An entrepreneur in the context of new challenges (using the example of the territories of the Republic of Belarus)

The aim of the work is to assess the activities of entrepreneurs in the regions of the Republic of Belarus affected by the Chernobyl disaster. We use statistical analysis and findings of sociological studies to assess entrepreneurial activity in the context of the following new challenges: the need to move to the sixth technological paradigm based on a highly competitive socio-economic system of a mixed type combining elements of state planning and market relations; preserving the social structure of the Belarusian society amid unprecedented wealth stratification in other countries; overcoming the consequences of man-made disasters. The empirical basis includes the data of sociological questionnaire surveys conducted in 2021 and 2022 by the Center for Social and Humanities Studies of the Belarus State Economic University in collaboration with the Institute of Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, within the framework of the research project “To carry out a sociological assessment of the entrepreneurial potential of the territories affected by the Chernobyl accident”. The findings of the research show considerable unity of moral and value priorities of entrepreneurs and the population. This reveals the degree of adaptability of the country’s socio-economic system to the challenges associated with the formation of a mixed economic model, in which elements of market management are new to Belarusians. We prove that entrepreneurs can be the vanguard of a mixed economy as the most competitive type for Belarus to shift to a society of the sixth technological paradigm, since they have qualities adequate to modern challenges: self-reliance, relying on one’s own capabilities, competencies, what everyone can do personally, on their own. One of the main advantages of business activity in Belarus is the low degree of cronyism, which helps to avoid the challenges of oligarchic capitalism and related unprecedented social stratification on a material basis. It is shown that entrepreneurs adequately assess the conditions for a successful start in various business areas. To a greater extent, a request has been formed to launch a business in the service sector, followed by the areas of specialized services - legal, medical spheres, production of goods, processing of products.