Social Entrepreneurs: Bill Drayton Featured on PBS NOW

Bill Drayton, the founder and CEO of Ashoka, which offers venture capital for social entrepreneurs, was recently featured on the PBS program NOW. Here's a link to a Podcast version of the interview, in which Drayton explains what makes a social entrepreneur and why they are important: Drayton on NOW

(I understand Bill was suffering from a cold when this interview was conducted, so he was losing his voice. Nevertheless, it's worth a listen!)

Bill Drayton, the innovator who popularized the term "social entrepreneur," talks to Senior Correspondent Maria Hinojosa about why he thinks social entrepreneurship is the next big thing. Drayton runs Ashoka, an organization that finds and fosters social entrepreneurs around the world. He is Bill Clinton's pick to become a winner of a Nobel prize.

Interview Excerpts:

"What does an entrepreneur do? The first thing is they've given themselves permission to see a problem. Most people don't want to see problems ... Once you see a problem and you keep looking at it you'll find an answer."

"It's the combination: big idea with a good entrepreneur: there's nothing more powerful. That's just as true [for] education and human rights as it is for hotel or steels."

"The citizen sector is now growing jobs at three times the rate of the rest of society."

"The social entrepreneurs are governments' best friends ... Yes the social entrepreneurs are challenging the governments, but that's very healthy."

"Two of the last three Nobel [peace] prize winners have been social entrepreneurs. This is a recognition that our field is maturing."
And check out the new PBS NOW series Enterprising Ideas, which highlights social entrepreneurs.