Social Enterprise Networks: My Six Insights From the Social Enterprise World Forum 2019

Social Change Central
Nov 3 · 5 min read

What does it take to create and maintain happy,
functional networks of social entrepreneurs and enterprises? You know, groups
of amazing change makers who feel that supporting each other through grassroots
organising is just as important as the impact they’re aiming to achieve in the
world. In my current role as QSEC’s Chair the task of creating something
meaningful and useful for time-poor members has often kept me awake at night.

So it was with overwhelming joy that this year’s
program at SEWF2019 included a session on networks. The mini-plenary titled Social
Enterprise Networks — connecting entrepreneurs, supporting leaders and driving
a global movement”
, was chaired by none other than the fearless and
loving Chair of SENVIC,
Cinnamon Evans, and included Atayam Simineh (Social Enterprise Ethiopia), Peter
Oloo (Social Enterprise Society of Kenya), and Lalith Welamedage (Lanka
Ventures). Here are my takeaways from the session, and from spending quality
time with my peers for over a week in Ethiopia.

Developing country or not, we all desire the same outcomes.

Kenya, Ethiopia and Sri Lanka were represented
on the mini plenary, and it became clear that for these new networks in
developing countries huge barriers had to be overcome to gain traction and
support. However, while the drivers for success may have been different,
comparing their desired outcomes with developed countries revealed that we all
want very similar outcomes when communicating our value proposition to members:

  • Providing peers with opportunities
    for connection and a sense of belonging;
  • Influencing policy and strategic
    support through a collective voice up and out;
  • Varying degrees of strategic
    business and financial support;
  • Diversity of enterprises and
    inclusive systems of governance.

We need investment!

There’s also a broad consensus that ecosystem
building needs investment. It concerned me that Kubrit from SE Ethiopia openly
dismissed the idea that his government would ever fund their network. If we’re
really wanting broad system change in the face of rising inequity and the
climate emergency, then we need philanthropy, governments and impact investors
to step up and provide the infrastructure for entrepreneurs to flourish.
Investors are yet to realise fully that this critical piece creates in real
terms a huge multiplier effect in impact and financial returns.

In Queensland, we’ve been very lucky to have
support from Brisbane City Council in accelerator program, State Government funding for QSEC, and
ecosystem building financial support from the English
Family Foundation
. These have been critical pieces of development in
our local context.

A new network can be started by anyone!

The good news is that there’s no rules to
starting a network of peers. You just find a fellow friendly SE and organise a
gathering. Even a successful blogger in Kenya co-founded a social enterprise
network. Ethiopia’s SEN started with a group of invited entrepreneurs to last
year’s SEWF, who were initially unknown to each other.

But let’s not beat around the bush. Initiators
are usually A-types with big personalities or a driven agenda (for good of
course!), but this can disaffect the quiet ones who want deeper connection and
peer support. My favourite example is South Australia’s approach. Sharon
Zivkovic
does all the facilitating and connecting, but never plays a
front facing role — she finds the passionate ones and creates a platform for
their voices to be heard.

If we’re going to change the world together, we
need to make the tent big enough and methods of collaborating participatory (ie
less reliance on heropreneurs, more collective action) to invite broad
acceptance.

Indigenous-owned businesses ARE social enterprises — full stop.

During the conference, I was lucky enough to
spend quite a bit of time with Bianca Stawiarski from Warida Wholistic
Wellness
, and everything she said about indigenous business
reflected the same conversations I’ve been having with Gaala Watson from Bimbi Love.
It’s usually 100% the case that indigenous-owned businesses by default benefit
their own community.

They don’t need special clauses in their
constitutions, a ‘definition’ of social enterprise, or other legal models. They
do it because it’s in their DNA to do so. This insight has made me reflect on
my own loved ones and local community, and to what extent my success is
benefiting those around me.

Let’s go global!

Yes, we are all at various stages in our journey
as networks, but that’s no excuse not to reach out to our international
brothers, sisters and non-binary friends. Atayam was super excited about the
prospect of starting a global network, and later a few of my peers started
conspiring to find ways to level the playing field for those in less fortunate
political and economic contexts. Imagine a global network of networks all
meeting face to face once a year as a parallel event to SEWF!

Making time to connect face to face is really important and needs to be funded.

Using technology to connect is great and can
save on carbon emissions. But I think most of my colleagues would agree that
making the time to connect face to face is really important to build and
maintain the movement. I felt this strongly at this year’s Unconference
QSEC
held on the Sunshine Coast, and it was confirmed again at
SEWF19.

Spending a lot of time with each other,
relationship building, being vulnerable, admitting defeat and celebrating
success — in a nutshell, building solidarity, creates deep trust networks and a
richness in our relationships. Having fun together is just as important as
working on our movement and enterprises.

So there you have it: universal desires, lean start up, indigenous knowledges, global reach, and face to face connection.

Being immersed in the Forum last week, along with evening social events put us in a special little bubble (called the UNECA in Addis Ababa). It allowed pockets of time for spontaneous conversations with each other, and to commiserate over upset tummies. Gastro aside, I’m not sure if it was the communal sharing of a delicious plate of injera (and bottles of St George beer) that helped, but I felt a much deeper connection to my peers, and a real sense of solidarity and excitement for our collective future. And lots of new friends — you can never have enough new friends!

NB: I’d like to thank donors to the SEWF2019 Bursary fund for the opportunity to attend, learn and shape our future together.


Emma-Kate Rose is a mother, community advocate and social entrepreneur from Brisbane, Australia. She currently leads Food Connect, a social enterprise which has led the way in transforming the local food system, using principles of ecological agriculture and engaging ethically with family farms and local communities for over 14 years. Food Connect has open-sourced its model across Australia and New Zealand, and last year, led an equity crowdfunding campaign to raise over $2million to buy its own warehouse along with 500 careholders. Emma-Kate is one of four Fellows of the Yunus Centre for Social Business at Griffith University. Now in her second year as Chair of Queensland Social Enterprise Council, she has helped secure philanthropic and government funding to coordinate a sector-wide strategy to scale impact across Queensland.

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