Journal of Applied Business, Economics and Strategic Management ISSN: 3139-1664 (Online)

Author:- Dr. Asha Elizabeth Thomas

Abstract:-India has been witnessing a tremendous growth in the number of social enterprises, especially during the last five to six years. Despite of this remarkable growth, the quantitative data to evaluate the actual impact of such enterprises on socio-economic development of the country is scarcely available. Moreover, there is lack of adequate empirical studies to understand the social entrepreneurship ecosystem within the country. This research is conducted to understand the landscape of social entrepreneurship in the country. Researcher has tried to identify the factors leading to the favorable growth of social enterprises and reports on the challenges faced by these enterprises in the present scenario. A gender based comparative evaluation of the organisational objectives of social enterprises were also conducted to identify whether there is any difference in them based on their leadership. Data has been collected from 122 social enterprises operating across the country in different sectors of the economy. Results show that social enterprises can offer solutions for many of the socio-economic problems faced by the country like unemployment, poverty, lack of access to education, and poor living conditions. However, there requires further interventions from the part of government and other regulatory bodies to ensure the sustainable growth of these enterprises. Priorities given to various organisational objectives showed significant differences in women-led social enterprises.

Keywords:-Social change, Social capital, Socio-economic development, Impact investing, Women social entrepreneurs.