspire them?” that is how AFROES was created.
For me, how I got involved: I have worked with very many NGOs. There is so much good work you want to do but you are so much held back, mainly due to funding. So, you have to look at new ways to do it. Being a social entrepreneur helps you overcoming these barriers, this NGO thinking and looking at new ways of doing good. But then also of helping yourself like earn enough in life to do well. (3.1.1. _ (5)) That is how I got involved.
(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
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(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
You don’t need to be the best in everything. (3.3.2.5 _ (5)) You can find other people who know things and who will support you. It is important to be able to own some skills and to know where to find the rest.
You have to be aware about so many things that are going on around you. (3.1.2 _ (1)) It is not enough to say: “I have this idea. It’s going to be great.” You need some level of ear to the ground to know what is going on and just be alert of those things. Be aware of who you want to help. For example, if you want to help young people. Go and help young people. (3.1.2 _ (15)) You need to know who your stakeholders are (3.1.2 _ (4)) and know how each is going to impact what you want to achieve.
Research skills are important. (3.1.2 _ (16)) Researching, understanding, reading the newspaper. (3.5.2.2 _ (7)) Once you read the newspaper you know who is doing what, what the trends are in business, you learn about persons and about who you can approach for certain topics. “That could be a good mentor for me. That’s the sector that I’m interested in.” That helps you to disburden your whole perspective. Also, you just take the initiative to be involved. It puts you ahead of all those who don’t.
Getting out is important. (3.5.2.2 _ (8)) There is a lot of conference happening here, a lot of expose. Most of the events are free and you can just go there. You can just find out what is going on and interact with the people from the industry, collect some business cards, practice your pitch (3.1.2 _ (5)).
Social Impact Assessment
(1) ow do you measure your social impact?
For example, we measure the reach of our games. (3.3.2.4.2 _ (1)) All in all, we have more than a million downloads.
We have focus groups (3.3.2.4.1 _ (1)) that we observe from the design of the game until after a year that they have played it. Then, we examine how their behavior and interactions have changed their relationships and lives. In alarming cases, we give the data to the ministry of education and indicate that something must be changed.
We are able to see the trends.
(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
Numbers are the most important impact assessment tool for us.
When it is about numbers, how do you measure your social impact?
We usually tend to take a control or focus group who we work with throughout the development and we see a change in attitude, a change in behavior. (3.3.2.4.2 _ (6)) It is a very subjective monitoring of that.
Basically, throughout the game you can see how people are answering the questions. All our games are based on a question and answer structure. We can see how many questions people got right and then we see where policy or campaigns are not able to convert that. Our game data shows that sort of impact. (3.3.2.4.1 _ (2))
Subjectively, we are able to tell about the peoples’ competence in answering questions, their competence in relationships, their competence in navigating life.
With another game, we are able to see the number of people that is actually able to apply for online jobs and whether they actually make it through from the publication to actually getting the job.
We are able to track and see how many of them have been able to get a job and if they invest that in their education or if they invest that back in their family. And how many of them give up and sort of are still looking for a job today.
We can see how much time the people spend in the game being educated (3.3.2.4.2 _ (7)) and how far they get in gaining knowledge.
(3) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
Sometimes we need new incentives to make people keep playing. Sometimes we have to tailor the questions differently.
Important questions come at the beginning. That is the way that we use our statistical data (3.3.2.4.1 _ (4)) and our impact evaluation to modify and redirect our business model. (3.3.2.5 _ (4))
Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
How do you use your network?
Especially, one of the challenges that we have is that scaling model. We rely heavily on networks and partnerships. (3.2.4. _ (6)) We do not pretend to know everything about everything and everyone. We are a vehicle that brings together all the different players to produce a new product. In our game development, we usually have institutions involved, like the ministry of education, schools, people who already know about our topic. We put together also agents who are working on this topic. For example, for gender based violence we work with the UN, the ministry of education, the ministry of health, the police. Then we worked with a number of universities and schools in order to get our brand ambassadors “motivators”.
With each game, we create a network of those different organizations to then all come together at AFROES to then produce something which is in this sense a game which we can design then and distribute.
This obviously works on a country level but the issues present in Kenya must not be the same issues present in South Africa (3.2.5 _ (1)). Trying to display a more generalized overview is sort of what we struggle now. One of our games is about protecting the environment. (3.3.1.1 _ (10)) It is a very Kenya specific game and you protect one of the forests. We found that the majority of the downloads came from southeast Asia because one of the words in the game is a concept that they have on protecting the environment as well. So, they had some few hundred thousand downloads. We just go with it as it is. (3.2.1 _ (2))
Young people are willing to be exposed to everything and anything. That is what keeps us going because in the end we need to show numbers in order to get more funding.
We are very lucky to be born in Kenya because right now there are so many needs that are unmet by the government, by aid agencies. We know what our needs are and it is for us to now go and solve them. (3.4.1.1 _ (11))
We are at this stage of “new age”. Technology advances, (3.4.1.1 _ (12)) the cheapness of mobile data, access to the internet. People have that agency within them to sort of break the mold. There is that movement where you can’t rely on traditional ways of doing things. You have to reinvent that.
The growth of the Kenyan entrepreneurial sector is really nice.
With a social enterprise, I can nowadays actually be unemployed but be employed doing good.
With more of these businesses being successful, a change of attitude can evolve (3.4.1.2 _ (2)). That way, social enterprising can become a valid opportunity. It might not get the same prestige as being a lawyer but it is still doing good work.
The more people are positively and successfully engaged with it the more it will be socially accepted.
(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
We have the people building furniture (“under the hot sun”). The person next door does exactly the same thing. There is a lack of perspectives in that traditional businesses (3.4.1.1 _ (13)). There is not many different things you can do with the materials that you have, for example. There is some people who are able to see that you can be different within the sector but it is still inside the sector. Creativity is being killed because you see that one person is selling furniture, the next person is selling the same seat that you make, the next person is doing the exact same thing. So, what if you achieve a different material to make the seat covers? This would make your things more unique. However, people stick to the status quo. People only try make it a bit cheaper maybe. It is rather a cost leadership than a differentiation strategy.
In Kenya, it is very much about being an A student. In the public schools, student programs are very limited to the core curriculum education (3.4.1.2 _ (6)). Things like music, the arts are pushed aside (3.5.1.2 _ (2)) for this straight mass English, Geography kind of thing. Again, you need this kind of programs to be creative because not everyone wants to become an accountant, a doctor or a lawyer. However, that is what you are being pushed into.
Those are sort of barriers from an educational system point of view.
What is your opinion of funding and how important is it to create sustainable revenue streams?
For the bigger NGOs it is a lot easier. They have some sort of a security. For a smaller NGO there is a lot of insecurity. They do not know where their next funds are going to come from (3.4.1.2 _ (8)). They do not know whether their projects are going to last because even though being a social entrepreneur you have your business models which tend to be more sustainable. However, they do not make as much revenue as normal traditional funding methods. They have the freedom to charge their own parts and to do what they want to do, not be held back. But at the same time you are very much aligned to certain funders who fund certain things. This makes young founders recognize that tihis competition is so high on those. Finding the moment is really difficult
Then you fall into this kind of gap where you look for that kind of angel funds and venture capitalists who then completely change your whole business model and then stop you from being a social enterprise and make you become a real business. (3.4.1.2 _ (10))
It is a balancing act but I personally feel that is a good challenge to have.
