Entrepreneurship Education for Sustainable Development Goals: A Systematic Review and Future Directions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54536/jebs.v1i2.5608Keywords:
Entrepreneurial Mindset, Entrepreneurship Education (EE), Experiential Learning, Interdisciplinary Approaches, Responsible Entrepreneurship, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),, Sustainable EntrepreneurshipAbstract
Entrepreneurship education (EE) is important for achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It provides students with the knowledge and skills to solve social and environmental problems through innovative business ideas. This review examines how EE helps reduce poverty, promote gender equality, protect the environment and grow the economy. This highlights the need to include sustainability in EE courses, focusing on hands-on learning, working across different fields, and involving the community. Universities are seen as places that create solutions to global problems and support business ideas that help achieve sustainable development. However, challenges remain in fully integrating sustainability into university activities and courses. The review also highlights the need to study the cultural and psychological aspects of EE and how to use new technologies. EE has the power to help achieve the SDGs, and this review offers advice for teachers to use EE for positive social, environmental, and economic results. Suggestions include conducting more research, making EE more accessible, using educational technology, and promoting a sustainable mindset. Future research should examine the cultural and psychological aspects of EE, find a balance between making money, being socially responsible, and caring for the environment, and explore how new technologies can be included in EE programs
References
Adeola, O. (2024). Leveraging Ubuntu-inspired values to promote sustainable digital entrepreneurship in Africa. Africa Journal of Management, 10(2), 120–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322373.2024.2349484
Akromah S., Eichhorn S. J., Chandarana N. (2023). Mycelium Composites for Sustainable Development in Developing Countries: The African Case Advanced Sustainable Systems, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1002/adsu.202300305
Aliamutu, K. F., & Mkhize, M. V. (2024). The Obstacles of Women Entrepreneurship on Empowerment in Rural Communities in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Indonesian Journal of Innovation and Applied Sciences (IJIAS), 4(1), 88–96. https://doi.org/10.47540/ijias.v4i1.1259
Alao, O. E., Alao, P. O., & Elijah, T. M. (2023). Developing the entrepreneurial skills of Nigerian business education students for sustainability: Policy and practice imperatives. Contemporary Educational Researches Journal, 13(4), 251–263. https://doi.org/10.18844/cerj.v14i4.8965
Al Balushi, S., Naidu, V. R., Al Balushi, H., Jesrani, K., Reales, L., & Al Shukai̇li̇, N. (2023). The influence of higher education curriculum on entrepreneurship education. IJAEDU- International E-Journal of Advances in Education. https://doi.org/10.18768/ijaedu.1325546
Baggen, Y., Lans, T. & Gulikers, J. (2021). Making Entrepreneurship Education Available to All: Design Principles for Educational Programs Stimulating an Entrepreneurial Mindset. Entrepreneurship Education and Pedagogy, 5(3), 347–374. https://doi.org/10.1177/2515127420988517
Codjoe, S. N. A., & Atiglo, D. Y. (2020). The Implications of Extreme Weather Events for Attaining the Sustainable Development Goals in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Frontiers in Climate, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2020.592658
Diepolder, C. S., Huwer, J., & Weitzel, H. (2024). Exploring the impact of sustainable entrepreneurial role models on students’ opportunity recognition of sustainable development in sustainable entrepreneurship education. Sustainability, 16(4), 1484. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041484
Egieya, Z., Ewuga, S., Adegbite, A., Oriekhoe, O., & Omotosho, A. (2023). A review of sustainable entrepreneurial practices and their impact on long-term business viability. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 20(3), 1283–1292. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2023.20.3.2588
Hossain, M., Talha, A., Hossain, M., & Wafik, H. (2024). Sustainable entrepreneurship Integration of environmental and corporate social responsibility to develop a smart Bangladesh. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 11(2), 868–878. https://doi.org/10.30574/ijsra.2024.11.2.0516
Huck, W. (2022). Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). nomos verlagsgesellschaft mbh co kg. https://doi.org/10.5771/9783748902065
Jiang, Y., Ritchie, B. W., & Verreynne, M.-L. (2021). Building dynamic capabilities in tourism organizations for disaster management: enablers and barriers. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 31(4), 971–996. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2021.1900204
Karahan, M., & Stoeckermann, C. N. (2023). Impact Circle: A New Design-Based Method for Developing Business Opportunities with Sustainable Impact (pp. 337–353). springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28559-2_22
Lella, L., Oses-Eraso, N., & Stamos, I. (2024). Pioneering a sustainable development goal monitoring framework for European regions. Ecological Indicators, 166, 112248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112248
Kariyapperuma, N., & Collins, E. (2021). Family logics and environmental sustainability: Astudy of the New Zealand wine industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 30(8), 3626–3650. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.2823
Ma, B. (2023). Analysis of Problems in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education for Business Administration Majors. Journal of Education and Educational Technologies, 3(11), 6–10. https://doi.org/10.53469/jeet.2023.03(11).02
Miralam, M. S., Ali, I. S., Arafat, M. Y., & Qazi, S. (2025). Exploring the Factors Influencing Women Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia: A Strategic Plan for Sustainable Entrepreneurial Growth. Sustainability, 17(3), 1221. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031221
Mbore, B. K. (2021). Effect of entrepreneurship education on innovation capability of technical and vocational training (TVET) graduates. International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), 10(3), 490–500. https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v10i3.1151
