Microlending programs for low-income microentrepreneurs have become a global priority since the development of the Grameen Bank in 1976 and the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations in 2015. Inspired to create their own microlending program, the deans of the schools of social welfare and business at the University at Albany were aided by the university's Small Business Development Center and the State Employees Federal Credit Union. This led to the creation of the Small Enterprise Economic Development (SEED) program. Following this, new faculty were hired in the School of Social Welfare and the School of Business to address social entrepreneurship and lead these initiatives. The impetus for this book emerged from these developments including three forums in which national and international contributors participated in workshops, panels, and chapters for this book. These forums were co-organized by the School of Social Welfare, the School of Business, and a new Center for the Advancement & Understanding of Social Enterprises (CAUSE) at UAlbany.
Building on the example set by UAlbany,
Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprises in Economic and Social Development explains how and why we should integrate social entrepreneurship and social enterprises with economic and social development. While this global movement varies in pace and scope, the volume features snapshots from countries and regions representing nearly all continents, including Albania, Argentina, Cuba, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Taiwan, Tajikistan, and Tanzania.
One of the lessons is that social policies are critical for supporting social entrepreneurs since environmental, economic, and social sustainability are core goals of these initiatives. The chapters in this volume offer different contextual frames ranging from social enterprise business plans and measured entrepreneurial orientation to displacement dynamics (and how to avoid them) and the pitfalls of non-market economies. The contributing authors examine a variety of ventures and social policies to showcase how nations are supporting social enterprises as they attempt to meet human needs and achieve financial sustainability. The resulting volume provides a rationale for, and snapshots of, social enterprises and entrepreneurship in transitioning nations.
Katharine Briar-Lawson is Professor and Dean Emeritus in the School of Social Welfare at the University at Albany. She has authored or edited over 14 books, including Globalization, Social Justice and the Helping Professions. Her research includes the human costs of unemployment and underemployment along with family centered practices and policies. She has been instrumental in the development of the interdisciplinary Small Enterprise Economic Development (SEED) program at the University at Albany. She has won international, national, and university awards for some of her work.
Paul Miesing is Founding Director of UAlbany's Center for Advancement & Understanding of Social Enterprises (CAUSE). He conducts research and training in the School of Business in various areas of Strategic Management, including environmental sustainability, social entrepreneurship, globalization issues, and corporate governance. He has previously been Fulbright Lecturer at Fudan University in Shanghai, Visiting Professor at the Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, and Visiting Faculty at La Universidad Del Salvador in Buenos Aires. In 2013, he was the recipient of two of UAlbany's inaugural Exemplary Community Engagement Awards.
Blanca M. Ramos is Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare with a joint appointment in the Department of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University at Albany. Ramos is a recognized publicly-engaged community leader and scholar. Her research interests focus on socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, particularly immigrants and Latin American subgroups in the US. She has a long history of working internationally in collaborative and research projects, especially in Sweden, Spain, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Peru.