One of the differences I have noticed between Kenyans and Africans: In South Africa, the government funds a lot more social enterprise. So, there we apply for more challenge funds from the government. Whereas, here in Kenya, you don’t have the same option. The government does not support you the same way. You get a lot of project funding. So, they won’t fund maybe the salaries of your staff or your organizational development. Whereas, in South Africa they fund the organization, which is important for an organic growing.
Lacking private sector support or other interested parties has been a bit of a hinderer. (3.4.1.2 _ (11))
There is still the mentality that you have to have a 9to5 job in a big organization in order to proof that you are working. A social enterprise is not a lawyer. Parents ask: “What is that?” They can’t tell this to their friends to be proud of their children. (3.4.1.2 _ (4)) You have to wear a suit to go to work otherwise it is not a real job. It is very conservative.
I have seen lots of people getting involved in the social business sector thinking that they will get a lot of funding they can use for their own benefit. (3.4.1.2 _ (12))
The infrastructure is another barrier. Although there is a lot of hubs to go (acceleration programs/ incubation programs), they are very much targeted towards the tech industry (3.4.1.2 _ (13)). If I wanted to something for example in manufacturing there is not much support. Tech, financial services, health and education are supported with acceleration or incubator programs.
More developed countries are able to support social enterprises. Here it is not really supported. (3.4.1.2 _ (7)) You have to support yourself. Even from a bank it is very hard to get a loan for a social business. They need something on the ground, a product or prototype in order to show viability and whether it is worth investing in.
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
The other day I had to teach some students. There is a Start-Up program I am working at. I had to teach R&D and product development (3.5.1.2 _ (10)). And the students were asking: “What is that?” I was surprised those guys wouldn’t know this. It is part of their whole start- up incubation. Nobody is telling young people about design thinking (3.5.2.2 _ (9)) and models around that. I think that is key. That’s the way people learn. By doing, trying, looking to people, interacting.
(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like?
a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
Young people definitely need some role models (3.5.2.1 _ (4)), especially with the way the Kenyan education curriculum is set. The Kenyan education curriculum is very much set towards A+B equals C. It is very structured and there is no other way. You are not given time to think about things. There is no outside of the box thinking. (3.5.1.2 _ (2)) However, A+B can also equal F sometimes. F is new. F is a value.
Having other ways of doing is not effectively focused on. There it would be useful to have a role model who is thinking about the box to do something different.
From my experience, social entrepreneurship obviously is a thing that they don’t teach you in school. (3.5.1.1 _ (1))
Most important is to learn how to do a business plan (3.5.2.1 _ (3)). You can teach that at 15, at 8 that would be the optimal. You have the very theoretical business plan which is like 30 pages long or you have the lean start-up which is like one page and you have it all there. So being able to have a happy medium between the two of those. That way other people can see how they can support you.
All the important business strategies (like the lean canvas) you can do them in 20 minutes. That is important for the students.
Further, it is very important to figure out what your skills are, what your passion is. To be a social entrepreneur you have to realize what you are doing is for the benefit of society and not just for you and your bank balance. (3.5.2.2 _ (4))
Teamwork is important in the curriculum. How to work in teams and conflict resolution. Every conflict can be resolved and can help to grow. (3.5.2.2 _ (10))
Especially in terms of building a curriculum: If you don’t know what you don’t know, what you know is missing.
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
Teachers should be included. The curriculum as I said is very insufficient. You are not given the freedom to think outside the box. Schools only want to maintain their highest rankings and to get the best students from the primary schools. Still, those students are only good in the core curriculum. What about other things? Are they socially aware? Are they able to interact with people? Do they just know their books and that’s it. This leads to students resenting school, resenting learning. Throughout life you are constantly learning things. If you have the mentality “School is the worst, learning is the worst” that doesn’t help you further in life. Most of the young people spend most of their time in school. That is why I think it is so important to have teachers who are also engaged in learning and trying out new models (3.5.2.3 _ (8)), new ways of doing, new ways of teaching then again you are just stuck in this sort of A+B=C. But A+B can actually equal F. Just open your mind. (3.5.2.3 _ (9)),
There is no need to involve the teacher in the implementation of the curriculum but in terms of the development of the curriculum it is very important and also depending on the subject matter.
Teachers have to answer questions, being on a supervision level. (3.5.2.3 _ (7)),
Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs?
Can social entrepreneurs be motivated to give workshops/ practice days to young adults? I definitely think so. From an AFROES perspective, our work involves interacting with young people.
It is mutually beneficial. Social enterprises also need a feedback from the youth about how they do as they do.
Appendix H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
AFRICAN GARAGE
Basic Information
illustration not visible in this excerpt
Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is the purpose of your social enterprise? What is your passion about it? (Motivation)
Some of the entrepreneurs who pass through us take mentorship of governmental incubation centers. We facilitate the interaction. (3.1.1 _ (3)) We link them up to take chance of the various opportunities. We help people get linked up in those incubation centers, provide structured support. (3.3.1.2 _ (3)) We are constantly creating and maintaining network. (3.2.4 _ (5)) We take new people in (3.2.4 _ (2)) but also make use of experts, advisors, investors, and other key partners.
The entrepreneurs we consult are young. (3.3.1.2 _ (4)) They don’t have a structure for upcoming businesses. We help them to build a business.
The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry is one of our partners.
(2) What are your vision & mission & social and financial goals?
Mission: We want to become the leading student society in Africa that unites, inspires and empowers youth to become economic and social leaders.
Vision: We want to facilitate a very united, empowered and highly productive student community that function as a transformation driver for society.
We want to get independent from current sponsors and become financially viable. (3.3.1 _ (1)) We want to have revenue from our services. We want to have stable income from corporate partners. We want to have young people who are going to pay for fun.
Appendix H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
(3) What is your social business model? How and where do you create social impact?
A social business model is more embedded in impact. It is important to monitor if you are able to remain in the social space or are we going to get into the commercial space? (3.3.1 _ (1))
We offer a platform that takes care of young entrepreneurs.
In terms of our customer segments we promise to offer (the students) programs, and services, which they need to understand and enter the specific industries. As they transition into industry our role is also to talk to the corporate partners and link them up. With that network, we try to provide a training, coaching, mentorship to that people.
To the corporates we are providing consumer insights, research (3.1.2 _ (16)). At the same time, we also reach engagement and reach out to this demograph of young people. We are targeting mostly on market research (3.1.2 _ (13)), financial services (3.1.2 _ (12)), HR (3.1.2 _ (4)), and advertising. Because for the corporates, they might be interested in “How can we try to become sustainable?” We show them opportunities to collaborate with young people who might be their future customers.
For the students we provide network, opportunities, how to access courses, laws, loans.
