Abstract

This thesis examines how social entrepreneurs in Egypt strategically mobilise social capital to access resources, legitimacy, and opportunities within a fragmented and institutionally ambiguous ecosystem. Drawing on qualitative case studies of eight legally registered, mission-driven for-profit enterprises, the study analyses how founders build and leverage offline and online networks through practices such as emotional bonding, community formation, knowledge sharing, symbolic positioning, ecosystem engagement, and digital presence. Through thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews and secondary data, the research identifies a set of relational strategies that function as core mechanisms for entrepreneurial growth in contexts where formal support structures and legal definitions remain limited. The findings contribute to social entrepreneurship scholarship by offering a grounded explanation of how social capital is actively constructed and deployed in an emerging-market setting, highlighting the centrality of relational work to entrepreneurial trajectories. The study also offers implications for Social Enterprise Support Organizations (SESOs), policymakers, donors, and founders seeking to strengthen the relational infrastructures of Egypt’s social enterprise ecosystem.

School

School of Global Affairs and Public Policy

Department

Public Policy & Administration Department

Degree Name

MA in Public Policy

Graduation Date

Summer 6-15-2026

Submission Date

2-14-2026

First Advisor

Mohamed Elkaramany

Committee Member 1

Ghada Barsoum

Committee Member 2

Rana Hendy

Extent

161 P.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Approval has been obtained for this item

Disclosure of AI Use

Thesis text drafting; Thesis editing and/or reviewing; Translation; Data/results generation and/or analysis; Data/results visualization

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