Social entrepreneurship describes the discovery and sustainable exploitation of opportunities to create social and environmental benefits. This is usually done through the generation of disequilibria in market and non-market environments.
The social entrepreneurship process can in some cases lead to the creation of social enterprises. These social ventures are hybrid organizations exhibiting characteristics of both the for-profit and not-for-profit sector. Individuals engaging in social entrepreneurship are usually referred to as social entrepreneurs, a term that describes resourceful individuals working to create social innovation.
They do not only have to identify (or create) opportunities for social change (that so far have been unexploited), they must also muster the resources necessary to turn these opportunities into reality. A typical example is Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank (Bangladesh) and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his contribution to poverty alleviation through the invention and popularization of microfinance.