Social Sustainability at the BOP Through Building Inclusive Social Capital: A Case Study of Drishtee

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore the role of sharing economy platforms in providing sustainable and equitable solutions to poverty. While the research on sharing economy has increased exponentially, it has overlooked the developmental impact of sharing economy on the BOP communities. Using the recent sharing economy initiatives by Drishtee, a livelihood social enterprise in India, we discuss the role of a digitally enabled barter system, made in rural India (MIRI) platform and hub-and-spoke training model, in designing a transformative sharing economy for BOP communities. We argue that these three sharing elements in Drishtee’s SWAVLAMBAN project bridge the access and asset gap in resource-poor and socially hierarchical communities. Additionally, the economic interdependencies created through these three components have the potential to build inclusive social capital (i.e., cross-cutting ties among the people from different socioeconomic status). Our research provides valuable insights for designing bottom-up, sustainable, and inclusive sharing economy platforms for BOP communities.