Collaboration for Ecosystem Building
Mini Toolkit
Development Alternatives (DA) co-creates platforms with stakeholders, to build and nurture a contextualised, responsive entrepreneurial ecosystem. This mini-toolkit highlights how such collaboration platforms serve to find mutually beneficial ways for entrepreneurs to support each other towards greater prosperity and productive employment.
In recent times, the lack of job creation and unemployment has been on a rise. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector is increasingly seen as the engine for growth and employment. MSMEs in India employ nearly 40% of the workforce. Within the sector, micro enterprises comprise 99.4% of the total enterprises, and employ nearly 23 million people. In essence, support for micro enterprises can lead to significant gains in socioeconomic development. The government, NGOs and, increasingly, the private sector are thus beginning to accelerate their support to micro enterprise development and towards creating a conducive entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Development Alternatives, in partnership with “la Caixa” Banking Foundation, has launched a social innovation program, Work 4 Progress (W4P), that envisions creation of meaningful jobs for women and youth through micro enterprise development. The program is being implemented in the districts of Mirzapur, Bhadohi, Jhansi and Niwari in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
The micro enterprises in the program geographies, as is true for most of India, face numerous barriers with respect to information, technology, market, finance and capacities. The W4P program is addressing these challenges by applying social innovation and systemic approaches and tools such as dialogue, co-creation and prototyping. In dialogue with key stakeholders and micro entrepreneurs, the program recognized different needs in an entrepreneurial ecosystem and come together on a platform in support for entrepreneurs.
Read more in the toolkit
Authors: : Ankit Mugdal, Prema Gera
