Social Entrepreneurship

Building a pipeline for social and climate innovation in Portugal

Szilvia Szabó — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 13:34:20 +0000

Building a pipeline for social and climate innovation in Portugal

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Climate Innovation

Portugal

Social Innovation

Circular Economy

Topic

Social Innovation

Social innovation has gained significant attention in Portugal in recent years, with various initiatives, policies, and organisations focused on addressing social and environmental challenges through innovative solutions.

Casa do Impacto is Portugal's biggest impact entrepreneurship hub, based in Lisbon, incubating over 60 startups.

Inês Sequeira, Founder and Director of Casa do Impacto, highlights that since its opening in 2018, this hub for social innovation has put Portugal on the map of the impact ecosystem, gathering the resources and network to grow an impact venture.

It is a dedicated space where stakeholders contribute and collaborate to make the necessary paradigm shift in business, with over 3 million euros already invested in supporting social innovators throughout its activity.

The hub aims to create an exciting pipeline of innovative solutions linked with the 17 SDGs through accelerator and incubator programs and investment.

“Given the scope of Casa do Impacto's work, we intend to articulate the different interventions regarding their complementarity to constitute a "pipeline" capable of covering the various stages and needs of entrepreneurship initiatives and social and environmental innovation,” says Inês.

Inês Sequeira, Founder and Director of Casa do Impacto, Portugal.

They run accelerator programs, such as the Triggers to help develop and support innovative projects focusing on environmental issues while responding to societal challenges induced by the climate emergency.

“As part of the process, we offer access to training, mentoring sessions, exchange of experiences and case studies, and, in addition to rigorous monitoring of the work carried out,” Inês further explains.

Furthermore, participants can benefit from accessing an extensive network of program partners.

“At Casa do Impacto, we strive to accelerate change and focus our efforts on bringing solutions to life that are able to combine climate justice and social justice.”

Inês thinks we need to create conditions where socially and environmentally responsible projects can emerge, saying that providing proper training, for instance, can significantly enhance the chances of having more and better ideas that can be transformed into enterprises.

They aim to support the consolidation and expansion of innovative, environmentally sustainable products and services in the market to become alternative responses and thus contribute to a fair and socially balanced climate transition.

“Social enterprises can contribute to building a more sustainable and just economy in various ways. I believe we need to collaborate more, pilot new solutions, invest when they’re ready, and close the circle.”

She emphasises that social enterprises are well-placed to change the tide in climate and social innovation while playing a vital role in creating future jobs, attracting investments and inspiring change.

They are keen to create a supportive environment where collaboration with other social innovators, organisations, and stakeholders is encouraged so they can have all the resources, expertise and support to bring their projects to life.

Regarding funding, Inês adds:

“Access to capital through grants, loans, or equity investment can remove financial barriers and support the growth of these projects. Casa do Impacto provides these innovators with the necessary tools and initiatives to help pre-seed and seed-stage projects secure finances.“

A rising topic in the country is the circular economy, which could be the most potent multifunctional instrument to tackle the current triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity and pollution.

Social enterprises from the Casa do Impacto community are also embracing circularity, such as La Virgule, which upcycles discarded sports and outdoor equipment to reduce waste and transform materials into usable products or Matterpieces, which design high-end cladding material made out of inert waste from demolitions, like glass, bricks, cement, stones.

Circular Economy Portugal (CEP) is an initiative that aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in Portugal through knowledge-sharing, capacity-building and hands-on action.

Circular Pioneers from their community include Novonovo, a digital platform that helps the creative community to locate second-hand materials and products, reCloset, an online second-hand fashion platform and Vintage for a Cause, a vintage style clothing brand using industrial textile waste and support women through training.

Portuguese social enterprise La Virgule upcycles sports and outdoor equipment. Image: La Virgule

Nãm is Portugal's first circular urban farming project, producing mushrooms and natural fertiliser from coffee grounds collected in Lisbon. Image: Circular Economy Portugal

Portugal is also addressing the challenges of climate change with initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions, increasing the use of renewable energy, and promoting sustainable practices backed by governmental grants and tools besides EU support.

The European Investment Fund (EIF) has recently announced that it will help to facilitate investments in Portuguese businesses involved with the sustainable energy transition, climate resilience, sustainable use of the marine environment and the circular economy.

One of the financial instruments launched as part of the Growth Blue I initiative involves a €28m blue economy-focused private equity fund, a trailblazer construction in southern Europe, according to EIF, allocating resources for blue economy investments with climate impact and sustainable development goals.

