Social enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a means to an end

Quaye, Josiah Nii Adu, Halsall, Jamie P., Winful, Ernest Christian, Snowden, Michael, Opuni, Frank Frimpong, Hyams-Ssekasi, Denis, Afriyie, Emelia Ohene, Opoku-Asante, Kofi, Ocloo, Elikem Chosniel and Fairhurst, Bethany 2024. Social enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a means to an end. Environment, Development and Sustainability 28 (4) , pp. 9879-9908. 10.1007/s10668-024-05359-x

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Abstract

Ghana is regarded as one of the main nations driving social enterprise development in all of Africa, despite the lack of a policy for the social enterprise sub-sector. Regardless of these trailblazing initiatives, the sub-sector is still young and vulnerable. As a result, the time is right for the government to implement policy reforms to expedite the growth of the sub-sector, which offers an alternative business model for the achievement of the social and environmental goals embodied in the global goals. All nations are urged to take immediate action in response to the United Nations’ (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which offer a global framework for achieving global development while balancing social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The methodology adopted is qualitative in nature, whereby focus group discussions were held, bringing together key stakeholders from the social enterprise sector, industry, academia, and civil society organisations (CSOs) to provide insights into how social enterprises will contribute to SDG achievement. This paper aims to generate new insights into how social enterprises can provide a solution to the UN’s SDGs from the Ghanaian perspective. Our findings reveal a strong link between solving social problems through social businesses and achieving the SDGs, and that social enterprises represent an ideal business model for achieving the SDGs. Their mission-driven approach, innovative solutions, focus on empowerment and inclusion, utilisation of market mechanisms, collaboration and partnership, and understanding and knowledge of local contexts collectively position social enterprises as powerful catalysts for sustainable development.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Professional Services > Academic & Student Support Service
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Type: open-access
Publisher:	Springer
ISSN:	1387-585X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	8 April 2026
Date of Acceptance:	25 August 2024
Last Modified:	08 Apr 2026 08:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/186257

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