Reasons for the development of social entrepreneurship. What is social entrepreneurship? Examples. Examples of the development of social entrepreneurship in Russia

Social entrepreneurship is a special kind of activity located at the intersection of charity and business. It involves making a profit and its reinvestment in solving or mitigating the most pressing problems in society. Incomes are not distributed among the participants of economic societies, but are invested in areas such as reducing unemployment, strengthening the protection of citizens' rights and the environment. Let us consider in detail what socially-oriented entrepreneurship is.

General information

Social entrepreneurship is a field in which activities are carried out independently of external funding. All work is carried out on the basis of proven business schemes. In this connection, it cannot be said that social entrepreneurship is such a form of self-activity. In this area, not only time-tested, but also new, scientifically grounded approaches are applied to solving existing and relatively recent problems.

Mission

Small businesses and socially oriented organizations can work in a variety of areas. They implement community-oriented programs as part of their core business. This can be health care, agriculture, services, education, and so on. Currently, there is no exact definition of social entrepreneurship, since it affects many areas of human life and has a huge number of directions and facets. The most capacious description of this activity is the following phrase: "Earn by helping others." Social entrepreneurship is a solution to tangible and concrete problems of social life, contributing to positive, sustainable change. At the same time, it should be emphasized that this work is not a charity. Help is provided on the principle of "give not a fish, but a fishing rod."

Historical reference

How did social entrepreneurship start? In Russia, back in the 19th century, there were the so-called houses of industriousness. They can be called an example of domestic comprehensive work assistance. These houses were founded by Father John Sergiev in Kronstadt. His main idea was the idea that often ordinary charity, charity corrupts a person, depriving him of the incentive to work. "Houses" were centers in which work was carried out in three directions at once. Here they were engaged in charity work, educational activities and employment. In the middle of the 19th century. cooperatives arose in Great Britain. They were a source of funding for the public needs of the population.

Development of social entrepreneurship

It should be noted that the phenomenon under consideration was noticed abroad much earlier than in Russia. There are several studies that illustrate the variety of content and forms of organization of social entrepreneurship. The concept itself was first introduced in the 60s. 20th century UK. Then the tendencies of public freedom spread. On this wave, issues of public importance were widely covered in English-language publications. A more stable use of the concept of social entrepreneurship dates back to the 70s and 80s. This was facilitated by several prominent personalities. So, Gregory Deese pointed out in one of his articles that the reason for the emergence of small business, socially-oriented non-profit organizations is the inefficiency of the work of individual public institutions. It is worth noting here that in advanced countries with fairly progressive structures, the considered form of business is more common. In this regard, for the emergence of social entrepreneurship, it is often enough for an individual member of society to have a subjective assessment of existing institutions as ineffective.

Specificity

Michael Young

This man has not only created social enterprises all over the world. Michael Young got serious about educational programs. Thanks to him, the College of Entrepreneurship (Social), the University of the 3rd Millennium, the Institute for the Study of Communities and many other institutions were born. Young was named the most successful businessman in the field of public initiative by one of the Harvard professors. Thanks to his activities, many ideas for consumer protection have been realized. Young performed and wrote books. The main idea of ​​his works was the idea to evaluate people not only by education, merit, mental abilities, type of activity, but also by the level of their honesty, ability to sympathize, show kindness and generosity.

Modern realities

Commercial companies are now more actively involved in social reform. At the same time, all enterprises have in common the desire to introduce innovative approaches in business. There is a growing interest in social entrepreneurship from the academic community. A special course was opened at Harvard Business School in 1989. The training went directly to the social entrepreneurship program. Since then, America's leading business schools have begun to include additional courses in their curricula. In 2004, about a quarter of Stanford graduates had degrees in social entrepreneurship. At the beginning of the 21st century, several large companies were opened. Among them:

Russian companies

In the Russian Federation, the most significant contribution can be called the "Our Future" fund. It was founded by V. Alekperov, co-owner and president of LUKoil. The Foundation provides information, financial and consulting assistance to social entrepreneurs, organizes project competitions, and analyzes the effectiveness of supported enterprises in terms of specific indicators. In addition to "Our Future", it is worth noting the "School of Farmers" in the Perm Territory, the "Cheerful felt" workshop operating under the Women's Society in Rybinsk, the Berezen consumer services salon in Tula, Dospehi LLC in Yekaterinburg "Elfo" Association "Care" in Nizhny Novgorod, the "Hope" foundation in St. Petersburg. In 2010, the concept of "social entrepreneurship" was officially included in the regulations of the Ministry of Economic Development. Due to this, the regional authorities began to show more attention to this social phenomenon. Educational institutions began to develop more actively. Among them, for example, one can single out the Novosibirsk school "Territory of Development".

Conclusion

The social problem, to which the entrepreneur's actions are directed, is the starting point of his business. If there is no urgent issue requiring intervention, then there will be no special work. There will be a business as usual with traditional purposes. Social entrepreneurship is a balance of social objectives and a business component. Here money is not a goal, but a means that allows not only to solve problems, but also to remain independent from constant investment from outside. From the point of view of world history, social entrepreneurship is considered a fairly young phenomenon. Abroad it has existed for a little over 30 years, and in Russia - about 10. Nevertheless, despite this, social enterprises today are on a par with charity, non-profit initiatives, and corporate responsibility. At the government level, drafts of normative acts are being worked out, which would clearly describe the mechanism of interaction between enterprises solving social problems with citizens and government agencies. Today social entrepreneurship is based on general rules of business. At the same time, companies are constantly introducing innovative methods of work. Undoubtedly, this sector must expand.

