Make them Socialites: Supporting Social Entrepreneurs

Social entrepreneurs address pressing societal challenges, yet their efforts often remain underacknowledged, and the support they receive is frequently inadequate. This gap extends beyond practice and into academic research, where systematic insights into support mechanisms remain scarce. To help close this gap, this study offers a comprehensive analysis of the sources and types of support available to social entrepreneurs. Drawing on a systematic literature review of 39 academic articles, complemented by initial qualitative insights, the study identifies academic institutions, public agencies, incubators, and private actors such as investors as the main providers of support. However, one of the most influential sources of support for social venture development has been largely neglected in the literature. Across the reviewed studies, entrepreneurial education, training, and networking emerge as the most commonly provided forms of support. While practitioners confirm the relevance of networking, they highlight the critical value of more individualized support formats, such as coaching, which are less emphasized in the extant literature. Moreover, although social entrepreneurs face different challenges than commercial entrepreneurs, support mechanisms rarely reflect these distinct needs. The study concludes by highlighting the need for further research into the interdependencies between various support actors and the mechanisms through which effective support for social entrepreneurs is configured.