Innovation and entrepreneurship in the informal economy: Insights from the ground zero

Abstract

The chapter attempts to offer a view on how entrepreneurship and innovation exist in an informal economy. Contextualizing the study to India, the chapter adopts a case study approach, to identify the salient innovation types that entrepreneurs exercise while operating on the margins of the formal economy. The work contests the notion that entrepreneurship in informal economies or developing economies is largely necessity-driven. Through case documentation, the prominence of opportunity driven entrepreneurship and the adoption of heuristics are shown, along with how entrepreneurs become adept at discovering new markets and managing government relationships to remain viable.