MOSCOW STATE UNIVERSITY named after M.V. LOMONOSOVA Faculty of Journalism Theory of mass communications Abstract on the topic: "Social entrepreneurship in Russia and in the world. Practice and role in modern society." Completed by: student d / o 514th group Alina Pachina Teacher: Associate Professor, Candidate of Philological Sciences, II Zasursky MOSCOW 2014 1.1. The concept of "Social entrepreneurship" Social entrepreneurship is an activity that aims to solve or mitigate the social problems of society. It includes features of traditional entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Charity refers to the social orientation of the activity, and business to the entrepreneurial approach. Social entrepreneurship balances between social goals and a commercial component, where money is not a goal, but a means to achieve these social goals, allowing an entrepreneur to remain sustainable and not dependent on constant donor infusions. The social problem that a social entrepreneur solves with his work is the starting point of his business. For social entrepreneurship, it is important to have a problem, because without it there will be just a business with elements of corporate social responsibility or a social project without an entrepreneurial approach. Social entrepreneurship abroad has existed for about 30 years, and in Russia for less than a decade. Despite such a young age, social entrepreneurship today ranks among non-profit initiatives, charity, venture philanthropy and corporate social responsibility. And, of course, he already has his own history and his heroes, some of whom have managed to achieve well-deserved international recognition. According to experts, the idea of ​​social entrepreneurship has gained popularity, as it "touched a chill" and "very suited" to the modern era. But it should be noted that the process of combining the economic efficiency of business organizations with public needs has certain historical prerequisites. 1.2. First social projects. Let's start considering social projects with the organization of the House of Industriousness of St. John of Kronstadt in 1882. It was the first center in Russia that was simultaneously engaged in employment, educational work and charity. Dining rooms, shelters and workshops were combined under one roof. People were given the opportunity to find shelter and feed on the labor they did. The house of industriousness began with a hemp and cap workshop for men. It was a work that did not require preparation, but could immediately provide income - small, but sufficient in order not to starve to death. The next important step in the development of social entrepreneurship is considered the creation of the non-profit organization "Ashoka: Innovators for Society" by William Drayton in 1980. Currently, this organization continues to function in more than 70 countries around the world, supporting over 3000 fellows in the field of SP. At the time of its foundation, the start-up capital of Ashoka was $ 50,000; by 2006, this amount reached $ 30 million; the organization currently has 25 regional centers located around the world. The essence of the work of the Ashoka Foundation is to support social entrepreneurs, providing them with financial and consulting assistance, creating thematic communities and helping to create the infrastructure necessary for the development of the social sector and the diffusion of innovations. According to Bill Drayton, the main quality of a social entrepreneur is the desire to change the system as a whole: “This is what makes these people happy and makes them deal with the problem as long as necessary. They are ready to measure their vision with reality, listen to the environment and constantly change the idea until it works, because if you are aimed at structural changes, the idea goes through many stages ... This is a constant creative process, and it is the combination of two traits - creativity and entrepreneurial qualities - is the rarest. ”In 1983, Muhammad Yunus came up with an innovative idea, he proposed the Grameen Bank project, the essence of which was microcredit. The first loans Muhammad Yunus issued from his own money, then the money was issued by the Bank of Bangladesh under the guarantee of Yunus through a research project of the university in which he worked. The project was created specifically to study the method developed by Yunus for lending to the rural poor. On October 2, 1983, the bank became an independent organization in accordance with the decision of the country's authorities. A feature of the bank's activities is also the need for customers to make 16 decisions that are not any obligations to the bank, but include promises to improve the quality of their own life of borrowers, such as, for example, the obligation to drink water only from bottles, or boiled water, the obligation to educate their own children, and so on. The relationship between the bank and its clients is based on trust; microloans are issued without any collateral. At the same time, the share of repaid loans is about 98%. At the same time, the share of loans repaid out of date sometimes amounts to 20%. The vast majority (97%) of the bank's clients are women. As one of the positive consequences of the bank's activities, a significant (two-fold) reduction in domestic violence against women who received a loan was noted. Currently the largest foundation is the Skoll Foundation, founded in 1999 by Jeff Skoll. Jeff Skoll, the founder and first president of eBay and Participant Productions, created his own, with the goal of helping people, regardless of their place of residence and economic situation, realize their talents and abilities. Jeff donated $ 250 million of eBay stock to the foundation and makes over $ 30 million in grants annually. “At the foundation, we call them outstanding people committed to the public good,” says the founder. In 2012, the international charitable foundation Reach for Change works in many countries around the world and supports projects aimed at improving the lives of children. This non-profit organization was founded by the group of media companies Kinnevik (Sweden) with the aim of improving the quality of life of children and adolescents and respecting their rights. The Foundation holds an annual competition for social entrepreneurs, giving out grants in the amount of 1 million rubles. for a year and providing other support required at the stage of project formation. Thus, the winners are accepted into a virtual business incubator and fall into the hands of experienced mentors from the companies of the Kinnevik group. After a year, the fund's experts assess the social impact and financial performance of the project and decide to extend the support period for another two years. And yet, no matter how diverse the programs being implemented, no matter how active the innovators are, one thing is clear: in Russia, “social” demand will exceed supply for many years to come. This means that more than one new chapter will be written in the history of social entrepreneurship with an invariable open ending. 1.3. Social projects in Russia. In 2007, Vagit Alekperov created the Our Future Foundation for Regional Social Programs, the first Russian organization whose activities are aimed at developing and promoting social entrepreneurship in the country. Our Future is the founder of the All-Russian competition of projects in the field of social entrepreneurship, aimed at people who are ready to develop and promote social business. For 5 years of its activity, the Fund has provided support to 59 social enterprises, and the total amount of assistance provided to them amounted to more than 130.5 million rubles. The winners of the competition receive financial and advisory support from the Fund; The fund also issues long-term interest-free loans, offers legal and accounting services at minimal prices, provides an opportunity to rent micro-offices, etc. Simultaneously with the All-Russian competition “Our Future”, he is holding the “Impulse of Kindness” Prize, which aims to provide not only financial, but also moral support to the pioneers in the field of joint ventures. In 2012 alone, the organizers received 194 applications from 54 regions of Russia as part of the competitive selection process for this award. After such a rapid development of the fund "Our Future" in 2011, a new project, "Achievements of the Young", was launched. This interregional public organization is holding the "Relay of Social Innovation" targeting schoolchildren and students. The organization also provides training to young people in the basics of economics and entrepreneurship. The organization appeared in Russia in 1991. The Social Entrepreneurship project was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Youth Achievement program in Russia and was launched in 2011. Academician Evgeny Pavlovich Velikhov is the founder and leader of the Russian program "Achievements of the Young". Also in 2011, the Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation was created. CSP specializes in research, training and consulting in the field of social entrepreneurship, social innovation, business social responsibility, commercialization, it plays an important role in promoting the ideas of social entrepreneurship and social innovation as part of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. The emergence of this center was the result of many years of activity of its director Alexandra Moskovskaya, who has been conducting research work in the field of social entrepreneurship since 2007. Despite its youth, the HSE Center is today a leader in research on the theory and practice of social entrepreneurship in Russia: even before it received its official status, the HSE Center served as an informal platform for thematic discussions, applied and theoretical research in this area. In 2014, the Our Future Foundation created the Social Entrepreneurship Laboratory, focused on practical training for beginners and active social entrepreneurs. The laboratory conducts both face-to-face and distance (webinars) programs lasting from one to two hours to several months (Schools of Social Entrepreneurship). The laboratory has created specialized courses for students, young professionals, entrepreneurs, employees of government agencies, industrial corporations, and Centers for Social Innovation. The topics of the programs touch upon various aspects of the creation and development of social business, considering the success stories of existing social entrepreneurs, the practical aspects of the work of social enterprises, the issues of project financing and interaction with the authorities. The laboratory provides comprehensive support for social entrepreneurship in Russia, develops new directions for the industry, such as social franchises and certification of social entrepreneurs. In 2004, the radio station Radio Russia created a social project "Children's Question", which helps orphans to find a loving family. For 10 years of the project's existence, more than two thousand families have found "their" child. The number of adopted children is growing every year. Within the framework of the Children's Question, a special "hot line" for adoption is working, correspondence with future parents and volunteers is being conducted, radio broadcasts are being broadcast, a database of questionnaires for orphans is being collected, and a school for adoptive parents is operating. The "Train of Hope" runs around the country with moms and dads, who specially went to other regions to pick up their kids. Today, the happy stories of families who have solved their "childish question" form the basis of more and more new programs. 1.4. Medical innovators. Jim Fruchterman. Jim Fruchterman founded Benetech, which made high technology available to the poor. Unlike many entrepreneurs who work with people with disabilities, Fruchterman was interested in working in this area not because of his own experience, but because of his interest in helping people. The idea for Benetech came about when Jim was in his final year at California Institute of Technology. One of his professors once explained how the image recognition mechanism for laser-guided bombs was used in combat. Fruchterman began to think about how to use this principle for the benefit of society and created a device that allows the blind and visually impaired to read by touch. In the 1980s, Fruchterman co-founded a venture capital firm to develop optical recognition technology. He then founded Arkenstone, a non-profit technology for the visually impaired. Beneteh grew out of Arkenstone, which was eventually sold to a commercial company. The proceeds from the sale went to continue the development and implementation of Benetech innovations. David Green. Doctor David Green in 1992 Green created the non-profit organization Aurolab (India) - one of the largest companies in the world producing lenses (IOLs). Surgically, IOLs are implanted into the eye to restore the clarity of the lens in cataracts. Cataracts are the leading cause of blindness and visual disability worldwide. Aurolab sells lenses for $ 2–4, while the cost of analogs in industrialized countries around the world is $ 150. Greene also ran a surgical suture facility at Aurolab. The company has significantly reduced prices for ophthalmic thread: from $ 200 to $ 30 per pack. David Green is currently working on hearing impaired problems. The social enterprise Conversion Sound was created to produce high quality hearing aids. The World Health Organization estimates that 278 million people have severe hearing impairment and the need for hearing aids worldwide is 32 million annually. At the same time, in 2006, only 7 million hearing aids were sold worldwide, and less than 12% of them were sent to developing countries, where 70% of the world's population lives. Conversion Sound plans to expand its distribution channels to provide hearing aids to the poor. Ann Cotton. According to statistics, in South African countries, only 70% of boys graduate from primary school, and even fewer girls. In many poor families, only sons are educated because they are considered the best "investment"; daughters are sent to work or early married. This trend is devastating: girls under the age of 20 are five times more likely to contract HIV than boys. Studies show that educated girls are 3 times less susceptible to HIV infection than uneducated girls. The first person to be concerned about the fate of girls living in rural Africa was Ann Cotton. In 1991, during a research trip, she ended up in a remote Zimbabwean village. Anne was shocked by the stories of local people about girls who were not getting an education, they were at the lowest level of development. Parents who would like to send their daughters to school could not do so because of poverty. Following this incident, Anne created Camfed, which supports girls from poor families with funds for their education. Anne Cotton's work has been recognized and honored with international awards, including an honorary doctorate from the University of Cambridge. The Camfed model has four key components, each with a goal to change the lives of girls and women from the poorest regions of Africa. First, Camfed identifies vulnerable girls who are at risk of being expelled even from primary school because of poverty or illness in a family member, and provides full educational support for these children, including school supplies. Second, Camfed continues to support girls in high school with an allowance for four years. Third, Camfed provides graduates with the chance to become economically independent. The Camfed Association (CAMA), the organization's pan-African alumni network, regularly organizes training. Camfed also promotes the development of local businesses through a microfinance program. Fourth, Camfed defends women's rights. The organization works to ensure that the voices of women from rural areas influence policy, promote the adoption of laws in the field of girls' education and gender equality. Victoria Hale. In 2000, Victoria Hale founded the One World Health Institute, which changed the way medicine is viewed in general. The first non-profit pharmaceutical company to develop drugs for neglected diseases in society. The Institute has shattered the notion of a seemingly uncompetitive industry providing drugs to needy in developing countries, rebuilding the entire revenue chain from drug development to delivery. Many infectious diseases in developed countries are unknown. These include leishmaniasis, schistosomiasis, onchocerciasis, African sleeping sickness, lymph node filariasis, and Chagas disease. Others, such as diarrhea, are ubiquitous, but the impact is greatest in developing countries: two million children under the age of five die of diarrhea every year. More than a million people die from malaria every year, most of them children. Over the past 25 years, 1,500 new drugs have been patented, but less than 12 of them are intended for the treatment of advanced diseases. Victoria Hale's experience and knowledge has been applied at all stages of the production of biopharmaceuticals in the United States. Her corporation's expertise was leveraged by Genentech, the world's first genetic engineering company. Hale received her Ph.D. from the University of California in Pharmaceutical Chemistry. She is currently a member of the Association of Biopharmaceutical Professors, serves as a consultant to the World Health Organization on the review of ethical conduct for developing countries, and is an expert at the US National Institutes of Health. The mission of the One World Health Institute is to develop safe, effective and affordable medicine. The Institute develops, implements and manages the development of projects related to medicines intended for the treatment of advanced diseases. Conclusion. Social entrepreneurship is an activity that is aimed at solving a social problem and which actually allows this problem to be solved. Moreover, the scale of the solution can be any, from local to global. It can be this or that territory, it can be a village, a single-industry town, a district of Moscow, the whole metropolis, in the end, there is a certain social problem, then the solution to this problem in this territory is social entrepreneurship. The importance of social action is underestimated these days, whether it is a project that helps students get an education through investment or a project that helps produce free medicines and provide health care to the poor. The future belongs to people who help change the living conditions of those around them, because thanks to their efforts, the world around each of us becomes a better place.

