Post on 18-Apr-2015
description
The Growing Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in India: Innovation in Action
Madhukar Shukla XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, India
Madhukar [at] xlri.ac.in
Gerard Farias Silberman College of Business, Fairleigh Dickinson University, USA
Gfarias [at] fdu.edu
Tata L. Raghuram XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, India
Raghutata [at] xlri.ac.in
2012 Research Colloquium on Social Entrepreneurship Skoll Center for Social Entrepreneurship
University of Oxford (July 16-19, 2012)
Objectives
To conceptualize the Social Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in India
To identify and map the constituent organizations of the ecosystem in India
To identify inter-relationships and gaps in the ecosystem
Caveats
This is a work-in-progress
Focus (at this stage) is on “Finding and Mapping” Not on “Analysis and Conclusion”
In that sense, it is more about “Search” Not “Research”
Social Entrepreneurship in India – Growth Trends
Conceptualizing Ecosystem
Ecosystem as Community of Practice (CoP): • “A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share
common concerns, problems, or passions for a domain, and who deepen their knowledge and expertise through interaction on an ongoing basis.” (Wenger, McDermott and Snyder, 2002)
CoP is characterized by (Wenger, 1998): • Mutual Engagement: participation in community, establishing
norms; collaborative relationships • Joint Enterprise: shared understanding of the ‘domain’ • Shared Repertoire: set of community resources
Conceptualizing Ecosystem
CoP (Ecosytem) impact through (Lesser & Storck, 2001): • Decreasing the learning curve for new entrant • Responding more rapidly to new market demands and
challenges • Reducing rework and “re-invention of the wheel” • Spawning innovations
Ecosystems evolve around local contextual conditions (Isenberg, 2010)
Conceptualizing Ecosystem
Social ventures evolve through different stages; the support requirements from the ecosystem differ across stages. • “we do need funding to scale up, but right now my challenge is to
put the organizational systems and processes in place.” • “the sector is at the stage for growth, but where is the pipeline of
talent.” • “we would like to expand the impact through partnerships across
the regions. How do I locate the partners?” Etc.
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Sowers of Seeds - Examples
Emergence of platforms which provide youth and young social entrepreneurs with transformative experiences, early-stage mentoring and role-models, e.g.: • Jagrity Yatra (Journey of Awakening) • National Social Entrepreneurship Forum • Spark the Rise • Villgro Fellowship, Gandhi Fellowship, Piramal Fellowship, etc. • PM’s Rural Development Fellowship
High “conversion rate” through these experiential exposures
www.jagritiyatra.com
www.sparktherise.com
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Pipeline Creators
Introduction of large number of academic programs/ courses and incubators during last 4-5 years • Full academic programs: Tata Institute of Social Sciences (2007),
Deshpande Foundation (2012), PRADAN-Ambedkar University (2012), Entrepreneurship Development Institute (2008), etc.
• Courses as part of a program: IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIFM, XLRI, XIM Bhubneshwar, etc.
• Non-”academic” programs: ICICI Fellows, Swaraj University, etc. • Incubators: Villgro Innovation Foundation, RTBI (IIT Madras),
Deshpande Foundation, etc.
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Early Supporters -Philanthropic Capital - Angel Investors
Life-cycle of growth and investment/ funding
Time/ years
Venture Founded
Grant/Seed Investment
Initial Investment
Philanthropic Angel Capital
Growth Capital
Private Equity/ Project Funding
Early Supporters
Very few organisations & with limited reach/ scale, e.g., • StartUp!, Dasra, UnLtd, etc.
Provide support through mentoring and network support; very little through seed capital funding
National Knowledge Commission, 2008
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Early Supporters -Philanthropic Capital - Angel Investors
Late Supporters -Investors -Funders/ Grant-makers
Late Supporters
Old grant-making organisations: • Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, Sir Ratan Tata Trust, etc.
