The Learning Social Entrepreneurship through Technology

Learning Social Entrepreneurship through Technology July – Sep 2021
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International Research Journal of Management and Social Sciences
Learning Social Entrepreneurship through Technology
Dr. Nasir Shaheen*
Dr. Nasir Ahmad**
Dr. Sajjad Hussain***
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to analyze the learning method of social entrepreneurship adopted
through a movie Padman. Numerous stakeholders such as family, community, social activists,
entrepreneurs and policy makers were the target audience. The movie narrated the story a poor family
residing in rural area and presented their social, cultural and financial problems where a social
constraint was a cause of health risk to women. The problem was social in nature. It was converted in
an opportunity and the remedy was found through an entrepreneurial venture which later served for
the economic well being of the rural women. Based on the thematic analysis of the movie, themes were
derived and discussed. Themes, discussion and conclusion are worth value to understand how social
problem can be used as an entrepreneurial opportunity for economic and social development of
masses at any part of the developing world including Pakistan.
Keywords: Indian movie Padman, women empowerment, Social Entrepreneurship, Health
Entrepreneurship
Introduction
Entrepreneurship is an continuing process and requires the transference of knowledge, skills
and attitude through education that can motivate the people to become entrepreneurs
(Solomon, 2007). It is very challenging to educate people about dimensions of the subject of
entrepreneurship which is theoretically embedded in economics but grows in social field.
Therefore choosing the appropriate medium that can contribute to learning is important.
Lately, the use of technology based tools has produced desired results. The use of audience
friendly medium of mass communication that corresponds to wide and complex social issues
in short and understandable form, gained popularity. The combination of technology with
teaching methods has lead to the development of new tools of learning which are very
effective (Hussain & Ahmad, 2016). Therefore movie is considered to be an effective medium
for engraving a multifaceted subject in to the minds of people through an informal way with
an element of entertainment associated with it. This research study analyzes the learning
method of social entrepreneurship adopted in the movie Padman. This movie was written
and directed by R.Balki, produced by Twinkle Khanna and released in 2017. The movie,
Padman, was based on the life story of a person who made low-cost sanitary pads. The
audience of the movie included household women, social entrepreneurs and other adults and
the leading role was performed by a well-known Indian actor Akshay Kumar and actress
*
Assistant Professor, Centre for Commerce and Management Sciences University of Swat, Pakistan.
Email: nasirshaheen@uswat.edu.pk
**
Corresponding Author, Assistant Professor, Center for Education and Staff Training, University of
Swat, Pakistan.
Email: nasir_cupid@uswat.edu.pk
***
Lecturer, Center for Education and Staff Training, University of Swat, Pakistan.
Email: sajjadhussain@uswat.edu.pk

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Sonam Kapoor
The movie begins with the story of lower middle class Indian family, residing in a small town
of rural area of India. They were stereotyped in their local culture and traditions but still
living happily. The hero of the movie Luxmi marries Gayatri whom he loves and cares. The
other family members of Luxmi’s family were his mother and two sisters. Basically he is a
welding mechanic and works in a workshop. He works very professionally and is therefore,
respected by his supervisor. The watering eyes of his wife during onion cutting hurt him and
he was curious to find a solution, His curious nature attracted him towards a monkey toy
beating drum, he got an idea and took it to his workshop, replaced the sticks of drum by two
cutters and drum by onion and made an onion cutting machine. So the sense of care for his
wife together with his mechanical skills and innovative mind, led to the solution for her
problem costing very low price. He developed a product that solved his problem without the
use of expensive technology. Gayatri was barred from household due to menstrual period as
part of local tradition and she had to sleep separately at her house terrace from the rest of
the family. Luxmi found his wife using cloth as sanitary pads that annoyed him. He went to a
medical store and asked for pads. The shopkeeper provided him pads in a confidential way
because culturally it was not considered appropriate to sell it openly and asked for fifty five
rupees. The price of pads was very higher keeping in view his income level but he managed
to buy pads. His wife initially got happy to see the pads but when she heard about the price
she refused to use it and insisted him to return pads back to store. When Luxmi was on the
way to medical store to return pads, he went to workshop where one of his colleagues while
working in workshop accidently got his arm injured. Luxmi covered his hand with the pad
and took him to doctor. The doctor praised Luxmi and told him that pads are hygienic and
use of cloth during menses is dangerous for health and may cause many diseases.
Laxmi was firm that Gayatri must use pads so he got idea to prepare handmade pads for his
wife at low price. He bought some cotton, sticking gum, cloth and prepared pads. But after
using them the results were bad. He again improved pads by adding plastic in to it. But all his
family members including his married sister were unhappy due to the fact that in their
culture it was considered unethical to talk about menses and pads by males. Finally he
reached to a medical college with the intention to provide his pads along with feedback form
to the educated and upper class family girls. But they refused to use it as according to them
these pads were unhygienic.
A girl in his neighborhood just grew adult and was going through her first menses. She was
shifted to the terrace. At night Luxmi silently approach the girl’s terrace through a ladder and
was telling her about the benefits of using pads. He was about to give her pad when girl’s
mother saw him and started yelling to gather all the people of the village. Everyone scolded
him so as his mother and wife. They all decided to leave him. Somehow he convinced them
about his caring intentions and promised Gayatri that in future he will not give pads to
anyone.
At last Luxmi decided to test his pads on himself by placing a bag full of goat blood in his
underwear over the pad and tighten a football tube with his trouser for pumping blood in to
the pad. While riding his bicycle he found it leaking and making his white trouser red.
Everyone was angry at him so as his family. The brother of Gayatri took her to his home.
Laxmi was disgraced by his village community and he left his village.

