Strengthening social capital for knowledge co-creation at the grassroots: evidence from a development programme in rural Bangladesh

This article examines the relationship between social capital and the creation and exchange of knowledge for grassroots development. It applies a framework that originated in developed countries to the initial, experimental phase of a successful entrepreneurial development programme undertaken between 2006 and 2012 in rural Bangladesh. Although the framework was generally applicable, its structural dimensions are further developed and divided into the three functional subtypes of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) following distinct pathways in their contribution to the creation and exchange of knowledge, and demonstrating the domains where programme participants co-created know-how.