For this reaching our social purpose, we try to connect several East African countries and then to reach out for the whole of Africa. (3.2.5 _ (1))
We also have a vertical expansion across the alumni markets. (3.2.5 _ (6))
We offer a prepaid card. For this, we have a partnership with Mastercard. (3.2.4 _ (6)) We categorize the whole services. The financial service program is most important. For this program, you get this exclusive financial membership card. You can use it to get discounts from the corporate partners. We started the “FEEL” Financial Empowerment Entrepreneurship and Leadership company. This is to consult young people who do not have a feeling for the fact that money is just something that is invented in our culture.
(4) How do you create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya?
We try to make young people aware (3.5.2.2 _ (4)) of how their ideas can solve social challenges in Kenya. (3.2.2 _ (2))
Defining Social Entrepreneur (in Kenya)
(1) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya)
We wanted to help our home community and then the society. (3.1.1.1 _ (2)) That is what always inspired us in coming up with this institution.
It becomes an avenue for other youths to venture in.
Appendix H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
We try to engage from a perspective where we just execute because we are not anyhow better or worse than anyone else. (3.1.2 _ (14)) All the parties are facing the same political and societal influence. It is on us to look at the circumstances from a different perspective and take advantage. Just work. (3.1.2 _ (17)) That is why the political factor might not really be of effect for us.
We try to achieve social impact by offering (3.1.1.1 _ (1)) practical solutions for the challenges young entrepreneurs face.
From the very beginning, it is important to understand your business model. (3.3.2.5 _ (7)) Most of the time, when we start-up, we do not know our destination. (3.2.1 _ (1)) You need a plan to reach that destination. If you do not know where you are going, you never get close.
My advice is: Know your destination and understand your model. Understanding your model is 90% of reaching your destination. There only remain 10% for execution. When we start-up, many of us put 10% in their model and believe 90% is execution. In this case, as much as you are executing, maybe you are executing towards the wrong direction. You might really go fast into the wrong direction. That is something that I would have done differently because we were just starting sort of blind. 3.3.2.5 _ (7))
It is very important to understand the idea, understand where you want to be before you start executing it. Other people cannot understand what your business is if you do not understand it yourself. It has to start from the person, from the idea and the entrepreneurial setup. Everybody is a marketer. If I have to sell my idea I have to understand it. I have to make my team understand (3.1.2 _ (5)) it so that the audience you target can also buy your idea.
(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
Communication skills (3.1.2 _ (5)) are very important because you cannot execute your idea alone. You need to communicate your idea to convince the right partners to help you. In this regard, you might talk to people who do not have any idea of the concept of social entrepreneurship.
Sometimes I do believe that entrepreneurship is something inherent.
Social Impact Assessment
(1) How do you measure your social impact?
As we facilitate ideas, we measure our social impact with respect to the social potential of the ideas we support. Supported Start-Ups function as focus groups (3.3.2.4.1 _ (1)) that we
Appendix H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
observe over a time. However, as we are still on the early stage of our business activity, social impact measurement will grow in importance over time.
We work together with an Indian social impact incubator (3.3.2.4.1 _ (6)) that focuses on health care. For health care aspects, we can make use of their methods and advice.
We work together with an African social impact incubator. (3.3.2.4.1 _ (6)) They deal with numbers, (3.3.2.4.1 _ (4)) scalability in terms of potential of the idea as well as the execution ability of the idea. Later, they produce statistics for social impact KPIs.
(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
For us it is very important how the ideas that we support develop. We track the economic and social success of the enterprises we support.
(3)
(4) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
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Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
There is always more opportunity to invest (3.4.1.2 _ (3)). The first challenge is a lack of employment. The fact that employment opportunities are low is an enabler. Because of that, for some people still at school their focus is not on being employed. They focus on another thing and that will be: How can I help the society with the skills I am gaining at school? How can I get out and make more opportunity for others? (3.4.1.1 _ (13))
Strategic partners and a very strong board of advisory are very important. For us, we were able to partner with friends who share the same vision (3.2.4 _ (7)). At the same time, we got offered the access to strategic resources in terms of space, in terms of advice. (3.3.2.2 _ (5)) This is how our advisory board developed.
Creative and motivated people around you help to think in a new dimension. This can be industrials, professors, people in government, people in impact organizations, entrepreneurs, students, and many other. (3.2.4. _ (5))
A team of volunteers. Those who share in our dream.
Appendix H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
The current government has been so much supportive about implementing incubation centers, supporting youths who want to be entrepreneurs. They provide facilities, computers (3.4.1.1. _ (2)), information (3.4.1.1. _ (1)), networking space.
(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
The challenges that you face in the US and in Europe are very different to the challenges that we face down here. Europe and the US have structures for (social) entrepreneurship for a long time but we have more and different problems. So, for us we are offering solutions to the specific challenges that we face.
The recognition of entrepreneurship in Africa and in Kenya specifically. (3.4.1.2. _ (2)), Parents, friends, teachers. They don’t really know how to grasp entrepreneurship. Social entrepreneurship is an extremely new thing. People that you have attachment to, like family and friends, they will not understand and ask: “Why don’t you graduate and go to work?” They do not understand your motivation.
Because it is a new thing people will not buy into social entrepreneurship (3.4.1.2. _ (9)). It really becomes a challenge to you to mound investment.
Monetary resources are also some challenge. People might not put in their money because they might not be sure where the money goes to and they do not want to pay extra for social benefit. (3.4.1.2. _ (3))
People with a great social idea often lack the resources for executing it. However, they fear sharing the idea because when they share somebody else with the resources will execute it. So, it is about property rights and intellectual property. That way, many good ideas never get executed. (3.4.1.2. _ (16))
In Kenya, the political support is ineffective, partly due to corruption and institutional voids. (3.4.1.2. _ (1))
In African families, it is a taboo to talk about money issues. So, for young people the first time they get to interact with their own money they get really confused. For young entrepreneurs that often causes troubles. (3.4.1.2. _ (17))
It is very hard to have the financial sustainability come in.
It is a great threat to get stuck in financial dependence. (3.4.1.2. _ (10))
Appendix H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
Most of the lecturers happen to never have done any social business themselves. (3.5.2.3. _ (4))
There is some Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship, some Bachelor of Science in Commerce. They are not very well structured and as a student you get lost. Almost none of them cover social aspects. (3.5.1.1. _ (1))
For the public universities, there is no curriculum present that is completely covering what a social entrepreneur needs to know to start-up and run a social enterprise. (3.5.1.1. _ (1)) You can only access it in private universities which are very expensive and thus not an option for those with the right ideas a strong social commitment but rather for those who can afford but are lacking the intrinsic motivation.
(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like? a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
Entrepreneurship is about the person. The person needs to be different. At the end of the day, business is 100% human. All the customers are human, suppliers are, creditors are. That’s why, it is most important to develop the person, to mentor and assist the person. (3.5.2.2 _ (13))
The business skills you can always add in as the team comes in. New ideas are going to come up as well as new execution. (3.5.2.1. _ (1))
A curriculum should help to create purpose and passion. (3.5.2.1. _ (9))
From the entrepreneurship perspective, you need the management skills (3.5.1.2 _ (1)), relationship management and communication skills. (3.5.2.1. _ (8))
It is not just about going to class, sitting, hearing a lecture, taking notes, at the end of the class you walk out to go learn for the exam, get 100%, pass, and wait for the next exam you need to gain some degree. It is more about are you able to put what you have learned into practice? (3.5.2.1. _ (10)) Still in school, you have some opportunity to practice these skills.