The main factor in the effectiveness of the modern economy is the achievement of welfare by society with the priority of developing the social sphere. Problems in the social sphere have accompanied society for many years, starting from primitive times. We consider it expedient to highlight the following stages in the formation of the activities of social entrepreneurs, which for centuries have been aimed at ensuring social stability, general well-being and socio-economic protection of all groups of the population.

The origins of social entrepreneurship as the first stage of development include the period of antiquity (IV-III centuries BC). It was the ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle who were among the first to consider social issues and a fair social order. In the most famous work "The State" (360 BC) Plato (427-347 BC, Athens) considered the socio-economic concept of development, which was expressed in the creation of an ideal state as a welfare state, where everyone does their own thing and benefits not only themselves, but also society. Justice, according to Plato, was the fundamental principle of the ideal state.

In the writings of Plato's disciple Aristotle (384 BC, Chalkidiki - 322 BC, Chalcis), along with the consideration of the optimal social structure, we see a slightly different approach to social justice and the construction of social well-being. Aristotle formulated socio-philosophical views based on the study of the political structures of states. He established that the correctly chosen goal and strategy of national development are directly related to the successful development of the state: “Now we have to talk about the state system itself: what and what quality of the components should a state consist of, which wants to become a happy state and have an excellent structure. Benefit under all circumstances depends on the observance of two conditions: one of them is the correct establishment of the task and the ultimate goal of any kind of activity, the second is the search for all kinds of means leading to the ultimate goal. "

The main goal of the state, according to Aristotle, is the welfare of its citizens. Everything that is in the state is subordinated to this goal. In his fundamental work Politics (335-322 BC), Aristotle wrote: “Moreover, one should not think that every citizen is on his own; no, all citizens belong to the state, because each of them is a part of the state. And caring for each particle, of course, should mean caring for the whole. " Thus, the well-being of society is a consequence of the virtuous life of all citizens.

