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By Said El Azhary
Morocco World News
Fez, April 3, 2012
Meeting Hamza El Fasiki, to make advertisements for his project, was really special for me, and enabled me to know exactly what social entrepreneurship is about.
When he visited me in Excofi Office I was so curious to ask him about social entrepreneurship. Then he mentioned: “Often the term social entrepreneurship goes side by side with the notion of social problems. How come? The notion of social here means any social problem; be it poverty, joblessness, education, corruption, clean water or even access to electricity- the list might be endless.”
In this vein of actions, social entrepreneurs are a species of a rare breed of leaders who share the same characteristics. They have the ability to explore their capacity of innovation, resourcefulness, practicality and opportunism. Social entrepreneurs explore new ideas that are often turned into or established as new innovative ventures or business models.”
That is when I realized that social entrepreneurship is an opportunity aimed to be given to people who have no access to markets and who happen to live in remote areas that suffer from miserable conditions of living. So the role of social entrepreneurship is to cover and reach those places to enlighten their handcrafts and let markets know about their creativity.
The second interview with him was in a café here in Fez. While we were discussing some topics with non-locals, Hamza was so kind as to answer all my questions about his project. Then, I asked him about the purposes behind his event.
“My project aims first at spreading knowledge on social entrepreneurship. This stems from my personal experience as a student and a researcher in the field of social entrepreneurship,”he Said.
“I have noticed that it is rare that students know about the field . Hence, there is a need to sensitize Moroccans on it,” Hamza added.
My second question was about whether he can spread the word of social entrepreneurship in most cities in Morocco?
He enunciated that “If social entrepreneurship is to be spread around Morocco, then it will give enough time for sustainable change. Social innovation can have spiraling affects.”
When asked about the future of social entrepreneurship in Morocco, Hamza expressed his belief that since “Morocco is in the process of social development, social entrepreneurship could become an outlet for entrepreneurs to broaden their scope of operation. They could ensure social responsibility within their ventures.”
This first edition of Social Entrepreneurship Training Days is funded by the U.S. Department of State through SUSI (Study of U.S. Institutes) and its administrative agency FHI 360, 2010, Moroccan SUSI AED Alumnus on Social Entrepreneurship and winner of the 2012 Mini-Grant competition.
These training days will take place from the 31st of March to the 22nd of April 2012 in Fez, Morocco.
The program is seeking candidates for the 2012 Social Entrepreneurship Training Days. Moroccan students under 30 years of age from different educational levels and backgrounds, who demonstrate leadership through academic work, community involvement and extracurricular activities, have a strong interest in social entrepreneurship and have a good command of Arabic, French, and English, are invited to apply for the program.
The program offers up to fifteen places for Moroccan students.
Program Overview:
Social Entrepreneurship Training Days is an intensive 4-weeks program that leverages the knowledge of social change and youth engagement. All the sessions will be conducted in the afternoon for four weekends, starting from the dates mentioned above. Participants, then, should assure their availability.
The program shall bring experts, researchers and professionals in the fields of entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation and social work.
The project aims at spreading knowledge on social entrepreneurship through education and inspiration. A group of fifteen student leaders with a deep motivation to learn about the field are encouraged to take part in the project.
The program will constitute a balance between a series of workshops, discussions, readings, and lastly group presentations.
The Social Entrepreneurship Training Days will provide participants with an overview of how to employ entrepreneurial skills to address social issues in their communities and institutions.
The program will review different notions surrounding the concept of social entrepreneurship such as Innovation, Social Change, Creativity, Leadership and others.
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