Social Entrepreneurship in the Favelas of Brazil: Challenges and Constraints

Sammanfattning: As global inequality reaches unprecedented levels, social entrepreneurship has emerged as a promising tool for addressing this and fighting some of the most challenging social issues of our time. This thesis seeks to dive into the specific challenges that social entrepreneurs encounter in low-income settings by conducting a case study in the favelas in Brazil, one of the world’s most widely recognized low-income areas. By conducting a comprehensive literature review, the thesis establishes a conceptual framework for the challenges facing social entrepreneurs in low-income settings. This is used to guide the analysis for the data collection in a deductive manner. Data is collected using semi-structured interviews with seven social entrepreneurs operating within the favelas. The findings reveal that the interviewed social entrepreneurs in the favelas face significant obstacles across five main areas: financial capital, legal and regulatory environment, infrastructure, human capital, and social capital. These challenges are consistent with the conceptual framework of challenges facing social entrepreneurs in low-income settings.