For a young child who wants to become a social entrepreneur, I would advise him to work hard and work smart. At ten your brain is not fully developed. Let him just enjoy life to create mindfulness (3.5.2.2. _ (3)). Once he reaches now 18 or 20, when the brain is about to mature, you can now start. For the young, it is important to identify their strengths and help them to believe in these strengths (3.5.2.2. _ (6)). With interactions with that child you can know their strengths and interests. If it is football you must develop football, if it is reading you must develop reading. With the age of 14, things change. Now it is more about promoting their development as they develop their interest. (10 = interest identification, 14 = interest promotion/ development)
Appendix H: Interview Transcription 6: Jed Ondiko - African Garage
The Kenyan education system is: In high school, you get to learn languages, mathematics, and humanities. I don’t think by learning biology you don’t become an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurship is something inherent.
For young people, it is important to invite mentors for sharing a little entrepreneurial spirit in not so technical terms. That way, they can grasp something that they’ll be curious of. They will start asking questions. Here it is about raising curiosity. You can always find someone to look up to, in terms of whose footsteps you want to follow. (3.5.2.2. _ (13))
Ask the children who they might be interested in. That will better suit their development than just bringing someone. If they say: “I want to be a pilot, get a pilot.” This can facilitate a lot of enthusiasm, desire and identification. That is sort of a priceless feel. You will always remember the moment you met that person who showed you your own potential. It is about to start dreaming and then start working for this dream.
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
We don’t mind. We will do all. You can call them any time.
(4) Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs?
I am happy to visit the students and share my experiences. If they like to meet me, any time, yea.
Appendix I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
- Introduce Yourself and the Project & Objectives
- Achieve oral consent about confidentiality, interview purpose and method
Basic Information
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Defining Social Enterprise in Kenya
(1) What is the purpose of your social enterprise? What is your passion about it? (Motivation)
Social innovation management fellowship program
(2) What are your vision & mission & social and financial goals?
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(3) What is your social business model? How and where do you create social impact?
Okay, it's quite simple, we try to fee for everything we do to make a living. (3.1.1 _ (5)) We want to sustain our business and the structures we create. (3.3.1.2 _ (3)) We look for other ways of getting additional fees and value to the process (3.2.5 _ (4)). The task for going on with our social innovation management fellowship program, is the core program that we run and there are fees, tuition fees and not everybody is able to pay the full fees so we have scholarships. (3.3.1.2 _ (4)) To make up the rationale budget, because these programs don't cover everything, we do also other types of consultancy season training with different clients in various markets (3.2.5 _ (6)) which also helps us to extend the social impact (3.1.1. _ (1)) of what we are doing. This is a very high intense program, it's about 20 to 25 people at any time and we have two classes, typically we have 80 people go through fellowship program, then we have many people that are impacting to this season training. So, it's both like social impact and additional impact, like somebody who wants to run a workshop can rent a space. So, we have little business that could bring extra cash and we don't have a lot of funding, we have had a little funding from outside but this year we are getting new funding because of some new programs we are launching. Still we try to scale up carefully and organically. (3.2.5 _ (10))
Appendix I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
(4) How do you create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya?
I think first thing is that we don't see ourselves as a Kenyan organization so it's a global organization. We are based in Nairobi and Sao Paolo, Brazil, so it's distributed globally (3.2.5 _ (1)) and we are about to start exploring launching in India. So, our aim is not like to benefit just Kenya, like this is a global organization and of course there is a lot of benefit that's going to Kenya. We are here because Nairobi is a social innovation hub (3.4.1.1 _ (15)) and a hotspot for social impact and social change. It is a nice place to be and work from and probably is one city that has maximum social impact but we don’t think all like supporting only Kenya. So, forty percent of every class will be Kenyan fellows and then a lot of other programs benefit people in the region not only Kenya but East Africa. Have you ever heard of YALI program? Since you have been here?
It is called Young African Leadership Initiative (3.4.2 _ (2)), it's Obama's program for Africans. So, they have these four regional centers round the continent. In Kenya, they have leadership programs where every sixty-seven weeks a new budge comes in of about 100 people, young Africans under the age of thirty and so that group is then divided business, social impact and government and amongst leading is social impact track. So that's another program that has a lot of impact in Kenya or in the region and we support this program with our education programs. (3.1.1 _ (3)) We have just launched a new program targeting small businesses and build the leadership development of the managers, staff of these companies. We have just launched the project but over the three years will be training three hundred managers of companies in Africa. It's not such a big economy at the end of the day. So, I think we will have a greater impact at the end, so there are less examples but there are many more as well. Did I answer your question?
Defining Social Entrepreneur (in Kenya)
(1) How did you become a social entrepreneur? (Opportunity Identification in Kenya)
I worked for Ashoka for about ten years (3.1.3 _ (3)) and so I got to work with a lot of social entrepreneurs. I learnt a lot like what it takes to be a social entrepreneur in that time. I think, I came to realize that there was a problem in the world: Namely, that all these social entrepreneurs were looking for good staffs, good people that they can hire and would not even find them and would not even get hired. So, there was something missing there. The gap of the market failure seemed to be that there wasn't a good way that you get training people for social entrepreneurship. (3.5.1.1 _ (1)) So that's when I felt like I would have world classification of being lucky and I made a choice earlier to go up with social entrepreneurship and a lot of people are asking: Can you advise? How can I get into this special work? I just felt like I knew the answer to that question because I had done it and I worked with a lot of these people, so I was just putting those different things together.
(2) Why and how are you successful as social entrepreneur and what have you learned on the way? (What would you do differently if you founded again?) (KSF)
Appendix I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
(3) What know-how & skills do social entrepreneurs need to succeed in Kenya?
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Social Impact Assessment
(1) How do you measure your social impact?
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(2) Which indicators of impact assessment are most important to you and why?
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(3) How do you use the impact evaluation to modify and redirect your impact model?
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Enablers and Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya
In terms of the political, economic, and social environment:
(1) Which Enablers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of?
a. What are key success factors? (graduate & youth unemployment, human capital, networks, funding, subsidies, governmental support)
I would say, if you look some of the hotspot of social entrepreneurship, we have Nairobi, Banglo in India, San Francisco, Sao Paolo in Brazil and so on and most of them have one thing in common. Can you guess what is it? It's nothing to do with Social entrepreneurship.
