Social entrepreneurship is an approach towards solving social problems and addressing social challenges while employing market-based solutions (Rey-Martí et al., 2016). The phenomenon has been gaining popularity with the passage of time (Jamali, 2014), but the area remains undefined and under-researched (Hill et al., 2010; Mair and Martí, 2006). One of the main reasons for the lack of research is the absence of a unified paradigm which could contribute towards a common understanding of the concept (Christie and Honig, 2006).
During past two decades, the phenomenon of social entrepreneurship has been in the limelight in both public and academic sectors (Grimes et al., 2012). At the regional level, social entrepreneurship is being acknowledged and practiced across the Arab region. A number of social ventures have emerged in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA); but the region continues to face a growing number of social challenges (Malik and Awadallah, 2013). Post Arab Spring, Arab youth remains vulnerable to the consequences and aftermaths of the crisis (LaGraffe, 2012). This calls for research to study the effective conscription and organisation of social entrepreneurship in order to extend opportunities for Arab youth. There has never before been a higher demand for exploring the phenomenon and its practice in this region.
Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East, a two volume book by Dima Jamali and Alessandro Lanteri has addressed this demand by providing a holistic view of social entrepreneurship in the region. The book provides background history, the current situation, success stories, and the potential future of social entrepreneurship in the Middle East. The first volume presents a broad theoretical outline of the common understanding of social entrepreneurship and the macro environment that surrounds its practice in the region. The second draws from examples of social ventures in the region.
Volume 1
The first chapter by Imam Bibars reviews the concept and various definitions of social entrepreneurship that surround the phenomenon. The first chapter contributes towards closing the gap in the literature by addressing the need for a unified paradigm to comprehend the notion of social entrepreneurship. Authors in the second chapter have identified the differences in the socioeconomic setting of countries located in the MENA Region and its impact on the contextual understanding of social entrepreneurship. Identified differences are income level, population, nature of export, and unemployment. For example, per capita income of Qatar is 30 times more than that of Yemen. Therefore, the second chapter is very helpful for the reader in understanding the degree of positive change that social entrepreneurship offers to individual countries in MENA.
Soushiant Zanganehpour, in the third chapter, has identified main success factors that can enable the region to develop an ecosystem for nurturing emerging social ventures. Chapter 4 offers some interesting insight from Rebecca Hill and Medea Nocentini as they critically appraise expectations associated with the contribution of social entrepreneurship for the social development of the region: “if it is false hope or a new dawn”.
Among the social challenges faced by the Middle East, youth is of great importance to address (Barsoum, 2013). In this context, in chapter 5, Clare and Fatima outline the promising role of social entrepreneurship in engaging Arab youth and their social development. The authors note that the region possesses one of the highest numbers of disengaged youth, despite the fact that Arab human capital tops many corporate agendas. In order to leverage this human capital, the authors recommend change in the role of government, changes in policy, the creation of awareness, and the integration of social entrepreneurship across different disciplines.
In chapter 6, David Mounir Nabti explores the dynamics of scalable start-up social ventures of the MENA region. According to the author, these ventures are riskier than for-profit small businesses, but this does not undermine the degree of benefit that they offer to both society and entrepreneurs. In essence, the chapter appraises the external and internal challenges posed to scalable start-up social ventures. Chapter 7 discusses the subtleties of impact investment in the region. Jamil Wayne here outlines the concept of impact investment and its contribution for social development while also identifying the social investment gap that exists in the MENA region. According to the author, this gap is the result of limited awareness among the regional investors, low public interest, the lack of success stories, and an underdeveloped venture capital sector. Chapter 8 complements the material in chapter 7, as the author notes that despite the growing trend of impact investment funds flying from developed countries to developing countries, the MENA region remains an under-recipient due to the limited availability of funding opportunities, such as microfinance and venture capital.
Chapter 9 presents the case of Arab diaspora in which the interesting case of the social entrepreneur venture of Lebanon-For-Entrepreneurs is discussed. This venture strives to develop an ecosystem for IT start-ups through diaspora engagement. In this chapter, Irena Kapusta establishes that although contextual literature in the domain of Arab diaspora is very limited, the role of social development these diasporas are playing in their limited capacity is worth appreciating and is thus scalable.
Volume 2
Chapter 1 has presented the case of AltCity from Lebanon – a social entrepreneur venture that launched an open source media outlet named Hibr. This new outlet provides a platform for a marginalised class of the region to voice their issues. Chapter 2 discusses a practical example of an ecosystem that nurtures innovative social ventures by presenting the cases of four social entrepreneur ventures in Egypt. The authors reflect on the macro- and micro-environmental characteristics that can facilitate the proposed ecosystem.
In order to exemplify the role of social entrepreneurship in relation to social development in the Arab region, Hayat Sindi in chapter 3 presents the case of i2 – a Saudi NGO that supports regional engineers and scientists in initiating and sustaining start-up ventures that offer social impact. In the context of social problem solving through social ventures, chapter 4 postulates the case of Offre Joie from Lebanon. This social movement targets sectarianism challenges. Providing the fact that Lebanon is one of the countries in the region known for widespread sectarian cleavages, the authors, through this example, glorify the importance of social ventures in the MENA region for saving youth and children from sectarianism problems. Chapter 5 underpins the challenges, opportunities, and distinctive manifestations for social entrepreneurship in Morocco. In the same direction, Hamza El Fasiki in chapter 6 studies the cultural context of social entrepreneurship in this country.
Despite their growing demand, incubators of social entrepreneurship are in the infancy stage (Sonne, 2012). Chapters 7 and 8 discuss this issue by presenting examples from the region such as that of Nabad: the first social entrepreneurship incubator in Lebanon. It offers financial capital, and human and social capital for social start-ups to scale. Exploring the main success factors for social entrepreneurship incubators like Nabad, Samer Sfeir, chapter 8 determines that financial funding (venture philanthropy, grants, loans, awards, and impact investments) networking, co-working space, networking teaching, and mentoring are the main ones. Countries in the MENA region differ in many characteristics such as income level, GDP, unemployment, and political stability. Chapter 9 appraises the scenario of the democratic transition in Tunisia in terms of growth social entrepreneurship and social ventures.
Dima Jamali and Alessandro Lanteri, in their book Social Entrepreneurship in the Middle East, have succeeded in providing a practical guide for individuals interested in starting a social venture in the Middle East. A wealth of hands-on examples adds to the practicality of the book for academics and practitioners alike. While it is equally important for students with an interest in social entrepreneurship, the book is insightful for policy makers of the region to take guidance for policy change that enables a nurturing environment that promotes social entrepreneurship.