Aristotle called man a political animal, paying particular attention to his social essence. It is known that the ancient Greek scientist associated the solution of social issues, as well as the state structure, with the nature of the social structure of society. The state, according to Aristotle, should first of all take care of people: “Only those state structures that have in mind the general benefit are, according to strict justice, correct; those who have in mind only the good of the ruling - all are erroneous and represent deviations from the correct ones: they are based on the principles of domination, and the state is the communication of free people. "

So, since ancient times, scientists have thought about the welfare of citizens, the relationship between man and society, turned to the problem of the optimal state structure and insisted on the need to take into account, when building the state's internal policy, those problems that directly relate to the social sphere.

The second stage of the formation of social entrepreneurship includes the time period of the 17th – 18th centuries. At this time, the ideas of social reform and understanding of the possibilities of social improvement of society were formulated and substantiated. English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) - the creator of the theory of social contract - in his work "Leviathan, or Matter, Form and Power of the Church and Civil State" (1651) reflected on the just structure of the state, paying attention to the issue of state support for the poor society and charity.

Noting that this type of assistance is a prerequisite for a fair state arrangement, Hobbes wrote: “If, due to inevitable accidents, many people have become unable to support themselves with their work, then they should not be provided to private charity, and the most necessary for their existence should be provided for them by the laws of the state ... For, just as it would be cruelty on the part of someone to refuse support to a helpless person, it would be cruel on the part of a sovereign - a state to expose such helpless people to the chances of indefinite charity. '

It should be noted I.T. Pososhkov (1652-1726), the first Russian theoretical economist, who, in the socio-economic treatise "The Book of Poverty and Wealth" (1724, published in 1842), wrote about the country's immaterial wealth, a set of civic foundations, i.e. • institutions that contribute to the healthy functioning of the economy and society. Pososhkov was the first to raise the issue of material wealth not as the money supply in the country, but as material wealth in the hands of the state and the people. "In which kingdom people are rich, then the kingdom is rich," - this is his main idea.

A follower of I.T. Pososhkov and the first social entrepreneur can be considered the English sociologist Jeremiah Bentham (1748-1832). It was he who, in 1794, drew up a plan to widely attract poor citizens to the factory to service wood and metal-working machines invented by his brother Samuel. Soon the private commercial enterprise of the Bentham brothers turned into a universal plan for solving the social problem as a whole. His workhouses, intended for the use of the labor of the poor, were to be governed by a central council established in the capital and organized along the lines of the Bank of England, with shares worth £ 5 or £ 10 giving each member one vote.

In the published version of the plan, you can see: “1. The care of the poor throughout southern England is entrusted to a single body; the related costs must be covered from a single fund. 2. The specified body, which is a joint stock company, will be called the "National Charity Company" or something like that ". It was planned to create at least 250 workhouses, covering about half a million people. The project thoroughly analyzed the situation of various categories of the unemployed. Note that Bentham was more than a century ahead of other researchers. Bentham distinguished “people without a place” who had recently been laid off from those who could not find a job because machines. The last group consisted of those dismissed from the army.

Meanwhile, the most important was the group of "temporary stagnation", which included not only those artisans and craftsmen whose professions depended on fashion, but also a larger group of people who lost their jobs due to the general crisis in production. Thus, Bentham's innovative idea involved a grandiose complex of measures aimed at solving social problems such as unemployment, social protection and support of the poor.

The third stage (XVIII-XIX centuries) is marked by the formation of the term "entrepreneurship" as a socio-economic phenomenon and the development of the principles of modern social entrepreneurship. For society as a whole, the development of entrepreneurship created conditions for more efficient growth of production, saturation of the market with goods and services, increased incomes of the population and the state, ensuring employment and social stability.

The word "entrepreneur" originated in France. Literal translation from French: this is the name of a person who decides on a significant project or activity; this is how they characterize the brave and adventurous people who stimulated economic progress by finding new and more efficient ways of working.

The first to expound the concept of entrepreneurship was Richard Cantillon (1680–1734), a merchant and financier from Ireland who lived in France for many years. In his work "Experience on the nature of trade in general" (1755), he singled out the dominant role of entrepreneurs, who, in his opinion, operate in conditions of risk due to the fact that farmers, traders, artisans and other small owners acquire goods at a certain price. , but they are selling for an unknown. At the same time, Cantillon characterized entrepreneurship as a type of profitable activity that stimulates economic progress through the search for new and most effective ways to implement a business initiative. He noted that an entrepreneur must have a certain intellect, that is, various information and knowledge.

The ideas of the classics of the theory of entrepreneurship, Say and Schumpeter, undoubtedly served as the basis for the formation of a modern approach to social entrepreneurship. The French economist Jean-Baptiste Say (1767–1832) defined the entrepreneur as an economic agent that combines factors of production and transfers economic resources from areas of low productivity and profitability to areas where they can produce the greatest results. An entrepreneur, according to Say, is a person who is willing to take risks in order to achieve a goal. Its most important distinctive features: a) combination of factors of production (capital and labor); b) collecting information and accumulating the necessary experience; c) decision making and organization of the production process. Consequently, entrepreneurship is an economic activity carried out through a constant combination of factors, aimed at efficient use of resources and obtaining the highest results. Say emphasized the creative, experimental, and also innovative nature of the entrepreneur, which is undoubtedly the basis for building the principles of modern social entrepreneurship.

The 20th century played an important role in the further development of social entrepreneurship, which was marked by the unprecedented development of information technologies. The consequence was the emergence of a new technological order and widespread social innovation. The development of innovative processes, in turn, had a significant impact on the associated social infrastructure.

The fourth stage (the first half of the 20th century) is characterized by an already formed industrial base and the massive development of entrepreneurship. The Austrian economist and sociologist Josef Schumpeter (1883-1950) supported the idea of ​​social innovation, focusing on the function of the entrepreneur as an innovator. He viewed the entrepreneur as the main driving force and the “main phenomenon” of the economic development of society, emphasizing the need to introduce innovative technologies and new combinations of the use of economic resources: “To produce means to combine things and forces available in our sphere. To produce something different or otherwise means to create other combinations of these things and forces. "

If in the production process no new innovative combinations are carried out, then there is no proper reason to talk about entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship involves a departure from the usual "flow with the flow" requires creativity. Therefore, this kind of activity is weakly connected with the personal benefit of the entrepreneur and serves as a means of assessing the social result.

But unlike business, entrepreneurship was less closely associated with making a profit. This fully applies to the concept of social entrepreneurship, the fifth stage (the second half of the XX century) and the formation of which is associated with the spread of the idea of ​​the participation of citizens in the management of production. This was expressed in the use of methods of social partnership and the establishment of social peace, the method of legal concessions in the field of legislative and collective-contractual regulation of labor and trade union activities.

The prerequisite for the formation of social entrepreneurship was the development of the theory of the welfare state, developed by Ludwig Erhard (Germany) and Gunnar Myrdal (Sweden), in which a significant role was given to social partnership. The social partnership system served as a tool for combining economic efficiency and achieving social justice. This system was one of the forms of interaction between state institutions and civil society, including trade unions and associations of employers and entrepreneurs.

