Expert: Social enterprises more resilient in times of crisis than conventional businesses

Azerbaijan can diversify its economy through the development of social entrepreneurship, and not just traditional business, international expert in the field of social entrepreneurship Lana Lovasic told Report.

“I am in Baku to share experience, best practices regarding social entrepreneurship. But I think that the vision should be driven by the local economic environment, which is quite rich and diverse. I think that Azerbaijan has great potential for the development of social entrepreneurship, as the country seeks diversification of its economy,” the expert noted.

She also raised the issue of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on social entrepreneurship.

“Coronavirus has affected a lot of industries, I think social entrepreneurs have also been affected. It’s quite interesting because on the one hand we see a negative financial effect and people have really been affected, but on the other hand we have found that social enterprises are more resilient than a regular business. This model has great potential,” she stressed.

On April 12, the event, which was attended by UNDP Chargé d'Affaires in Azerbaijan Sukhrob Khojimatov and international expert in the field of social entrepreneurship Lana Lovasic, discussed the main challenges and solutions to problems associated with social entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan.