If social entrepreneurs didn’t tackle the issues they did, it’s difficult to see who would. That’s the view of Julian Yarr, Chairman of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI). Understanding why this is the case gets to the heart of what social entrepreneurship is all about.
“Social entrepreneurs jump into the gaps where Governments can’t provide what’s needed and where the private sector doesn’t, because of the financial implications involved.”
There are no shortage of social issues and societal needs in Ireland be it in the areas of housing, health, climate change or the challenges associated with integration and asylum seekers, and solutions to these issues often seem out of reach.
What social entrepreneurs do which is different is that they address particular problems within their communities – ones they get their arms around and where they can make a tangible difference. All the more remarkable then that this is generally done with modest resources.
“It’s often the people who are in the middle of an environment who can identify an issue and how it might be solved where other social supports are just not going to get there quickly. We look for organisations that can scale on the island because then you are seeing societal change but starting off on a community level and building out nationally is a route that many of the entrepreneurs will take.”
Yarr cites the example of JumpAgrade (profiled elsewhere in this publication) which focuses on a niche area in which it can make a huge impact.
“Here’s an example of societal issue which is around, ‘If you have money, you are going to get more education, which means you are likely to get a better job with more income’. There’s a narrow invention here that levels the playing field around access to extra tuition, but it’s one that can scale quickly across the country and indeed internationally.”
This focus on a niche issue is a classic model and characteristic of many of the projects Social Entrepreneurs Ireland has supported down through the years.
“The real driver is the speed at which the entrepreneur can identify and make change quickly. They are people who are passionate about solving issues and that passion and commitment drives them forward. In many instances, it is personal. It may be inspired by an issue that a family member is experiencing or it's about something they are very close to in their community.
“They can tackle challenges in bite sized chunks as opposed to Government that may have to take a broader or and longer term programme approach. Ireland may be in a good place now where there is a budget surplus, but it hasn’t always been that way but even within that, Money doesn’t always find its way to the issues that are impacting society.”
If you talk to social entrepreneurs about their major challenges, funding is often cited as the big issue, he says. Until now at any rate, philanthropy has been the model for funding social entrepreneurship in Ireland and Yarr is keen to acknowledge the support of the corporate sector, who have given generously in terms of financial contributions, as well as lending their professional expertise through pro-bono support to SEI and the projects the organisation supports.
“Funding is important but so is the pro-bono work be it in technology, legal, PR, accounting, leadership development – all of those things make a key difference. These are the things the social entrepreneurs want more of, especially in the early stages of their projects. That’s what they believe will accelerate their success.”
From his vantage point as former managing partner of leading law firm, A&L Goodbody, Yarr says that he has often been struck by the privileged that large corporates enjoy in most western societies.
“I always feel that with privilege comes responsibility and I think a lot of others in the corporate world feel the same way. It seems to me that if you are a business leader that is not thinking around success factors that are broader than your profit line, you are missing something really important. We live in a world where there is so much written about purpose and how organisations should have a purpose. Most corporates in Ireland now recognise the responsibilities that they have.”
Translating this desire for a strong purpose and social responsibility into practical support is where Social Entrepreneurs Ireland comes in.
“Businesses say to us that they want to make a difference in the communities they operate within, and they see Social Entrepreneurs Ireland as a really smart vehicle to do this through. The questions the corporate sector ask are: ‘Do you have the right ideas around making social impacts, are they structured in a way that we can support are they going to develop and grow?”
Where Social Entrepreneurs Ireland make a difference, is helping projects by providing them with structure and organisation and bringing them to a place where they can scale. Without these inputs from the organisation, money on its own wouldn’t be enough to get them to where they want to be, he says.
While strong governance is important, Yarr says it is important that social entrepreneurs can operate within appropriate structures that don’t burden them unnecessarily and he believes that change is possible here.
“It’s important to get the right balance between having looser structure and regulation there and actually making sure they have a sensible platform through organisations can flexibly grow and develop.”
The rigour that SEI brings to its work, in identifying appropriate entrepreneurs who not only have a vision but have the fundamental ability to deliver on their mission, pay-off when looking for support from the corporate sector for the programmes run to support the work of social entrepreneurs, Yarr says.
“Our experience is that when we go to people in the business world and illustrate what we do, it really piques an interest. It’s not the same as looking for something like venture capital because we’re not asking them to support individual social entrepreneurs, but we will bring something to them that they can really lean into. Once people understand that there is proper structure and proper governance around what they are being asked to support, that really helps.”
Despite the philanthropic contribution of the corporate sector and high net worth individual, with so much work to be done, there is never enough funding for the work of social entrepreneurs and Yarr says that the SEI board is exploring the wider issue of funding over the next 20 years, broadening the funding levels and accessing deeper pockets.
Yarr says he and his former colleagues in his law firm have enjoyed being exposed to the work of social enterprises in the many years A&L Goodbody has been associated with SEI.
“We’ve encountered many really impressive individuals, often people with a burning obsession to solve an issue in an area where their skills can be brought to bear. They bring a level of resilience and risk taking. They push themselves hard and push the boundaries. I remember going to my first Gathering and you could see real change, happening through real people, not getting held back by the bureaucracy and being put off by people saying ‘no’ to them.
This tenacity is something that they share with entrepreneurs in the private sector.
“It doesn’t surprise me when you look at traditional entrepreneurs in the for-profit sector look across at social entrepreneurs and identify very strongly with them. It’s an area we’d like to explore further – how you can cross over the skills you have in the business world into the social world.”