{"id":14324,"date":"2024-07-31T16:04:35","date_gmt":"2024-07-31T13:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaturidevoi.ro\/?p=14324"},"modified":"2024-12-14T17:31:46","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T15:31:46","slug":"connecting-purpose-with-profit-highlights-from-the-social-enterprise-b2b-networking-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaturidevoi.ro\/en\/connecting-purpose-with-profit-highlights-from-the-social-enterprise-b2b-networking-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting Purpose with Profit: Highlights from the Social Enterprise B2B Scale-up Event"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scale-up event: BUYSOCIAL & BUY WISEly, July 30, 2024<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event, held Ia\u0219i, Romania, was jointly organized by ADV Romania<\/a>, RISE Romania<\/a>, and the Ia\u0219i Chamber of Commerce and Industry,<\/a> within the Buy WISEly <\/a>and BuySocial projects.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim was to connect mainstream businesses with social enterprises<\/strong> and foster partnerships between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key Activities and Presentations:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Angela Achi\u021bei (President of ADV Romania):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Presented insights from the national BuySocial campaign.<\/li>
  • Highlighted the challenges faced by social enterprises in meeting the requirements of large retailers like Kaufland.<\/li>
  • Emphasized the importance of social procurement as a long-term tool to reduce disparities and the need for a vision to implement such policies.<\/li>
  • Discussed the barriers social enterprises face, such as complex due diligence processes, cash flow issues that can arise when partnering with retailers that have high demand, and high resource requirements for listing with large retailers.<\/li>
  • Noted the potential for social enterprises to access markets through mainstream companies\u2019 marketplaces and the importance of direct procurement from social enterprises by companies.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    Angela Achi\u021bei, president of ADV Romania, presented insights from the national BuySocial campaign.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Sorin Gheorghiu (Director at Chamber of Commerce of Ia\u0219i):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • Provided insights on the local economy, highlighting its steady growth in recent years.<\/li>
    • Discussed the relationship between local economic growth and businesses’ interest in the social economy. Emphasized that local economic growth directly correlates with increased interest in social economy initiatives.<\/li>
    • Stressed the importance of educating entrepreneurs about social enterprises and expressed support for bringing social enterprises’ cases to the business community.<\/li>
    • Highlighted that local businesses are showing increased interest in contributing to society by giving back to their communities. This represents a slow but promising shift from a solely profit-focused approach to one that also considers social impact.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"
      Sorin Gheorghiu, Director at Chamber of Commerce of Ia\u0219i provided insights into the local economic landscape and stressed the importance of educating entrepreneurs about social enterprises <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Ana Hannotte (Project Officer from ENSIE):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Shared key insights from the Buy WISEly project, focusing on successful collaborations between social enterprises and mainstream companies in Europe.<\/li>
      • Highlighted the importance of mutual efforts from both social enterprises and mainstream businesses to foster effective partnerships.<\/li>
      • Presented examples of successful collaborations, such as between a digital services social enterprise and Deloitte in the Netherlands, and between Atelierul de Punza and IKEA in Romania.<\/li>
      • Emphasized the need for mainstream businesses to take an active role in seeking collaborations with social enterprises to achieve social impact.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
        \"\"
        Ana Hannotte, project Officer from ENSIE gave an inspiring presentation on best practices of collaborations between WISEs and mainstream businesses and provided very useful resourcses produced within the Buy WISEly project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

        Discussion and Q&A Session:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
        • Participants shared their experiences and challenges, such as the misconception that social enterprises should offer cheap products.<\/li>
        • Emphasized the need for continuous education and awareness to overcome barriers and build effective collaborations.<\/li>
        • Highlighted the importance of academia’s involvement in raising awareness about social enterprises.<\/li>
        • Mainstream businesses already collaborating with social enterprises shared their satisfaction with the quality and customization of products, such as locally made workwear.<\/li>
        • Companies new to working with social enterprises found the event eye-opening and appreciated the networking opportunities.<\/li>
        • Insights included the challenge of changing the perception that social enterprises produce low-quality or low-cost goods and the importance of direct, sustained engagement to build understanding and support.<\/li>
        • <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          Tour of ADV Romania’s Social Enterprises:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          The event concluded with a tour of the social enterprises developed by ADV Romania, including WISE.Travel and Job Direct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n