Inês looks into the future with much hope and envisions a new Hub in Lisbon where they can triplicate the number of projects incubated and promote more and more pilots with corporate and public organisations with Casa do Impacto’s Startups.

She also wishes to expand their activity to other locations in Portugal and scale abroad.

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At the forefront of empowering civil society leaders for a decade

Szilvia Szabó — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 12:13:28 +0000

At the forefront of empowering civil society leaders for a decade

Tags

Social Economy

Social Entrepreneurship

Social Innovation

Topic

Social Impact

The NGO Academy has become one of the strongest ecosystem builders in the Central Eastern European (CEE) region, dedicated to strengthening Civil Society through capacity-building training and educational activities to empower leaders.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Peter Vandor, one of the Founders and Academic Directors of NGO Academy, founded together with the ERSTE Foundation in 2013, shares insights about their impact over the years.

Peter Vandor, one of the Founders and Academic Directors of NGO Academy, Co-Founder of Social Entrepreneurship Center at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Image: Igor Ripak

“In recent years, the environment for Civil Society in the Central Eastern European region has increasingly become a `shrinking space`, suffering from difficult and unpredictable political and economic environments and lack of international support,”

Peter describes the current situation.

He adds that by the beginning of 2000, many organisations that previously supported the civil sector had left the region, which left organisations providing social services or working on human rights or environmental protection vulnerable to external factors.

“We try to support these organisations by helping them to grow their talent and competencies.

We train their leaders and key staff in a range of organisational topics, from fundraising and innovation to impact measurement, burnout prevention and strategy development.”

Peter has a broad overview of the sector by working shoulder-to-shoulder with his colleague, Reinhard Millner, Head of the Social Entrepreneurship Center at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, where they provide academic learning experiences and promote the development of social entrepreneurship and social innovation.

In the past ten years, NGO Academy has reached hundreds of organisations and trained over 6000 leaders through 290 workshops, management courses and MSc programmes focusing on Social Innovation and Management.

Number of NGO Academy member organisations in the CEE region. Image: NGO Academy

”NGO Academy began as a start-up – a small team with a profound belief in the idea, with total commitment and high ambition.

Today, the NGO Academy exists through the interactions of many people and organisations and has established itself as an important educational institution,”

said Nicole Traxler from the ERSTE Foundation.

Based on their recent survey, nine out of ten participants said they benefited from the new knowledge they acquired through these programs, and almost 80 per cent confirmed that they would find it financially challenging to take part in other offerings that are not supported.

Lejla Šehić Relić, one of the members and participants of the program, shared:

“NGO Academy is a unique, important programme of capacity building, connecting people and organisations. It provides inspiration, knowledge and support and is a vital bridge between the energy of civil society and the wisdom of an academic community that offers hope.”

Available programmes target leadership, executives and managers from a pool of outstanding civil society organisations within 14 Central and Eastern European countries, bringing knowledge from various areas, such as management, finance and communication skills.

“We try to attend as many of our activities in person as possible and talk with our members to understand their experiences and needs,” Peter explains.

However, the team had to experiment and innovate rather quickly in terms of delivering meaningful and engaging learning experiences due to COVID-19, which heavily impacted most members but, in the end, helped them create a broader selection of course offers that stayed popular post-pandemic.

NGO Academy celebrated ten years of impact in Vienna in September 2023. Image: Igor Ripak

Their results speak for themselves, as 84.6 per cent say that being a member of the NGO Academy has contributed positively to their organisational development, and 57.3 per cent reported having started new projects or activities as a result of NGO Academy training.

Peter adds:

“The part I enjoy most is teaching and discussions with our members in the classroom. Since one of my topics is innovation management, there is often a lot of discussion about where they see society moving and how they plan to respond. Being able to provide a helpful structure and seeing them bring new ideas to life is very rewarding.”

A study that Peter worked on found that many civil society leaders still have an overall positive assessment of this sector in the past 10-15 years, mainly due to the favourable legal frameworks, eye-level dialogue with public authorities and easy access to funding promoted by the European Union.

However, this is mostly the case among countries in the pre-accession phase to become EU members, while member states are not so optimistic anymore.

Member state representatives see an improvement in relationships with municipalities, but working with the central government has often become more challenging, and civil society organisations have become the targets of anti-liberal narratives, framing them as “foreign agents”, threatening their funding or their right to operate.

Other trends include an overall increasing professionalising of the sector, shifting from informal to more formalised activities, and embracing newer forms of operations, including social entrepreneurship.

To celebrate their achievements and shared impact, NGO Academy hosted a 10th-anniversary event in Vienna in September, including TEDx Talks sessions showcasing many of their members` stories and impact.

