ABSTRACT
The concept of social enterprise (SE) was introduced in Hungary more than two decades ago by international development organisations, but remained little known and seldom used for a long time. The relatively new concept of social enterprise can be connected to various concepts, such as those of “non-profit sector”, “civil society” and “social economy”, which have a longer history and are usually better understood in Hungary. The definition that is most widely used by public authorities and programme managers is one that has been put forward by the European Commission. Public-service-provision social enterprises are non-profit organisations with close ties to the public sector. Indeed, these social enterprises are usually not founded by citizens but by the state or by organisations close to the state; moreover, they provide services that were formerly a public responsibility, and they thus receive statutory state support.
