Despite some practices, the conceptualization of social entrepreneurship and its relevance torndevelopment calls for further investigations. This study is thus a preliminary response to such arncall. With the purpose of making theoretical propositions, it employs a qualitative inquiryrndealing with a range of entrepreneurial activities of three community based organizationsrn(CBOs). It underwent series of stages from problematization through to rigorous literaturesrnreview, qualitative data collection and analysis (open, axial and selective along withrnthematization). In a nutshell, the findings show that community based social entrepreneurshiprncan best be explained and conceptualized using some dimensions (evolution, nature, typology,rnfeature and legality). Along that, the research reveals that social entrepreneurial ventures ofrncommunity based organizations play considerable roles towards social value creation, assetrnformation, market services, social innovation and learning, and institutional and societalrntransformation. On the other hand, the study tips a close watch on potential constraints andrnpopes the prospects and opportunities. Finally, on the basis of the description of the communityrnbased social enterprises and the exploration of their relevance to development, some theoreticalrnpropositions that underline the importance of CBSE to rural development were put forward.rnTherefore, in the absence of concrete, comprehensive and conveyable theoretical explanation ofrnsocial entrepreneurship and community based social entrepreneurial practices in Ethiopia, thernstudy will be paramount in laying foundation to subsequent intellectual inquires.