Headline image: Igor Ripak

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In pursuit of changing lives

Szilvia Szabó — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 20:23:56 +0000

In pursuit of changing lives

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Social Entrepreneurship

Topic

Insights from social entrepreneur Lucia Dal Negro, Founder of Kokono, on building a socially and environmentally conscious enterprise in Uganda.

Kokono is a project started by De-LAB, an Italian social enterprise, designed to address the challenge of keeping infants safe in their first year after birth in Africa.

We produce unique cradles from biodegradable materials to protect children from 0 to 12 months from major health and safety risks, including the malaria mosquito.

From the very beginning, I have worked with a team, and we did not only want to work in the health sector and 'settle' for helping people. We also wanted to do it in an environmentally responsible way. Besides, we thought about logistics and optimised the shape of the cradle in a way that saves a lot of space and makes it easy to stack them up.

Kokono produces unique cradles from biodegradable materials to protect babies from major health and safety risks. Image: Kokono

Moreover, the product is sold without packaging to avoid polluting a country with no actual plastic and waste disposal system.

The next edition of Kokono will also be produced with 50 per cent recovered plastic, which will help decrease its environmental footprint while giving us a chance to raise awareness about the circular economy. It has been a bumpy road since the first design came to life to make this a reality.

The Covid pandemic obviously resulted in a major setback, and there was a grasshopper invasion in East Africa in January 2020, which did not help. We had to adapt not just our business plans but the product’s design. Kokono was originally supposed to be made from banana fibres, but then the grasshopper invasion destroyed all the plantations, so there was no way to use that material.

After rethinking the project, Covid forced us to stop for almost a year because Uganda had the longest lockdown in Africa, and nothing could be done. But luckily, there were also some exceptional positive moments, including the first sale to a private hospital of 40 cradles.

One of the most inspiring moments was when we got the result of the Social Impact Assessment on the first user group of Kokono.

I remember the amazement and pride I felt as I saw that not one of the first 20 children had caught malaria in the six months of using the cradle.

There I realised that we had a future, and it was worth fighting for. It took countless hours of work, patience and dedication to get where we are now.

There was a time when if I had given up, people would have still applauded me anyway because everything was so terribly difficult.

Instead, perseverance won, and thanks to the collaboration with Italian and local partners and the encouragement of the Ugandans, while seeing this idea manifesting and helping people, I did not give up.

To the many social innovators out there trying to make a difference, I would say never to let difficulties get you down: no one ever told us it would be easy.

We are currently looking for equity investors to expand our project, which has succeeded in the proof of concept and market testing phase. Uganda is a huge country, and the demand is massive here and elsewhere as well. With the capital investment, we could support the distribution network and start selling the product on a large scale.

Another thing that impressed me was getting to know the single mothers of the Kawempe slum in Kampala. After the pandemic, their numbers have increased dramatically.

Here you would meet 14-15 years old girls who need to be educated about childcare.

They welcomed the product as if it were a solution 'dropped from the sky'.

It was touching, especially since I expected more resistance towards something new and unknown.

Instead, they were overjoyed. Sometimes understanding each other is much easier than we think and happens profoundly. This experience gave me much strength to go on.

Kokono was first introduced in Uganda, and looking to expand in the next years. Image: Kokono

Having the opportunity to work in the field and interact with people using our solution really keeps me grounded and more determined to raise funds and expand our operations.

In addition to having funds, I would like to have a network of companies that see this as a project for the future and would support us with expertise and vision in other African countries.

Ugandan birth and infant mortality rates are no different from those of other countries on the continent, and the potential to make a significant impact is enormous.

Lucia Dal Negro Founder of Kokono in the middle

I enjoy spending about a month twice a year in Kampala supervising the operations and working with the team. I extricate myself entirely from European and Italian problems and finally connect to the local set-up, feeling the atmosphere.

This society is made up of a young population full of vitality, which dares to dream big even if it does not have the means....and, above all, never complains.

What gives me the energy to keep going is the fact that Kokono really works, saves the lives of children and gives hope to mothers struggling to juggle work and bringing up their kids.

Working with local partners who believe in it and look to us for guidance on moving forward is another factor in making this work.

Finally, I think that if we, as a very small organisation, have made it this far, who knows what larger and more structured companies could do.

There are too many opportunities offered by circular models that must be exploited....it is no longer the time to stand by, and we at De-LAB are ready to build partnerships with those who think like us!

This article is an extract from content originally published in the Circular Economy in Action special edition of the Profit with Purpose Magazine - you can read the full article and other features in the magazine.

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How do trailblazer social innovators shape the Blue Economy?