Particular attention was paid to the analysis of social relations, their role in the development of economic processes. Supported and developed the concept of social entrepreneurship by J.-B. Say and J. Schumpeter, the American scientist of Austrian origin Peter Drucker (1909–2005), focusing on new opportunities and the development of the idea of ​​social innovation. According to Drucker, "an entrepreneur is always looking for change, reacting to them and using them as new opportunities." However, he did not consider any business development to be entrepreneurship. Expanding a business can be a routine process that does not involve transformation and innovation. An organization must adhere to three principles in its work: continuous product improvement, the use of knowledge for its own development, and systemic innovation. P. Drucker was the first not only to interpret innovations as purely technical, but also to speak about intrafirm and social entrepreneurship. He believed, for example, that Japan's economic success was based precisely on social innovation, on the development of institutions such as higher and secondary education, labor agreements. Most successful innovations are based not on unique inventions and unknown facts, but on changes that have already occurred and, perhaps, even widely known, such as, for example, a change in the age structure of the population.

The sixth modern stage (late XX - early XXI centuries) is characterized by a significant complication of the social structure of society in developed countries, as well as a more distinct manifestation of the conditions for the formation of social entrepreneurship as a direction of the internal political activity of the state. The active development of non-profit, non-governmental and volunteer philanthropic organizations begins simultaneously with the emergence of social enterprises. The outlines of modern models of social entrepreneurship (Anglo-American, European, Asian) are emerging, each of which is characterized by its own features.

The undoubted leaders in the development of social entrepreneurship are the United Kingdom and the United States. This is due to the need to solve urgent social problems and, first of all, due to the fact that the system of state social security lagged noticeably behind the rapid development of market relations, which was accompanied by acute manifestations of the shortcomings of the market economy, causing severe social consequences for certain groups of the population, to which the market no case.

It is impossible not to note the evolution of the definition of social entrepreneurship. All previous history has laid the foundations for a universal understanding of the need for the state to pursue a policy to ensure the social stability of society as a set of measures aimed at solving problems in the social sphere, which are a kind of indicator of the level of socio-economic development. Unresolved social problems, a decrease in social protection of citizens, excessive differentiation in the incomes of certain social groups inevitably lead to the deepest stratification of society, a decrease in the level of well-being, create a threat of loss of control over social processes, and also lead to destabilization of the economic and political situation in the country and a slowdown in economic growth. Meanwhile, a modern economy cannot be effective if it does not fulfill its main purpose - meeting the needs of citizens, ensuring an increase in living standards and national well-being.

Notes (edit)

1 Plato. State. Moscow: Nauka, 2005.S. 576.

2 Aristotle. Politics // Aristotle. Sobr. cit .: In 4 volumes.M .: Mysl ', 1983.Vol. 4, p. 240.

3 Ibid. P. 254.

4 Ibid. P. 282.

5 Polanyi K. The Great Transformation: Political and Economic Origins of Our Time. SPb., 2002.S. 102.

6 Schumpeter J.A. Economic development theory. Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy. M .: Eksmo, 2007.S. 132.

Entrepreneurship is a complexly structured phenomenon that has become the object of close attention of researchers in various fields of modern science. However, there is still no unambiguous definition of the concept of "entrepreneurship", an integral scientific approach that allows a comprehensive study of this phenomenon. This presupposes the development of new theoretical directions for the study of entrepreneurship.

For example, Ignatova AND.The. (4) applies a modular approach to entrepreneurship research. It allows you to take into account and group all more or less homogeneous elements and processes within the framework of entrepreneurship. Three modules stand out:

Institutional;

Economic;

Psychological;

This division is due to the specifics of entrepreneurship as a type of activity, which includes three components:

1. Firstly, a necessary feature of entrepreneurship is economic freedom and administrative independence of decision-making, which are guaranteed by legislative acts of various levels.

2. Secondly, entrepreneurial activity is focused on achieving commercial success, making a profit, which is associated with the market structure of the economy, during which a continuous renewal of social needs is ensured.

3. Thirdly, in the process of entrepreneurial activity there is a person's self-realization, the development of entrepreneurial thinking.

The absence of a social module is due to the fact that society is the basis of any activity, in relation to which it acts as a condition, resource and environment that evaluates the results of activity. A society is understood as a complex, voluminous, multilevel, open organic system based on the collective activities of people. No activity can be carried out outside of society. Entrepreneurial activity is no exception, it is realized by people and for people, while society plays a double role. On the one hand, it is a resource of entrepreneurship - these are people who have potential or are actually engaged in entrepreneurial activity, and unmet social needs. On the other hand, the results of entrepreneurial activity have an impact on society through the discovery and implementation of existing and the formation of new social needs. So, society permeates, determines and evaluates the success of entrepreneurial activity, plays a connecting role between an entrepreneur and society, ensuring the unification of economic interest, efficient use of resources and creative self-realization in the processes of translating unique ideas in a certain way.

Thus, entrepreneurship is social, it originates in a society that reflects the current social situation, in the form of human resources, forms of social relations, culture, etc. Then he uses them, acting as a "black box", where the factors used in the entrepreneurship process are transformed, at the exit from which new social elements, trends, norms, etc. appear. Consequently, entrepreneurship is a transformer of society. Let us consider in more detail each of the stages of the process of transforming society through entrepreneurship.

First stage reflects the influence of society on entrepreneurship. Let's highlight the following social factors:

Age and sex structure of the population;

The level of general and special entrepreneurial education;

The possibility of increasing personal income;

Society's attitude to entrepreneurship;

Developed business service infrastructure, specializing in entrepreneurship.

Age and sex structure of the population. It is on the demographic situation that changes in needs for goods and services depend, as well as the reaction of the population to these changes and its ability to offer ways to satisfy new demands. Studies show that countries with zero expected population growth in the coming decades (until 2025) have an overall entrepreneurial activity index of 2.2% or lower, while countries with an expected population growth of 20% have the highest entrepreneurial index. Russia is among the countries with zero (minus) expected population growth, therefore, it is rash to expect active entrepreneurial activity in the coming years (until 2025).

The most promising for business is considered to be the population aged 25 to 44. Countries with the highest development of entrepreneurship have more than a quarter of the population in this age range, countries with a low entrepreneurship index - 22%. It is also believed that women constitute a powerful, as yet underutilized reserve for the development of entrepreneurship. However, in general, women face many specific barriers in the field of entrepreneurship, such as a weaker technical education, difficulties in the formation of a business infrastructure, the need to divide their time between family and entrepreneurship, etc.

