Some aspects of establishment and development of social entrepreneurship

Abstract

Problem setting. Social entrepreneurship as a phenomenon has long been known to the world community. Although its formation in Ukraine has started relatively recently, the pace of development of Ukrainian social entrepreneurship is simply impressive.

Target of research is to study the main factors promoting social entrepreneurship. To achieve this goal, structural, comparative and statistical research methods were used.

Analysis of resent researches and publications. Problems of development of social entrepreneurship have received considerable coverage in the works of scientists: B. Androschuk, N. Gusak, A. Kornetsky, V. Nazaruka, A. Tumanova and others.

Article’s main body. A. Kornetsky and B. Androschuk identify three main stages in the development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine. The first is called the period 1991-2010, when international donors, in particular the United States Agency for International Development, began to finance the development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine. In 1991, the Law of Ukraine “On the Fundamentals of Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities in Ukraine” was adopted. It is still in force and provides benefits for doing business for people with disabilities, in particular, determines the financing of their business initiatives from a special state fund.

The second stage defines the period 2010-2016, which was characterized by the merger of partner organizations into consortia to launch educational and financial programs for social entrepreneurship. In 2010, the Consortium for the Promotion of Social Entrepreneurship in Ukraine was established. With its support, a number of trainings for trainers were conducted, three resource centers were opened (in Kyiv, Donetsk and Lviv) and the first lending program for social enterprises was launched. During this period, the publication of educational materials on social entrepreneurship began.

It is believed that the third stage of development of the social enterprise began in 2016 and continues to this day. Significant assistance in the development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine during this period is provided by the European Union (EU) and some EU member states.

Conclusions and prospects for the development. In general, Ukraine is currently at the stage of forming an ecosystem of social entrepreneurship and networking of local centers for its development. In the period from 2016-2020, about 10 Ukrainian-language manuals on social entrepreneurship were published, 3 Ukrainian-language online courses were created. Every year, the number of educational activities aimed at promoting social entrepreneurship increases, and public awareness of the role of social enterprises is growing. However, an important aspect is that, for the most part, the implementation of activities aimed at the development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine is supported by international donors, rather than government programs and initiatives.

Further research should focus on the study of foreign experience in determining the main factors of social entrepreneurship, as well as a detailed analysis of these factors.