The Art of Social Entrepreneurship: Dakshina Chitra and Madras Crafts Foundation (MFC) in India

The case traces the milestones of a 26-year history of a social entrepreneur creating a social enterprise, Madras Craft Foundation (MCF). The story leads up to a three-decade retrospective on the role social ventures play in our lives. Based on the entrepreneur’s critical reflection, the case shows how the paths of the social entrepreneur and the social enterprise became closely interwoven. After MCF had been self-sufficient for three years, the success of the social venture precipitated a crisis as to who could succeed the founding social entrepreneur, whose love for South India’s arts, crafts, and culture had become inseparable from MCF and its best-known offering, Dakshina Chitra. The case details MCF’s revenue-generation model and shows the interdependence between the social entrepreneur and the social enterprise — their “co-becoming” over almost three decades. The analysis makes apparent links between the founder and her venture, and challenges the divide between social entrepreneur and social enterprise. It also provides an opportunity to discuss what is alike or different in social entrepreneurship and traditional entrepreneurship.

The key decision in the case — succession — is precipitated by MCF’s success in revenue generation. Financial self-sustainability makes the “birthing” of the social venture complete and precipitates a decision about what comes next for the social entrepreneur and the social venture. The teaching purpose is:<ul><li>To introduce students to a social entrepreneur and a social enterprise in an emerging market (Tamil Nadu, South India).</li><li>To explore the cultural dimensions of social business and understand the connections between cultural and economic resources.</li><li>To discuss art entrepreneurship, with specific emphasis on the similarities and differences between traditional and social entrepreneurs and between different cultural and economic contexts.</li></ul>

• Social Entrepreneurship
• Poverty Alleviation
• Education
• Art and Culture
• South India