On Wednesday, November 23rd, SciFY organized a seminar and workshop, this time on Social Entrepreneurship, at the INNOVATHENS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub of the Technopolis City of Athens.
For another month, representatives from the academic, research, and business sectors, students of various specializations, as well as people who want to create or participate in a social enterprise came to INNOVATHENS to attend the 15th SciFY Academy on “Work Socially | Social Impact: Take the first steps”.
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: the presentation by Mrs. Kanaki and a workshop, in which the participants themselves had the opportunity to apply the knowledge in practice, planning and implementing the steps of their own idea of a social enterprise.
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, underlining that the difference between a social and a private enterprise is its social mission, the set of values it carries in order to bring about a social change and outcome. At the same time, it has a dual goal: solving a social problem but also making a profit. If the product remains at the concept stage and is not buyable, 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 (EMES European Research Network http://emes.net/), specializing in social entrepreneurship, economy, and social participation, has dealt in its publications with the ideal Social Enterprise. Among other things, it has multi-company, democratic decision-making, and profit distribution control with the aim of greater social impact.
The second and main 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, solving questions related to the first steps of creating a social enterprise through the discussion and guidance of experienced mentors.
Due to limited time, Mrs. Kanaki focused more on the financial and management part of creating a company, as, according to her presentation, that’s where the greatest sustainability difficulties of Greek Social Entrepreneurship are found.
In summary, the six 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, 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 costs is, 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 diffusion of knowledge!
To stay informed about future SciFY Academy events, you can register here.
