State of Social Enterprise Africa 2025

François Bonnici Director, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum Luvuyo Rani Executive Director, Africa ForwardSabelo Mbokazi Head of Labour, Employment and Migration Division, African Union CommissionHemang Desai Global Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, SAP Across Africa, social enterprises are redefining how business, innovation and purpose come together to advance inclusive and sustainable development. They broaden access to essential services, create dignified employment and strengthen community resilience, showing that entrepreneurship can be a driving force for equity, opportunity and shared prosperity. This report comes at a defining moment. In February 2025, African Union Heads of State adopted the continent’s first 10-Year Strategy on the Social and Solidarity Economy, signalling a continental commitment to more inclusive and resilient economies. Yet consistent and comparable data on the scale, impact and operating context of social enterprises remain scarce. This report helps close that gap, providing robust evidence on their reach and contributions and practical ways to strengthen the conditions in which they operate. The effectiveness of social enterprises turns on enabling ecosystems. The partners to this report reflect a range of actors involved: Africa Forward, working with local social enterprises and national networks across the continent; the African Union Commission, providing continental policy leadership; the Motsepe Foundation, advancing inclusive philanthropy and community-centred approaches; SAP , demonstrating how the private sector can integrate social enterprises into their core business; and, finally, the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the World Economic Forum, which for more than 25 years have recognized and supported pioneering social enterprises in Africa, while convening public-and private-sector leaders to advance collaboration and produce knowledge and insights on social enterprise. The insights from this research provide the evidence needed for ecosystem actors – governments shaping policy, investors and philanthropies deploying capital, companies opening markets, networks building capacity and connecting social enterprises to opportunities and academia collecting and analysing data – to align their efforts. This ecosystem approach will be essential for embedding social enterprises within Africa’s development architecture and to enable them to contribute more fully to inclusive growth, decent work and sustainable development – turning potential into lasting progress across the continent.Foreword The State of Social Enterprise: Unlocking Inclusive Growth, Jobs and Development in Africa 4