One is a group of social entrepreneurs looking to make a systematic change for the better and the other is the venture philanthropist looking to do more than dispense money. Together they have the potential to transform lives and add to the health of what Willie Cheng and Sharifah Mohamed describe in The World that Changes the World as the 'social ecosystem'.

In the book, Cheng, Mohamed and more than a dozen essay contributors from industry and community welfare aim to give a broad overview of how the different players in this ecosystem can and should come together to create lasting, effective civic change for the better, a 'self-sustaining community of interdependent organisms'.

For a start, there's no shortage of problems to tackle. In addition to the global issues of the rich-poor divide, terrorism, organised crime, climate change and energy insecurity, people in developing countries have to grapple with food and water shortages, gender inequality and internal migration. The developed world, meanwhile, has its hands full with non-infectious diseases such as diabetes, mental health challenges and joblessness.

In the past, these problems would have been left to governments or charities to solve but, increasingly, civic groups with a business bent are filling in the gaps. These are 'social enterprises', businesses with a civic mission or nonprofits organised like businesses, using the principles of the market to realise a community goal. One of the best known examples is Grameen Bank, the Nobel Prize-winning microfinance organisation that directs its services at women and the poor.

The enterprises are the result of a number of shifts within and without the nonprofit sector. One is a desire among community organisations to put their groups on a long-term, sustainable footing, and bring in money without the uncertainty, costs and complications of fund-raising. Another driving force is the rise of venture philanthropists, a new breed of givers who apply the 'tools of venture capital for social benefit'. They apply their commercial mindset to grant-making and see funding as an investment in a nonprofit rather than a donation to a cause.

Social enterprise and venture philanthropy are 'like the two strands of the double helix', welded together by mutual interest in making a sustainable difference, with one strand supporting the other. In short, they're about the teaching of fishing rather than the eating of fish.

This approach is a departure from the traditional role of charities, which have generally existed to help the poor and the needy by looking after their immediate needs. Unfortunately, retired Singaporean accountant Gerard Ee says, very few of these charities are well run. The reasons are varied, from weak governance, through a lack of able talent and poor pay to a lack of outside pressure to perform.

One of the solutions is to remove compassion from some key operating areas. Compassion should still be an important part of the organisation but charity workers should be paid their worth, boards should govern and all beneficiaries should receive the same high standard of service. 'High performance should be the goal of charities,' Ee says.

Venture philanthropy is already taking off in Asia. Consultant Rob John says that over the past five years, more than 800 private foundations have registered in China, 'some employing the language of venture philanthropy'.

In some ways, social entrepreneurialism is a logical fit for civic groups on the mainland. The barriers to becoming a registered charity are so great that operating a business with a social purpose would seem a more viable option.

The big thing missing from the book is reports of boots on the ground. Case studies will be essential if social entrepreneurs are to match the demand and potential investors in China. There should be no shortage of funding from philanthropists if Guangdong property billionaire Yu Pengnian is any guide: he's already pledged to give away all his wealth to his foundation.