Social Entrepreneurship

On August 25, Minsk celebrated Red Nose Day for the second time, joining the global movement to commemorate the professional day of hospital clowns. In the Belarusian capital, the event was co-organized by the Funny Nose team, which took part in the Biz4all-2 social entrepreneurship training programme. Hospital clown Pavel Timoshuk explains: “In world practice, the celebrations are organized in urban areas in late May, but we decided to do it late summer, focusing on children who need the attention more than others

On August 18, Dymki creative space in the village of Mikhalova (Lahoisk district) hosted the Big Family Art Picnic. Hanna and Andrei Verbitsky, who took part in Biz4all-2 social entrepreneurship training programme, discuss why it is necessary to have a tight-knit local community and how locals can work together to build new values.

On August 11^th, "EcoLife"  Adult  and Children Leisure Centre hosted a family eco-picnic, having brought together several hundred guests and residents of Barauliany. "EcoLife"  was a part of the Biz4all social entrepreneurship training programme. While some people at the picnic were playing petanque, teenagers had fun with teachers of stage speech and acting, and children tried home-made cheese and bought fresh squeezed watermelon juice, we spoke to Aksana Bernatskaya, director of the Centre, about the motivation to organize free neighbourhood picnics, ways to help develop businesses and sources of inspiration.

Many people in Belarus start on their path in social entrepreneurship after they have worked in large business companies, which are centred around increasing income but lack something more important and profound. That is exactly what happened to Yuliana Sheuchik: one and a half years ago she quit her job in finance and switched to social entrepreneurship. Yuliana came to Biz4all programme to support an idea by another participant, psychologist Olga Makarevich. Olga opened the Centre for Effective Parenthood in Minsk.

On June 28, Minsk hosted the Second Social Business Forum in Belarus. The Forum brought together more than 150 participants, and Belarusian and European experts. The first part of the event was dedicated to impact investment in the European Union, Eastern Partnership countries and Belarus.

On June 29, IMAGURU hub in Minsk organized an inspirational meeting with social entrepreneurs from Denmark Ole Kassow and Pernile Bussone, founders of a social movement Cycling Without Age. The experts came to Belarus to speak at the Second Social Business Forum in Belarus, which was organized on June 28, and then held a separate meeting with cycling lovers of all ages within the framework of the EU-funded Social Entrepreneurship Incubator project.

One of the popular measures to support social entrepreneurship in the world and in Belarus is cooperation within the framework of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Businesses implement socially significant projects, taking into account social interests and aiming to ensure that their work has a positive social impact. The Second Social Business Forum in Belarus was held in Minsk to discuss global and national CSR practices.

On June 23, the conference hall of Tsmoki Minsk basketball club hosted the Grand Final of the Biz4all-2 social entrepreneurship training programme. The teams presented their projects by doing three-minute pitches in front of a professional jury, which included representatives of various foundations and support programmes, journalists and entrepreneurs from Belarus and Europe.

Biz4all social entrepreneurship training programme consists of online and offline training events. Online assignments help participants to learn the theory and get better at practical things, while offline events provide opportunities to meet experts, gain experience and constant useful communication. On May 5-6, during the second day of the offline session dedicated to crowdfunding, the teams got deeper and deeper into the ins and outs of money raising activities.

Crowdfunding is a way to test a business, whether it is social or not, and check if your product or service can find paying customers. Yet another offline training of the Biz4all-2 programme, held in Minsk on May 5-6, offered the teams a chance to learn from crowdfunding experts, and find out how to hold a successful campaign and why failing to raise the target amount is also a positive result.

Biz4all-2 training is part of the "Social Entrepreneurship Incubator” programme organized by ODB Brussels (Belgium) in partnership with TNU Network University (Netherlands) with financial support from the European Union.