APPROACHING RESPONSIBLE ECONOMY THROUGH SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

The concept of social entrepreneurship is related with entrepreneurial projects that are based on principles of social, economic and environmentally sustainable business. Social entrepreneurs are committed to resolving different socio-economic problems through projects based on social innovations. The realised profits are entirely or partially reinvested in the community. Social entrepreneurship is a significant part of the social economy. In the EU, there are 2 million social economy enterprises and organisations, accounting for approximately 10% of all European businesses and employing over 6.5% of the EU working population. In Croatia, the development of social entrepreneurship is almost at the beginning. In 2016. there were mapped about one hundred social entrepreneurs. The paper gives the theoretical background of the concept of social entrepreneurship, compares it with the concept of corporate social responsibility, analyses the development of social entrepreneurship in Croatia and its importance in the transition towards responsible economy. The research presented in this paper indicates that social entrepreneurship could be a reliable factor of enhancing the transition towards responsible economy in Croatia. Although there are many possibilities for tackling social challenges through social entrepreneurship, the process is faced with many internal and external obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]