“What prompts a man who would have otherwise pursued a comfortable middle-class life, perhaps selling insurance for AIG or bonds for Lehman Brothers, to repeatedly and knowingly place himself in jeopardy?

"It begins with a noble cause. Which morphs into a passion. Which becomes a mission worth risking your life for.”
-Rupert Scofield, The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook

“This isn’t really a book but an extended letter to all the idealistic people of the world who want to make a difference but don’t know how or where to begin” says Rupert Scofield of his book The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook (McGraw-Hill, May 2011, £19.99), “I had my shot, and now all I really have to offer is this collected wisdom”. Over the past 38 years, Rupert has served in every capacity in the not-for-profit world, and as president and CEO of FINCA International was present at the birth of the microfinance industry, making his first micro loans in 1972, a full 5 years before Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus.

As a “social entrepreneur” Rupert has taken many of the principles typically reserved for amassing personal wealth and applied them to the charity sector, creating a profitable organisation which then ploughs its profits back towards its beneficiaries. Current businesspeople are the perfect candidates to embrace this new movement, and turn their skills to more worth-while causes: “The modern non-profit must adopt many of the same strategies, policies, and best practices employed by successful enterprises in the for-profit world”, says Rupert. The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook is a guide to this phenomenon that Rupert says could redefine not just the non-profit world but the world itself: “What if our best entrepreneurial minds focused and were rewarded on how many people they could pull out of poverty?” he asks, “How long would it take to turn the pyramid on its head?”.

The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook is part business book, part memoir, detailing Rupert’s colourful forty-years in international development all over the world from Guatemala to Uganda, Burma and beyond. “By sharing my experiences, I hope to inspire others to follow in my footsteps, while avoiding the many costly mistakes my colleagues and I made on our long road to eventual success”, he says. Whether your mission is as ambitious as pulling millions out of poverty or as modest as feeding people in your neighbourhood, The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook gives you a practical plan for creating a business that uses commercial best practices for socially beneficial ends.

Rupert Scofield is president and CEO of FINCA International. Under his leadership, FINCA has grown from 60,000 clients and a loan portfolio of $5 million to more than 750,000 clients and a loan portfolio of more than $300 million. Rupert has 30 years’ experience as a social entrepreneur in Africa, Latin America, Eurasia, and the Middle East. He is a notable figure in economics, haven spoken to the UN General Assembly, The World Bank, HSBC, The World Economic Forum, and Americans for Philanthropy.

The Social Entrepreneur’s Handbook by Rupert Scofield is published by McGraw-Hill in hardback, May 2011, £19.99, Euro 23.99, 9780071750295. For an advance copy, an interview with the author or any further information please contact Verity Holliday, McGraw-Hill, Shoppenhangers Road, Maidenhead, SL6 2QL Tel: +44 (0)1628 502585 Mob: +44 (0)7795 060680 Email: verity_holliday@mcgraw-hill.com