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Emerging peer to peer
networks,
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” says an African proverb.
Peer
to peer networks are not a new concept and have been a fundamental part
of human society. Especially in terms of business, the market has always
been driven by peer networks that find synergies and profits through
relationships and generate livelihoods. India needs to generate 120
million new livelihoods in the 2021–2030 decade to ensure near full
employment for its 610 million labor force by 2030 . In light of the
current pandemic situation, the need for dignified jobs will further
increase as more In order to strengthen the local rural micro entrepreneurs, re-building the peer to peer network can open alternate and sustainable supply chains. Through peer to peer networks, individuals are connected with underlying goals such as earning profit, supporting fellow businessmen or networking, irrespective of any sectoral differences. Peer to Peer networks allow autonomy to all its stakeholders and also ample scope for non-linear (and often unconventional) flows which promotes innovation as well as resourcefulness.
Development Alternatives, across multiple of its enterprise development programs, have built evidence around the power of peer to peer networks at a micro and meso (district) level. One of the approaches which have helped Development Alternatives in strengthening the peer to peer network is the social innovation approach in which deep listening exercises assisted by co-creation tools and prototyping methodology is helping rural micro-entrepreneurs to leverage existing local relations into peer to peer networks for business sustainability and reach economies of scale. They are doing so in the following ways:
The above approach uses various social innovation tools like Kaun Banega Market Leader which is a public level competition aimed at gathering ideas on innovative marketing models. The competition was aimed at seeking innovative marketing ideas from women and youth to overcome barriers of market access for rural entrepreneurs and unlock opportunities for expansion of their enterprises. Likewise, the current form of peer to peer networks work within informal networks, yet this informality is creating networks and connections which is enabling livelihood creation and supporting each other for skills enhancement. Thus creating a discourse that enables an entrepreneurial ecosystem that works in harmony with livelihood generation.■
References
Debasis Ray
Roopali Gupta
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than 41 lakh jobs were reported to be lost by the pandemic in 2020. The
policy landscape presumes that large enterprises can generate this gamut
of jobs and thus favours them. This resulted in a strong peer to peer
connection amongst large enterprises, formalised through institutions
like FICCI which facilitates amicable relations. But the concentration of efforts
at the large enterprise scale while commendable, misses the crux of
India's livelihood problems. Building micro-enterprises at the
grassroots, with efforts to build peer connections between them, as well
as theirs with stakeholders can build up local entrepreneurial
ecosystems, deepening local socio-economic well-being and solidarity,
especially in uncertain times such as that of the pandemic. From the
perspective of sustainable growth, it is really the micro-enterprises
that hold the promise to address India's uncertain future with respect
to generate dignified livelihoods. Micro-enterprises, which comprises of
99% of total enterprises in the MSME and employs 10.7 million
individuals , can therefore not only spark activity in local economies
but peer to peer connections between entrepreneurs at the local scale
can also spark solidarity in meeting local needs, providing support
services for new entrepreneurs, and leveraging upcoming opportunities in
new sectors such as e-commerce, organic farming, agro-processed and
allied services and so on. Such possibilities are crucial as employment
and enterprises of the most marginalised have been adversely affected by
the pandemic, and thus finding new ways to revive socio-economic
well-being is the need of the hour.
