Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

Muhammad Yunus, the practical visionary who pioneered microcredit and won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his world-changing efforts, here develops his revolutionary concept that promises to redeem the failed promise of free enterprise: social business. Designed to fill the gap between profit-making and human needs, social business applies entrepreneurial thinking to problems like poverty, hunger, pollution, and disease, creating self-supporting enterprises that create jobs and generate economic growth even as they make the world a better place. Partnering with some of the world¿s greatest corporations, Yunus and his Grameen Bank have already launched several social businesses that are addressing challenges like malnutrition, lack of potable water, and endemic illness in Yunus¿ homeland of Bangladesh, while other organizations around the world are developing their own experiments in social business. In this book, Yunus traces the development of the social business idea and explains its lessons for entrepreneurs, social activists, and policy makers, and offers practical guidance for those who want to create social businesses of their own.

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Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

Muhammad Yunus, the practical visionary who pioneered microcredit and won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his world-changing efforts, here develops his revolutionary concept that promises to redeem the failed promise of free enterprise: social business. Designed to fill the gap between profit-making and human needs, social business applies entrepreneurial thinking to problems like poverty, hunger, pollution, and disease, creating self-supporting enterprises that create jobs and generate economic growth even as they make the world a better place. Partnering with some of the world¿s greatest corporations, Yunus and his Grameen Bank have already launched several social businesses that are addressing challenges like malnutrition, lack of potable water, and endemic illness in Yunus¿ homeland of Bangladesh, while other organizations around the world are developing their own experiments in social business. In this book, Yunus traces the development of the social business idea and explains its lessons for entrepreneurs, social activists, and policy makers, and offers practical guidance for those who want to create social businesses of their own.

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Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

by Muhammad Yunus
Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

Building Social Business: The New Kind of Capitalism That Serves Humanity's Most Pressing Needs

by Muhammad Yunus

 


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Overview

Muhammad Yunus, the practical visionary who pioneered microcredit and won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his world-changing efforts, here develops his revolutionary concept that promises to redeem the failed promise of free enterprise: social business. Designed to fill the gap between profit-making and human needs, social business applies entrepreneurial thinking to problems like poverty, hunger, pollution, and disease, creating self-supporting enterprises that create jobs and generate economic growth even as they make the world a better place. Partnering with some of the world¿s greatest corporations, Yunus and his Grameen Bank have already launched several social businesses that are addressing challenges like malnutrition, lack of potable water, and endemic illness in Yunus¿ homeland of Bangladesh, while other organizations around the world are developing their own experiments in social business. In this book, Yunus traces the development of the social business idea and explains its lessons for entrepreneurs, social activists, and policy makers, and offers practical guidance for those who want to create social businesses of their own.


Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The Spectator, June 2010
“[A] reminder that capitalism can take kindlier forms: microfinance pioneer Yunus explains how he believes social enterprise can redeem what he regards as the failed promise of free markets.”  
 
Sacramento Book Review, June 22, 2010
“Giving poor people the resources to help themselves, Dr. Yunus has offered these individuals something more valuable than a plate of food, namely security in its basic form…. Dr. Yunus has invoked a new basis for capitalism whereby social business has the potential to change the failed promise of free market enterprise.”
 
The Independent, June 6, 2010
“There are times when Professor Yunus' aims for Glasgow sound like something out of the Conservative's "Big Society" pitch. His latest book, Building Social Business, is 300 pages of Big Society pleading for people to go out there and create businesses which generate cash and contribute to the greater good at the same time.”
 
Daily Star (Pakistan), August 1, 2010
“Even a hard-core skeptic would find it difficult not to dream once the magic of Dr Muhammad Yunus' words as presented in the book start to make sense.”
 
Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2010

CHOICE, September 2010
“In nine short, well-written chapters, Yunus provides genuine insight into global poverty and a unique perspective on the ways in which social businesses can coexist with traditional businesses to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of the world's citizens.” 

Malaysia Star, July 10, 2010
“’Social business is about joy,’ says Yunus. Indeed, and the book itself is joy to read. In modest prose, Yunus tells of undertakings that instill hope. He also gives a lot of ideas, along with nuts-and-bolts practical advice for people who are ready to take the plunge into the world of social business. In the years to come, it seems certain that social business will become an integral part of our economic structure and will positively change the lives of many people.” 
 
Daily Times (Pakistan), August 7, 2010
“Yunus may be an astute (social) businessman, but he also has a savvy side. He is quick to point out that working for any social business does not mean lowering one’s standards, for they offer employees competitive salaries and benefits; it simply means not profiting from the poor…Yunus has a Nobel Peace Prize 2006 (shared with Grameen Bank) to show for his efforts, and is already playing around with the building blocks of a new poverty-free world order.”
 

Library Journal

Yunus (Creating a World Without Poverty) uses the selfish/selfless dichotomy of human nature to explain the fundamental difference between his concept of for-profit business vs. the social business. While the former seeks to maximize profit for the benefit of the owners, the latter aims to pursue social objectives for the benefit of poor customers and employees. Likewise, the social business differs from a traditional nonprofit because, like a for-profit business, it is self-sustaining through its sale of goods and services. Yunus developed the social business concept during the crushing 1974 Bangladesh famine. Local villagers, seeking aid for their entrepreneurial endeavors, found themselves virtually enslaved to moneylenders. By repaying the loans owed by these 42 enterprising souls, Yunus stumbled on the concept of microcredit. VERDICT Yunus engagingly profiles international social businesses, whether launched by multinational corporations or conceived by ordinary people with a vision to solve social problems. He offers practical advice for starting your own social businesses: from idea generation to the nuts and bolts of launching and running the concern. His impassioned dream of a different version of capitalistic endeavor is as inspirational as it is practical.—Carol J. Elsen, Univ. of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Product Details

BN ID: 2940169545173
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date: 05/11/2010
Edition description: Unabridged
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