Achieving sustainability development goals has never been more important than the past few years. Countries across the globe announced their commitment to the sustainability development goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations and developed action plans towards achieving those goals. As entrepreneurs are key players in the ecosystem, they possess a vital role in achieving SDGs. This paper aims to shed the light on the role of entrepreneurs’ motivation in achieving SDGs. The objective of this paper is to provide insights from the literature on diverse dimensions of motivation, that are perceived as inducers for entrepreneurs to achieve SDGs. This study sheds the light on prominent motivation theories, it highlights the role of entrepreneurs’ intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation to achieve SDGs. It establishes a foundation for academics and practitioners: entrepreneurs and regulators, to facilitate achieving SDGs. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.