Entrepreneurship in Peace Operations

Abstract

A central question guides this article: To what extent can entrepreneurship be a force for change and transformation in war-torn areas? To address the question, this article introduces the topic of social entrepreneurship and illustrates how social entrepreneurs are serving as change agents in rebuilding and reconstructing areas devastated by conflict. The social enterprise of Kiva, the brainchild of social entrepreneurs Matthew Flannery and Jessica Jackley, provides an example. It is notable for its innovative idea-a Web-based, internet-facilitated micro-loan process that attracts individual investors worldwide in support of business entrepreneurs in the developing world. As a counter example to top-down, mandate-driven, organization-centric intervention strategies that many organizations pursue in peace operations, Kiva's enduring legacy may very well be its bottom-up, entrepreneur-driven, network-centric model of change. Its most salient features are: a supply chain that 'contractually' connects all the partners in the loan process to minimize coordination problems and ensure that each step in the workflow sequentially adds value; processes and systems that guarantee work is transparent, efficient and accountable; a model of learning that enables global and local partners to co-create a complex, worldwide community-based learning system in support of entrepreneurship; and a rich network of social relations built from face-to-face and online interactions to help generate social capital needed for development.

Systematic review: entrepreneurship in conflict and post conflict

“…Fragile also describes the characteristics of conflicts such as poverty, lack of authorities and abatement of people wellbeing. This, in turn, may lead to more violence (Brück et al , 2011), threatening lives, destroying business, smashing infrastructure and trust among the society (Brück et al , 2012; Roberts, 2010). Brück et al (2012) distinguish the economic effects of conflict between the side effects including infrastructure, livestock and other sectors and the conflict that target people, which in turn lead to sharp influences on the labour force and its responsibilities.…”

“…The importance of entrepreneurship as a pivotal factor in the economic growth has been originated by the classical economists for decades (Bullough et al , 2014; Roberts, 2010). However, the common seeking of entrepreneurship research usually tends to exist in normal situations (Brück et al , 2016; Muhammad et al , 2016), where governments operate and provide rules and support, with social networks, hope and stability (Roberts, 2010). It is still considered as an unchartered territory towards understanding entrepreneurship in conflict, war-torn and turbulent environments.…”

Managing precarity? Civil society groups and donor retreat in the Eastern Caribbean

“…The term entrepreneurial embodies a sense of creativity, innovation, flexibility, self-governance and the individualisation of responsibility (Freeman, 2014;Scharff, 2016). Entrepreneurialism is also associated with interactions with the market, risk taking and the development of new ideas (Mack, 2016;McFarlane, 2012;Roberts, 2010).…”

“…Whilst less attention has been paid to civil society finances away from international donor funding, one way in which civil society actors are becoming more entrepreneurial in their work is through the increased adoption of social enterprise models of working and the use of institutional models and cultures drawn from business management (Cieslik, 2016;Edwards, 2014;Galvin and Iannotti, 2015;Roberts, 2010). With this comes charges of elitism and the social economy on which it is based presents both opportunities and threats for civil society (Cieslik, 2016;Edwards, 2014).…”

Challenges Young Female Entrepreneurs Face: An Ethnographic Study of Women Entrepreneurs Who Buy Things in Thailand to Sell in Congo

“…Local entrepreneurs have been able to create Innovative networks that ensure effective supply chain and partnerships that support businesses and access to finance. Local entrepreneurs have over time built rich and strong networks of social relations within and outside the country, based on which they coordinate business and built social capital for business sustainability [6]. While general perspectives on entrepreneurship in Congo dominate literature, perspectives on young women entrepreneurs, the business they run, and the challenges they face remain scarce.…”