Here’s your Daily Brief for September 14th:

Is Social Enterprise Over-Hyped? (via SocialEarth) – Mike poses an interesting question regarding the hype that surrounds the social enterprise space, and asks where we really are in terms of sector development. He correlates the hype that surrounded the IT movement to that which currently surrounds the social enterprise movement. The graphical representation is the Gartner Hype Cycle, which was introduced in 1995 to describe the evolution of the technology sector.

Hype cycles “characterize the over-enthusiasm or ‘hype’ and subsequent disappointment that typically happens with the introduction of new technologies…Hype Cycles also show how and when technologies move beyond the hype, offer practical benefits and become widely accepted.”

While much of the discussion at SOCAP09 revolved around the excitement we have for developing a new high-impact social investment model (and its potential!), there was a lot of attention paid to the challenges that we face: The lack of social metrics, a mainstream understanding and acceptance of social investment, legal barriers in corporate structures, etc.

So I think we use the “Hype” to build energy around the sector and keep ourselves motivated, but most of us are attuned to the realities and challenges that we face.

Why Africa matters! – The economic crisis and Africa – This is an interesting document published by the “Foundation for European Progressive Studies”. It places Africa’s role in the global economy in the context of the current economic crisis, and makes a very good argument for Africa’s significance and why it should not be ignored.

An Awesome Look at the Informal Sector in Liberia – This is a really cool series of blog posts profiling the informal sector in Liberia. I like the detail the author goes into in describing the various jobs and risks/variables that go along with them.