Social entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan: directions for improving employment policy

This article examines ways to improve the effectiveness of employment policy by developing social entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan. It describes the dynamics of employment and unemployment in the labor market and, in substantive terms, sets out the current state of social entrepreneurship and its impact on employment. The study outlines the areas of activity of social entrepreneurship entities and their regional distribution. It also provides a comparative review of development trends in Kazakhstan against international practice and identifies gaps in regulatory, financial, tax-incentive and digital support mechanisms. In addition, a comparative review of the trends in the development of social entrepreneurship in Kazakhstan and international practice has been conducted; gaps have been identified in mechanisms of state regulation, financial support, tax incentives, and digital tools.As the empirical basis, the analysis uses social projects, regional programs and open official data for 2023–2025.The study demonstrates the link between social entrepreneurship and the labor market through three channels: creating new jobs, expanding inclusion by engaging persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups; and strengthening job stability. Based on the results, measures to enhance employment are proposed: conditional wage subsidies tied to job retention; an analytical dashboard built on open data from the social enterprise registry and its integration with eGov and labor market information systems; regional «one-stop» social-innovation centers; and training vouchers with dual-mentorship programs. The recommendations aim to increase employment, facilitate the entry of vulnerable groups into the labor market and improve job stability. The findings enable more data-driven policymaking and are effective at the national level.

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