ABSTRACT
In the past few years social entrepreneurship has seen a meteoric rise in use that should be viewed with cautious triumph. A Lexis Nexis® search for social entrepreneur terms the year 2000, when the Schwab Foundation started, reveals only 264 stories. In the year of 2007, the same search yields 1,705 stories worldwide. Empirically, when the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship invited its first social entrepreneur network members to the Annual Meeting or ‘Davos’ in 2002, it held an event entitled, “Meet the Social Entrepreneurs.” It was dismally received with only a few participants in attendance – mainly to see the foundation’s board members Paulo Coelho and Muhammad Yunus. Fast-forward eight years and social entrepreneurs are well regarded ‘regulars’ at Forum events. Indeed, workshops on building ventures with social entrepreneurs are some of the most acclaimed sessions at summits.
