Entrepreneurship as a Roadmap to a Sustainable Economy: The Role of an Entrepreneur

Adex Bamigboye, Omololu; Gbenga Olatunji, Ibrahim; Kayode Adeyemo, Uthman

Özet

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030 represent a global framework designed to promote social equity, inclusive growth, and environmental sustainability. Entrepreneurs play an imperative role in achieving the SDGs by creating jobs, driving innovation, and developing of sustainable business solutions. This paper examines the strategic actions entrepreneurs can undertake to hasten the achievement of the SDG 2030 agenda. The study adopts a structured narrative literature review methodology, drawing on peer-reviewed articles, policy documents, and institutional reports published. Using qualitative content analysis, the study highlights the importance of incorporating sustainability into commercial operations, fostering innovation for social and environmental impact, adopting ethical and inclusive practices, and building partnerships across sectors as a pathway to achieving SDG 2030. The study also emphasizes the necessity for entrepreneurs to invest in research and technology, measure their impact, and engage in sustainability advocacy. This paper explores how entrepreneurial activities can contribute to achieving all 17 SDGs. The study concludes that entrepreneurship, when guided by sustainability principles, can serve as a transformative force across all dimensions of the SDG framework. Strengthening entrepreneurs’ capacity, innovation systems, and policy support mechanisms is therefore critical to realizing the SDG 2030 agenda and building a prosperous, inclusive, and environmentally sustainable world.

Anahtar kelimeler

Kaynaklar

Abdelwahed, N. A., Bastian, B. L., & Wood, B. P. (2022). Women, entrepreneurship, and sustainability: The case of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 14 (18), Article 11314. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811314
Akinwale, Y. O., Alaraifi, A. A., & Ababtain, A. K. (2020). Entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. In M. H. Bilgin, H. Danis, E. Demir, & U. Tony-Okeke (Eds.), Eurasian economic perspectives: Proceedings of the 28th Eurasia Business and Economics Society Conference (pp. 25–40). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48531-3_3
Alfalih, A. A., & Ragmoun, W. (2020). Drivers of sustainable entrepreneurship orientation for students at business school in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 23 (3), 1–6.
Aliyeva, N. (2021). Social entrepreneurship and sustainable development: The case of social enterprises in Azerbaijan. European Scientific Journal, 17 (12), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2021.v17n12p39
Alwakid, W., Aparicio, S., & Urbano, D. (2021). The influence of green entrepreneurship on sustainable development in Saudi Arabia: The role of formal institutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (10), Article 5433. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105433
Apostolopoulos, N., Al-Dajani, H., Holt, D., Jones, P., & Newbery, R. (2018). Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals. In N. Apostolopoulos, H. Al-Dajani, D. Holt, P. Jones, & R. Newbery (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals (Vol. 8, pp. 1–7). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-724620180000008005
Apostu, S.-A., & Gigauri, I. (2023). Sustainable development and entrepreneurship in emerging countries: Are sustainable development and entrepreneurship reciprocally reinforcing? Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 19 (1), 41–77. https://doi.org/10.7341/20231912
Ashari, H., Abbas, I., Abdul-Talib, A.-N., & Mohd Zamani, S. N. (2022). Entrepreneurship and sustainable development goals: A multigroup analysis of the moderating effects of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention. Sustainability, 14 (1), Article 431. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010431
Audretsch, D. B., & Keilbach, M. (2004). Entrepreneurship and regional growth: An evolutionary interpretation. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 14 (5), 605–616. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191-004-0228-6
Bashir, H. A., & Akhtar, A. (2016). The role of innovative entrepreneurship in economic development: A study of G20 countries. Management Studies and Economic Systems, 3 (2), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.12816/0037559
Ben Youssef, A., Boubaker, S., & Omri, A. (2018). Entrepreneurship and sustainability: The need for innovative and institutional solutions. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 129 , 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.11.003
Branca, E., Vanderstraeten, J., Slabbinck, H., & Maes, I. M. R. (2025). The impact of entrepreneurial education on key entrepreneurial competencies: A systematic review of learning strategies and tools. The International Journal of Management Education, 23 (2), Article 101144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2025.101144
Broccia, S., Dias, A., & Pereira, L. (2022). Sustainable entrepreneurship: Comparing the determinants of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and social entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Social Sciences, 11 (12), Article 537. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11120537
Burnett, D. (2000). Hunting for heffalumps: The supply of entrepreneurship and economic development . Technopreneurial.com. http://www.technopreneurial.com/articles/history.asp
Cagarman, K., Fajga, K., & Kratzer, J. (2023). Capturing the sustainable impact of early-stage business models: Introducing esSROI. Highlights of Sustainability, 2 (3), 171–184. https://doi.org/10.54175/hs23003
Chaaben, N., Elleuch, Z., Hamdi, B., & Kahouli, B. (2024). Green economy performance and sustainable development achievement: Empirical evidence from Saudi Arabia. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26 (1), 549–564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02722-8
Dana, L.-P., Chhabra, M., & Agarwal, M. (2024). A two-decade history of women’s entrepreneurship research trajectories in developing economies context: Perspectives from India. Journal of Management History, 30 (1), 6–28. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-11-2022-0064
Drucker, P. F. (1985). Innovation and entrepreneurship . Harper Business.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2014). The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2014 . http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3720e.pdf
GreenFacts. (n.d.). Ecosystem change . https://www.greenfacts.org/en/ecosystems/index.htm
Gu, W., Qiu, Y., & Zhang, Q. (2020). Entrepreneurship and economic growth: Evidence from China. Economic Modelling, 88 , 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2019.09.034
Gupta, M., & Dharwal, M. (2022). Green entrepreneurship and sustainable development: A conceptual framework. Materials Today: Proceedings, 49 , 3603–3606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.08.148
Hartog, C., Parker, S., van Stel, A., & Thurik, R. (2010). The two-way relationship between entrepreneurship and economic performance (Scales Research Reports H200822). EIM Business and Policy Research.
He, W., Lu, X., & Qiu, Y. (2020). Entrepreneurship and carbon emissions: Evidence from China. Energy Economics, 86 , Article 104623.
Khodapanah, B., Padash, H., & Eisalou, F. M. (2026). Entrepreneurship policies and strategies for sustainable development. In M. Akbari, L. Azimi, & M. Hemmati (Eds.), Sustainable entrepreneurship (pp. 161–178). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-04909-4_9
King, L., & Thobela, S. (2014). Woolworths farming for the future. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 17 (Special Issue B), 161–166. https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.179565
Kroll, C. (2015). Sustainable development goals: Are the rich countries ready? http://bit.ly/1K4ACNc
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). States of fragility 2015: Meeting post-2015 ambitions . OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264227699-en
Pinson, L. (2010). Entrepreneur: What’s in a definition? Thinkinglike.com. http://www.thinkinglike.com/Essays/entrepreneur-definition.html
Roy, R. R., Kumar, A., Kaushik, M., & Goswami, A. (2025). Fostering green economy via catalyst of sustainability: Navigating entrepreneurial landscape for eco-innovation. In S. Sharma & A. Kumar (Eds.), Human-centric AI in digital transformation and entrepreneurship (pp. 179–208). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-8009-3.ch009
Sayed, O. A., & Abedelrahim, S. S. (2024). Economic freedom as a catalyst for entrepreneurship: An empirical analysis of GCC countries. Cogent Business & Management, 11 (1), Article 2304374. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2304374
Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Transparency International. (2012). Putting corruption out of business . https://www.transparency.org/files/content/feature/2012_LostBusinessDueToBribery_EN.pdf
Transparency International. (2015). Corruption perceptions index 2015 . https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015
Velichkovska, K., Mitić, P., & Kojić, M. (2025). Empowering sustainable growth through emerging technologies in Serbia and North Macedonia. Economic Analysis, 58 (2), 103–122. https://doi.org/10.28934/ea.10490

