<p>Ensuring transparency in business operations has become critical for promoting sustainable entrepreneurship (SE). Previous studies highlight the importance of regulatory measures; however, their direct impact remains unknown. This study employs a quasi-natural experiment using the difference-in-differences (DID) method to analyze the levels of sustainable entrepreneurship in response to the financial action task force (FATF) beneficial ownership (BO) recommendation of 2014, using panel data from the global entrepreneurship monitoring and World Bank Development Indicator from 2011 to 2022. The current study is the first to investigate how global regulatory measures aimed at enhancing beneficial ownership transparency influence SE. By utilizing a standardized index for sustainable entrepreneurship, our analysis reveals a significant increase in the level of sustainable entrepreneurship among countries that implemented the 2014 FATF BO recommendation. To address potential endogeneity and selection bias issues, kernel propensity score matching (KPSM-DID) and two-stage least squares regression are used. The KPSM-DID helps match the treatment and control groups on the basis of their features, ensuring a fair comparison. These techniques increase the validity of our findings by ensuring that the estimates are precise and unbiased. Our findings suggest that the FATF recommendation is a positive shock for countries that adopt beneficial ownership transparency. Enhanced transparency can foster a trusting atmosphere for investors and entrepreneurs that promotes collaboration, moral conduct, and long-term investments in sustainable entrepreneurship by reassuring investors about their alignment with sustainability goals.</p>