Creating a Space in the Market: Social Enterprise in Asia

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by Marie Lisa M. Dacanay

Creating A Space in the Market

For the past decade, social enterprise has been a buzzword in the arena of both business and philanthropy. But what does social enterprise actually mean for Asia and what is or was its impact on building a more equitable and sustainable marketplace?
Creating a Space in the Market: Social Enterprise in Asia, edited by Marie Lisa M. Dacanay, is a ‘must read’ for anyone involved in development work or seriously thinking of setting up a social enterprise in the region. There are few documented cases of Asian social enterprises to speak of, and even fewer that marry the two sometimes opposing but powerful concepts of enterprise profitability and social mission in the context of our Asian socioeconomic landscape as aptly as this book.
The book casts a comprehensive light on the beginnings and evolution of social entrepreneurship in Asia – an area rarely studied and documented – through indepth analyses illustrated with graphs, maps and tables. Examples of social enterprises in Asia are also stripped to bare bones as they are analysed down to minute details from their exact expenditure and earnings to external factors such as government help and/or intervention as well as special advantages social enterprises have such as foundation grants and support.

A total of 13 in-depth case studies of varying organisational models from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, India, Thailand, South Korea and the Philippines, were made reference. They emphasize on the three types of social enterprise development strategies – empowerment, intermediation and resource mobilization – which are also highlighted and thoroughly examined in the book. Lisa Dacanay also tackles the pertinent issue of measuring the performance of social enterprises. Lastly, the possibility of sustainability in development through the concept of social enterprise is made accessible in this book.

The research-book project is published by the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and the Conference of Asian Foundations and Organisations (CAFO), and is one of the most comprehensive publications on Social Enterprises and Social Entrepreneurs in Asia.

About the author

Marie Lisa M. Dacanay is the president of the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA), a consortium initiative set up in June 2008 by major social enterprise resource institutions, networks and academic institutions based in Singapore, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines. She is also an adjunct professor and leading researcher at the AIM.

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