The level of general and special entrepreneurial education. In this area, the United States has a significant competitive advantage, since more than 80% of the population at the appropriate age receive specialized secondary and higher education and is second only to Canada in this indicator (90%). According to statistics, entrepreneurs have a higher level of education than the national average. Researchers note an interesting phenomenon - there are more people with incomplete higher education among entrepreneurs in the United States (about one third). At the same time, the best American colleges and universities in the 1990s. started offering special courses in entrepreneurship. By 2000, their number reached 125. In recent years, Russia has begun to introduce educational programs designed to increase the level of knowledge in the field of entrepreneurship. It should be noted that traditionally Russian entrepreneurs show a very high level of education (the level of activity of respondents with higher education is twice the average for the sample). However, along with Japanese entrepreneurs, Russian entrepreneurs demonstrate lack of confidence in their knowledge and experience for starting a business, 13% and 18% of respondents, respectively. At the same time, in the developed countries of Western Europe and America, this indicator ranges from 25 to 55% of the number of respondents. This fact explains the low number of people involved in entrepreneurial activity in Russia. It is significant that entrepreneurs from the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, and Peru demonstrate the greatest confidence in their knowledge (the level is over 70%).

The ability to significantly increase your personal income. The presence of a fairly high correlation between the general entrepreneurial activity and the difference in individual income was revealed. For most industrialized countries, the ratio of the total income of 10% of the richest taxpayers to the total income of 10% of the poorest population is in the range of 5-10, in Russia (according to state statistics) in 2008 it reached 17. Population groups with a high level of income, on the one hand, they provide the necessary savings for the initial investment in start-up companies, on the other hand, they are a good goal for ambitious entrepreneurs who want to increase their income level.

Society's attitude to entrepreneurship... In order to widely use entrepreneurship as a resource for socio-economic development, it is necessary, among other things, to form an ideology of entrepreneurship in society, which is one of the tasks of the state. The whole world knows the American dream of such a "... social order, when everyone can fully realize their abilities and thus gain the respect of others." In the United States, it is prestigious to be an entrepreneur, he is a hero who managed to become independent and self-reliant. R. Reig investigated the factors of the honor of entrepreneurship in the United States and came to the conclusion that the reason for this is the absence of contradictions between the entrepreneurial and civic culture. They have been successfully synthesized, which has become a determinant of ennobling entrepreneurial activity. If state views on methods of solving economic problems are compatible with entrepreneurial interests, then a qualitative and quantitative rise in entrepreneurship is ensured. As a result, an entrepreneur in the United States is a national hero and an example to follow.

In Russia, the situation is different, an entrepreneur is outside the law, he is not a hero. Based on the research of R. Reig, it can be stated that the reason for this is the contradiction between entrepreneurial and civic cultures. Domestic scientists (for example, I.G. Akperov, V.M. Emelyanov, Zh.V. Maslikova and others) testify that Russian entrepreneurs have a particularly pronounced complex of independence and autonomy. Cross-cultural studies have determined that Russian entrepreneurs are more alienated from society and psychologically protected from social disapproval than, for example, German ones. This is due to the development of Russian entrepreneurship in an unbalanced market, without real and consistent support from the state, in a socio-cultural environment of disapproval, and demonstrates an open opposition of business to the state and an extreme manifestation of individualism. Currently, the situation has changed somewhat under the influence of the development of market relations, state policy. According to research data, about 70% of the Russian population believe that an entrepreneur is respected in society (in the USA - 74%, in Finland, which is the leader in this indicator - 89%). Consequently, the negative attitude towards Russian entrepreneurs on the part of compatriots has softened.

Developed business infrastructure of services(lawyers, accountants, consultants who specialize in entrepreneurship). New fast-growing companies tend to be underfunded and unable to hire and pay highly skilled full-time talent and pay high rates, so they outsource. Comparative studies of the economic and socio-political situation in the leading industrialized countries have shown that such norms and characteristics as the openness of the economy, the country's participation in the international division of labor, the degree of government intervention in the regulation of markets, the level of development of managerial culture more affect the success of large companies. and much less on the level of entrepreneurial initiative.

Thus, the selected factors affect the rate of expansion of entrepreneurship, determine its characteristic features, which must be taken into account when developing measures for the development of entrepreneurship in the country.

Second phase- the process of entrepreneurship that transforms the society included in it. In the process of entrepreneurial activity, a psychologically important process takes place: the implementation and development of a person's entrepreneurial abilities. The problem of abilities is one of the most important in psychology. In the context of abilities, a predisposition to entrepreneurial activity, leadership qualities of an entrepreneur, his communication skills, inclination to take risks, etc. are considered.

Entrepreneurs form a collection of diverse groups, including the directors of privatized industrial giants, managers of small firms, chairmen of the boards of large banks, chief doctors of medical institutions, scientists, and others. Fundamental differences between groups of entrepreneurs are associated with the scale and scope of management, its technical and organizational level, the origin of capital and the nature of reproductive ties, and the measure of responsibility. Big business, as a rule, is more stable, is more closely connected with state structures, bears the burden of political rather than economic risk, and goes beyond national borders. All this sharply distinguishes it from the bulk of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.

The social aspects of the business process are manifested:

In creating the most efficient jobs;

In providing opportunities for employees to realize their abilities, to ensure a decent life for their families;

In creating a competitive environment, therefore, in helping to reduce prices, improve the quality of goods and services, saturate the market with goods, and reduce the deficit.

Consequently, entrepreneurial activity contributes not only to the realization of creative potential, but also ambitions, the achievement of the set life goals, as a consequence - an increase in the level of satisfaction of an individual. Mass entrepreneurship, accordingly, will improve the social climate at the level of the entire society.

Entrepreneurship in various spheres of life can be the shortest path to human well-being and prosperity. An increase in the material and cultural standard of living leads to an increase in cash income and savings that can be invested in the project and receive additional income. This factor contributes to the expansion of entrepreneurial activity, the accumulation of capital and an increase in the possibilities of entrepreneurship in solving large-scale problems, that is, it can develop into the ability to solve some social problems of the state level.

Like any process, entrepreneurship has negative social consequences. The desire to maximize profits, as one of the goals, can be reflected in the prices of goods and services, as well as their quality, which will lead to a decrease in the level and quality of life of the population. Therefore, every socially responsible entrepreneur seeks a compromise between making a profit and the social consequences of his actions. In practice, this means that such an entrepreneur will not be engaged in any activity that brings even high profits (vivid examples are the drug and arms trade - socially unacceptable types of activity, but highly profitable).

Third stage, includes the process of transforming society through entrepreneurial activity. One of the directions for the implementation of this process in practice is the social responsibility of business, which provides for the right of a person to make decisions and take actions in accordance with his opinions and preferences, but he must be responsible for their consequences and cannot shift the blame for the negative results of his decisions and actions on others. This understanding of responsibility is expressed, for example, in solving environmental problems, taking care of the observance of laws, even if there is an opportunity to get around them. Thus, social responsibility is a contract between an entrepreneur and the society in which he operates.

Within the framework of a modular approach, the implementation of social responsibility of business in three directions is considered in accordance with the selected modules. In the institutional module, the social responsibility of business is implemented through:

Compliance with legislation at various levels;

The economic module - transparency of taxation, the establishment of an appropriate rate of return;

Psychological module - realizing human abilities.

Accordingly, in order to develop the sociality of entrepreneurship, the state needs to organize activities in the three indicated areas, creating conditions for enhancing the actions of entrepreneurs in solving social problems of society.

