Engaging symbiotic ecosystems to build community centred business models for the BoP: Evidence from small social enterprises in East Africa
研究了东非小型社会企业如何通过构建共生生态系统，分三步建立面向金字塔底层市场的社区中心商业模式，为社会创业者和企业管理者提供实践启示。
This article examines how small social enterprises (SSEs) in East Africa build business models for base of the pyramid (BoP) markets, through engaging symbiotic ecosystems. Through in-depth qualitative research, a three-stage process is identified. First, SSEs learn and become sensitised to the manifold challenges of building business models for BoP markets. Second, SSEs identify and connect with key BoP actors, weaving them together to create a symbiotic ecosystem and to overcome the aforementioned challenges. Third, SSEs harness this symbiotic ecosystem to deliver community-centred business models for the BoP. This research contributes to social entrepreneurship, small business, and BoP literatures, by shedding light on the challenges faced by SSEs working in the BoP, and through novel elaboration of how SSEs develop and interact with symbiotic ecosystems to surmount these challenges. It also provides important practical insights, for social entrepreneurs and social enterprise managers in Africa and elsewhere.