Social Entrepreneurship in the Age of Atrocities: Lessons Learned and Conclusion

Abstract

This book chapter, authored by Dr. Zachary D. Kaufman, is the final chapter in the book SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN THE AGE OF ATROCITIES: CHANGING OUR WORLD (edited by Dr. Zachary D. Kaufman and published by Edward Elgar Publishing, which has published many of the leading books on social entrepreneurship).

The book earlier presented first-hand narratives of social entrepreneurs who have focused on atrocity issues. This chapter turns to reflecting on those separate experiences as a whole.

This concluding chapter thus compares each of the preceding case studies of social entrepreneurship – highlighting Americans for Informed Democracy, Asylum Access, Children of Abraham, Generation Rwanda, Indego Africa, the Kigali Public Library, the National Vision for Sierra Leone, and Orphans Against AIDS – with lessons learned interspersed throughout.

The first part of this chapter explores characteristics the profiled social enterprises share, concentrating on youth leadership and focus, motivation, luck, failure, institution-building, management, friends and family, technology, intersections with academia, and potential personal risks, costs, and benefits.

The second part of this chapter considers how social entrepreneurship is a diverse industry, including through design and operations, scalability and obsolescence, staff, local leadership, and social entrepreneur multipliers.

In conclusion, the chapter reflects on general lessons learned from the social enterprises profiled in the book.

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise, Atrocities, Genocide, War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, Human Rights, Transitional Justice, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Reconciliation, Conflict Resolution, Development, Peace-building, Growth, Africa, Rwanda, Scalability, Management, Leadership