Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards Equity in the Green and Digital Transitions

The report examines how social enterprises can mitigate the risk of marginalized groups being left behind by the 'twin transitions' of green and digital transformation. It utilizes an economic equity framework focusing on employment, affordability, accessibility, financing, and capacity. The document highlights the scale of the social economy—estimated at 10 million enterprises globally—and provides a menu of policy interventions, such as tax incentives, social procurement, and dedicated action plans, to foster a more inclusive global economy.

• The green and digital transitions risk exacerbating existing inequalities, with 2.6 billion people lacking reliable internet access and 760 million lacking electricity worldwide.
• The global social economy is significant in scale, with approximately 10 million social enterprises generating over $2 trillion in annual turnover, exceeding the turnover of the advertising or fashion industries.
• Social enterprises are more likely to be led by women than traditional businesses; one in two social enterprises worldwide are women-led, compared to one in five regular businesses.
• Social enterprises drive economic equity through employment by providing tailored reskilling for displaced or marginalized workers; for example, 61% of disadvantaged people in a study of European work integration social enterprises (WISEs) achieved a positive outcome.
• To ensure affordability, social enterprises employ strategies such as tiered pricing, cross-subsidization, and the promotion of circular economy practices like repair and reuse.
• The social economy improves accessibility for underserved populations through community-based solutions and inclusive innovations, such as off-grid solar home systems.
• Impact investing is a key driver of financing for the transition, with the worldwide market estimated at $1.571 trillion, though distribution is uneven, with the US and Canada receiving 29% of assets under management while the Middle East and North Africa receive 3%.
• Governments can advance the social economy through several policy levers: dedicated action plans, tax incentives for public benefit companies, subsidies for essential services, social criteria in public procurement, and market regulations like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

APA

World Economic Forum (2025). Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards Equity in the Green and Digital Transitions. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Unlocking_the_Social_Economy_2025.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards Equity in the Green and Digital Transitions. 2025. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Unlocking_the_Social_Economy_2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards Equity in the Green and Digital Transitions |date=January 2025 |url=https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Unlocking_the_Social_Economy_2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2025unlocking, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Unlocking the Social Economy: Towards Equity in the Green and Digital Transitions}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2025}, month = jan, url = {https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Unlocking_the_Social_Economy_2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }