State of Social Enterprise Africa 2025

1.3 Estimated number of social enterprises across Africa This report’s estimated total of 2.18 million social enterprises in Africa is based on a synthesis of existing literature with a multi-step projection approach. Estimating the precise number of social enterprises in African countries is inherently complex, as data can vary significantly in different studies and literature. However, global and regional mapping studies by organizations such as the British Council, the World Economic Forum, Siemens Stiftung44 and various national social enterprise and entrepreneurship networks have been instrumental in building a knowledge base for this sector. This study used these existing country-level studies to establish a high-level estimate of 2.18 million social enterprises for the continent. The projection of social enterprise numbers was a two-phase process. First, a three-step approach was used for the set of focus countries: identifying a baseline number of enterprises from existing data, determining an annual growth rate using proxies such as GDP and then projecting the total for 2025. This same methodology was then applied to a selection of additional African countries. The final step was to extrapolate this combined total to the entire continent, using the projected nominal GDP share of these researched countries as a proxy for the overall market.Based on this methodology, the study determined the number of social enterprises in Africa to be 2.18 million. This figure can be contextualized against broader global estimates that suggest there are approximately 10 million social enterprises worldwide, generating around $2 trillion in annual revenue.45 Africa’s estimated 2.18 million social enterprises thus represent a significant and growing portion of the global social economy, underscoring the continent’s dynamic contribution to purpose-driven business. The estimate of 2.18 million social enterprises in Africa places the continent’s share at approximately 20% of the global total. This figure aligns well with Africa’s overall economic and demographic weight. Given that Africa is home to roughly 17% of the world’s population and has a burgeoning, youthful entrepreneurial class, a 20% share of social enterprises is a compelling and justifiable figure. A 2020 World Bank analysis estimated that Africa had approximately 244 million businesses in total. Of these, the vast majority – around 232 million – were classified as “own-account businesses” (sole proprietors), while approximately 12.7 million were firms employing workers.46 In this context, the estimate of 2.18 million social enterprises represents a significant and compelling segment of Africa’s business ecosystem. It indicates that social enterprises constitute roughly 17% of all businesses with employees across the continent. Credit: Sommalife The State of Social Enterprise: Unlocking Inclusive Growth, Jobs and Development in Africa 18