This conceptual paper explores the evolving role of universities within entrepreneurial ecosystems, focusing on their impact on supporting social entrepreneurs. Due to their mission of creating both social and economic value, social entrepreneurs face persistent challenges, including access to funding, management knowledge, legitimacy, and long-term sustainability, which hinder their ability to create societal impact. ?his paper identifies universities as key actors that transition from educators to ecosystem coordinators and, ultimately, ecosystem orchestrators. Drawing on the theoretical lenses of Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and University Innovation and Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (UIEEs), the study proposes a framework that highlights three roles in university support: educators, ecosystem coordinators, and ecosystem orchestrators. These roles address critical gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by fostering collaboration, resource mobilization, and legitimacy-building for social entrepreneurs. Practical implications include strategies for policymakers to incentivize university engagement in entrepreneurial ecosystems and for university administrators to institutionalize support mechanisms tailored to social entrepreneurs’ needs.
