The business of social and environmental innovation

The role of business in developing innovative responses to complex social and environmental problems is becoming increasingly urgent as a subject of study. A more proactive role for business is especially pertinent in Sub-Saharan Africa which, although plagued by conflict and poverty, shows signs of a brighter future as the world's second fastest-growing region. Yet there is very little research on this subject in Africa. This book seeks to contribute to the growing body of scholarly work on social and environmental innovation with the two-fold aim of studying the role of business in creating such innovation and focusing on the African context. The chapters and case studies within this book address the role of entrepreneurs, large companies, cross-sector collaboration initiatives, and academia and teachers in social and environmental innovation. Cutting across these sections are four themes: social innovation as a process and outcome; mapping and scaling up innovation; the tension between social purpose and profit generation; and socio-economic and institutional context.