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Laxmi went to a cotton factory and there he found that the cotton used in a pad is known as
cellulose fiber. He wanted to know about it but he could not found it there. He then went to a
university to ask a professor about it but no one was helping him. He then got a job at a
professor’s home. Where professor’s young son told him about Google. The young boy
searched him relevant information about cellulose fiber. Later the professor at his computer
showed him video about the machine that makes pads. The machine was very expensive.
So being a professional welding mechanic, he understood the functioning of the pad making
machine and decided to make it by himself through locally available mechanical parts in low
cost. He went to a local capitalist and after a lot of buttering; he gave a loan of one hundred
thousand rupees. He worked with commitment and after a lot of labor work he managed to
prepare hygienic pads. Now again the issue was how to test it but no one was ready to use it.
One night some girls came from city and were in need of pads in midnight while all the shops
in the town were closed. They came across Luxmi asking him that from where they can get
pad. He gave them pad from his pocket. Next day he went to the hotel where the girls were
residing. There, he met Pari, one of the girls who used his pad. The feedback about his pad
was good. Luxmi told her about the whole story. She was an educated girl who did graduation
in business studies. She invited him to a national level business competition which was quite
new for him where people presented their business ideas and products. He could not win first
prize but was given a recognition prize. On returning back he paid his entire loan.
Pari educated him about patents, marketing, branding and packaging of his product. She told
him that being male in a conservative society, it is not appropriate that he talks about pads.
For this, women are the right people. So she developed a women sales force for him who
through personal selling going home to home for selling pads at a very affordable price. He
got famous and was in newspapers. His villagers, friend and family were shocked to see him
in newspapers and television. They were of the view that he got popular but through what
they call a “dirty thing”. He was invited to United Nations where he delivered a speech.
But his purpose was not to earn money rather to safe women from diseases. He does not
wanted to go towards industrialization as it will increase the cost of production of pads and
resultantly the customer will have to pay for it. So with the help of Pari, he made a business
plan that the poor women will take the loan of two hundred thousand rupees from bank. Out
of which one hundred thousand rupees will be paid to him for providing machine and from
the rest money they will purchase raw material and will make pads. Thus they will hire a
women sale force for selling pads. In this way they will be able to pay installments of the loan
and will have their own business for earning money and will also safe women from diseases
by providing those pads in an affordable price. The plan worked and they were able to
successfully make sanitary pads that safe woman from diseases and also engaged them in to
small business.
This movie not only unveils social problems of the women in rural areas of developing and
underdeveloped world but also educates them about entrepreneurship. The sensitization of
women in such parts of the world about their health, bad cultural norms and
entrepreneurship enables them to find business opportunities within their socio-cultural
contexts to improve their living and of other women in their surroundings.
Research methodology

