Social enterprises (SEs) primarily aim to create social value, that is, togenerate benefits or reduce costs for society, while maintaining financialsustainability. Owing to their unique operating conditions and organizationalcharacteristics, SEs face more severe resource challenges than their commercialcounterparts. These challenges are exacerbated for SEs operating in emergingeconomies with complex social contexts. Overcoming these resource constraintsand social challenges is vital for SEs to achieve their mission. Using aninductive multiple case-study approach, we identify a unique bricolage solutionfor achieving the dual objectives of SEs. Our findings suggest that identifyinglocally embedded village level entrepreneurs is a bricolageactivity that social entrepreneurs leverage in the resource constrainedenvironment of emerging economies, especially for the social enterprises thatare active in the villages but were founded by social entrepreneurs who are notfrom these villages. This article therefore contributes to both socialentrepreneurship literature as well as entrepreneurial bricolage literature andhas important implications for future research and practice.