Emerging ecosystem of social investors with niche sectors: • Aavishkaar (Rural Innovations); Acumen Fund India (Education
and Health); Song Advisors (Education); Villgro (Rural/ Agri-business); Elevar Equity, etc.
Providers of technical support along with financial support
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Early Supporters -Philanthropic Capital - Angel Investors
Late Supporters -Investors -Funders/ Grant-makers
Emerging Supporting Structures
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Technical Support Providers - Start-up Consultancy - HR support – Research & Advisory
Technical Support Providers
Start-up consultancy • Innovent, Start-up!, etc.
HR Support • Boutique social sector recruitment firms: Third Sector Partners;
Opportune Jobs; Jobs for Good, etc. Research and Advisory
• Nascent stage of academic research; few research grants for social sector focused studies
• Specialized organisations, e.g., Intellicap, doing some applied research
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Early Supporters -Philanthropic Capital - Angel Investors
Late Supporters -Investors -Funders/ Grant-makers
Emerging Supporting Structures
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Network Support - Aggregators - Conferences
Technical Support Providers - Start-up Consultancy - HR support – Research & Advisory
Network Support
5 annual national level practitioner-focused conferences since 2009 • Intellecap’s Sankalp Forum, Khemka Foundation’s Forum on SE,
Villgro’s Unconvention, ACCESS Dev’s Livelihood Conference, & XLRI’s NCSE
Online Aggregators: • NGO MarketPlace, IndiaNGO, Sanhita, etc.
Provide commons space for SEs, Investors/ Funders, supporters, volunteers, academics, etc., to connect, and form partnerships
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Early Supporters -Philanthropic Capital - Angel Investors
Late Supporters -Investors -Funders/ Grant-makers
Emerging Supporting Structures
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Advocacy Support -Sectoral Bodies -TiE
Network Support - Aggregators - Conferences
Technical Support Providers - Start-up Consultancy - HR support – Research & Advisory
Advocacy Support
Critical for providing an enabling policy and regulatory framework for social ventures
Very nascent and sector-specific, e.g., micro-finance, energy, etc. • TiE, NEN • Formation of National Association of Social Entrepreneurship
(April 2012)
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Early Supporters -Philanthropic Capital - Angel Investors
Late Supporters -Investors -Funders/ Grant-makers
Emerging Supporting Structures
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Media
Advocacy Support -Sectoral Bodies -TiE
Network Support - Aggregators - Conferences
Technical Support Providers - Start-up Consultancy - HR support – Research & Advisory
Media
Increasing role in “mainstreaming” social entrepreneurship
Coverage of SEs in mainstream media • CNBC TV18’s Young Turks, NDTV’s Unstoppble Indians, MTV’s
Youth Icon, Outlook Business’ annual issues on 25 Good Businesses, etc.
Dedicated online publications • TheAlternative, ThinkChangeIndia, YourStory, etc.
Learning and Next Steps
Nascent but rapidly emerging ecosystem (significant constituents emerged during this work!)
Largely youth-led and youth-focused Most support organizations themselves are young
social ventures Significant knowledge-gaps about ‘who’s who? doing
what?’ among players in the ecosystem Next step:
• Identify the relationships among the constituents • Assess the nature of their impact across the life-cycle of the
ventures
The Growing Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in India - A Framework
Sowers of Seed -Learning Journeys -Youth Fellowships -Campus Clubs -Competitions
Pipeline Creators -Academic Courses - Non-Academic Courses -Incubators
Early Supporters -Philanthropic Capital - Angel Investors
Late Supporters -Investors -Funders/ Grant-makers
Emerging Supporting Structures
The Societal Context Socio-Economic, Cultural and Legal Environment
Social Entrepreneurial Venture (across life-stages) Inspiration => Plan => Proof of Concept => Early Growth => Institution Building => Scaling Up
Media
Advocacy Support -Sectoral Bodies -TiE
Network Support - Aggregators - Conferences
Technical Support - Start-up Consultancy - HR support – Research & Advisory