The positive effect of socially responsible entrepreneurial behavior is manifested in:

Creation of favorable long-term business prospects;

A positive reaction of employees to the social activity of their enterprise, an increase in labor productivity;

Increasing the attractiveness of businesses for job seekers;

In promoting the formation of friendly relations with the authorities and lobbying their interests;

Additional attractiveness of investors.

It should be noted that the above are voluntarily assumed responsibilities of the companies. In accordance with the law, an entrepreneur is obliged to work, pay taxes and wages, and the state is obliged to deal with social problems. Here are the arguments against the participation of an enterprise in solving social problems: violation of the principle of maximizing profits; social inclusion costs are costs for the enterprise, which are passed on to consumers in the form of price increases; insufficient level of accountability to the general public in the implementation of social activities; lack of ability to resolve social problems.

Different levels of social responsibility represent a combination of demands and expectations from business on the part of society and the state and the benefits / disadvantages of social activity for business. The higher the level of social responsibility of companies, the more voluntarily assumed obligations.

One of the options for a compromise combination of profitability and sociality in entrepreneurial activity is the development of social entrepreneurship, which is an entrepreneurial activity aimed at alleviating or solving social problems. Social entrepreneurship, as a type of entrepreneurship, has the following features:

Willingness to take risks;

Ability to use the market situation;

Ability to move away from the narrow understanding of entrepreneurship as a commerce and mobilize disparate resources to achieve the main goal.

The difference between them is:

Introducing new mechanisms for solving existing social problems;

Improving the level and quality of life of people who are affected by the activities of an entrepreneur.

At the same time, social entrepreneurship must be profitable, otherwise we are talking about a charitable organization.

Some foreign researchers of the personality of an entrepreneur believe that it is necessary to abandon the search for universal psychological characteristics of an entrepreneur, and those that have already been identified should be attributed to the characteristics of success in any professional activity. For example, R. Hisrich says that there is no such thing as a typical entrepreneurial profile. Entrepreneurs are not born: they develop. To this it should be added that, as in any professional activity, one can talk about the individual style of the entrepreneur's professional activity and its psychological structure. (see 7.3.). However, R. Hisrich, among the factors that significantly distinguish an entrepreneur from the rest of the population, identifies factors that serve as prerequisites for successful professional activity:

Family environment in childhood, meaning the environment of people engaged in entrepreneurial or near-entrepreneurial activities. What can contribute to her success with a young person in the future;

Education, as already mentioned above;

Work experience that adds to the success of any professional activity and an entrepreneur is no exception;

Age (the optimal age for doing business is between 25 and 45-50 years old);

Personal values ​​(striving for personal self-realization, material well-being, wealth, power, spiritual needs and aspirations, etc.)

Shifting the emphasis from the study of psychological traits to socio-psychological and socioeconomic factors, R. Hisrich believes that the key moment in the formation of an entrepreneurial orientation of an individual is social learning through the assimilation of role models of entrepreneurial behavior in childhood.

So, entrepreneurship directs social development towards social progress and contributes to the coordination of the interests of man and society, their "commensurability". It directly participates in the process of reproduction of social life.

The path to socially responsible Russian entrepreneurship does not go through isolated cases of charity. It is necessary to create a culture and morality in society that would motivate business people to take care of the image of their activities that are morally justified in the eyes of the majority of the population. Unfortunately, today in Russia there are no economic and legal incentives for activities to improve the qualifications of employees of enterprises, the development of a non-state system, including intra-corporate social protection, participation of companies in sponsorship activities and socially significant projects. The formation of such incentives is the task of the legislature, professional education and the local community, which is gradually developing mechanisms for the ethical regulation of the activities of individuals and professional groups in a market economy, cultural and political pluralism.

In the complex Russian reality, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the Russian mentality and the development of entrepreneurship, the absence of tax incentives or benefits for socially responsible companies. Awareness of the essence of the social function of entrepreneurship, and most importantly, of the real actions of the state and entrepreneurship, will create favorable conditions for harmonizing their interests, redistributing the burden to solve social problems of society.

Social entrepreneurship is a new innovative way of carrying out socio-economic activities, combining a social mission with the achievement of economic efficiency. It is based on the creation of so-called social enterprises - i.e. business enterprises organized for social purposes and for the creation of social good and operating on the basis of financial discipline, innovation and business practices established in the private sector. 1 In the last decade, this practice has gained extraordinary popularity both in developed industrial countries, such as the USA, Great Britain, France, Germany, etc., and in third world countries, for which a new way of combining economic and social resources is a means of pulling out of deep poverty. significant segments of the population. According to G. Diz, director of the Center for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship, has recently gained popularity, because "very suitable for our time." This is due to the fact that "many of the results of the activities of state and charitable organizations turned out to be far from our expectations, and most of the institutions of the public sector are increasingly viewed as ineffective, ineffective and irresponsible. Social entrepreneurs are needed in order to create new models of socially significant activity." new century. "2

The concept of social entrepreneurship in Russia is just beginning to circulate. In this sense, it lags behind, for example, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova or Belarus. For the development of social entrepreneurship in Russia, it is important not only correct self-identification, which can come with increased information exchange, but also the development of important socio-economic institutions widespread in other countries, such as small business, credit cooperation, microfinance, non-profit activities in the socio-economic a sphere that can act as "matrins" for the development of social entrepreneurship. At the same time, an analysis of the existing experience of the functioning of some of the listed forms testifies to the beginnings of the development of social entrepreneurship in Russia. An important prerequisite for social entrepreneurship in this series is microfinance and, in particular, credit cooperation.

2. Microfinance and social entrepreneurship

The content of microfinance technologies boils down to making it economically viable for the lender to provide the necessary range of financial services to low-income people and micro-businesses in such a way that recipients can use financial services for their own development. Traditional lending technologies, unlike microfinance, do not allow large-scale work with these categories of clients. This is the fundamental difference between microfinance and usury, since the task of the latter is to consolidate the borrower's dependence by withdrawing the received income almost in full.

The invention of microcredit technologies as an alternative to standard bank loan schemes and usury is associated with the name of the founder of the bank and then of the Grameen group, a university professor from Bangladesh, Mohammad Yunus. Founded by Yunus in 1976, Grameen Bank had a twofold mission of providing financial services to poor women and the poorest families to help them overcome poverty through a profitable business. 3 It was the first microcredit experience in the world that was simultaneously recognized worldwide as a successful example of social entrepreneurship. For his services "in the field of socio-economic development ..." M. Yunus became in 2006 the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. 4

Due to the fact that consumers of microfinance services are, as a rule, classified as high-risk, in the world practice a set of systems and procedures for providing services to recipients of microcredits has been developed. However, the technical solution to the problem of lending to small borrowers, given the limited economic resources of their own, is not, however, social entrepreneurship. In order to become such a social enterprise, firstly, it must have a social goal as the primary and leading task of the activity, and not its by-product. Secondly, solving a social problem, it should offer an innovative economic solution - non-trivial from the point of view of combining economic social resources. The latter distinguishes "entrepreneurship" from simple "business". In the case of Grameen Bank, the goal was to eradicate poverty in the rural community. In other words, it was necessary to offer a credit system for such a modest percentage that it would allow the manufacturer to keep the surplus from the sale of products for its own development (and out of stagnant poverty), in contrast to the practice of complete economic dependence on local usurers that existed at that time. The mechanism that was proposed for this served simultaneously as an economic and social innovation - a new social enterprise united the credited into a social network linked by relations of trust, mutual assistance and responsibility, which served both as a consumer and a resource of the services offered by the company.

