The fine line: New research on what defines successful entrepreneurs

In an effort to figure out what actually distinguishes a successful entrepreneur from an unsuccessful one, Social Equity Venture Fund (S.E.VEN) has invested $100,000 to conduct primary research.

S.E.VEN has awarded this money to Harvard poverty expert Michael Kremer, as a part of a total of $400,000 that it has invested in researchers working on enterprise based solutions to poverty. Kremer’s study will look at entrepreneurs in both Kenya and India to “understand who these individuals are, what in their environment contributes to their development as entrepreneurs, and social, institutional and personal barriers to further growth.” These two countries were chosen because “most of those subsisting on less than a dollar a day live in South Asia and Africa.”

Nextbillion.net recognizes how these markets present entrepreneurs with unique challenges, including “fluctuating currency, interest rates, political unrest, population migration, and technological and infrastructure upsets.”