SSA boost global social entrepreneurship index with 9% activity

Adverse economic conditions across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) may be having a positive impact on social entrepreneurs within the region, as their activities account for 9 percent of the total global social entrepreneurship index, according to a Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) special report.

The report, which covers results based on interviews with 167,793 adults in about 58 economies in 2015, noted that more than half of the working-age population in the economies – with emphasis on African countries, on average, feel they have the ability to start a business.

Speaking on the report, Mike Herrington, GEM executive director, said, “Social entrepreneurship – which GEM defines broadly as any kind of activity, organisation or initiative that has a particularly social, environmental or community objective – is now a significant share of entrepreneurial activity around the world. However, there is a wide variation in rates across economies.

“Social and environmental problems are ubiquitous in all economies. Hence, politicians, business leaders, and members of society are increasingly calling for endeavours that focus on social and environmental objectives – and entrepreneurs are responding.”
From the report, the gender divide is not so wide compared with commercial entrepreneurship; men make up 55 percent of social entrepreneurs while the women are 45 percent.

Neils Bosma, lead author of the report, explained that “A holistic view of entrepreneurial activity as it seems that many women do display entrepreneurial behaviour albeit not as an employer or self-employed.”

The report stated that early-stage social entrepreneurial activity, measured by the percentage of adults between the age of 18 and 64 who are currently trying to start a social purpose business, was at a global average of 3.2 percent – ranging from 0.3 percent (South Korea) to 10.1 percent (Peru). Burkina Faso and Senegal are behind Peru with 9.4 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The regions of the world with the highest social entrepreneurial activity including start-up phase and those that are operational, are the US and Australia with 11 percent each, followed by SSA with 9 percent. The region with the least number of social entrepreneurs is Southeast Asia at just 3.8 percent.