Social Enterprise

Trailblazer social innovators awarded with funding in Dublin to scale up impact

Climate Journal reporting — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:24:01 +0000

Trailblazer social innovators awarded with funding in Dublin to scale up impact

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social enterprise

Social Innovation

Award

Ireland

Topic

Social Enterprise

Local social enterprises addressing societal and environmental challenges received €60,000 in funding at the annual Dublin Social Enterprise Awards 2023 to enhance their operation and scale their impact.

The six awardees work in diverse areas, including sustainability, unemployment, education, health, homelessness and ex-offender reintegration, supporting disadvantaged people while advocating for inclusion in their communities and beyond.

Minister Joe O’Brien, Minister of State with the Department of Rural and Community Development, emphasised the role of social enterprises in his keynote address at the award ceremony:

“They are tangibly helping to address key issues regarding our economy, society and environment while providing employment, opportunities and positive impact.”

One of the awardees is The Mugshot by PACE, which works with people who have criminal records, supporting people back to the community since 2014 to give them work experience and ease their way into mainstream employment.

With three locations across Dublin, this social enterprise provides training and learning opportunities on a professional and personal level.

The Mugshot by PACE is one of the awardees of Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2023.

Maggie Clune, representing PACE, says that the funding will allow them to improve their equipment, which they couldn`t have done without this support.

“This year’s awardees clearly highlight how social enterprise can lead positive change in a sustainable way, showing the possibilities when profit and purpose work hand in hand,”

added Ross Curley, Head of Economic Development, Dublin City Council.

Rediscover Furniture runs its operation at the Rediscovery Centre, the National Centre for the Circular Economy, aiming to keep all kinds of furniture in use for as long as possible through restoration, conservation and upcycling to stop them from ending up in landfills.

“The Social Enterprise Award Dublin is going to help us to rent premises where we can display the furniture and the public can come in and buy it all from us, and also to host events like repair cafés,” says Nessa Doran O`Reilly from Rediscover Furniture.

She adds that this support will go a long way so they can improve logistics, marketing and employment, ultimately getting more people involved with a sustainable lifestyle.

Gemma McCabe, Co-Director and COO of the social enterprise Hair Together, also received an award for delivering wellbeing and life skills programmes through the art of hairdressing and barbering.

For her, this recognition means they can expand their services, involve more kids and young adults, and create a three-year plan to sustain their operation financially.

Hair Together social enterprise received funding and support through the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2023.

Other awardees include Dublin Simon Community Charity Shops, Mellow Spring Childcare Development Centre and New Creations Cleaning Service.

Besides the financial support, awardees were presented bespoke trophies handmade by The Yard at Solas Project, a local social enterprise and previous awardee, and they will also benefit from additional support to grow their organisation.

Now in its ninth year, the Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards is organised and managed by various stakeholders in partnership, such as the Dublin City Council, Dublin City Social Enterprise Committee, Inner City Enterprise, Economic Development Office, Local Enterprise Office Dublin City and the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Headline image: Left to the Right - Pearse O'Reilly, Nessa Doran O'Reilly, Minister Joe O'Brien, Erika Pena, Eileen McHugh, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Paul Donoghue, Rachael Duff

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September 2023

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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August 2023

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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?

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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.

Headline Image: Unsplash

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Campaign to boost social enterprise sector in Ireland

Business Spirit News reporting — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 10:43:18 +0000

Campaign to boost social enterprise sector in Ireland

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Ireland’s first nationwide campaign calls on businesses and the public to support Irish social entreprises by purchasing from them.

The first #BuySocialIRL Week in Ireland aims to inspire businesses and the public to purchase from social enterprises while raising awareness about this sector from the 14th until the 21st of November.

The campaign was launched in Dublin, and there are events planned nationwide with special ‘meet&greet’ sessions in Cork and Galway where participants can network and learn more about social enterprises.

The Irish Social Enterprise Network (ISEN) coordinates the event with support from the Irish Government, highlighting the various benefits of integrating social enterprises into the supply chain, including invigorating local communities.

“If you purchase from a social enterprise, you are helping employ people that might not have had a job otherwise, you are supporting local community initiatives and directly impacting people's lives,”

said Chris MM Gordon, CEO of ISEN, at the launch event.

He explained further that ‘social enterprises are businesses for good’ and selling products and services means they can reinvest their profits into communities.

Chris MM Gordon, CEO of Irish Social Enterprise Network opened a 'Meet&Greet' event in Cork as part of the #BuySocialIRL Week campaign. Image: BuySocial.ie

The slogan of the campaign ‘Do Good. Spend Well. Buy Social.’ also reflects on the main goal of this initiative.

Gordon added:

“Through this #BuySocialIRL week, all we ask is that you consider buying something from a social enterprise.”

Besides the one-week campaign, the public and business leaders are invited to visit the BuySocial.ie online directory that lists Irish social enterprises providing products and services.

Siel Bleu is one of the Irish social enterprises joining the #BuySocialIRL Week. Image: BuySocial.ie

The website features a wide range of options for anyone interested in supporting organisations such as Mug Shot Coffee, creating jobs for people with prison or probation experience or Siel Bleu, which helps the elderly and people living with disabilities to transform lives through exercise.

Visitors can browse and find authentic offers, including Ireland's first social enterprise design store, We Make Good or Brigit’s Garden, a place where people of all ages can connect with nature, among others.

The #BuySocialIRL is supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Dormant Accounts Fund and Pobal, which works on behalf of the Government to support communities and local agencies toward achieving social inclusion and development.

The event’s main organiser is the Irish Social Enterprise Network, the National Body for Social Enterprise in Ireland, active in advocacy, education and facilitating networking.

Headline Image: BuySocial.ie

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November 2022

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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October 2022

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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January 2022

Euclid Network

Szilvia Szabó — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 16:45:24 +0000

Euclid Network

Location

Netherlands

https://euclidnetwork.eu/

Reach

Europe

Euclid Network is the premier European network for organisations that support social entrepreneurs and impact-driven leaders – and we are looking for new members!

Now more than ever, the social enterprise ecosystem needs collaboration and partnerships to revolutionise the world’s economy into a more inclusive system that works better for all living things and the planet.

With our members, we are leading the change and empowering social enterprises to break the mould to deliver innovative solutions towards all of the UN sustainable development goals.

New members would become part of a network that has extensive experience and a proven track record of bringing stakeholders together to advance the social economy agenda within all the EU Member States and their neighbours.

Creating a powerful unified voice of impact-driven leaders

"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

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January 2022

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Sustainable Development Goals

Platform :: Partner categories

Funding | Supports

Innovation | Research

Networking | Events | Community

€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

Tags

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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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

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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