SOCIAL ENTERPRISES IN UKRAINE: STATUS AND PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the state and problems of the development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine. The relevance of the research topic is due to the emergence of new social challenges in the country, related to the state of war and the increase in the level of unemployment. Against the background of the significant spread of social entrepreneurship in Europe and the world in Ukraine, this process is restrained by a number of problems, which determines the relevance of the study. The article highlights the essence and main criteria of social entrepreneurship, analyzes the trends of its development in European countries. The assessment by foreign experts of the role of social enterprises in increasing the competitiveness and efficiency of the European economy is given. The origin and development of the concept of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine is considered. The dynamics of the number of social enterprises in Ukraine, their distribution by types of activity, the mission of social enterprises is clarified, examples of successful social enterprises operating in different regions of the country are given. Sources of financing of domestic social enterprises are analyzed. The significant support of social business in Ukraine by non-governmental, non-commercial public organizations that involve entrepreneurs in social projects and provide free educational, informational and advisory assistance is emphasized. The terms of lending to social enterprises of the Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF) were considered. The content of the grant program for social enterprises of Ukraine under martial law, which is implemented by the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund in cooperation with the professional platform for the development of social entrepreneurship SILab Ukraine, is characterized. In the process of research, the main barriers preventing the development of social entrepreneurship in Ukraine were revealed. The main areas of activation of the development of social entrepreneurship are defined as the improvement of the legal framework for regulating the activities of social enterprises; development and implementation of necessary mechanisms of state support for social business; introduction of tax benefits for social enterprises.