Social business and tech-driven entrepreneurship: Inclusion or exploitation? A critical interpretive analysis from the Global South

Digital platforms and tech-driven social businesses are increasingly promoted as pathways to inclusion and entrepreneurship in the Global South. This study critically examines whether these models genuinely advance economic empowerment or reproduce precarious labor relations under the rhetoric of innovation. Using a critical qualitative methodology, the study conducts a comparative interpretive analysis of secondary sources, including academic studies, policy reports, and platform documents from South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America. Comparative analysis across sectors such as digital finance, ride-hailing, delivery services, and online marketplaces reveals persistent tensions between inclusion narratives and material labor conditions. While platforms expand access to work, they frequently rely on algorithmic control, externalize risk, and reinforce gendered and structural inequalities. The findings highlight a pattern of “inclusive exclusion,” whereby marginalized workers are incorporated into platform economies through expanded access but remain structurally excluded from meaningful agency, protection, and redistributive benefits. Reflecting on these dynamics, the study calls for stronger regulatory oversight, algorithmic transparency, and participatory governance models. Overall, the research contributes a critical perspective on the limits of tech-driven social entrepreneurship in promoting equitable digital development.