A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE ROLE OF DIGITAL PLATFORMS IN SCALING SUSTAINABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

While the world rallies toward sustainable development, access to digital platforms now enables so many entrepreneurs in terms of the environment and social issues. This paper systematically reviews the literature on what the platforms do for scaling sustainable entrepreneurship. It pulls from peer-reviewed studies published from 2010 to 2024 and uses their findings to synthesise various academic schools on entrepreneurship, sustainability studies, digital innovation, and platform economics. It is found that one of the three roles that digital platforms play toward sustainable entrepreneurship is accessibility to such resources as funding, knowledge, and markets; collaboration and co-creation among different stakeholders; and transparency, accountability, and trust regarding sustainable value propositions. Platforms such as crowdfunding sites, e-commerce ecosystems, blockchain-based traceability systems, and sustainability-oriented social networks have therefore reduced the entry barriers and operational expenses and accelerated access to markets for green and social ventures. Nonetheless, the review also brings to light some of the most significant gaps and challenges. Among these are issues of digital inequality, platform governance, and algorithmic biases, alongside the other troubling possibility of mission drift when entrepreneurs aim for sustainability but scale via a commercially driven platform. The authors argued for more empirical research from the Global South, interdisciplinary approaches to platform analysis, and frameworks that integrate socio-technical and ecological perspectives. This review enhances the budding field of digital sustainability by sketching out the ways in which platforms shape sustainable entrepreneurship and proposing a research agenda going forward. With the double-edged role of digital platforms as enablers and gatekeepers elaborated in the paper, scholars, policymakers, and practitioners are consequently rendered paths illuminating the way to nurturing inclusive and impactful entrepreneurial ecosystems in the digital age.