Barries and Opportunities for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship in Bulgaria
Barries and Opportunities for the Development of Social Entrepreneurship in Bulgaria

Author(s): Kamelia Kaloyanova
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Economy, National Economy, Business Economy / Management, Sociology, Social development, Economic development, Socio-Economic Research
Published by: Университет за национално и световно стопанство (УНСС)
Keywords: social enterprises; challenges; development; promotion
Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to examine the evolution of Bulgaria’s social economy and social entrepreneurship over the past fifteen years through a review of the literature, analysis of available statistics on social enterprises, and a comparative perspective with developments in other European countries, with Italy as a reference case. Based on that, proposals for the growth, encouragement, and advancement of social entrepreneurship will be made, along with an identification of the obstacles and problems that social entrepreneurship faces in Bulgaria. The social economy offers an alternative for achieving intelligent, sustainable and socially responsible economic growth, focused on people and social cohesion. They represent an innovative business model that has potential to significantly transform economic and social conditions. In recent years, new trends have been observed related to the development of the circular and shared economy, which create additional opportunities for the growth of social enterprises in Europe, as well in Bulgaria. The study’s analytical component employs a structured desk-based methodology to map the evolution of social entrepreneurship in Bulgaria and to diagnose binding constraints. First, it conducts a longitudinal review of institutional, strategic, and regulatory documents over the past 15 years to trace policy design and implementation consistency. Second, it undertakes a descriptive analysis of national and EU statistical sources on social enterprises (e.g., number, sectors, size, employment, and financing patterns). Third, it synthesizes findings from peer-reviewed literature and policy reports through thematic coding to triangulate evidence. Finally, it benchmarks Bulgaria against selected EU comparators (with attention to Italy) to contextualize national trends. This approach enables the identification of persistent challenges – regulatory instability, insufficient mainstreaming of social entrepreneurship within broader economic and social policy, limited access to finance, and the absence of tax and related incentives. Bulgaria’s social entrepreneurship has grown over 15 years but still faces regulatory instability, weak policy integration, scarce finance and tax incentives, low public awareness, and a fragmented ecosystem. Drawing on Italy’s mature model, the study recommends stabilizing regulation, mainstreaming the field in public policy, expanding finance and fiscal incentives, boosting outreach, strengthening cross-sector partnerships, and diversifying – especially via circular/sharing-economy opportunities in agriculture and ecology.

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