Decoding the differences between social and solidarity economy (SSE), social entrepreneurship, and related initiatives.

The Social and Solidarity Economy movement (SSE) has been gaining increasing visibility and political weight, following first of all the adoption by the International Labour Conference (ILC) of the ILO on June 2022 of the “Resolution concerning decent work and the social and solidarity economy” ; and secondly following last year’s adoption of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution A/RES/77/281 “Promoting the social and solidarity economy for sustainable development” in April 2023.

The spotlight being turned towards SSE can be considered a beacon of hope. However, it makes it also important to critically review what stands at the core of SSE in relation to other forms of economic organisation currently increasingly profiling themselves as ‘solvers’ of the significant problems people are facing all over the world. So there is the corporate-supported notion of Social Entrepreneurship, which promotes operating in partnership with the World Economic Forum (within the Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship) whilst it also sometimes states to operate as a part of SSE. Yvon Poirier provides a deep analysis of these recent developments from a SSE perspective.