Business Spirit News reporting — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 08:30:04 +0000

How do trailblazer social innovators shape the Blue Economy?

Tags

Social Innovation

Social Entrepreneurship

Impact Ecosystem

Topic

Blue Economy

Social Enterprise

Impact Hub corner

Stories of visionary entrepreneurs making inclusive and sustainable innovation happen at scale with the support of the global Impact Hub community.

Seafood alternative

Overfishing is putting enormous pressure on ocean ecosystems, but how can delicious and healthy sashimi help?

Bluana Foods startup is connected to Impact Hub Bucharest, Romania, has designed a tasty alternative solution to decrease the need for fresh fish.

The enterprise is creating a plant-based healthy seafood alternative product for tuna and salmon sashimi, using only natural ingredients.

Bluana Foods uses algae extracts with a molecular gastronomy approach to obtain a product such as fish meat.

The startup is entering the growing plant-based market, estimated to reach 15 billion Euros.

“With the help of our team of Chefs, we have a bottom-up molecular gastronomy approach while using natural only ingredients.

Bluana Foods is working on plant-based seafood alternative products for tuna and salmon with a molecular gastronomy approach. Image: Bluana Foods

Currently, we have a founding team, an MVP, and more than 700 people giving positive feedback,” Florin Irimescu, Founder and CEO of Bluana Foods, explains their product development.

The team is working on their market strategy and participating in various high profile accelerator programs such as the Black Sea ClimAccelerator, organised with the support of EIT Climate-KIC (Knowledge and Innovation Centre) and Proveg Incubator program in Berlin, the world’s leading incubator of plant-based and cultured food startups.

Zero impact aquafeed

By adopting Circular Economy principles, enterprise Ittinsect uses insects and agricultural by-products to replace traditional aquaculture and ornamental fish feeds containing fishmeal and fish oils.

As a member of the Impact Hub Siracusa community in Italy, this startup is dedicated to developing and producing innovative fish food with zero fish meal and oil content.

Ittinsect is developing innovative fish food with zero fish meal and oil content. Image: Pexels

“The product is based on a special recipe of enriched insect proteins with the same nutritional properties as fish meal, but with a higher biologic efficiency,”

says Alessandro Romano, CEO of Ittinsect.

They won the EIT Food “Challenge Lab” in 2020, and their concept also impressed the judges at the BlueInvest Awards 2021, as they became finalists in the "Sustainable Food and Feed from the Ocean" category.

The value proposition of Ittinsect is built on the three pillars of product characteristics, being flexible, sustainable and healthy.

By avoiding ocean resources, they contribute to sustainability and stop the chain of microplastics, mercury, fertilisers and other contaminants that generally accumulate in the organisms that are fed with traditional fishmeal.

The Dopper changemaker challenge

The ‘ocean saving bottle’ company, Dopper, organised the third edition of its Changemaker Challenge to find the most innovative student ideas for a plastic-free future with crystal-clear waters.

They teamed up with Impact Hub King’s Cross, UK, Impact Hub Amsterdam and Impact Hub Berlin to engage third-level students from various locations.

Applications poured in from the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Nepal for a chance to win a £5,000 research grant, promotional support and valuable contacts.

Dopper is a social enterprise based in the UK, widely recognised as an activist company encouraging people to see the whole picture about ocean protection and water usage.

The three best ideas from the UK included projects focusing on recycling ghost fishing nets, utilising sea kelps and replacing plastic food packaging with a sustainable alternative.

The Dopper Changemaker Challenge is organised in collaboration with several Impact Hubs to find innovative student ideas for a plastic-free future with crystal-clear waters. Image: Dopper

Lab of tomorrow

The Lab of Tomorrow is a business development program to solve specific challenges in emerging markets. It aims to inspire European and local businesses to jointly create new sustainable and profitable business models, products, and services in emerging markets.

It is an open innovation process based on adopting Design Thinking and Business Design methodologies with strong stakeholder engagement.

In 2022 they brought together European and Thai companies, startups, NGOs, policymakers and researchers to address the challenge of plastic waste reduction in Thailand.

The Lab of Tomorrow is a business development programme to solve specific challenges in emerging markets, such as plastic waste or renewable energy. Image: Pexels

More than half of land-based plastic waste leakage comes from just five countries: China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The challenge of reducing, reusing and replacing single-use plastic in Thailand thus goes far beyond the country’s borders.

The program is managed in collaboration with Impact Hub Berlin, and it runs in partnership with government organisations.

Participants are asked to answer questions like: How might we reduce, reuse or substitute single-use plastic to decrease plastic waste ending up in rivers and oceans in Thailand?

