The lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of Tajikistan's parliament has adopted the law "On Social Entrepreneurship," which will become the first standalone document of its kind in the CIS space.  The development and implementation of legislation on social entrepreneurship in Tajikistan were discussed on November 28 in Dushanbe during a working session attended by about 30 representatives from government agencies.

Participants at the event noted that the "On Social Entrepreneurship" law was passed by the lower house of parliament on November 13, 2023. This document was developed by a working group formed within the lower house of parliament, which has been operating since October 2023. The group also included civil society representatives.

Unique experience

Ms. Nargis Zokirova, Director of the Bureau for Human Rights and Observance of the Law, emphasized that they have been promoting social entrepreneurship in the country since 2018.

"Our organization has about 20 success stories where beneficiaries, after receiving grants, started small businesses and are now successfully operating, supporting themselves and their families," said she.  "In addition, we train and involve other people, including former prisoners, in this work."

According to Zokirova, there are public organizations in the country that have successfully implemented social entrepreneurship, but the issue was that the concept was not defined at the legislative level.

Why is this law needed?

According to Ravshan Rajabzoda, head of the Majlisi Namoyandagon Committee on Legislation and Human Rights, while certain elements of social entrepreneurship are present in the country’s legislation and strategic documents, the concept itself was lacking. That is why the law was developed and presented for discussion.

The need for such legislation was explained by the significant increase in the budget burden related to pension payments, social benefits, and compensations for vulnerable groups of the population.

The law's developers are confident that the introduction of social entrepreneurship legislation will help reduce poverty, increase the supply of social goods and services in the market, introduce innovative approaches in small and medium-sized businesses, expand the taxable base, and reduce the burden of social payments on the state budget.

They argue that the law "creates legal grounds to overcome social imbalances in the labor market, ensures fair and comprehensive treatment in the implementation of socio-economic and other rights for vulnerable groups, and thus ensures sustainable improvements in their lives and well-being."

A first of its kind

Firouz Sattorov, Director of the Eurasia Foundation in Tajikistan, noted that after its final adoption, the document will become the first standalone law regulating social entrepreneurship in the CIS.

In other countries in the region, social entrepreneurship is regulated by chapters or paragraphs of broader industry laws.

He emphasized that the law identifies a number of target groups, with the most vulnerable among them being people with disabilities and pensioners.

Sattorov also highlighted that according to a recent study by expert Jumayev, there has been a steady increase in the number of pensioners in the country in recent years, while the number of employed people is declining, which places additional pressure on the state budget.

According to statistics, in 2022, the number of pensioners in the country exceeded 763,000, a 23.6-percent increase over the 2015 baseline.  The average annual growth rate of pensioners from 2015 to 2022 was about 3.0 percent

At the same time, Sattorov pointed out a trend of decreasing numbers of employed citizens relative to the number of pensioners, which complicates the sustainability of existing social expenditures.

He mentioned that the number of working individuals per pensioner dropped from 3.9 people in 2015 to 3 people in 2022.

Sattorov also noted a recent increase in the number of people with disabilities.

He believes that promoting self-employment or providing jobs for these vulnerable groups through the widespread promotion of social entrepreneurship models will not only contribute to socio-economic inclusion and sustainable, positive changes in their lives but will also directly impact the reduction of social expenses in the state budget.

Social entrepreneurship aims to solve social problems by developing a service, product, or model.  Social enterprises can generate income and profits to achieve their social goals; however, unlike commercial enterprises, dividends are not distributed.  They use the profits they make as reinvestment to achieve their goals. Social enterprises are based on permanent social impact, sustainability, and solidarity, not competition.