DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjebm.2026.v13i02.002

Pages: 40-44

This review paper examines how circular economy (CE) business models enable sustainable entrepreneurship in emerging markets, comparing their performance on resource efficiency and social impact. Synthesizing peer-reviewed research and practitioner frameworks, we analyze six archetypes product-as-a-service, product life extension, resource recovery, sharing platforms, circular inputs, and industrial symbiosis and assess how they conserve materials and energy while shaping livelihoods, equity, and well-being. We find that life-extension and industrial symbiosis consistently deliver strong material productivity gains, while product-as-a-service and sharing models achieve variable efficiency depending on design choices and rebound effects (Bocken et al., 2014; Geissdoerfer et al., 2017). Social outcomes hinge on inclusion and formalization: recycling and repair can create large numbers of jobs, yet may also concentrate health and safety risks when activity remains informal (UNEP, 2009; Murray et al., 2017). Enabling policies such as extended producer responsibility, quality standards for secondary materials, and social procurement amplify positive spillovers and mitigate trade-offs (Tura et al., 2019). We propose a comparative framework that aligns resource efficiency metrics (e.g., material circularity indicators, energy and water intensity) with social performance measures (e.g., job quality, income stability, and distributional effects) to guide entrepreneurs and investors. A synthesized table benchmarks archetypes across mechanisms, risks, and contexts, and a graph visualizes efficiency and social performance. The review concludes with design principles for inclusive, context-aware CE ventures and a research agenda on informality, gender, and just transition in low- and middle-income settings. These insights support founders and funders in scaling circular innovation both materially lean and socially fair and resilient.