The big issue is divided into sub-challenges like promoting plastic-reduced products and services, increasing plastic and littering awareness of customers, and reducing plastic bottles or promoting the use of a zero-waste kit.

So far, 330 participants have joined seven previous Lab of Tomorrow innovation processes, and 47 promising business ideas have been developed, of which twelve business models are currently in the pilot phase.

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Celebrating social and circular enterprises in Dublin

Business Spirit News reporting — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 12:15:49 +0000

Celebrating social and circular enterprises in Dublin

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Social Entrepreneurship

Topic

A new initiative led by Dublin City Council aims to shine a light on social enterprises and circular economy players.

The SoCircular event will take place in Dublin on 5th October to bring together social and circular enterprises and other stakeholders to connect, learn and build connections.

This new initiative is driven by Dublin City Council in collaboration with strategic partners from various sectors and will be hosted at a prime venue, The Mansion House.

The event aims to facilitate the transformation of Dublin's economic ecosystem to become more resilient and competitive by better integrating enterprises and innovators with strong sustainability and social values.

Organisers will provide a forum for discussions, exchanging ideas and gaining insights while showcasing exhibitors and cultural programs.

Besides networking and learning, the goal is to encourage businesses, organisations and government departments to buy from these organisations to empower this sector's growth.

“This event will raise awareness of these innovative enterprises.

Buying from them will bring about many benefits, such as shorter supply chains, creating resilient local employment, improving social and environmental impacts, and supporting fairer, greener and thriving communities,”

says Mary MacSweeney, Deputy Head of Economic Development and Enterprise.

Mary MacSweeney, Deputy Head of Economic Development and Enterprise highlights the importance of integrating social and circular enterprises into supply chains.

Pointing out the role of businesses and government in strengthening social and circular enterprises is one of the core messages of the event.

Buying from these companies could add to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and department strategies while helping them raise their profile by walking the talk and filling slogans with actions.

At the event, participants can meet with innovative entrepreneurs embracing sustainability and circular economy in their business model and join panel discussions to learn more insights about available supports and key players.

Attendees can find the detailed program and register online free of charge.

Cultural performances and a trade expo with more than 50 local social and circular enterprises will allow people to connect and network.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, expressed how much social and circular enterprises can help counteract the impact of environmental and economic crises.

Another element of the program is to raise awareness about how socially driven businesses can address environmental challenges and, the other way around, how environmentally focused projects can easily solve social problems.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, emphasised the importance of this sector in helping the city fight upcoming challenges associated with the impacts of climate change and economic crises.

The event is being hosted as part Dublin's involvement in the European Social Economy Regions project of the European Commission.

Various stakeholders and organisations have rallied behind this initiative, including the Department of Rural and Community Development, CRNI, EMWR, Dublin Place Brand, Social Enterprise Dublin, and Dublin Regional Skills Forum, among others.

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Creating a powerful unified voice of impact-driven leaders

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 08:03:47 +0000

Creating a powerful unified voice of impact-driven leaders

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Social Economy

Social Entrepreneurship

Topic

"I see most often that social innovators are ordinary people brave enough to do extraordinary things." Fireside chat with Suzanne Wisse-Huiskes, CEO of Euclid Network

"During my years living in Nigeria, I have learned that even if entrepreneurs have great ideas, they need to have a supportive ecosystem to flourish. They cannot operate in a vacuum simply because they rely on other systems, like legislation, place of sales, and even research.

At Euclid Network, the European Network for social enterprises and impact-driven leaders, we work with the front runners in the social enterprise space in Europe. Yet, we still need to build up and strengthen an ecosystem that represents them and changes the environment where they operate.

In many ways, social enterprises are raising the bar for creating innovative solutions that have a positive impact.

They have the power to transform industries and inspire change in various ways. I see most often that social innovators are ordinary people brave enough to do extraordinary things. They are taking the energy to work hard for a long time, usually at least five years from the idea phase, before they can see the actual impact of their work.

To get through challenges, social entrepreneurs need to be persistent, resilient and creative, and I think what they teach us is that every business has the power to change the world if they want to.

In order to do that, they definitely need every support they can get along the way. That is where I see the relevance of our work through our community with members based in 21 European countries, including social enterprise support organisations like incubators, national networks, research centres, and universities.

Top 100 Women in social enterprise - initiative of the Euclid Network

A great project that highlights the power of collaboration is the ‘Top 100 Women in social enterprise’ initiative. We launched it in 2021 to celebrate female social entrepreneurs and put their journey and achievements in the spotlight while inspiring and connecting them.

We have two categories for application: Social Entrepreneur and Social Innovator.