A lot of these cities have good weather (3.4.1.1 _ (16)) and I think this is not an accident. So, they have good weather, good universities especially Nairobi has some of the best universities anywhere in East Africa (3.4.1.1 _ (17)). So, it's like good weather, good universities and there is motivated talent that you can choose from. (3.4.1.1 _ (14)) One of the big enablers is that Nairobi is a nice laboratory for people to try their ideas. (3.4.1.1 _ (15)) The other big enabler is the fact that Nairobi is the only city outside the first world that has UN headquarters (3.4.1.1 _ (17)) So, you have many people working on social impact. You also have a lot of consultancies and aid agencies. So, this is unique to Nairobi compared to other cities. I have mentioned it's a hub for UN. Another one is that it's very easy to get into the country. It's very easy to come because Nairobi is very easy to get visa compared to South Africa. (3.4.1.1 _ (18)) Fourth one is of course English. (3.4.1.1 _ (19)) In Nairobi like everybody speaks English, like a matatu driver speaks English, the shopkeeper like everybody speaks English. So, it's the Nairobi city not the country is the hub of social
Appendix I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
entrepreneurship. Another one is that Kenyans are entrepreneurial compared to other regions and Kenyan entrepreneurs support each other. (3.4.1.1 _ (10)) Basically, any Kenyan who has job has something to do with entrepreneurial usually farming land but every Kenyan has like two jobs, it's called side hustle. So that's what is coming up from me but these things build on each other. The fact that we have good weather, there is UN hub means that there is a lot of interest of internationals (3.4.1.1 _ (9)) and easy for funders to come here (3.4.1.1 _ (6)), so there is a lot of money that's coming here in Kenya also because Kenyans are peaceful (3.4.1.1 _ (20)) relative to Somalia its neighbor. So that's another enabler that there is a lot of funding, also from the government. (3.4.1.1 _ (2)) Kenya by far is the biggest recipient of money especially for social entrepreneurship in the continent. So why those happen? Because of those enablers, so these enablers build on each other and support each other as well. Technology is also another one, there is good WIFI compared to other regions. (3.4.1.1 _ (12))
So, if we can summarize it, we can say it is not all about Kenya which circumstances are enablers, it is more about Nairobi as a hub but Kenya is an environment where there are many problems like social, political and economic problems. (3.4.1.1 _ (11))
(2) Which Barriers for Social Entrepreneurship in Kenya can you think of? a. What are challenges? (lack of proper education, income distribution, rules of law and corruption, regulations, institutional voids)
It's education system is not very good and so it’s only better than its neighbor.
I don't think a lot of people here want to be social entrepreneurs. I think they just want to be the entrepreneurs and they want to make money. (3.4.1.2 _ (12)) There is an obsession of money. Kenya is a very materialistic and the culture really celebrates that. The people are looking after themselves first. (3.4.1.2 _ (4))
It is a very competitive and unity-oriented culture. People first think of their family, then of their tribe and their tribes are not connecting. They are not thinking beyond tribe. For this reason, they do not get that diversity of thinking, diversity of ideas that they could have mixing tribes as well. (3.4.1.2 _ (4)) I think the third one, is that a lot of us foreigners running an organization also face the government, their migration policies, work permits, the visas and so on. For us I think this is a barrier. Unfortunately, we don’t have the same talent as you would have in the West. If you pick a 25-year-old from Germany, Australia or US or something and you pick a 25-year-old from Kenya, usually they are not of the same quality. The western person can do a lot more So it's a lot cheaper for me to hire one of you than a Kenyan of your skills. So that's a problem.
It's motivation, skills, talent and all other. So, any Kenyan of your age and skills is starts working at Safaricom or Equity Bank or Microsoft or Google or something, so they don't have interest in social entrepreneurship.
It is all about the biggest company, big reputation, happy parents, and more money. (3.4.1.2 _ (4)) It's the biggest challenge like for me it's more attractive to hire a foreigner than a Kenyan at that level because he will work harder and probably won’t be married and have two kids at 25 and so that's a challenge.
Appendix I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
As a business-owner it is quite challenging to find the right kind of staff here because all good people you can't afford here and work here. Like if you go to India, people work like crazy unlike people to work as much as I earn.
A lot of people feel like there is a lot of youth unemployment and to solve that is by encouraging people to become entrepreneurs. In theory that makes sense, in practice not everybody is an entrepreneur and most people should not be entrepreneurs because they don’t have skills. (3.4.1.1 _ (13))
A general not a Kenyan problem is that entrepreneurship skills are difficult to determine because there is so much personality of DNA that takes to be an entrepreneur. Most people do not have that. (3.1.2 _ (18)) So, if it comes to entrepreneurial skills here around, the willingness to try something new is most important. If the first try fails be okay with that failure and move on. (3.5.1.2 _ (11)) People in Kenya don’t have the luxury to afford to fail. That is mainly due to culture. In Kenya, we find very religious people who get married young. They also get children in young age. They might want to become an entrepreneur but have three kids. So, they have no chance to take that kind of risk. (3.4.1.2 _ (5)) Tolerance of taking risk goes down unless you have no option. There are two types of entrepreneurship: opportunity entrepreneurship and necessity entrepreneurship. Necessity entrepreneurship is typically a small business that would make the people survive and feed their children. If we think of social entrepreneurship as building and growing a company that seeks to accomplish social effects that is opportunity entrepreneurship. It means they are seeing opportunity that they go forward to solve problems rather than they must do some business to survive. Opportunity enterprises are more likely to scale and grow the business. (3.2.2 _ (2))
Suggestions for Facilitating Social Entrepreneurship Education
(1) How does the current landscape of social entrepreneurship education look like?
I guess that one does not prepare people on the skills that they need to start and run the social business. (3.5.1.1 _ (1))
(2) If you would design a social entrepreneurship curriculum how would it look like? a. Which (social entrepreneurship) educational gaps must it fill?
First thing about social entrepreneurship education is that it is not a theoretical thing like you can't teach entrepreneurship in classroom with content like they must do it. The only way to learn social entrepreneurship is to be an entrepreneur. You should think about a methodology that includes that. The most important orientation around social entrepreneurship education is to start social enterprises. These enterprises should not necessarily be something that must succeed. However, the students must go through the steps of starting something up. They should not do it in theory but do it for real. (3.5.2.1 _ (3)) What most people care about is something they feel like trying to solve. It's not just opportunity, it's passion. You may like to identify what is it that they really care about? (3.5.2.2 _ (4)) One cares about catering, another one about malaria another one about HIV or whatever but they must deeply care about something. You start with what they care about and that is where they should start growing their business around. Then try not to do
Appendix I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
it as an individual, try to do it as small teams round about three or four people (3.5.2.2 _ (4)). So, they care about a topic. They also must come up with a prototype. (3.5.2.2 _ (14)) They must try to produce something that they can show to others in a physical presentation. It is not about writing exams, not about writing a paper but about doing the project. For the example of a catering project: They must be able to show the food that they made, how they distribute it, etc. At the end of the program they must be able to present what their business does and how.
You said you do not recommend focusing on theory. However, don’t you think that some basic theory is unavoidable?
You don’t need theory. Not for this targeted audience. If you are starting a business school, maybe, but I wouldn’t go to theory about social entrepreneurship in this context because it is about: What is your problem? What are you trying to solve? Why do you care about what? So, get the people working practically. I don't think you must focus on theory. Maybe if you have a group of intellectuals you may have evening classes to help understand the theory part of it. (3.5.2.2 _ (15))
(3) Do you have recommendations for instructors/ teachers of ongoing social entrepreneurs?
