CRS ICT4D Conference

The need for sustainability professionals to propose innovative and efficient solutions to alarming social and environmental issues is urgent, taking into consideration increasing population rates. 

Offering to solve issues commonly forgotten by governments, Social Enterprises have been emerging in the last years; these have strong support from promoting organizations and foundations with plentiful resources given to encourage their social business methods. These ignite their missions with innovation; they attempt to create social and economic value through their market approach. 

Innovative-oriented projects are a growing trend among sustainability practitioners; novel approaches include the use of Information Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) as a method to exchange information, which can then be translated into strategies and mechanisms that tackle problems more efficiently. This paper answers whether impoverished communities in developing countries are ready for this approach; considering barriers such as illiteracy and infrastructure, along with greater global south issues such as the digital divide and broadband expansion. 

Encouraging breaking the north towards south pattern of development practice and knowledge dissemination, both Brazil and India share a context in which Social Enterprises are aiming to tackle sustainability issues, sharing thus on the subject of social innovation. This paper analyses and compares twenty successful cases of SEs using ICT4D as their main strategy. 

Acknowledging these barriers for an innovative and effective approach, as well as the potential of Social Enterprises can result in greater efficiency in the current objectives of international development.