We had little funding for this campaign but felt the need to emphasise the work of these fantastic women. We ended up with a project that all my team loved from start to finish and accomplished more through collaboration than we could have imagined.

For me, this was such an amazing experience discovering and sharing so many impact stories. It has also proved not to underestimate the power we all have to challenge and change the status quo we live in.

The call for nominations is open for 2022 as we aim to expand the reach of inspirational stories of female changemakers.

Social enterprises are setting an example for other mainstream enterprises that things can be done differently. They also provide new business models that were not there before, offering alternative products and services to consumers with a unique value proposition.

For instance, if we look at sustainable fashion, there is a lot of learning there that corporates could take on or further explore to set new standards for doing business. For a long time, we have believed that consumers can make their own choices, and once there is a more sustainable product or service, they will ultimately choose that.

But it is not that simple, given the overload of information and the fact that these goods are still more expensive than the non-sustainable products. Now we can see the role of corporations through their supply chains and also the importance of having supportive legislation.

However, the lack of awareness is precisely one of the main barriers to changing business as usual, and that is one of our key focus areas. There are still many misleading assumptions around social entrepreneurship, and our job includes eliminating these assumptions and making sure that we have clear communication towards different stakeholders.

When we talk about social enterprise, we actually speak about many different shapes and sizes and even legal forms depending on the countries we are looking at. So what we rather talk about is their work, activities, and impacts.

One example of why representation is so critical became visible when governments worked on action plans for COVID recovery. Social enterprises were left out of these plans for simple reasons. Underrepresentation and the absence of clear legal structures to identifying social enterprises are not helping when it comes to high-level decision-making.

This is where we need to work hard for better recognition and creating a powerful unified voice that cannot be ignored. A few important and imminent opportunities would include better support from governments; more visibility for the sector; a better understanding of the ‘impact first’ social enterprise business model versus the traditional business model where financial returns come before social and environmental impact; a more supportive legal and policy environment; more aligned funding instruments.

That is what we want to do at Euclid Network, and that is what we are fighting to create more opportunities and allocate more available funding for this sector.

I think we need to step over our own shadows as we operate in a tiny bubble and reach out to stakeholders who could help us. Putting aside differences is part of the process, and honestly, we simply do not have the time to bicker amongst ourselves.

We have a bigger fish to fry, which is unlocking the economic potential of social enterprises.

I trust that our work can activate stakeholders to work for common goals and not just talk about leading the change or creating change but actually doing it. When I see my team at work putting their hearts into our mission and collaborating with our partners, it makes me believe that we can turn things around as long as we stick together."

...

Read the full interview with more insights in the Winter 2021/22 issue of the Profit with Purpose Magazine >>

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€800,000 Social Enterprise Start-up Fund is open for innovative projects in Ireland

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 15:55:27 +0000

€800,000 Social Enterprise Start-up Fund is open for innovative projects in Ireland

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social enterprise

Social Innovation

Social Entrepreneurship

Topic

A new support package with grants and training is available for early-stage social enterprises with a clear ambition to address a critical social issue in Ireland.

Minister for Rural and Community Development in Ireland, Heather Humphreys, TD, announced the launch of the €800,000 Social Enterprise Start-up Fund on July 15th 2021.

The purpose of this specific support package is to offer cash and training programmes for social enterprises to realise their potential, expand their businesses and create jobs.

Minister Humphreys said at the launch that the Fund would have a two-year lifespan to provide small grants and other business supports tailored to help early-stage social enterprises overcome challenges when they are starting their projects.

“Twenty-five social enterprises from across Ireland will receive cash grants of between €9,500 and €12,000, as well as access to a six-month tailored training programme.”

“The programme itself comes under the Dormant Accounts Fund in my Department. It will be delivered by Rethink Ireland, who have a great track record in administering supports to social enterprises.”

Deirdre Mortell, CEO of Rethink Ireland, a national organisation supporting Ireland’s best social innovations through various financial and business supports, welcomed the announcement.

Deirdre Mortell, CEO of Rethink Ireland; Image: Rethink Ireland

''At Rethink Ireland we believe that social enterprises can play a pivotal role in supporting the transition to a more inclusive, sustainable and green economy.

We're delighted to be partnering with the Department of Rural and Community Development to provide much-needed start-up funding and supports as part of today's commitment to the Social Enterprise sector in Ireland,” adds Mortell.

Up to 25 social enterprises will receive cash grants of €9,000 each in 2021, and all successful applicants will win a place on the National Accelerator Programme managed by Rethink Ireland.

The programme will empower the most innovative and impactful start-up social enterprises across Ireland to design a competitive business plan, expand their network, increase financial sustainability and communicate their vision and mission to a broader audience.

