Sociopreneurship and the Challenges of Socioeconomic Transformation in Nigeria

ABSTRACT Social Entrepreneurship which is the fusion of social impact and entrepreneurial innovation, has emerged as a pivotal strategy in Nigeria to address pressing social challenges. This approach leveraged business models to create sustainable solutions that benefit communities while remaining financially viable. This paper investigated the role expected of social entrepreneurship as measures for addressing social and economic challenges in enhancing socioeconomic transformation and sustainable development in Nigeria. Sociopreneurship thrives in an enabling environment where favourable policies, access to resources, and collaborative networks foster innovation and sustainable social impact. The findings showed that there is a rising number of young Nigerians engaging in social entrepreneurship ventures, particularly in agriculture, waste recycling, fintech, education, and health. It was concluded that, unless there were deliberate attempts by government to creating an enabling environment for smooth and successful engagements and collaborations with the social entrepreneurs to meeting both rural and urban socioeconomic needs; all efforts and governmental strides to ensuring speedy transformation and sustainable development would remain slow and unattainable. Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship,Pivotal strategy, Socioeconomic, Collaborations