Venelin Terziev1, Nelly Bencheva2, Teodora Stoeva3, 4 Ekaterina Arabska STATE OF SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN BULGARIA AND EUROPE Summary: The paper presents the state of social entrepreneur- ship in Bulgaria and Europe as a part of social economy develop- ment. Social enterprises are discussed as a sustainable business model with a clear social impact, a clearly defined target group, and a specific business purpose. The analyses consider economic, so- cial, political and ecological benefits of social entrepreneurship in the context of contemporary strategic priorities in Europe. Recom- mendations are provided regarding needed support for social enter- prises development and sustainability assurance. Keywords: social economy, social entrepreneurship, social enterprise 1 Vasil Levski National Military University, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, Angel Kanchev University of Ruse, Bulgaria, e-mail:
[email protected] 2 Agricultural University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, e-mail:
[email protected] 3 Agricultural University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, e-mail:
[email protected] 4 Vasil Levski National Military University, Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria, e-mail: katya_
[email protected] State of social entrepreneurship in bulgaria and europe Globalization, the State and the Individual, No 4(20)/2018 51 1. Introduction The promotion of innovative ideas in public policy is crucial to sup- port the values of an active-oriented problem solving social system. These views underlie the ongoing social reforms in various countries and focus on the development of social entrepreneurship and the role of social entre- preneurs. An understanding is underlined that namely social entrepreneurs have the capability through localization of usable resources - human cap- ital, buildings and equipment, to find flexible approaches to satisfy unmet social needs (Rusanova, 2011).