Applicants must address a critical social issue with an innovative solution in an Irish context and have the potential and a desire to scale or replicate in Ireland.

Ideally, projects should be beyond the idea phase, presenting some market research, at least a prototype, and a minimum amount of sales activity.

Applications are open from July 15th until August 3rd 2021, to not-for-profit nature organisations based in Ireland.

Applicants are invited to complete a short online application form.

An application webinar clinic is held to support potential applicants with any questions they may have on Tuesday, July 20th, from 11 am to 12 pm.

Awardees will be selected from the shortlist of projects which have met the required criteria.

Rethink Ireland created the Fund in partnership with the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund.

According to Rethink Ireland’s research, this type of funding and support is critical to ensuring social enterprises have the best chance of reaching sustainability and maximising impact in their communities.

Headline image: Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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Public voting is open to select winners of the first Impact Shakers Awards

Anonymous — Thu, 27 May 2021 11:31:45 +0000

Public voting is open to select winners of the first Impact Shakers Awards

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Social Entrepreneurship

Topic

Awards

Business

Social Impact

People are invited from all over Europe to vote for the most innovative impact-driven startups and scale-ups.

Public voting is open until June 18th 2021, to select winners of the first Impact Shakers Awards that takes its inspiration from the doughnut economics model, which maps human prosperity according to a social foundation and ecological ceiling.

Applications were submitted from 24 countries, and an expert panel of jury selected 48 projects that made it to the final round.

Using simple online voting, people can now decide which innovative startup or scale-up will become category winners.

The public can pick winners in twelve categories: Energy, Water, Food, Health, Education, Income & Work, Peace & Justice, Political Voice, Social Equity, Gender Equality, Housing & Networks.

Top 10 countries and cities represented at The Impact Shakers Awards

Finalist projects present various solutions to tackle pressing social, environmental challenges with an entrepreneurial mindset, focusing on data-driven technologies, capturing carbon from the atmosphere, mental health issues, plastic pollution, and more.

Winners will be announced on June 21st and receive access to unique networking opportunities, prizes to accelerate business growth and be invited to participate in an intensive bootcamp to secure alternative funding.

Partners offering prizes for best projects include Quest Impact Design Studio, EVPA, Mikme, SeedTribe, UpEffect, Business Spirit Platform and Adobe.

Yonca Braeckman, CEO of Impact Shakers and founder of the award, said:

“It’s the first time we used the doughnut economics model to work with impact startups, and we can say it’s an excellent and educational first edition.

We’ll continue to research how we can implement insight, collect more data, and measure impact.

At this point, we found significantly more impact startups in the categories energy, health, income & work and food, while there were far fewer in the categories peace & justice, political voice and water.”

Impact Shakers, the organiser behind The Impact Shakers Awards, aims to create a supportive ecosystem in which impact-driven startups can grow into solid and scalable businesses and bridge the gap between impact and profit.

“It’s really great to be able to prove with data what we’ve been sensing for a while: founders of impact startups are more diverse.

Over 80% of the applicants had at least one ‘under-represented founder’ on their team.

Another remarkable trend: many already found interested business angels—even with an impact-driven business model,” says Braeckman about the added value of organising the first edition of the Impact Shakers Awards.

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May 2021

Social enterprises can harness university student's creativity to tackle challenges

Anonymous — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 14:59:45 +0000

Social enterprises can harness university student's creativity to tackle challenges

Tags

Incubation

Social Entrepreneurship

Topic

Incubation programme for social enterprises and university students to tackle challenges.

Social Entrepreneurship Incubation Program (SEIP) has launched an open call for social enterprises and purpose-driven businesses to collaborate with university students on advancing their business.

Organisers are looking for social enterprises that have already begun operations, in the idea validation process, or seeking to expand or modify their business model.

Entrepreneurs can enter the incubation programme with a well-defined problem or challenge related to their work.

Participating businesses can benefit from the fresh energies and different mind-set of business school, social entrepreneurship and social science students.

Selected organisations will be matched with creative and enthusiastic students from four European universities and professional mentors to deliver strategic support for their specific problem.

Zsolt Bugarszki PhD, Founder of SEIP and Head of Tallinn University's Social Entrepreneurship MA program in Estonia

“The program was initiated by SEIP (Social Entrepreneurship Incubation Program) that has branches in Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia, Hungary, Romania, Thailand, Singapore and Canada.

Our incubation programme is closely connected with the Social Entrepreneurship MA programme at Tallinn University.

We had a lot of great experiences with students using their creative energies and knowledge in development work.