You need people who have developed entrepreneurial skills in the past to teach them. It is very hard to have someone who has not been an entrepreneur to teach them. I think you need people who have done it, who have learned it from their successes and failures to be able to teach them how to do that. So, don't find a professor to do that but find an actual entrepreneur. (3.5.2.3 _ (4))
(4) Could you imagine giving practice days to ambitious aspiring social entrepreneurs? Probably they could come and visit me here for some courses at Amani Institute.
Appendix I: Interview Transcription 7: Roshan Paul - Amani Institute
Code Collector
3.1 Individual: The Social Entrepreneur
3.1.1 Motives
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3.1.2 Skills and Know-how
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3.1.3 Background and Experience
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3.2 Process: Social Entrepreneurship
3.2.1 Stages
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3.2.2 Opportunity Identification
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3.2.3 Innovation
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3.2.4 Networking
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3.2.5 Scaling
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3.3 Organization: The Social Enterprise
3.3.1 Strategy Elements
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3.3.1.1 Mission
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3.3.1.2 Impact
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3.3.2 Internal Organizational Characteristics
3.3.2.1 Governance
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3.3.2.2 Resources
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3.3.2.3 Legal Form
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3.3.2.4 Monitoring
3.3.2.4.1 Measurement
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3.3.2.4.2 Indicators
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3.3.2.5 Learning
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3.4 Environment
3.4.1 Environmental Dynamics
3.4.1.1 Enablers
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3.4.1.2 Barriers
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3.4.2 Support Structures
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3.5 Social Entrepreneurship Education
3.5.1 Current Social Entrepreneurship Education Landscape
3.5.1.1 Current Landscape
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3.5.1.2 Educational Gaps
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3.5.2 Designing Future Social Entrepreneurship Education
3.5.2.1 Curriculum Requirements
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3.5.2.2 Teaching Practices
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3.5.2.3 Role of the teacher
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Quote Collector
3.1 Individual: The Social Entrepreneur
3.1.1 Motives
(1) We need to have a deep connection to the problem. That will push you every day you wake up in the morning and you know that you must solve this problem out there. (Ian - (3.1.1 _ (7)))
(2) I felt the pressure to change something. For me it was no longer about my career as a business student but about achieving the greatest possible social impact. (Gabriel - (3.1.1 _ (1)))
(3) In Kenya, you find that illiteracy levels are very high. Best example is my maternal village. So, what my company does is that we build up libraries in slums. (Wanja - (3.1.1 _ (2)))
(4) The purpose would be to make social impact because I want to influence the community where I come from, which is my maternal village. (Ivy - (3.1.1 _ (2)))
(5) These women I help can do some teaching for others. I can create a snowball effect in teaching. So that would be a strong motivation to keep going. (Ivy - (3.1.1 _ (3)))
(6) When you see one little child playing your mobile game and it has learned so much from it. That should be enough drive to keep you going. If you have the passion for it then you will survive. The passion cannot be taught. (Gathoni - (3.1.1 _ (9)))
3.1.2 Skills and Know-how
(1) A social entrepreneur needs to be really in touch with their community and the community that they are going to impact. There must be a real close relationship. There is a real thin line between social impact and exploitation. (Ivy - (3.1.2 _ (1)))
(2) Be aware of who you want to help. For example, if you want to help young people. Go and help young people. (Gathoni - (3.1.2 _ (15)))
(3) Every day a social entrepreneur thinks of giving up at least three times. (Gabriel - (3.1.2 _ (15)))
(4) We try to engage from a perspective where we just execute because we are not anyhow better or worse than anyone else. All the parties are facing the same political and societal influence. It is on us to look at the circumstances from a different perspective and take advantage. Just work. (Jed - (3.1.2 _ (14)))
(5) Communication skills are very important because you cannot execute your idea alone. You need to communicate your idea to convince the right partners to help you. In this regard, you might talk to people who do not have any idea of the concept of social entrepreneurship. (Jed - (3.1.2 _ (5)))
(6) A general not a Kenyan problem is that entrepreneurship skills are difficult to determine because there is so much personality of DNA that takes to be an entrepreneur. Most people do not have that. So, if it comes to entrepreneurial skills here around, the willingness to try something new is most important. (Jed - (3.1.2 _ (18)))
(7) As a social entrepreneur, you should know how to interact with people. You are working for the people. Still, your success is dependent on how you work with the people. New contacts can eventually open a new business, they can be a new client. Everyone can contribute something. You just must be sensitive. (Ian - (3.1.2 _ (4)))
(8) As we do not have many resources, we are not able to employ an accountant. For this reason, we use an application called “Wave Accounting”. The app is easy to be used by any person regardless of having an accountant background. With “Wave Accounting” we can list items, calculate costs and revenues, and give people receipts. Generally, it is about having an efficient system. (Gabriel - (3.1.2 _ (12)))
3.1.3 Background and Experience
(1) I worked for Ashoka for about ten years and so I got to work with a lot of social entrepreneurs. I learnt a lot like what it takes to be a social entrepreneur in that time. (Roshan - (3.1.3 _ (3)))
3.2 Process: Social Entrepreneurship
3.2.1 Stages
(1) Becoming an entrepreneur is a challenge of experience. (Ivy - (3.2.1 _
(2) Developing a social enterprise is a working progress and not a hundred percent set up. We are still learning. (Wanja - (3.2.1 _ (2)))
3.2.2 Opportunity Identification
1) I came to a process of realizing that there is a problem in the world that I think I have a solution to that problem and so I had to go and create that new job. (Ian - (3.2.2 _ (2)))
2) There are two types of entrepreneurship: opportunity entrepreneurship and necessity entrepreneurship. Necessity entrepreneurship is typically a small business that would make the people survive and feed their children. If we think of social entrepreneurship as building and growing a company that seeks to accomplish social effects that is opportunity entrepreneurship. It means they are seeing opportunity that they go forward to solve problems rather than they must do some business to survive. Opportunity enterprises are more likely to scale and grow the business. (Roshan - (3.2.2 _ (2)))
3) First, it was just about producing clothes but what next? I did not find I had enough social impact. So, I thought about how can I make a change and do something that is more fulfilling. (Ivy - (3.2.2 _ (1)))
3.2.3 Innovation
1) I am not very happy with the quality of the leather, the craftsmanship. That is what I like to improve to be able to sell a better product. (Ivy - (3.2.3 _ (2)))
2) We have a team, we call them “motivators”. This is young people, community leaders. We equip them with a mobile phone, with the games. Then they go out to the schools in their communities and ask the young if they have heard of the game, show it, play together, have a discussion. This is how we address our focus groups. (Gathoni - (3.2.3 _ (6)))
3.2.4 Networking
(1) Creative and motivated people around you help to think in a new dimension. This can be industrials, professors, people in government, people in impact organizations, entrepreneurs, students, and many other. (Jed - (3.2.4 _ (5)))
