Specialized Enterprises and Cooperatives—Active Participants in Social Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has a number of dimensions and manifestations. One of the most studied and supported entrepreneurships in recent years is that which is aimed at using entrepreneurial initiative to help solve and address serious social challenges. The objects and entities that constitute the social and solidarity economy are frequently examined and analyzed in the literature, as well as in the strategic and program documents of institutions and organizations. However, it is also necessary to thoroughly explore the role of specialized enterprises and cooperatives that are for and run by persons with disabilities. The novelty of the study lies precisely in revealing the specifics of this type of enterprise and cooperative as part of the social and solidarity economy—their territorial distribution, size, and growth. For this reason, this publication aims to analyze and evaluate the main territorial characteristics and size specificity of specialized enterprises and cooperatives of and for people with disabilities, and on this basis to make well-founded generalizations and recommendations. Official data from Bulgarian institutions on social entrepreneurship entities were used. The results show there are territorial imbalances in the distribution of specialized enterprises and cooperatives of and for people with disabilities, and they are predominantly micro in size, which requires targeted measures for their sustainability and growth.