Identity mediation strategies for digital inclusion in entrepreneurial finance

Abstract

Digital platforms and innovations have greatly improved the mechanisms whereby the resources needed to start a business can be obtained; yet many at the base of the pyramid still have limited access to them because they remain disconnected. While digital platforms can help to connect the possessors of resources with the entrepreneurs who need them, the mediating processes that those who are not directly represented in such digital spaces need to undergo deserve further attention. This study builds on social identity theory and the identity-based view by considering identity as a relational and resource construct and discussing three identity mediation processes and strategies: connection-, familiarity-, and credibility-building. The evidence for this study was sourced from Rang De, India’s first digital micro credit platform. Understanding the identity mediation whereby disconnected borrowers seeking finance can access resources provides important insights to the emerging field of digital social innovation for business and development.