(2) For our network monitoring, we use an internal system. It covers the entire context of our communication to new and established contacts. It is updated on a regular basis and all talks and letters are stored in there. This way, everybody is part of the conversation and we encourage our people to follow up the conversations and keep the network vivid. (Ian - (3.2.4 _ (4)))
(3) I am very particular about who I work with. My number one criterion is: Do I like you as a person? This is important because I can't work with you if I don't like you. The second criterion is: What value are you adding to my company at the end of the day? (Wanja - (3.2.4 _ (7)))
3.2.5 Scaling
I want to enlarge my social impact in many small villages. (Ivy - (3.2.5 _ (1)))
For this reaching our social purpose, we try to connect several East African countries and then to reach out for the whole of Africa. (Jed - (3.2.5 _ (1)))
My price range is between KES 6,500 to 18,000. I even want to make it higher. (Ivy - (3.2.5 _ (4)))
There are countries like Germany and Canada where the older generations are quite active in reading and writing. This is unlike Kenya where we have young people being very creative. So, we compare the markets and check if we can open markets for our business that we have not yet considered. (Gabriel - (3.2.5 _ (6)))
Before we expand and scale up too fast, we take our time and consider each step deliberately. It has taken us three years to get where we are, so it might take us another three years to figure out the scaling processes. Anyway, the time we will be done will be good and reasonable. Growing too fast carries the risk of destroying the core of the business, in our case the impact model. (Wanja - (3.2.5 _ (10)))
3.3 Organization: The Social Enterprise
3.3.1 Strategy Elements
(1) A social entrepreneur must find a perfect fit of profitability and social inclusivity because business must be sustainable and still it must be connected to the social purpose. (Ian - (3.3.1 _ (1)))
(2) You have project foundation, and you have a business. 50% of your profit of the business goes into foundation of the project and 50% goes into running and sustaining the business. I have been into a Canadian social enterprise and that is how their model worked. That is where I learnt and this is how I understand how a social enterprise works. (Wanja - (3.1.1 _ (1)))
(3) We don’t want free money. We just want to work as partners. Let us not work in a way that one is a lower partner, a lesser human being. No. if you can’t work with us as a partner then too bad. Just let us stay. (Gabriel - (3.1.1 _ (1)))
3.3.1.1 Mission
(1) We are taking waste which is somebody’s problem and transform it into a substitute for charcoal to solve other problems. (Ian - (3.3.1.1 _ (6)))
(2) We create innovative solutions to address social challenges in Kenya. Health is a social challenge, waste is a social challenge, waste disposal in streets and environment and unemployment. We take them all very serious. (Ian - (3.3.1.1 _ (4)))
3.3.1.2 Goals
(1) I would say my target is educating children. (Wanja - (3.3.1.2 _ (4)))
(2) I teach young girls how to do the weaving in the village. (Ivy - (3.3.1.2 _ (4)))
(3) The purpose is to me to build up a Community Center. (Ivy - (3.3.1.2 _ (3)))
(3) We want to sustain our business and the structures we create. (Roshan - (3.3.1.2 _ (3)))
3.3.2 Internal Organizational Characteristics
3.3.2.1 Governance
(1) For my partner and me, we complimented each other well. There should not be an over- lap in skills of course. (Ian - (3.3.2.1 _ (2)))
3.3.2.2 Resources
(1) I am experimenting and continuously figuring out which resources I need. (Ivy - (3.3.2.2 _ (1)))
3.3.2.3 Legal Form
(1) In Kenya, you can't officially register a social enterprise. For this reason, you must considerably figure out how to manage your taxes. (Wanja - (3.3.2.3 _ (1)))
3.3.2.4 Monitoring
3.3.2.4.1 Measurement
(1) We have focus groups that we observe from the design of the game until after a year that they have played it. Then, we examine how their behavior and interactions have changed their relationships and lives. In alarming cases, we give the data to the ministry of education and indicate that something must be changed. (Gathoni - (3.3.2.4.1 _ (1)))
(2) We work together with an African social impact incubator. They deal with numbers, scalability in terms of potential of the idea as well as the execution ability of the idea. Later, they produce statistics for social impact KPIs. (Jed- (3.3.2.4.1 _ (4)))
3.3.2.4.2 Indicators
(1) For the carbon footprint, our goal is to offset 40 million tones CO2 until 2020. (Ian - (3.3.2.4.2 _ (2)))
(2) Numbers are the most important impact assessment tool for us. (Gathoni - (3.3.2.4.2 _ (1)))
(3) We can see how much time the people spend in the game being educated and how far they get in gaining knowledge. (Gathoni - (3.3.2.4.2 _ (7)))
(3) The first indicator of our impact is the number of people that benefit from the service we offer. Right now, we have 2,231 members registered. That is new writers mobilized. (Gabriel - (3.3.2.4.2 _ (1)))
3.3.2.5 Learning
(1) Impact evaluation helps us to reshape our vision, and to reshape our strategy in terms of executing that vision. (Ian - (3.3.2.5 _ (4)))
(2) You don’t need to be the best in everything. You can find other people who know things and who will support you. It is important to be able to own some skills and to know where to find the rest. (Gathoni - (3.3.2.5 _ (5)))
(3) From the very beginning, it is important to understand your business model. Most of the time, when we start-up, we do not know our destination. You need a plan to reach that destination. If you do not know where you are going, you never get close. My advice is: Know your destination and understand your model. Understanding your model is 90% of reaching your destination. There only remain 10% for execution. When we start-up, many of us put 10% in their model and believe 90% is execution. In this case, as much as you are executing, maybe you are executing towards the wrong direction. You might really go fast into the wrong direction. That is something that I would have done differently because we were just starting sort of blind. (Jed - (3.3.2.5 _ (7)))
3.4 Environment
3.4.1 Environmental Dynamics
3.4.1.1 Enablers
(1) To register your own business is not tough and not expensive. You can do it yourself. (Ivy - (3.4.1.1 _ (3)))
(2) We are very lucky to be born in Kenya because right now there are so many needs that are unmet by the government, by aid agencies. We know what our needs are and it is for us to now go and solve them. (Gathoni - (3.4.1.1 _ (11)))
(3) Then there is the vibrancy in Kenya among the young people. Young people are so strong. They have so many challenges and when a challenge comes we normally think of a solution and the solution could normally come in form of a social enterprise. (Gabriel - (3.4.1.1 _ (14)))
(4) The fact that employment opportunities are low is an enabler. Because of that, for some people still at school their focus is not on being employed. They focus on another thing and that will be: How can I help the society with the skills I am gaining at school? How can I get out and make more opportunity for others? (Jed - (3.4.1.1 _ (13)))
(5) We are here because Nairobi is a social innovation hub and a hotspot for social impact and social change. (Roshan - (3.4.1.1 _ (15)))
(6) One of the big enablers is that Nairobi is a nice laboratory for people to try their ideas. (Roshan - (3.4.1.1 _ (15)))
(7) A lot of people feel like there is a lot of youth unemployment and to solve that is by encouraging people to become entrepreneurs. In theory that makes sense, in practice not everybody is an entrepreneur and most people should not be entrepreneurs because they don’t have skills. (Roshan - (3.4.1.1 _ (13)))
3.4.1.2 Barriers
(1) I cannot stand the corruption. In our country here, everything, all the processes you must facilitate, are subject to corruption. There is no room for justice. If you want something you have to pay for it. It is not straight-forward. (Ivy - (3.4.1.2 _ (1)))
(2) So, there is that foolish mentality where people start social entrepreneurship with a view to getting attention from the donors and government so that they are financed, pocket the money and go home. So, if people come to me asking for assistance I will first ask them of their intention, what have you done? Is it genuine? Because if it is not genuine, it will die. (Gabriel - (3.4.1.2 _ (12)))
