Exploring Partnerships Between Australia and South Asia for Crowdfunding Social Enterprises

Abstract

Social enterprises have proven to be an effective mechanism for addressing economic, social, and environment problems in a number of countries. While conventional businesses have, in general, encountered difficult times during the COVID-19 pandemic, online businesses have tended to register success as a direct result of mobility constraints imposed on multinational or regional value-chains during this time. Social enterprises have continued to demonstrate their value as reservoirs of social and economic resilience during this unprecedented global crisis. Thought leaders like Muhammad Yunus see micro-economies, comprising locally focused social businesses linked digitally into distant value chains, as a viable strategy for economic growth in difficult times to achieve the SDGs. This chapter examines the potential of strategic business collaborations between social enterprises in Australia and South Asia that can leverage crowdfunding as a tool for mutual advantage and explores opportunities and challenges for Australian interests entering the financial services sector in South Asia.