EMPOWER – Social Enterprises’ Sustainability Tools
Fostering the sustainability and scalability of new and existing social enterprises, and supporting young entrepreneurs.
Grant Agreement Number: 2021-1-BG01-KA220-YOU-000029024
Funded by: Erasmus+ Duration: 02/01/2022 – 02/01/2024
Challenge
Social economy is a growing reality in the economy and territory of the EU. It comprises 2.8 million enterprises and organisations in different forms – including cooperatives, mutual, social enterprises, associations and foundations – engaged in economic activity, representing 8% of GDP in the EU and 13.6 million workers, or 6% of employees in Europe. Given its importance and the breadth of its activities, Social Economy is a primary driver of innovative and enduring economic growth in Europe that is socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable. However, social enterprises’ sustainability and scalability are an ongoing challenge with several struggles. The challenges faced by social entrepreneurs revolve around conveying their business ideas, cross-sector collaboration, financing and crowdfunding, government policies, maintaining quality, impact evaluation, competitive forces, and acquiring the technology.
Innovation
The EMPOWER project aims to foster the sustainability and scalability of new and existing social enterprises, and support young entrepreneurs by developing new learning partnerships between the working arena and the world of youth provision. The project will offer the tools and training needed for young entrepreneurs to develop strategies for their social enterprises using modern and empirically validated tools and methods.