From ecosystems to advicescapes: business, development and advice in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

David Lewis, Rebecca Bowers, Luke Heslop and Simon Tawfic

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: The provision of entrepreneurship advice is a growing feature of private sector development in South Asia but has so far received little attention from researchers. The article explores the theme of business advice in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, drawing on recent ethnographic fieldwork among advice seekers to explore the significance of low-income households of business advice within the unfolding processes of both marketization and state support. It offers a theoretical innovation in the concept of ‘advicescape’, supported by ethnographic materials conveying local-level perspectives and experiences of business advice users. Despite the growth of a complex business support ecosystem in each country, the article finds that many such people are falling through the cracks, in that they face problems accessing advice, find its quality variable and instead rely heavily on informal advice. It ends with reflections on the now dominant business-and-development approach, including a brief observation on improving the inclusivity and effectiveness of entrepreneurship advice.

Keywords: Anthropology and development; Bangladesh; business development; development policy; entrepreneurship; South Asia studies; Sri Lanka; The Atlantic Equity Challenge (AEQ); a research grant programme developed and funded by the Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity (AFSEE) at the International Inequalities Institute (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J01 R14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 19 pages
Date: 2024-12-31
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-sbm
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Published in Journal of South Asian Development, 31, December, 2024, 19(3), pp. 345 - 363. ISSN: 0973-1741

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