By Liang Cheng & Yang Song
Introduction
In an ever-evolving global economy, entrepreneurship represents not just a pathway to profit—but a cornerstone of resilient, inclusive livelihoods. Recent reports from 2024–2025 highlight its transformative effects on poverty, youth empowerment, climate resilience, and sustainable development.
1. Entrepreneurship as a Lifetime of Livelihoods
- A 2024 solar energy entrepreneur survey found that women-led clean-tech ventures raised community incomes and improved climate resilience through reliable energy access (journals.aom.org, undp.org, solarsister.org).
- The ICC’s 2024 Centre of Entrepreneurship report underscores SMEs’ power to stabilize economies and ensure employment through global trade networks (iccwbo.org).
2. Driving Sustainable Livelihoods Growth
- The 2025 Sustainable Livelihoods Report documents a leap from 60–65% to 75% in participants achieving economic growth in 2024 (momentum.org).
- UNCTAD’s July 2024 report highlights entrepreneurship as essential to meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals, connecting environmental resilience with economic opportunity (unctad.org).
3. Empowering Marginalized Communities
- Longitudinal studies in Kampala illustrate entrepreneurship as a survival strategy and livelihoods framework for low-income individuals (journals.aom.org).
- UNDP’s 2025 case compendium shows socially inclusive youth entrepreneurs—from Filipino indigenous women to Samoan beekeepers—sustaining communities through income and heritage preservation (undp.org).
4. Micro-Entrepreneurs: Motivation & Mobilization
- A Springer Nature 2025 study emphasized that micro-entrepreneurial motivation can amplify outcomes in resource-poor contexts, reinforcing income security .
- Cartier’s December 2024 analysis reinforced micro-enterprise’s role in poverty alleviation—while cautioning that they’re not a one-size-fits-all solution .
5. Entrepreneurship & Climate Action
- The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Green Entrepreneurship Program, launched in 2024, has empowered youth-led startups in Africa to tackle climate change, creating over 400,000 jobs and generating $2.3B+ in revenue (time.com).
- Student-led startups from Harvard, Aston, IESEG, IMD, ESSEC showcased groundbreaking ventures—like battery-sharing for farmers and AI-based water treatment—in early 2025 (ft.com).
Emerging Trends: AI & Entrepreneurship
- Recent research (Jan–May 2025) explores AI’s growing role in leveling the playing field—augmented skills, market access, and risk management via solo entrepreneurship (arxiv.org).
Why It Matters: A Summary
| Benefit | Long-Term Impact |
| Job Creation & Income | SMEs and micro-ventures drive inclusive economic development |
| Resilience Building | Business skills equip individuals to adapt to shocks |
| Marginalized Empowerment | Enables control over personal and economic destiny |
| Environmental Solutions | Social enterprises tackle climate challenges, creating value |
Call-to-Action
For funders, policymakers, educators, and ecosystem builders: scale inclusive entrepreneurship training, AI-enabled innovation hubs, climate-oriented enterprise programs. Ensure equitable access to capital, digital tools, and business mentoring—especially for youth, women, migrants, and indigenous communities, to build tomorrow’s resilient livelihoods.
Recommended Reading List
Reports & Case Studies
- 2025 Sustainable Livelihoods Report (Momentum): insights into recent growth (migrationsummit.org, investopedia.com, undp.org, momentum.org)
- UNCTAD A/79/208: Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development (July 2024) (unctad.org)
- Youth Co
(UNDP/Citi) 2025 Case Studies—real-world stories from marginalized youth (undp.org)
Academic Articles
- “Reconceptualizing Necessity Entrepreneurship as Livelihood‑Making” (2025) – framework from Uganda (journals.aom.org)
- Springer Nature (2025): the motivational edge of micro-entrepreneurs
- GenAI in Entrepreneurship (May 2025 systematic review) (arxiv.org)
News & Analysis