The concepts of “Social Enterprise” and Social Entrepreneurship” are gaining increasing popularity amongst researchers and policy makers throughout the world. It is argued that the development of this new field has provided innovative ways of obtaining economic growth, social development and environmental sustainability for all people in the planet. Furthermore, some authors indicate that the promotion of social entrepreneurship should be a key element in the foundation of a new international cooperation policy, breaking apart from traditional approaches that have repeatedly failed in the past.

Building on research evidence gathered from experiences in the field, and on the extensive literature on social entrepreneurship, social enterprise and social economy, this paper analyses the different narratives emerging around the topic, assesses their influence on current cooperation and development policies of the main international organizations (including European policy) and wonder whether a new consensus on development cooperation can be built that takes us beyond the Millennium Goals through the path of “bottom-up” sustainable human development.