At a recent April gathering of social enterprise entrepreneurs, investors, policy makers and academicians in Mumbai, a panel debated the building of an India-South East Asia Social Enterprise Corridor.
The idea is alluring. India is seeing a blossoming of social enterprises – commercial ventures which fulfil a neglected social or economic need – across the country. New ideas for finance, power generation, conservation, food production, crafts revival are being put to good use, with decent profits being made. According to Intellecap, an India-based social investment advisory firm which has raised $200 million over 10 years for social enterprises and was the curator for the gathering Sankalp Summit, there are 30,000 social entrepreneurs in India. More than 25% of the organizations they advise – mostly addressing issues of education, healthcare and water – impact over 50,000 people living at the Bottom of the Pyramid. More than 60% of those entrepreneurs operate in regions with tough business environments, including low income states like Uttar Pradesh and Orissa. According to a recent survey released by Intellecap, 40% of India’s social enterprises operate in rural markets, and almost as many – 35% – produce goods and services for both rural and urban markets.