Special issue on sustainable entrepreneurship

This special issue of the Journal of the International Council for Small Business (JICSB) originated after conferences and seminars organized by entities such as Smartly and IPAG and builds on an ongoing dialogue taking place in International Council for Small Business journals around entrepreneurship as a mechanism to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs; for example, Carpentier & Braun, 2020; Dickel & Eckardt, 2020; Liguori & Bendickson, 2020; Muñoz & Cohen, 2018; Nguyen et al., 2020). The SDGs framework is an ambitious, action-oriented roadmap to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges (extreme poverty, hunger, inequality, achieving peace and justice, and protecting our environment). While these are big challenges, the pathway to achieving them is paved by incremental joint efforts from a collective populous of nations, organizations, and individuals around the globe. It is our hope this diverse set of seven articles highlighted in this issue helps incrementally contribute to our collective achievement of the SDGs. The first article, by Inés Gabarret and Aude D’Andria, explores the role of women’s business incubators in the development of female entrepreneurship as a key driver of women’s empowerment and gender equality. Gabarret and D’Andria observed some important aspects within women-dedicated business incubators, such as the development of confidence and inspiration through role models, but also a psychological attachment and a focus on mostly traditional female activities. The second article, by Prince Gyimah and Ogechi Adeola, examines the critical sustainable factors of micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) across the three sectors in the developing nation of Nigeria. They find that the most critical sustainable factors among these sectors are capital, planning, and marketing skills. Ultimately, they show that MSMEs are especially vulnerable, highlighting the importance of education and mentorship to assist in building foundations on which growth and prosperity can occur. The third article, by Shinu Vig, explores how sustainable entrepreneurs can help play a critical role in achieving the SDGs by promoting inclusive economic development, generating income and employment opportunities, and protecting our planet. Vig does so through the lens of the work of Noraa, a sustainable micro-enterprise in India, run by two young entrepreneurs, which provides a range of organic and biodegradable sanitary pads for menstrual hygiene. JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR SMALL BUSINESS 2021, VOL. 2, NO. 2, 75–78 https://doi.org/10.1080/26437015.2021.1886021