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This study was designed by using qualitative single case study research design. The authors
selected the Indian movie Padman as a unit of analysis in relation to the learning of social
entrepreneurship. For which the researchers followed a descriptive approach of analysis.
Furthermore, the study concentrated on the use of the selected movie for learning social
entrepreneurship and the related skills to face the associated challenges of social
entrepreneurial activities in our local context.
Based on the thematic analysis of the idea, script, dialogues and scenes; the entrepreneurial
traits were identified which are: commitment and resilience; social entrepreneurship;
opportunities in social problems; innovation; and women orientation. These traits contribute
towards learning of social entrepreneurs.
Analysis and interpretations
The discourse analysis of each trait mentioned above in research methodology in detail form
is as follow:
1. Commitment and resilience
Luxmi commitment to his objective to make low cost sanitary pads was so strong that despite
having requisite resources and competency he remained focused on attainment of his goal.
He said to his wife Gayatri “I am worried about your health and I took it as a challenge”.
Though Luxmi faced a strong opposition from his family and society as it was against the
prevailing social norms to even talk about sanitary pads, but his resilient character and
continuous struggle enabled him to succeed in realization of his dream. Luxmi was initially
perceived as optimist in his idea. He strived hard for getting required knowledge and
machines. Luxmi’s commitment to his profession can be judged from advise he gave to his
subordinate in which he said “the work is not complete until it has been evaluated by the
expert himself”, he further said “before giving any product to the customer, the vendor
himself should try it himself”. This shows that a man of such character can change the
stubborn cultural norms to make the world better place for women to live without diseases
and earning their own living.
2. Social Entrepreneurship
Luxmi in his speech at UN said “we do not require R & D (Research and development units)
instead we require T & F (Try and failure). He further said “The product that I have
manufactured was at the cost of good relationship with my mother, sister and wife besides a
loan”. Pari insisted him to commercialize his product by registering patent. But he refused.
This shows that his vision was above financial gains. He paid cost for his family and
community. In turn he was able to have a healthy family and society because without
healthier and financially sound women it is unlikely to have a prosperous society.
The Luxmi’s motive was based on threats to health of women due to the use of unhygienic
cloth as substitute of sanitary pads during menstrual period. He also disliked the tradition in
their village that during menstrual cycles, women were supposed to live in terrace of houses.
His concerns became threefold when his own wife started using unhygienic cloths. This
shows that he did not had any business motives. Even he was not aware of the terms like
innovations, business opportunity, patents, marketing and branding. Once he succeeded in

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making prototype of his machine, Pari advised him to register patent and commercialize it.
But he was not ready to it as he said that he did not developed machine for the purpose of
making money. His motive was to save women from diseases. But he served society with a
remedy for the health issues to women in an affordable price along with making it a source
of earning for them and for him-self too.
The health threat to the rural women of his country was reduced by manufacturing his
sanitary pads. Its price was affordable for poor women. The women sales force were selling
it door to door. The sanitary pads manufacturing machines were given to at least one woman
in a village on affordable loan. Therefore it can be concluded that focusing on social problems
may take us towards their solution also these solutions can become a source of earning.
3. Opportunity in social problems
Luxmi in his speech at UN said “more problems means more opportunities” he further said
“Life without problem means nothing, if you want to have a problem free life then it is better
to die”. It was initially not based on an entrepreneurial undertaking but later production of
sanitary pads on mass level for the consumption of poor women in society combined with
business ideas of Pari, developed it in to an entrepreneurial venture. Therefore it can be said
that in the given venture, Luxmi entrepreneurial opportunity was found in his social network
where her wife was faced by hygiene problem, so as other family members and community
of his town.
Generally, it is difficult for entrepreneurs to find business opportunities. They focus more on
financial outcomes of an expected business venture. That is why their thinking mostly circles
around market demand and economy. Sometimes they extend it to new trends in
international markets. While, they neglect the context around them which contain many
social problems. Though Luxmi never thought to become entrepreneur and his focus was not
on a business opportunity, but his concern for a social problem faced by his community, made
him find an opportunity, which in business terms is considered as “entrepreneurial
opportunity”.
4. Innovation
The sanitary pads were not introduced by Luxmi for the first time. But he found a new way of
manufacturing sanitary pads with less cost of production and resultantly affordable for poor
women. Luxmi had a bad experience when he visited sanitary pads industry and found the
minds of personnel working there, pigeonholed in the type of machines and technology they
are using. They recommended him to visit university for details. When Luxmi went to
university to get information about raw material and manufacturing process of sanity pads,
the gatekeeper said to him “if you want to take little knowledge, submit a bank draft in
university but if you want to gain more knowledge then submit cash to a Professor for tuition
in evening”. He did not have money. He found an alternate for it and decided to work as
housekeeper at a Professor’s home with the aim to get knowledge about his project. So he
always used to think about substitute. But to his surprise he found professor’s stereotyped in
his knowledge. But Professor’s young son introduced him to Google, he got information about
cellulose fiber and sanitary pad making machine. This is how he learned the concept of the
manufacturing process.

