Creating our tomorrow!

I remember the moment very well. It was October 2014, at a conference in The Netherlands, that I finally acted upon a feeling that had been growing stronger over the years. The feeling of wanting to contribute something to the world. I made the decision to dedicate the rest of my life to making a difference in the world. I had no idea how I would be able to add value or how to do it. Nor if I would be able to making a living out of it. Acting on my decision was made a lot easier as I lost my job the month after. At first I started looking for a new job, but 'jobs with a purpose' seemed to be very hard to come by, so I decided to take the plunge and start my own company Social Enterprise Solutions, focusing on the growing space of “doing good through business”.

I firmly believe that today’s social and environmental challenges are too great to leave to governments or charities to solve. Business has a crucial role to play here and the businesses of tomorrow will be businesses that are set up or primarily strive to solve world problems in an efficient and financially sustainable way.

Struggling

It took me some time to get a clear picture of where I could and wanted to add value. Especially the first year was tough! The initial strong decline in income (and subconsciously in status and self-esteem) vs the previous relatively comfortable life working in Hong Kong was hard to manage. I was struggling explaining to friends, family and network what it was that I was doing, isn’t that what we often define people by in our society? Think about it, the first question you typically get asked at a birthday party is “what do you do for a living’?

Scaling social enterprise internationally

So knowing that I wanted to do something in social enterprise, where could I add value, what realistically could I contribute? Again, this took a bit of time of figure out. I started based on what I loved doing which is commerce, developing new business and growing existing business. Dealing with different people from different cultures. So I decided that whatever I wanted to do in social enterprise needed to have an international and commercial element.

I decided that “the international scaling of social enterprise” would be my niche. Here I could combine my international business development background and a practical mindset with my conscience.

There’s a clear case and need for social enterprise to scale internationally. Businesses that have social and/or environmental impact at its core, should strive to realize maximum scale of this impact. One cannot do that in The Netherlands alone and although we see some social enterprises expanding overseas there are limited examples of international scaling, and even fewer successful case studies. It seems that social enterprises are still looking at traditional entry modes (e.g. by wasting a lot of money going in by themselves) rather than looking at various forms of collaboration. At the same time, social entrepreneurs seem to be suffering from a sort of “heropreneurship”. The credo ‘don’t scale your organization, scale your impact’, does not yet to be widely shared.

Social Enterprise World Forum 2017 in Christchurch

So to strengthen my international network and keep up to date with international social enterprise developments, I decided to make the investment and book a flight to New Zealand for the Social Enterprise World Forum 2017 in Christchurch held last week. And what a trip it was! It was worth every euro (or New Zealand dollar??)..

The theme of the conference was “Ka koroki te manu – Creating our tomorrow”. Check the closing video! I was impressed by the positive spirit the host city Christchurch showcased. In her keynote, its mayor stated that the earthquake that devastated the city in February 2011, helped her to see again what was important in life and it created a sense of purpose for the people of Christchurch to rebuild their tomorrow. She encouraged the crowd that none needs to wait for disaster to occur for that. Christchurch is now being rebuild in a city of opportunity where anything is possible.

Where are the Dutch?

One of the first things I noticed is that my countrymen were notably absent from the conversation this year. Admittedly it’s a distance to travel, but one would expect a higher involvement at an important conference like this. As Scotland will be the host for SEWF2018, this will be a new opportunity for the Dutch #socent sector to engage and to learn from international best practices. Fortunately as the Dutch can be found anywhere in the world, I did meet a few inspiring Dutch people who moved permanently to New Zealand.

Life Boat NZ

For example I met Richard and Monique, two driven social entrepreneurs from The Lifeboat NZ who left The Netherlands for a new future in New Zealand. They are out on a mission to increase social contact and helping people who have gone through their free-fall. They do that via enterprising, selling delicious Dutch stroopwaffles and coffee. Their goal is to establish throughout New Zealand more Lifeboats for people who need a way back in life with a viable business so they can spread their light to others. Their first lifeboat is in Greymouth (on NZ West Coast) and for their expansion they intend to raise money via crowdfunding.

Gaining momentum

The worldwide social enterprise community is gaining momentum. At SEWF, nearly 1600 people came together from 45+ countries to create our tomorrow. 

The sector in NZ is also growing rapidly. The Kiwis saw the significant value that social enterprise can bring, as early as 2014, with a position statement issued. This helped unlock additional funding and as a result of this, a support system for social enterprise development was set up. New Zealand also has legal structures for a social enterprise. Agencies working with social enterprises even held a two-day ‘retreat earlier this year to look at the support being offered to social enterprises. Lastly, judging from the SEWF presence of the impact investment community there’s a growing interest and appetite for investing in social enterprise.

Rather than the seemingly everlasting discussions about the exact definition of social enterprise, it was refreshing that the conference focused on what it was that as a sector we were trying to achieve. The consensus was that common vision, values and passion that is shared are much more important than the definition.

Pitch Olympics

I was fortunate to be selected by Akina Foundation to pitch the Dutch social enterprise and impact investment platform Lendahand. Following the pitch, there was plenty of opportunity to meet investors from New Zealand and beyond, whom showcased significant interest.

To conclude: I feel blessed and excited to be part of the worldwide social enterprise community. It is extremely inspiring to interact with passionate and likeminded people, I feel reenergized and dedicated to continue the work on scaling social enterprise internationally. Thanks SEWF2017 organisers for the wonderful conference and see you in Scotland next year!