No.179 Critical Factors for Success among Social Enterprises in India

  • #Working Papers

In addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), it is expected that governments, private sector businesses and civil society organizations will be involved. Social enterprises, in particular, are attracting global attention. While international development agencies have increased their investment in social enterprises, empirical research on their business practices remains limited.

For the purpose of determining factors critical to the success of social enterprises in a developing world context, this paper examines the cases of for-profit social enterprises that provide goods and services necessary for poor communities constituting the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) in India. The paper identifies the distinctive business approaches that enable social enterprises to continue their work in what can be described as a challenging and critical geographical context.

Keywords: SDGs, social enterprises, India, BoP, business model, distinctive business approach

Author
Katsuo Matsumoto
Date of issuance
December 2018
Related areas
  • #Asia
Topics
  • #Private Sector Development
Research area
Development Cooperation Strategies