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Luxmi was a welding mechanic by profession. He was professionally competent in his skills.
But he always utilized ideas which he got instantly by observing his surrounding, through his
mechanical skills in to developing new products. Similarly he made cost effective sanitary
pads making machine by using different instruments and devices which are mostly used in
home appliances. Through his machine he produced substitute of cellulose fiber by pressing
cotton. In this way he made the production process efficient and handy.
Pari’s support in terms of using proper marketing tools in the context of target customers
helped in success of his project. Women were hired for selling the sanity pads through
personal selling. As the society was sensitive for talking, using and selling of sanitary pads
accepted its selling through women sales force. This was again an innovation in their
marketing strategy.
In nut shell Luxmi after learning the concept, utilized his and Pari’s skills to made innovate
substitute of machines, marketing tools and small business establishment which were in line
with his vision.
5. Women orientation about entrepreneurship
The field of entrepreneurship with reference to women has been established in developed
and even developing countries. But still many women living in rural and remote areas of
developing and underdeveloped world are unaware of it. This movie has sensitized such
women to work for their well being by finding business opportunities within their social
framework. Even these women were not educated but an orientation about business venture
followed by training and facilitation made them entrepreneurs. Luxmi was neither a social
activist nor expert in women entrepreneurship. He only knew the art of gathering available
and affordable resources around him for a purpose that later were developed in to
entrepreneurial venture through Pari’s guidance.
Discussion
The Luxmi’s struggle for a social cause accompanied by his resilient character enabled him to
achieve his vision and even beyond it. The success of an entrepreneur is rooted in
commitment (Tasnim, 2014) & Kirzner, 1999). A potential idea can be successful only if the
personality of entrepreneur is enriched with the characteristic of confidence in the success
of his endeavor. Ayala and Manzano (2014), sub-divided resilience in to optimism; toughness
and resourceful; as the predictors of entrepreneurial success.
Luxmi’s vision did not encircle around financial gains rather a social problem which was
cause of threat to women health. After developing his product he did not went for
commercialization aspect to earn money. Though he earned reasonably rather lavishly and
enabled the women to find a source of earning for them. This projects the narrative that one
way or another sources of earning can be explored and developed but if our vision is in the
right direction which in this case appeared as social entrepreneurship, then it can gain
multifaceted benefits for the society. Roberts (2005) considers social entrepreneurship as a
healthier characteristic of society as it is aimed towards attainment of social needs rather
commercialization. Similarly Martin, (2015) and Santos (2012) suggested that social
entrepreneurship is the pursuit of sustainable solutions to neglected problems with positive
externalities.

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The movie also provides a lesson for those social activists and entrepreneurs who are in
search of business opportunities for poor women, which can be found in social problems
within their surroundings. A sociologist Ronald Burt, presented network theory which
reveals that entrepreneurial opportunities can be found in an individual's network if
arranged in a particular way (Burt, 2000). This discloses that entrepreneurs instead of trend
disciple shall look around their society where they may come across problems and their
solutions may generate a business opportunity for them.
Luxmi made an innovation but it was the social cause in his mind that paved the way for it.
Schumpeter (1982) considers an entrepreneur as the one who makes innovations or finds
the novel ways of productions. It did not involved sophisticated technology. Even those who
were more knowledgeable than him never thought about doing it in a simple way. This shows
that mostly we are stereotyped by knowledge that we cannot do innovation. We may
conclude that according to Joseph Schempter a renowned economist in his book “Capitalism,
Socialism and Democracy”, published in 1942, Luxmi did the act of “creative destruction”
which is to bring something new about the demise of whatever existed before.
The ultimate beneficiary of the whole struggle of Luxmi was women in terms of awareness
about: health, bad cultural norms and establishing business. Even uneducated poor women
can be turned in to a productive part of society through guidance, training about
entrepreneurship and facilitation. The role of women in socio-economic development is very
crucial. Entrepreneurship development and income generating activities are feasible
solutions for women empowerment (Vasanthi, M. K. 2019). Until and unless the rural women
are not independent economically, they cannot contribute their potential for development of
world community.
Conclusion
The movie presented the scenario of rural area and the mindset of the people which was
rooted in their culture. This was a causing threat to women health. A person with
entrepreneurial traits observed it and despite having a strong resistance from his family and
community, he developed a product that removed the health threat to women. Though that
product was available in market before but it was expensive and unaffordable for the people
of that area. So it was developed at low cost. Further its manufacturing machines and process
along with finanacial guidance was opend for the poor women of that area and the
surroundings. The movie beautifully elaborated a social problem causing health risk and its
solution through the concept of social entrepreneurship for the economic upbringing of the
community. The study concludes use of technology such movies can be used as learning
medium for understanding any social problem and converting them in to economic
opportunites in any part of the developing world including Pakistan.
References
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