Redefining Silk Roads

In this chapter on “Redefining Silk Roads: Social Businesses and Crafts as Approaches for Improving Women’s Situations in Central Asia,” the authors show how social entrepreneurship is only starting to evolve in Central Asian countries. Women experience multiple barriers to starting and carrying out social businesses successfully: a lack of capital, underdeveloped policies, and limited access to markets within the region and beyond. Despite these significant challenges, there are factors suggesting strong potential for success in the long term, such as local expertise and skills, access to training, and the support of international development organizations. Projects that have been implemented previously suggest the need for intermediary organizations that can increase access to global markets, advocate on behalf of social businesses, and improve access to capital investments. Improving social entrepreneurship models in the region will have not only financial and social gains for women and their communities; importantly, these models can provide psychosocial benefits as well, such as increasing women’s autonomy within the household and their ability for collective efficacy.