Yorumlar

Henüz yorum yok. Makale hakkındaki soru ve görüşlerinizi bekliyoruz.

[1] Abdelwahed, N. A., Bastian, B. L., & Wood, B. P. (2022). Women, entrepreneurship, and sustainability: The case of Saudi Arabia. Sustainability, 14 (18), Article 11314. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811314

[2] Akinwale, Y. O., Alaraifi, A. A., & Ababtain, A. K. (2020). Entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth: Evidence from Saudi Arabia. In M. H. Bilgin, H. Danis, E. Demir, & U. Tony-Okeke (Eds.), Eurasian economic perspectives: Proceedings of the 28th Eurasia Business and Economics Society Conference (pp. 25–40). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48531-3_3

[3] Alfalih, A. A., & Ragmoun, W. (2020). Drivers of sustainable entrepreneurship orientation for students at business school in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Entrepreneurship Education, 23 (3), 1–6.

[4] Aliyeva, N. (2021). Social entrepreneurship and sustainable development: The case of social enterprises in Azerbaijan. European Scientific Journal, 17 (12), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.19044/esj.2021.v17n12p39

[5] Alwakid, W., Aparicio, S., & Urbano, D. (2021). The influence of green entrepreneurship on sustainable development in Saudi Arabia: The role of formal institutions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (10), Article 5433. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105433

[6] Apostolopoulos, N., Al-Dajani, H., Holt, D., Jones, P., & Newbery, R. (2018). Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals. In N. Apostolopoulos, H. Al-Dajani, D. Holt, P. Jones, & R. Newbery (Eds.), Entrepreneurship and the Sustainable Development Goals (Vol. 8, pp. 1–7). Emerald Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-724620180000008005

[7] Apostu, S.-A., & Gigauri, I. (2023). Sustainable development and entrepreneurship in emerging countries: Are sustainable development and entrepreneurship reciprocally reinforcing? Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 19 (1), 41–77. https://doi.org/10.7341/20231912

[8] Ashari, H., Abbas, I., Abdul-Talib, A.-N., & Mohd Zamani, S. N. (2022). Entrepreneurship and sustainable development goals: A multigroup analysis of the moderating effects of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention. Sustainability, 14 (1), Article 431. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14010431

