AN ASSESMENT OF CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURS IN ADDIS ABABA

Abstract

A social entrepreneur/enterprise is an individual/organization whose primary mission is to create positive social impact for communities or for the environment, and whose work is underpinned by a strong business model, meaning it can stand on its own two feet. Social enterprises create social value and drive positive change in society by engaging in entrepreneurial activities that generate revenue. This paper examines the challenges and opportunities of social entrepreneurs in Addis Ababa. The study used a descriptive research design to study the demographic, social, economic and political characteristics of social entrepreneurs/ enterprises in Addis Ababa. The researcher used a census sampling technique to collect the necessary information from the whole populations which are 44 identified social entrepreneurs/enterprises. The primary data collected from 39 social entrepreneurs through questionnaire & interview. The secondary data collected from published and unpublished sources. The findings shows that social entrepreneurs in Addis Ababa are suffering from regulatory factors such as low execution of rules and regulations by government officials, unavailability of working place, uncertainty about tax policy, un conducive government policies, unfavorable political climate including security and unaccommodating bureaucratic environment of governmental office. Finally the study suggested that the government should give enough support for social enterprises in facilitating access to low interest credit and other financial services so as to enable them to sustain their business and increase their social impact. Political commitment is also required from the government bodies to treat social enterprises as different sector by having laws, policies and procedure