Serving Communities During a Global Pandemic: Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Ukrainian Social Enterprise

Abstract

Due to their innovative capacity and social mission, social enterprises build resilience and cohesion in communities by providing for vulnerable groups that governments and markets tend to overlook. In the recovery from COVID-19, while countries attempt to regain lost ground towards their sustainable development goals, protections and support to social entrepreneurship will be vital. This study examines this issue in the context of Ukraine, where the social and economic effects of the pandemic had been exacerbated by the war in Donbas and a decades-long history of unstable economic development. The February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which occurred while this research was concluding, is factored into the analysis. Social entrepreneurship presented an opportunity to contribute towards the development priorities laid out by the Ukrainian government, but various challenges - including a lack of corresponding legislation and negative public perception - stood in the way of the sector’s progress. By analyzing scholarly articles, policy documents, and news reports related to Ukrainian social enterprise, as well as the responses of 13 social enterprises to an electronic survey, this study explores the experiences of self-identified social enterprises in Ukraine during COVID-19, before the Russian invasion. This inquiry brings awareness to the socially-oriented businesses that were working towards sustainable development in Ukraine before the country was forced into the newest iteration of war at the hands of Russia.