Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation: A Case Study from Rural Rajasthan

Abstract

In the recent past social entrepreneurship has been identified as an area of research in order to pursue the developmental patterns in almost all the sectors. The combination of innovation and entrepreneurship in social sector altogether brought value addition to the whole discourse of social entrepreneurship. The Barefoot College located in rural Rajasthan is a successful social entrepreneurial organization (SEO) that has been working for the inclusion of the excluded rural communities. The college has been trained thousands of illiterate rural men and women to become Barefoot professionals who have been flourished their lives thorough securing employment including solar engineers, chemist, lab technician, teachers, doctors and so on. The transformation from an illiterate to a profession has offered a lot to them to improve their lifestyle. The Barefoot College which was established as an NGO has been transforming towards a SEO through mobilizing their own resources. This unique experience has opened space to widen its realm in almost 15 Indian states and 10 least developed countries from Latin America, Africa and Asia. The present paper highlights the Barefoot transformation processes from NGO to SEO and assess the viability of the socially innovative venture.