On Wednesday, November 23rd, SciFY organized a seminar and workshop on Social Entrepreneurship at the INNOVATHENS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub in the Technopolis City of Athens.
For another month, representatives from the academic, research, and business sectors, as well as students from various specializations and individuals interested in creating or participating in a social enterprise, attended the 15th SciFY Academy on “Work Socially | Social Impact: Take the first steps” at INNOVATHENS.
At the penultimate SciFY Academy for 2016, the keynote speaker was Mrs. Matina Kanaki, a supporter of social entrepreneurship and one of the most active people in the field for 20 years, who introduced us to the concepts of Social Entrepreneurship and its social impact. The seminar was divided into two sections: a presentation by Mrs. Kanaki and a workshop, in which participants had the opportunity to apply their knowledge in practice, planning, and implementing the steps of their own social enterprise idea.
The participants’ interests remained undiminished throughout the seminar, and many questions were asked in both sections.
In the first part of the event, Mrs. Kanaki presented the terms, concepts, and values of social economy and entrepreneurship, emphasizing that the primary difference between a social and a private enterprise lies in its social mission, which encompasses the set of values it adopts to achieve social change and outcomes. At the same time, it has a dual goal: solving a social problem and making a profit. If the product remains at the concept stage and is not viable for purchase, it will not be sustainable. On the other hand, the goal of a social enterprise should not be to cover new positions but to define the appropriate business model.
Then, she mentioned good and meaningful examples of social enterprises in Greece and abroad, allowing the participants to process and analyze the contexts in which an idea can be transformed into a sustainable social enterprise.
The EMES European Research Network (http://emes.net/), specializing in social entrepreneurship, economy, and social participation, has addressed the concept of the ideal Social Enterprise in its publications. Among other things, it features multi-company, democratic decision-making, and profit distribution control, intending to achieve a greater social impact.
The second and central part of the event was dedicated to a workshop about creating a hypothetical social company. The participants, divided into subgroups and guided by Mrs. Kanakis and her colleagues, had the opportunity to design a social enterprise and apply what they had learned. Following six basic steps, they began to develop their own social initiative, addressing questions related to the first steps of creating a social enterprise through discussions and guidance from experienced mentors.
Due to limited time, Mrs. Kanaki focused more on the financial and management aspects of creating a company, as, according to her presentation, these are where the most significant sustainability difficulties of Greek Social Entrepreneurship are found.
In summary, the 6 basic steps of creating and operating a Social Company are:
- Brief description of the idea or service.
- Product Identification: features, competitors, specifics.
- Market identification: goal, target group, market entry barriers, and ways to solve them.
- Marketing Plan: “4 Ps” (Product, Place, Price, Promotion), The placement of the Company in the Market (depending on the product), and, based on this, price differentiation. How the Product is promoted and how it will be advertised.
- Administration & Organization: Description of its Operation, Who its people are (roles, responsibilities), What Facilities it has and needs.
- Financial Forecast: What the investments and operating costs are, what the time period needed to cover the expenses is, and what the Break-Even Point is.
Through the information portal for the actions of the Social Cooperative Enterprises of all of Greece, those interested can obtain important information on the subject: http://koinsep.org/
A big thank you to Mrs. Matina Kanaki, her partners, INNOVATHENS, and those who attended and participated in the seminar, asking interesting questions and once again contributing to the realization of our vision for the free dissemination of knowledge!
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