These days the line between public, private, and non-profit are beginning to blur. Social enterprise is one of the new ways that this is happening. 

Definition

The Skoll Centre for Social Enterprise, one of the world's leading authorities on the topic, defines social enterprise this way:

Social entrepreneurship is about innovative, market-oriented approaches underpinned by a passion for social equity and environmental sustainability. Ultimately, social entrepreneurship is aimed at transformational systems change that tackles the root causes of poverty, marginalization, environmental deterioration and accompanying loss of human dignity.

The key concepts of social entrepreneurship are innovation, market orientation and systems change.

STREAT 

As a social enterprise, STREAT will be delivering social outcomes, but be highly focused on generating profit to do this. And unlike a community enterprise where the general community owns and runs the organisation, STREAT is run by a social entrepreneur who reports to a board that has some community representation. On a spectrum of activities, STREAT is placed further towards the business end of the spectrum than many other community or social enterprises in the sector.

Learn more about social enterprise

In late 2009 STREAT’s founder Bec Scott was involved in the Social Enterprise World Forum’s Great Debate titled ‘There's no business like social business’. Here’s a chance to watch two teams battle it out over the role of social enterprise in the social economy. In this instance Bec channels her inner capitalist.