3. Credit cooperatives in Russia: distribution and socio-entrepreneurial features

The main tasks of credit cooperatives are to provide loans to their members and pool their financial resources to provide financial mutual assistance focused on production or social goals. The nature of cooperative 5 helps to avoid the risky use of shareholders' savings, including through the formation of a reserve fund, the development of an internal control and insurance system, but primarily through collective democratic governance, implemented by all shareholders on the principle of "one participant - one vote" and the existence of subsidiary liability of members for the obligations of the cooperative. Credit consumer cooperatives are classified as low financial risk organizations.

According to the Ministry of Finance, as of October 1, 2008, about 2,500 credit cooperatives with a total number of members of about a million people were registered in Russia, which accumulate about 15 billion rubles of personal savings of citizens. Such cooperatives are usually formed on a territorial, industrial or professional basis; they develop most actively in small cities of Russia and in rural areas. Public sector employees, pensioners / up to 65% of shareholders /, entrepreneurs and trade workers are mainly acting as shareholders. The structure of the membership base of rural credit cooperatives is dominated by citizens who run their own subsidiary plots - more than 80% of them. At the same time, only a part of them are active borrowers. As for retirees, they generally prefer to place their savings in the cooperative. For shareholders, participation in credit cooperatives is beneficial, first of all, due to rather high interest rates on deposits, on average from 16 to 24% per annum, which is about one and a half times higher than the interest on deposits in banks. For borrowers, the average overpayment on a loan per year can be 28-46%. 6 Higher loan fees than in the banking sector are compensated by the prompt decision to issue a loan and the absence of many formalities. The term for making a decision on a loan, as a rule, is no more than three days. At the same time, a higher loan price is not at all a prerequisite for cooperative lending; in a number of cooperatives, the loan payment is the same as the deposit payment. Differences in the credit policy of different organizations are due to the "specialization" of the cooperative and the composition of depositors and borrowers.

On average, credit cooperatives issue 100-120 thousand loans a month in Russia, the average loan amount is 70 thousand rubles for a consumer loan, 250-300 thousand rubles for a business loan. In the past two years, the share of business loans in the total number of loans has been constantly growing, and at the moment has already reached 40%. The average budgetary contribution is about 60 thousand rubles in Russia as a whole, but it varies considerably by region. The regional systems of credit cooperation have so far been most developed in the Kemerovo Region, Altai Territory, Volgograd Region, Rostov Region, and the Far East (in particular, Primorye).

The highest density of rural credit cooperatives is observed in the Central, Southern, Volga and Siberian federal districts. Rural credit cooperatives are widely represented here not only in regional centers, but also in rural municipalities.

The largest cooperative in terms of the number of shareholders is the credit cooperative "Honor", registered in the town of Kamyshin, Volgograd Region, with more than 35 thousand members. In terms of assets, the leading cooperative "Eco" from the city of Urai, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - 1 billion 300 thousand rubles of assets.

In the new Russia, the revival of domestic credit unions began in 1991 in response to the aggravated consumer credit problem for citizens and the need to save family budgets from rapidly growing inflation. The decisive role was played by the adoption in 1992 of the federal law "On consumer cooperation in the Russian Federation". Credit unions began to register as consumer cooperatives or consumer societies. The first credit institution in Russia was registered in 1992 (CS "Suzdalsky"). In January 1993, the first forum was held in Suzdal, at which the basic principles of the Credit Union Movement were formulated. The growth of their number and the accumulation of operational experience required organizational registration. In November 1994, the constituent assembly of the Union of Consumer Societies "League of Credit Unions" (SPO LKS) was held. 7 Today, this league includes more than 200 CSs. In turn, LKS is an official member of the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU) 8, and is also represented in the National Partnership of Microfinance Market Participants (NAUMIR). nine

The development of the movement required the creation of a fundamental legal framework. In August 2001, a new law No. 117-FZ "On Credit Consumer Cooperatives of Citizens" was signed. He consolidated the non-entrepreneurial nature of the main activities of credit unions, their non-profit status, mutual and internal nature of work, principles of membership, prescribed measures to protect the financial interests of shareholders, and limit the financial and management risks of the credit union.

The advantages of credit cooperation can be summarized as follows:

Accessibility for low-budget segments of the population. Using the principle of personal and group surety instead of collateral allows the cooperative to expand its activities in such sectors of society that cannot provide collateral.

Transparency and ease of control over resources. The members of the credit cooperative provide control over the issuance of loans. Since they usually know each other well, this is usually more effective than the oversight of an external financial institution.

Low cost of doing business. This is due to the fact that the group undertakes some of the administrative work in the process of issuing loans (forming a credit group, evaluating and monitoring projects).

Mutual support of group members. This strengthens social ties and reduces the need for consulting services from an external financial institution.

The listed factors provide a high level of payments and an affordable interest rate on loans.

The prerequisites for the transformation of a credit cooperative into social entrepreneurship are laid down in the above principles of credit cooperation, which combine social and economic components. Since this is a much less formalized and regulated procedure, it is based on close interaction with the client, with his business and social environment (family, friends, neighbors). This makes it possible not only to focus on specific financial needs and capabilities of a person, adapting lending opportunities to them, but also to carry out various types of business consulting and even mediation in the conclusion of transactions. The latter is a distinguishing feature of a credit cooperative in comparison with other types of microfinance institutions in Russia. Another feature of Russian microfinance is the focus on small businesses, which is primarily related to the institutional and organizational barriers to its development. The latter, to a certain extent, are overcome by the flexibility of combining economic and social levers of support and control on the part of the members of the cooperative, as well as by using the resource of informal social ties.

1 Alter. S. K. Social Enterprise Typology. Virtue Ventures LLC. Nov. 27, 2007 (revised vers.), P. 12.

2 Dees, J.G. The meaning of social entrepreneurship. Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship, Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, 2001 (revised vers.)

3 For more details on the experience of M. Yunus, see his book: Yunus, M. Banker to the poor: Microlending and the battle against world poverty / New York: Public Affairs, 1999, http://www.grameen-info.org

4 For more details on the experience of well-known social entrepreneurship organizations abroad, see M. Batalina, A. Moskovskaya, L. Taradina "Review of the experience and concepts of social entrepreneurship, taking into account the possibilities of its application in modern Russia." M., SU-HSE, 2008. WP-1/2008/02.

5 Cooperative - in accordance with the Civil Code of the Russian Federation - a voluntary association of citizens and legal entities in the form of a non-profit organization on the basis of membership in order to meet the material and other needs of participants, carried out by combining property shares by its members. The activities of specialized credit cooperatives are regulated by a number of special laws.