Social Entrepreneurship and Refugee’s Employment: The Case of Slovenia

The chapter aims to present the broader socio-economic environment in Slovenia, focusing on the legal, systemic, practical, cultural, and economic barriers and drivers to refugee integration through social entrepreneurship. In order to provide a detailed insight into the broader national socio-economic context of the migration field, the migration context in Slovenia is first presented (e.g., demographic characteristics of migrants, asylum seekers and legislation), followed by the data related to the business and (social) entrepreneurship (e.g., employment rate, active companies, legislation). Based on the existing literature, the available statistical data, and the review of legislation, a qualitative part of the study was then conducted, focusing on best practices in the national environment in the form of enterprises/initiatives. During the interviews with the representatives of the enterprises/initiatives, the main gaps in this area and suggestions for their solutions were also identified and presented. The integration of refugees into the labour market remains a challenge in Slovenia. We present possible solutions and recommendations to improve the identified gaps based on the study’s results. Despite the challenges listed, best practices identified in Slovenia show that social entrepreneurship can be an opportunity for integration, especially for vulnerable groups, including refugees and asylum seekers.