12. Social Business for Sustainable Development: A Developing Country Perspective

This research offers a critique on the limitations of the capitalism and justifies the potential of the application of social business idea in the sustainable development of developing countries such as Bangladesh. The purpose of this study is to report whether the idea of social business supports the achievement of the concept of sustainable development in the light of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) taking into account the first six goals- no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality and clean water and sanitation- amongst the 17 goals of SDGs set by the United Nations Organization. The study has undertaken a qualitative research approach using both primary and secondary data. In-depth interviews with social business experts and three case studies with Grameen Danone, Grameen Veolia and Grameen Healthcare Service have been conducted. Data have been analyzed using thematic analysis method. The result indicates that there is a high potential application of social business concept for the sustainable development of developing countries. This research has the potential to draw the attention of large corporations towards social business and is likely to enhance the interest of social change makers towards it. This research can be considered as one of the initial attempts to examine the potential application of social business concept in ensuring sustainable development.