Inclusive Entrepreneurship: Focused Interventions for Marginalized Community in Post Pandemic Situation

Abstract

The emergence of entrepreneurs takes place with the opportunities originating from the social, economic, and political environment. Entrepreneurs through their risk-taking attitude, ability to see opportunity in crisis and turn it into a profitable business, manage teams, and by bringing competition in the market imparts strength to the economy in any particular scenario. For this to be truly inclusive, all sections of society need to take part in this journey. While in the past, there has been some increase in the number of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) owned enterprises, these need to increase substantially to enable the socio-economic empowerment of the marginalized communities. Also, for entrepreneurs, moving out of COVID-19 doesn't end the situation. It's the very emergence of a great way of thinking about their product-market fit strategy, funding, implementation of technology, branding, and go-to-market strategies. And it'll be a break for some of them to focus on their strategic approach to risk. The instantaneous speed of social change would mean that only those entrepreneurs with the greatest adaptive and timely capacity will succeed. It is important to consider how the global markets will be different (with more focus on emerging technologies) as these differences will both open new avenues and generate new bars for creativity, consumer acceptance (B2C and B2B), team building, fit for the product market, and access to finance. The major focus of the study is to determine the relationship among challenges faced by marginalized community entrepreneurs, the impact of the current scenario on their sustainability, the role of entrepreneurship training and entrepreneurial skills development in nurturing them. As per the proposed scheme by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), special focus is required to be given to the inclusion of marginalized communities and regionally under-represented areas in entrepreneurship development programs. Special efforts are also to be made to enable incubators and mentors catering to these groups in the national entrepreneurial ecosystem. Additionally in the past, the Government had many schemes including ‘Samriddhi – Scheme for SC/ST Students for Setting StartUps’ and ‘Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Caste’ by the Ministry of Social Justice and empowerment, Government of India. Seeing the crisis at hand and for increasing the potential of new business creation, there is a need to have an extensive gap analysis of interventions empowering Scheduled Caste First Generation Entrepreneurs.