Digital Technologies and Pro-poor Finance

Abstract

Social enterprises need to be ambidextrous, i.e. simultaneously pursue social and financial goals. In this paper we focus on how digital social entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid implement ambidextrous strategies. We draw on a case study of Rang De, India's first platform for the delivery of credit to the poor, whose ecosystem involves multiple intermediaries and thousands of borrowers all over India. The paper identifies key actor-technology mechanisms leading to the achievement of social and financial goals, finding that the platform is instrumental to building trust amongst the social investor community and, at the same time, delivering loans at the base of the pyramid. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of pro-poor finance in the Indian context and also adds to the literature on digitally driven financial inclusion.