SYNAPSE - 2014
SYNAPSE - 2014
The Rise and Changing Face of Social Entrepreneurship
- Dr. Madhukar Shukla, An Interview
Dr. Madhukar Shukla is Chairperson,
Fr Arrupe Centre for Ecology &
Sustainability and Professor (Strategic
Management & OB) at XLRI
Jamshedpur (India).
Madhukar has served as a member of
the Advisory Council of University
Network for Social Entrepreneurship
(founded by Ashoka: Innovators for the
Public and Skoll Center for Social
Entrepreneurship, Oxford University),
and is also a Member, Livelihood India
Advisory Board. He has served on the
Jury for the Microfinance Award ’07,
instituted by PlaNet Finance, and was a
lead assessor for the India NGO Awards
2007, 2008 & 2009. He is the
Conference Coordinator for the
National Conference on Social
Entrepreneurship, an annual national
conference since 2009.
Dr. Shukla was kind enough to take out some
time from his schedule and grant us an interview on the social sector, which is very close
to his heart.
Can you please share with us a few insights on the growth of the social sector?
The sector is growing
and there is a dearth
of qualified people in
the sector.
The sector was always there. It has just become more popular. Traditionally, social entrepreneurship is using entrepreneurial methods
to make a social impact. One of the best examples was ‘Dandi March’. The term was not
created but if you look at the Nationalist
Movement, if you look at examples like
Vinoba Bhave or Jayaprakash Narayan, the
sector was always there. The only thing that
has changed is that from somewhere around
2007-08 it has become more mainstream. One
hunch I have about why it happened is that in
2006, the Nobel peace prize went to Muhammad
Yunus for Gramin Bank. And Muhammad Yunus
is on the board of Ashoka, Ashoka being the
largest network of social entrepreneurs. He got
known as a ‘Social Entrepreneur” and perhaps
that is one reason for the growth in popularity of
the sector. It has become more mainstream in
India because of certain things like the Social
Entrepreneur of the Year award, given out when
the World Economic Forum is held in India in
January. Much of the electronic media like
Young Turks or Amazing Indians, a large number of their stories are on people working in the
Social Sector.
The media also plays a role in terms of making
people aware that these things are possible. You
find many websites like The Alternative, Your
Story, Better India, Weekend Leaders, which
feature such stories. You also find changes academically. If you see in the present scenario, a
large number of institutes especially business
schools, have a course on social entrepreneurship. The one problem that had plagued urban
India in the past was that whenever you attached
the word ‘social’ to something, it was considered
‘jholawala’. So that perception is ending. Plus
you also find many support organizations which
maybe early stage funders, incubators, etc. have
come up. A lot of educational institutions are
now coming up with social B-plan contests, some
of them very large and spanning many countries.
So people do some groundwork and research and
are now more aware.
Another change you find is that some of the
youth movements, which started around 2008-09
like Jagriti Yatra, which started in December,
2008, many ventures come out of that every year.
About 60% of people who join the Yatra, join the
sector. And these organizations have alumni
networks. For any sector to grow, you need an
ecosystem is very important. And these ecosys-