Moşteanu, N. R. (2023). Navigating the Intersection of Sustainability and Intelligent Automation: Opportunities and Challenges for entrepreneurs. Human Resources Management and Services, 5(1), 3360. https://doi.org/10.18282/hrms.v5i1.3360
Newell, P., Naess, L. O., Ndaki, P., Rurangwa, R., Teshome, A., Taylor, O., Thompson, J., and Mahmoud, H. (2019). Climate-Smart Agriculture? Governing the Sustainable Development Goals in Sub-Saharan Africa. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2019.0005
Nilsson, A. E., & Larsen, J. N. (2020). Making Regional Sense of Global Sustainable Development Indicators for the Arctic. Sustainability, 12(3), 1027. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031027
Odey, G. O., Lucero-Prisno Iii, D. E., Fatuma, E., Carew-Bayoh, E. O., Atieno, O. S., Alawad, A. G. A., & Ogunkola, I. O. (2021). COVID-19 pandemic: impacts on the achievements of Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. Pan African Medical Journal, 38. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.2021.38.251.27065
Odeyemi, O., Mhlongo, N., Usman, F., Elufioye, O., and Ike, C. (2023). Sustainable entrepreneurship: A review of green business practices, and environmental impacts. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 21(2), 346–358. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2024.21.2.0461
Okuogume, A., & Toledano, N. (2024). Co-Creation in Sustainable Entrepreneurship Education: Lessons from Business–University Educational Partnerships. Sustainability, 16(6), 2272. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16062272
Oppong, C. (2025). Leveraging Governance and Accountability for Advancing Sustainable Development Goals in Africa. Business Strategy & Development, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/bsd2.70115
Oribu, W. S. (2022). Achieving sustainable development in Kenya’s respective county governments through market failures, and sustainable business and entrepreneurship initiatives. Archives of Business Research, 10(5), 182–190. https://doi.org/10.14738/abr.105.12441
Patricia, P. (2024). Role of Entrepreneurship Education in Universities in Pursuing Sustainable Development Goals. Feed forward: Journal of Human Resource, 4(1), 23. https://doi.org/10.19166/ff.v4i1.8129
Prayag, G., Hossain, M. I., Chowdhury, M., Jiang, Y., & Akter, N. (2023). Building Dynamic Capabilities and Organizational Resilience in Tourism Firms During COVID-19: A Staged Approach. Journal of Travel Research, 63(3), 713–740. https://doi.org/10.1177/00472875231164976
Rashid, L. (2019). Entrepreneurship Education and Sustainable Development Goals: A literature Review and a Closer Look at Fragile States and Technology-Enabled Approaches. Sustainability, 11(19), 5343. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195343
Rădulescu, C. V., Bran, F., Burlacu, S., & Bodislav, D. A. (2020). Entrepreneurial Education in the Context of Imperative Development of Sustainable Businesses. European Journal of Sustainable Development, 9(4), 93. https://doi.org/10.14207/ejsd.2020.v9n4p93
Rosário, A. T., & Raimundo, R. (2023). Sustainable Entrepreneurship Education: A Literature Review. mdpi ag. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202304.1205.v1
Sarkar, S., & Bhatia, G. (2021). Writing and appraising narrative review articles. Journal of Clinical and Scientific Research, 10(3), 169–172. https://doi.org/10.4103/jcsr.jcsr_1_21
Sreenivasan A., Suresh M. (2023). Exploring the contribution of sustainable entrepreneurship toward sustainable development goals: A bibliometric analysis. Green Technologies and Sustainability, 1(3), 100038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.grets.2023.100038
Steira, I. M., Wigger, K., & Rasmussen, E. (2024). Variety of entrepreneurial skills measured in the entrepreneurship education literature. Education + Training, 66(7), 755–776. https://doi.org/10.1108/et-09-2023-0374
Szetey, K., Moallemi, E. A., Ashton, E., Butcher, M., Sprunt, B., & Bryan, B. A. (2021). Co-creating local socioeconomic pathways for achieving sustainable development goals. Sustainability Science, 16(4), 1251–1268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-021-00921-2
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres. 2019.07.039
Tripathi, S. K., Mukhi, U., & Molteni, M. (2016). Innovation in sustainable entrepreneurship education in Africa: strategy and social impact. In Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation (pp. 248-263). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315748665-22
Türkeş, M. (2024). The role of sustainability and sustainable development in climate change mitigation and adaptation. Sustainable Social Development, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.54517/ssd.v2i1.2407
Yelubayeva, P., Tashkyn, E., & Berkinbayeva, G. (2023). Addressing Challenges in Kazakh Education for Sustainable Development. Sustainability, 15(19), 14311. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914311
Uvarova, I., Mavlutova, I., & Atstaja, D. (2021). Development of a Green Entrepreneurial Mindset through Modern Entrepreneurship Education. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 628(1), 012034. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/628/1/012034
Uwaoma, P. U., Eleogu, T. F., Kaggwa, S., Okonkwo, F., Farayola, O. A., and Akinoso, A. (2024). Role of AI in sustainable business practices, and environmental management. International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation, 10(12), 359–379. https://doi.org/10.51244/ijrsi.2023.1012029
Welsh D. H., Onishi T., DeHoog R. H., & Syed, S. (2014). Responding to the needs and Challenges for art entrepreneurs: An exploratory study of art entrepreneurship in North Carolina’s higher education. Artivate, 3(2), 21–37.
Wong, G., Greenhalgh, T., Westhorp, G., Buckingham, J., and Pawson, R. (2013). Rameses Publication standards: Meta-narrative reviews. Journal of Advanced Nursing 69(5), 987–1004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1741-7015-11-20
Zindi, B., & Ndhlovu, E. (2024). Digitising To Meet Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges In The African Context. Research in Management and Accounting, 7(2), 79–96. https://doi.org/10.33508/rima.v7i2.5767
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Evans Okemwa Achuti, Yobes Benjamin Nyaboga

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.