Public-private partnership in the development of social entrepreneurship in mainland China: the case of NPI

Abstract

This chapter provides a case study of Mr. Zhao Lu, a social entrepreneur who established Non-Profit Incubator – an intermediary agency with multiple platforms to support the development of social entrepreneurship in China through mobilizing all kinds of social resources, especially funding and policy advocacy from government agencies. This case study is one of the first analyses to examine the perplexing relationship between government and social entrepreneurship development in China. According to a 2011 study of family philanthropy in Asia by UBS (a Swiss-origin bank) and INSEAD business school, “mainland China has the strongest level of government control over philanthropy of the Asian countries surveyed. Also 40% of the China-based respondents rated the emergence of social entrepreneurship as the most highly-anticipated trend” (“Social Entrepreneurship Takes Off in China” by Juliana Liu Hong Kong, correspondent, BBC News, 23 September 2012). This situation is embedded in the peculiar development stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics in mainland China. Since 1979, China has managed to carry out economic reform successfully without major political reform.1 In 2013, The GDP of China reached US$9.4 trillion, with a world ranking of no. 2.2 However, underlying changes accompany the dramatic economic growth, which create severe societal problems in a broad range. The most pressing challenges include ever-increasing income inequality, a widening gap between urban and rural areas, environmental issues caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization and migrant workers and children who live in poor conditions and have difficulty accessing health care and education, among others.