Social Enterprise is hardly a new concept. Since the dawn of modern capitalism, small (but growing) numbers of entrepreneurs have tried to find innovative methods to tackle societies’ greatest problems, especially poverty. Some follow the definition of entrepreneurship to the tee by using business to alleviate poverty. Muhammad Yunus, the economist credited with the invention of microfinance, has seen his vision spread to practically every developing country on earth.

Others, rather than focus strictly on business, use entrepreneurship to provide innovation to address social problems. Nicholas Negroponte, famous in Rwanda for the creation of the One Laptop Per Child initiative, is looking to change the way education is approached by empowering students with ICT.

But social entrepreneurs are also everywhere in Rwanda, and few make big headlines like Negroponte or Yunus. Yet all of them are tackling issues of poverty and inequality in a completely new way.

Jean-Paul Ntabanganyimana runs the Umuryango Children’s Network (UCN) in Byimana. To most onlookers, UCN looks like many of the other homes for street-children. Yet inside, a computer network is being built that will provide these children with a state-of-the-art IT training as well as generating income to the center as an internet café. Jean-Paul explains that UCN builds a personal relationship between its donors and the children it takes care of, through a special “adopt-a-child program” where individual donors help to take care of the needs of the children. This pioneering mix of business and charity is turning quickly turning Rwanda’s street children into the leaders of a crucial new sector.

The Centre pour le financement des entrepreneurs, better known as “Agaseke,” has become one of the country’s leading social enterprise organizations. By providing financial services and micro loans to the impoverished, Agaseke is working to achieve Muhammad Yunus’ dream of universal finance for the poor. In 2008, Agaseke boasted 25,000 clients, the majority of whom where women and of those, some 90% had been pulled above the poverty line.

Yet among the most exciting of endeavors is a joint-venture between Université Libre de Kigali (ULK) and the Ungana Foundation, based in Gisenyi. The project aims to create an “incubation center” for young graduates of ULK to become successful entrepreneurs, and should be operational by the end of July. It aims to provide office-space, internet access and mentorships to new graduates with innovative business solutions. A series of laboratories will help to develop business strategies for the students.

“What we really hope to do is create a new entrepreneurial mind-set and give students the confidence, resources and know-how to turn their ideas into reality” explains Alyssa Callister, President of Ungana Foundation. Together with Alex Erickson, the managing director of Ungana, the two of them have begun to support social enterprises all over Rwanda, including a project using natural banana fibers as a cash-crop for farmers.

Being home to these innovative, home-grown solutions makes Rwanda unique in the war against poverty, and the world has taken notice. An article in Business Weekly recently described Rwanda as the “social innovation capital of the world,” and they were not mistaken.

While the growth of social enterprise in the country is fascinating, it is not yet enough. With well over half of the population still living under the international poverty line, there is much work to be done. It will fall to the government to ensure that social entrepreneurs receive the necessary support and can work in an environment that encourages innovation to fight poverty. International donors will likewise have to ensure that home-grown solutions to poverty are encouraged and that the successful models that have already helped so many can be replicated throughout the country.

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