Entrepreneurship through Technology Serving a Social Cause
Katherine Jane D. Unsay | BSCHEM 2H2
“Entrepreneurship through technology serving a social cause.”
When it comes to economic development and poverty alleviation, entrepreneurship plays two important roles. To begin with, entrepreneurship is progressively contributing to the development of new jobs, as well as increased productivity and value addition. Second, many technological interventions are transformed into novel products or services for the benefit of society as a whole by entrepreneurs. While the majority of research and development takes place in huge corporations or institutions, the following application of research findings is dependent on entrepreneurial individuals who can profit from these chances. As a result, entrepreneurship plays a significant role in the transmission of technology from research institutes to the general public. This technical transfer also adds to a country’s economic development.
Within the main idea that the concept of social entrepreneurship promotes, it is the use of innovations that are considered sufficient enough to deal effectively with various social problems, such as addressing poverty, limiting access to healthcare systems, particularly in remote or underserved areas, and providing solutions to youth unemployment. For example, in the majority of so-called third-world countries, farmers and related personnel require daily updates on weather conditions as well as sowing timetables in order to plan their harvest schedules accordingly. Furthermore, fisherman who live in coastal areas must be aware of weather broadcasting, particularly storm forecasts; for this purpose, relevant mobile apps would be the most effective means of doing this work.
Using the examples offered in the preceding paragraph, one might study -even briefly- the significant role of technology in the resolution of various social problems. As a result, today’s social entrepreneurs are more likely to use technology advancements to foster social innovation, resulting in the creation of actual social benefit. According to UN statistics, the percentage of people who own a personal mobile phone has just surpassed the number of people who have toilets, demonstrating the extent to which the mobile revolution has impacted even the underserved or disadvantaged social groups. It is common knowledge that in many countries, professionals with a variety of specializations, such as traders, drivers, handymen, and entrepreneurs, use relevant technological applications as a means of communication with customers or other professionals with whom they collaborate, such as suppliers, sellers, and administrative personnel.
In this scenario, technology provides useful channels of communication and the completion of a series of tasks, resulting in the formation of a chain of individuals and operations capable of best serving the mode of working. However, there is need for improvement in such apps in order for them to be able to provide ‘safety and security’ while utilizing such technologies. At this point, we’d like to point out that it’s up to the producers of such apps to set up proper laws and oversee the operations of such platforms, whereas it’s up to the user to make the most of technological advancements in a way that benefits everyone. Also, this digital space could give individuals and organizations on a smaller economic or operational scale, or institutions that are considered disadvantaged for various reasons, the opportunity to be a part of a vast whole, through which they could negotiate in conditions of autonomy and equality at the same time.
Smaller organizations could profit from the sharing and, as a result, adoption of shared best practices, thereby upgrading their resources, boosting their capacities, and updating their method of operation. Social entrepreneurs are becoming able to operate in a transnational manner as a result of the technological revolution and digital technologies, reaching international audiences and eliminating factors such as distance and scale by allowing them to extend their microcredits, resulting in the formation of networks and ecosystems of organizations. As a result, both economic and social value is created, revealing a possible path for technological innovation to contribute to the building of social capital.