Chapter 6: Social Entrepreneurship for Rural Upliftment and Inclusive Growth in India

Social entrepreneurship, a prominent feature of 21st century society, brings innovative solutions to pressing social problems. Social enterprises use understandable and easily implementable ideas. They enroll local change makers. They seize opportunities others miss. India has 40% of the world’s poor. Rural India is lagging in terms of basic facilities of clean water, toilet facilities, education, and medical and health care. The girl child in India is also sidelined in terms of educational opportunities, health and nutrition. Very few women are promoted to top positions on account of the conventional perception of them being family nurturers rather than company leaders. The researchers seek to study how social enterprises can uplift farmers, rural craftsmen and girls in India. The researchers interviewed three entrepreneurs, namely Mustafa Harnesswala (agrotourism), Srikant Gayakwad (Selfie for Cause to promote poor girl child education) and Prasanna Priya Reddy (Saree Story helping skilled weavers fleeced by middlemen). They also accessed secondary sources to study how social enterprises can improve rural India. This study will help other aspiring entrepreneurs understand how they can contribute toward the inclusive growth of the country. It shows how to find opportunities and creatively use resources and technology in order to come up with cost-effective, eco-friendly products and services.