On the other hand, we support many social enterprises and purpose-driven businesses, and we see that many of them are struggling with lack of human resources, especially at the start-up phase,” says Zsolt Bugarszki PhD, Founder of SEIP and Head of Tallinn University's Social Entrepreneurship MA program in Estonia.

The first cohort of the cooperation will be organised between the 19th of March and the 28th of May 2021.

Interested businesses can apply by filling out an online form until the 17th of March 2021.

Four universities will provide students with a chance to practice in this collaborative project, where they can work directly with social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven companies from different countries.

“Students are doing this programme as part of their regular courses as an assignment, an internship or as an extracurricular activity while they are supervised and led by their professors, lecturers.

They will learn new things and acquire new skills by doing, instead of sitting in the classroom. This project is a real win-win for social enterprises and students,”

explains Bugarszki further.

Partner institutions include Tallinn University, Estonia; University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, The Netherlands; The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Business Administration in Foreign Language, Romania; ELTE University, Faculty of Special Education, Disability Studies and Social Innovation Lab, Hungary.

Bugarszki adds: “We are working closely with Universities on this experimental programme, and depending on the results, we are hoping to organise it again on a bigger scale in the Autumn semester, involving even more third-level educational institutions if possible.”

Due to the pandemic and international collaboration, all activities will be carried out online.

Headline image: Getty Images

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March 2021

Social Innovation Tournament offers €75 000 prize money for the best projects

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 10:20:56 +0000

Social Innovation Tournament offers €75 000 prize money for the best projects

Tags

Social Innovation

social enterprise

Support

Social Entrepreneurship

Topic

Social Innovation

Social Enterprise

Social Innovation Tournament recognises and supports the best European social entrepreneurs.

The Social Innovation Tournament (SIT) is the flagship initiative of the EIB Group (European Investment Bank and European Investment Fund) Institute’s Social Programme, which recognises and supports the best European social entrepreneurs.

It promotes innovative ideas and rewards initiatives that contribute to creating social, ethical or environmental impact.

Typically, it covers projects in education, healthcare, the environment, circular economy, inclusion, job creation, ageing and many more.

To mark the tenth anniversary of the SIT, winning projects in the General Category and Special Category will be awarded a first or second prize of €75 000 and €30 000 respectively, and an Audience Choice Award of €10 000.

Social Innovation Tournament

Two projects will be selected to attend INSEAD’s Social Entrepreneurship programme in Fontainebleau, France.

The prizes are awarded by a jury of specialists from the academic and business worlds, while the Audience Choice will be awarded by the public, based on their votes.

In 2021, the Special Category Prizes will go to projects focusing on sustainable living.

The tournament runs in two rounds, and 15 finalists will be selected to participate in a tailor-made training programme that includes bootcamps, e-training on pitching, and one-to-one coaching sessions.

These programmes aim to prepare entrepreneurs to present their proposals at the Final Event to a jury of social innovation specialists.

The Final Event will be held on 7 October 2021 in Lisbon, Portugal.

Finalists from all SIT editions automatically become members of the SIT Alumni Network, where they can benefit from numerous training and networking opportunities from investor relations to conference participation.

Category winner 2020, BeeOmonitoring project uses bees as drones to collect billion of environmental samples. Image:Pexels

In 2020 fifteen finalists had been selected out of an outstanding group of 216 candidates in 31 countries.

General category winners were Navilens, from Spain, and BeeOmonitoring, from Belgium, both presenting innovative solutions to pressing social challenges.

The Spanish social enterprise wants to make cities smarter and more inclusive by empowering visually impaired people with a cutting-edge technology based on a proprietary computer vision algorithm.

The Belgian project is focused on combining nature with technology.

They use bees as drones to collect billion of environmental samples on large surfaces and use software to analyse the data to indicate the level of pollution and detect biodiversity.

In 2020 two social enterprises were the recipients of the Special Category award.

The Dutch team of Sponsh, developed a temperature-sensitive smart material that produces water from the air, using the natural cycles of day and night.

Their first products are water-producing tree guards for reforestation projects, to help young trees survive their first harsh summers.

A CleanTech startup in Sweden, Plasticfri came up with the vision to end the plastic pollution catastrophe by developing a biomaterial that looks and works like conventional plastics, but it is 100% biodegradable, compostable and non-toxic.

The public has chosen the Hera mobile application, from Turkey, for the Audience Choice Award in 2020 for their solution to increase access to preventative health services, related to vaccine-preventable diseases and maternal health among Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The deadline for submitting project proposals for 2021 is 3 March, and finalists will be announced on 15 May.

Headline image: Pexels

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February 2021