(3) Next week on Monday we will not be in the office but down to the open space because for the past two months we have not been able to raise money to sustain the office expenses. We have worked for many people but they have defaulted to pay us. The default rate is high and the economic situation is hard. So, they have defaulted paying us but we are still following it up. However, the land lord is not as patient as you would wish. So, you must work harder to get back on your feet. (Gabriel - (3.4.1.2 _ (14)))
(4) Potential clients have prejudices. They look at you with contempt. They look at your age, the year the company started, and then they say they can’t deal with such a young company. (Gabriel - (3.4.1.2 _ (9)))
(5) Social entrepreneurship is an extremely new thing. People that you have attachment to, like family and friends, they will not understand and ask: “Why don’t you graduate and go to work?” They do not understand your motivation. (Jed - (3.4.1.2 _ (2)))
(6) People with a great social idea often lack the resources for executing it. However, they fear sharing the idea because when they share somebody else with the resources will execute it. So, it is about property rights and intellectual property. That way, many good ideas never get executed. (Jed - (3.4.1.2 _ (16)))
(7) In African families, it is a taboo to talk about money issues. So, for young people the first time they get to interact with their own money they get really confused. For young entrepreneurs that often causes troubles. (Jed - (3.4.1.2 _ (17)))
(8) There is an obsession of money. Kenya is a very materialistic country and the culture really celebrates that. It is all about the biggest company, big reputation, happy parents, and more money. The people are looking after themselves first. It is a very competitive and unity- oriented culture. People first think of their family, then of their tribe and their tribes are not connecting. They are not thinking beyond tribe. For this reason, they do not get that diversity of thinking, diversity of ideas that they could have mixing tribes as well. (Roshan- (3.4.1.2 _ (4)))
(9) People in Kenya don’t have the luxury to afford to fail. That is mainly due to culture. In Kenya, we find very religious people who get married young. They also get children in young age. They might want to become an entrepreneur but have three kids. So, they have no chance to take that kind of risk. Tolerance of taking risk goes down unless you have no option. (Roshan- (3.4.1.2 _ (5)))
3.5 Social Entrepreneurship Education
3.5.1 Social Entrepreneurship Education
3.5.1.1 Current Landscape
(1) They use the curriculum of other countries especially from Europe which is not contextual. It is not suitable for Kenya. (Gabriel - (3.5.1.1 _ (1)))
(2) For the public universities, there is no curriculum present that is completely covering what a social entrepreneur needs to know to start- up and run a social enterprise. You can only access it in private universities which are very expensive and thus not an option for those with the right ideas a strong social commitment but rather for those who can afford but are lacking the intrinsic motivation. (Jed - (3.5.1.1 _ (1)))
3.5.1.2 Educational Gaps
(1) The Kenyan education curriculum is very much set towards A+B equals C. It is very structured and there is no other way. You are not given time to think about things. There is no outside of the box thinking. However, A+B can also equal F. F is new. F is a value. (Gathoni - (3.5.1.2 _ (2)))
3.5.2 Designing Social Entrepreneurship Education
3.5.2.1 Curriculum Requirements
(1) A curriculum should help to create purpose and passion. (Jed- (3.5.2.1 _ (9)))
(2) It is not just about going to class, sitting, hearing a lecture, taking notes, at the end of the class you walk out to go learn for the exam, get 100%, pass, and wait for the next exam you need to gain some degree. It is more about are you able to put what you have learned into practice? (Jed- (3.5.2.1 _ (10)))
(3) The only way to learn social entrepreneurship is to be an entrepreneur. You should think about a methodology that includes that. The most important orientation around social entrepreneurship education is to start social enterprises. These enterprises should not necessarily be something that must succeed. However, the students must go through the steps of starting something up. They should not do it in theory but do it for real. (Roshan- (3.5.2.1 _ (3)))
3.5.2.2 Teaching Practices
(1) If you tell your mom you want to be a musician, a DJ, or a social entrepreneur she will just laugh at you or slap in your face. Still there are people who made it. And why have they made it? Because they believe in themselves and in what they do. (Ivy - (3.5.2.2 _ (6)))
(2) Maybe we can have a curriculum which is sensitive to the context and sensitive to the time. Right now, most people don’t like reading. They like watching videos and listening to produce. So, you can put the curriculum in that format. Something they can easily work with. (Gabriel - (3.5.2.2 _ (12)))
(3) For the young, it is important to identify their strengths and help them to believe in these strengths. With interactions with that child you can know their strengths and interests. If it is football you must develop football, if it is reading you must develop reading. With the age of 14, things change. Now it is more about promoting their development as they develop their interest. (Jed - (3.5.2.2 _ (6)))
(4) For young people, it is important to invite mentors for sharing a little entrepreneurial spirit in not so technical terms. That way, they can grasp something that they’ll be curious of. They will start asking questions. Here it is about raising curiosity. You can always find someone to look up to, in terms of whose footsteps you want to follow. Ask the children who they might be interested in. That will better suit their development than just bringing someone. If they say: “I want to be a pilot, get a pilot.” This can facilitate a lot of enthusiasm, desire and identification. That is sort of a priceless feel. You will always remember the moment you met that person who showed you your own potential. It is about to start dreaming and then start working for this dream. (Jed - (3.5.2.2 _ (13)))
(5) You may like to identify what is it that they really care about. One cares about catering, another one about malaria another one about HIV or whatever but they must deeply care about something. You start with what they care about and that is where they should start growing their business around. (Roshan - (3.5.2.2 _ (4)))
(6) They also must come up with a prototype. They must try to produce something that they can show to others in a physical presentation. It is not about writing exams, not about writing a paper but about doing the project. For the example of a catering project: They must be able to show the food that they made, how they distribute it, etc. At the end of the program they must be able to present what their business does and how. (Roshan - (3.5.2.2 _ (14)))
(7) You don’t need theory. Not for this targeted audience. If you are starting a business school, maybe, but I wouldn’t go to theory about social entrepreneurship in this context because it is about: What is your problem? What are you trying to solve? Why do you care about what? So, get the people working practically. I don't think you must focus on theory. Maybe if you have a group of intellectuals you may have evening classes to help understand the theory part of it. (Roshan - (3.5.2.2 _ (15)))
3.5.2.3 Role of the teacher
(1) Live the life that you want the people to see you for. Be the person you want to see. Be the change you want to see. (Ivy - (3.5.2.3 _ (5)))
(2) That is why I think it is so important to have teachers who are also engaged in learning and trying out new models. (Gathoni - (3.5.2.3 _ (8)))
(3) You need people who have developed entrepreneurial skills in the past to teach them. It is very hard to have someone who has not been an entrepreneur to teach them. I think you need people who have done it, who have learned it from their successes and failures to be able to teach them how to do that. So, don't find a professor to do that but find an actual entrepreneur. (Roshan - (3.5.2.3 _ (4)))
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X. -
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Téléchargez vos propres textes! Gagnez de l'argent et un iPhone X.