ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the critical role of an enabling ecosystem in fostering development entrepreneurship to address poverty and unemployment in India, which is an uneven economy. Focusing on the Buddha Institute, this chapter examines an innovative fellowship model designed to nurture entrepreneurs working at the intersection of social impact and sustainable livelihoods. The Institute's approach to capacity building, financial linkages, market connections, and policy advocacy illustrates how structured interventions empower grassroots entrepreneurs and enable livelihood diversification. Through experiential learning and case study evidence, the chapter demonstrates interventions by the Buddha Institute align with established theories, including the Base of the Pyramid (BoP) approach, market-based strategies, and social entrepreneurship theory, which translate into tangible and socially transformative interventions in India's development context.
