Affiliation:
1. University of Technology, Malaysia
Abstract
More than 200,000 households were living below the poverty line in Malaysia in 2019. Urban areas are crowded and have more absolute poor households than rural areas. Social enterprise has potential as a new approach to urban poverty alleviation. Yet, this method has not been widely investigated in Malaysia. This study sought to identify the challenges encountered by social enterprises. By employing qualitative modes of inquiry, findings from interviews with two Malaysian social enterprises reveal challenges in financial, organizational, business nature and complexity of the urban poor. Government incentives, societal, and organizational support were identified as measures that empower social enterprises to alleviate urban poverty. This research reinforces that urban-centric social enterprises, involvement of the poor in the business value chain, promotion by the government, and societal engagement can drive efforts towards the ‘no poverty' sustainable development goal. It offers some important insights on the potential roles of social enterprises in urban poverty alleviation.
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