[9] Audretsch, D. B., & Keilbach, M. (2004). Entrepreneurship and regional growth: An evolutionary interpretation. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 14 (5), 605–616. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00191-004-0228-6

[10] Bashir, H. A., & Akhtar, A. (2016). The role of innovative entrepreneurship in economic development: A study of G20 countries. Management Studies and Economic Systems, 3 (2), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.12816/0037559

[11] Ben Youssef, A., Boubaker, S., & Omri, A. (2018). Entrepreneurship and sustainability: The need for innovative and institutional solutions. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 129 , 232–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2017.11.003

[12] Branca, E., Vanderstraeten, J., Slabbinck, H., & Maes, I. M. R. (2025). The impact of entrepreneurial education on key entrepreneurial competencies: A systematic review of learning strategies and tools. The International Journal of Management Education, 23 (2), Article 101144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijme.2025.101144

[13] Broccia, S., Dias, A., & Pereira, L. (2022). Sustainable entrepreneurship: Comparing the determinants of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and social entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Social Sciences, 11 (12), Article 537. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci11120537

[14] Burnett, D. (2000). Hunting for heffalumps: The supply of entrepreneurship and economic development . Technopreneurial.com. http://www.technopreneurial.com/articles/history.asp

[15] Cagarman, K., Fajga, K., & Kratzer, J. (2023). Capturing the sustainable impact of early-stage business models: Introducing esSROI. Highlights of Sustainability, 2 (3), 171–184. https://doi.org/10.54175/hs23003

[16] Chaaben, N., Elleuch, Z., Hamdi, B., & Kahouli, B. (2024). Green economy performance and sustainable development achievement: Empirical evidence from Saudi Arabia. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26 (1), 549–564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02722-8

[17] Dana, L.-P., Chhabra, M., & Agarwal, M. (2024). A two-decade history of women’s entrepreneurship research trajectories in developing economies context: Perspectives from India. Journal of Management History, 30 (1), 6–28. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMH-11-2022-0064

[18] Drucker, P. F. (1985). Innovation and entrepreneurship . Harper Business.

[19] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2014). The state of world fisheries and aquaculture 2014 . http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3720e.pdf

[20] GreenFacts. (n.d.). Ecosystem change . https://www.greenfacts.org/en/ecosystems/index.htm

[21] Gu, W., Qiu, Y., & Zhang, Q. (2020). Entrepreneurship and economic growth: Evidence from China. Economic Modelling, 88 , 70–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2019.09.034

[22] Gupta, M., & Dharwal, M. (2022). Green entrepreneurship and sustainable development: A conceptual framework. Materials Today: Proceedings, 49 , 3603–3606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.08.148

[23] Hartog, C., Parker, S., van Stel, A., & Thurik, R. (2010). The two-way relationship between entrepreneurship and economic performance (Scales Research Reports H200822). EIM Business and Policy Research.

[24] He, W., Lu, X., & Qiu, Y. (2020). Entrepreneurship and carbon emissions: Evidence from China. Energy Economics, 86 , Article 104623.

[25] Khodapanah, B., Padash, H., & Eisalou, F. M. (2026). Entrepreneurship policies and strategies for sustainable development. In M. Akbari, L. Azimi, & M. Hemmati (Eds.), Sustainable entrepreneurship (pp. 161–178). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-04909-4_9

[26] King, L., & Thobela, S. (2014). Woolworths farming for the future. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, 17 (Special Issue B), 161–166. https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.179565

[27] Kroll, C. (2015). Sustainable development goals: Are the rich countries ready? http://bit.ly/1K4ACNc

[28] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). States of fragility 2015: Meeting post-2015 ambitions . OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264227699-en

[29] Pinson, L. (2010). Entrepreneur: What’s in a definition? Thinkinglike.com. http://www.thinkinglike.com/Essays/entrepreneur-definition.html

[30] Roy, R. R., Kumar, A., Kaushik, M., & Goswami, A. (2025). Fostering green economy via catalyst of sustainability: Navigating entrepreneurial landscape for eco-innovation. In S. Sharma & A. Kumar (Eds.), Human-centric AI in digital transformation and entrepreneurship (pp. 179–208). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-8009-3.ch009

[31] Sayed, O. A., & Abedelrahim, S. S. (2024). Economic freedom as a catalyst for entrepreneurship: An empirical analysis of GCC countries. Cogent Business & Management, 11 (1), Article 2304374. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2304374

[32] Schumpeter, J. A. (1934). The theory of economic development (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

[33] Transparency International. (2012). Putting corruption out of business . https://www.transparency.org/files/content/feature/2012_LostBusinessDueToBribery_EN.pdf

[34] Transparency International. (2015). Corruption perceptions index 2015 . https://www.transparency.org/cpi2015

[35] Velichkovska, K., Mitić, P., & Kojić, M. (2025). Empowering sustainable growth through emerging technologies in Serbia and North Macedonia. Economic Analysis, 58 (2), 103–122. https://doi.org/10.28934/ea.10490