As part of its new Count Me In programme, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland (SEI) is aiming to connect the corporate community with the best social entrepreneurs in Ireland to boost impact, revenue and engagement.
As part of its overall ambition, SEI supports the development of new solutions to Ireland’s most entrenched social problems by investing money, time and support in early stage social entrepreneurs who show serious ambition and who have ideas that have the potential to fundamentally change our approach to some of Ireland’s most pressing social problems.
In the space of 10 years, SEI has supported 179 social entrepreneurs, investing a total of €5.82m in their projects, which in turn has impacted over 290,000 people and created over 970 employment opportunities with some of their most highlighted examples being FoodCloud, Virtual Community College, Sensational Kids, GIY Ireland, Soar, Hireland, Irish Men’s Sheds.
Launching the campaign at this year’s International Women’s Day event hosted by Accenture in the Convention Centre Dublin, Lucy Masterson, head of development at SEI, said, “At Social Entrepreneurs Ireland we believe that to solve Ireland’s most pressing social and environmental problems we need better ideas and new solutions,” she says.
“These solutions are most effective when driven by social entrepreneurs – people who challenge the status quo, who have innovative solutions to some of the greatest social challenges we face and who adopt a highly entrepreneurial approach to igniting that social change.”
She continued, “When you add corporate skills, to the mix the results speak for themselves. There are many ways corporates can get involved by offering their time, skills, money, connections and space.”
Social entrepreneurship image via Shutterstock