Business for Inclusive Development: Profiling the Social Business Enterprise in India

Abstract

Sustainable growth is the strategic need of every economy. Socio-economic sustainability, on the one hand, and environmental sustainability on the other, should complement each other to achieve long term holistic sustainable development. Social business is one of the major drivers of such growth. Social business entrepreneurs employ market based methods to address social problems. This paper examines 84 social business enterprises across India and attempts to understand the various parameters of each of these - their target segment, form of organization, type of innovation, source of funding, years of existence, geographical reach and problems addressed by them etc. so as to understand the state of social business ecosystem in India. In order to understand the extent of inclusivity and environmental friendliness of these businesses, they are mapped on a ‘socially responsible business matrix’. The paper helps to understand the current state of social business and identifies action required to build a more efficient social business ecosystem in India.