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4.1 Social Business Ecosystem

4.1.1 Components Within the Ecosystem
Social businesses, like other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), often face significant
challenges in their early stages. To improve their survival rates, it is essential to establish a support
system that nurtures a favorable environment, provides incubation, and promotes exchange and

collaboration among partners. This necessity has given rise to the Social Business Ecosystem, a
network of organizations united by shared social missions and interconnected through various
forms of resources, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks. These elements, both direct and
indirect, enable social businesses to grow sustainably, operate efficiently, and generate the
intended social impact (Gonzalez and Dentchev, 2020).

This ecosystem can be broadly categorized into three primary components: resources,
infrastructure (public utilities), and legal and social institutions. The first component of the
ecosystem, resources, includes various forms of capital. Among these, financial capital is crucial.

A 2013 survey by the Bank of England identified the lack of financial resources as the most
significant barrier for social entrepreneurs (as cited in Popov, Veretennikova, and Kozinskayo,
2019). Other essential resources include human capital, intellectual capital, social capital, and
volunteer labor. The second component, infrastructure, encompasses not only conventional
utilities that businesses rely on, such as public infrastructure, but also two additional types: digital
technology and clean energy. These infrastructures are instrumental in enabling social businesses
to develop new innovations. Beyond physical infrastructure, social businesses also require

knowledge, skills, and research and development outputs to improve operational efficiency.
These may be sourced from universities or incubation organizations, such as foundations or
academic institutions. The third key component is legal and social institutions, which enforce
good governance to ensure fairness in competition. These institutions also foster local and
international cultures that recognize and honor public-minded individuals and organizations.
Recognition may come in the form of awards for organizations that contribute positively to society.
In addition, they include government policies that either promote or regulate various aspects
related to social business. This chapter will focus specifically on funding resources, as these are
potentially accessible to social businesses in Thailand. Legal frameworks, policies, and cultural

factors, which also play critical roles in shaping the social business ecosystem, are context-specific
to each country. The legal environment for international cases has already been discussed in
Chapter 3, while the legal framework for Thailand will be addressed in Chapter 6.

The social business ecosystem can also be categorized into three segments along the value chain:
(1) the upstream segment, which consists primarily of funding sources such as philanthropic funds,
government funds, or corporate funds from large private sector entities. Support may come in

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