Combat poverty and social exclusion:Setting up social enterprises:

Heike Birkhölzer, Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V. 23 November 2010, Brussels

Promoting co-operative territorial Economy

The aim of BEST is to develop a community economicstrategy for the neighbourhood, basically by implementingsocial enterprises

The approach is to create new additional jobs by setting upsocial enterprises, facilitated by the intermediary work ofBEST operating at local level, meeting local needs andusing local resources

Aims and approaches

Berlin Development Agency for Social Enterprises and NeighbourhoodEconomy – BEST

Mobilizing Method of analysis and action:

Support to carrying out...

• Deficit analyses / Development of an Ideas and -Resources Pool

• Resources analyses / local forums

• Feasibility studies / Installing founders‘ initiatives

• Social Enterprise (Business) Planning / Setting up of social and / or communityenterprises

What BEST is doing?

Professional Training of people setting up a social enterprises, managersand staff

1. mobilising people willing to set up a social enterprise in a local area / buildingsocial capital

2. build up working groups and structures (an organisational nucleus)3. set up social enterprises f. e. associations founded4. defining business fields and starting with business activities5. developing business fields and produce business plans6. Acquisition of contracts and capital7. Formalising social enterprises f.e. as community holdings

Steps to set up social enterprises

To set up a social enterprise works differently than to set uptraditional enterprises

Migrants and long-term jobless domestic people set up the social enterprise“Graefewirtschaft” because they want to be independent of welfare benefits

Long-term jobles Migrants from the borough of Berlin-Kreuzberg

Domestic long-term jobless people

Maria Mendoza de KrugEcuador

Jamilla AlsadiSyria

Remziye Bayram TTurkey

Rasima BasicBosnia

Vasuki SelvaratnamSri Lanka

Fatma KozakTurkey

Christina Pruß

Dirk Mahler

Fatma Kilci Turkey

Set up a new social enterprise owned by long-term jobless migrants and domestic joblesspeople in order to create new jobs and to be independent of welfare benefits

To reduce unemployment in the neighbourhood Strenghtening and supporting traditional migrants as acting as examples for the next

generation Combat prejudices Improvement of communication between different cultures and values of living and working in

Germany Promotion of vocational training and further training Reduction of language barriers

Strategic objectives of Graefewirtschaft e.V.

Graefewirtschaft has won an award because the association is committed tosustainable social and economic integration of migrants

Experts are supporting the members of Graefewirtschaft

7

Name: Anne LorenzQualifikation: MA Französisch-Germanistik Dipl. Sozialarbeit/Sozialpädagogik

Zertifikat für Lehrkräfte „Deutsch als Zweitsprache“Funktion: Leitung der Qualifizierung sozialpädagogische Betreuung Vorstand Graefewirtschaft e.V.

Name: Heike BirkhölzerQualifikation: Dipl. Ing. Stadt- und RegionalplanungFunktion: Managerin BEST, Berliner Entwicklungsagentur für

Soziale Unternehmen und Stadtteilökonomie Unternehmensberatung für soziale Unternehmen

Name: Annette JankowskiQualifikation: Kommunikationswissenschaften / BWL

Transaktionsanalyse und Systemische Beratung Langjährige Führungserfahrung in Unternehmen

Funktion: Unternehmensberaterin Vorstand Graefewirtschaft e.V.

Graefewirtschaft has developed three businesses

Catering Restaurant Sewing Workshop

Catering: prominent customers like politicians and non-governmentalorganisations are the most important clients

Catering

Offers of Graefewirtschaft

Intercultural Catering of traditional meals from countriesof origin

Healthy meals for the neighbourhood Meals provided at conferences, events etc

The restaurant: „Die Weltküche“ offers traditional dishes from all over theworld

Restaurant

Graefewirtschaft in the neighbourhood

Lunch and dinner of traditional recipes Social committment and inclusion within the

neighbourhood Communication between cultures, information on

recipes and traditions of cooking and eating

The sewing workshop: production of bags and changeing and tailoring forthe neighbourhood

Sewing workshop

Orders and support of social organisations Traditional handicrafts from countries of origins Tailoring and changeing clothes and other textiles by

orders (small batch production)

Offers of Graefewirtschaft

Manageing and training together in a democratic structure

Management & Qualifizierung

Training on the job Support by experts / Interim management Accompaniment by BEST

BoardGraefewirtschaft e.V.

Remziye BayramChristina Pruß

UG Die Weltküche (Ltd)Direction

Annette Jankowski

Enterprise DevelopmentHeike Birkhölzer

(BEST)

Fatma KozakRasima Basic

Fatma KilciRemziye Bayram

Maria Mendoza de KrugChristina Pruß

Jakob LingscheidBushra Hussain

Chef de cuisineMaria Mendoza de Krug

Management of serviceRemziye Bayram

Sewing workshop directionJamilla AlSadi

Anne LorenzJamilla AlSadi

Vaskuy Salvaratnam

Management of CateringChristina Pruß

TrainingAnne Lorenz

Head of officeAnnette Jankowski

Book- keeping and accountigUlrike Siedel

Management Board (meeting weekly)

Workers assembly (meeting monthly)

AGM (Annual General Meeting)

Weitere Mitarbeiter:Lukas Pruß

Leonie Fischer

Organisational structures

Conclusions

Setting up social enterprises: a successful strategy to combat poverty andsocial exclusion

•National and regional authorities have a key role in supporting the Social Economy: Financial support for the provision of support, consultation and training for social enterprises

•Visibility of the social economy has to be enhanced

•Labour market measures are not adapted to the needs of social enterprises

•Public procurement should be opened up for social enterprises

•The public sector should support founders’ initiatives in acquiring premises and seed capital

Heike Birkhölzer

Technologie-Netzwerk Berlin e.V.Wiesenstraße 29

13357 BerlinTel: 0049 30 46988227best@technet-berlin.de

www.soziale-oekonomie.dewww.technet-berlin.de