Social enterprises are considered to be a relatively new phenomenon in the Balkan countries. Despite the different level of development between the Balkan countries, with members of the European Union (EU) on the one hand and the Western Balkan countries aspiring to join the EU on the other, the region as a whole is still exploring the opportunities that social enterprises offer for the communities, public and private sector. The innovative and
transformative role that social enterprises have in the economic and social sphere is especially valuable for post-transition countries in the region that are facing great social and economic costs, as well as growing social disparities since the transition in the 1990s.