How do Social Enterprises transform Education Inequality in Developing Countries?

Sammanfattning: Education inequality continues to be a barrier to social progress and reinforces the cycle of poverty. That is best visible in developing countries- where resources dedicated to education are not optimal and traditional approaches to reduce education inequality have proven to be ineffective, if there are any at all, due to resource limitations, bureaucratic barriers, and systemic complexities. Nevertheless, social enterprises offer promising solutions to the problem with a combination of entrepreneurial strategies and social impact objectives. This research aims to analyze the role social enterprises play in reducing education inequality in developing countries, explore the role they play in communities served and what are the outcomes of the initiatives implemented, and the challenges they face when implementing those by studying their innovative solutions. The research accounts for other important factors associated with the topic- measuring the impact, and importance of the initiatives, the role of technology, and changes that go beyond reducing education inequality but go towards shaping a better future for the beneficiaries of the initiatives. A multiple case study of social enterprises operating in multiple developing countries is conducted, where primary data is collected from semi-structured interviews and secondary data is collected from internal and external research reports and studies by organizations themselves or a trusted third party. The findings of this research contribute to building knowledge of the contributions of social enterprises to reducing education inequality in developing countries by deploying their valuable resources to spread knowledge in usually non-traditional schooling ways, offering education to everyone willing to be a part of the initiative. Secondly, the role of social enterprises is seen as vital for the communities as they contribute not only to higher enrollment (providing access to education) and completion rate, improvements in literacy and numeracy skills, but also to a higher standard of living with higher employment rate and employability, increase in income, and important to mention, better knowledge of health and hygiene during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirdly, the challenges found were connected either to technological or human factors, with the most occurring challenge being adapting to local culture, standards, and traditions, given that the organizations are not local. Finally, by utilizing the potential of social enterprises, we can achieve a more equitable and inclusive education system, which in turn unlocks the potential of individuals, but also communities and promotes sustainable, social, and economic growth in developing countries.