Since 2018, the DSEM about the German social entrepreneurship ecosystem. The monitor aims to provide decision-makers from politics, business, and civil society with a basis for supporting social enterprises. In addition to conventional metrics such as organizational size and revenue, the DSEM collects specific data relevant to the ecosystem. These include, for example, data on non-profit status or the number of volunteers.
More than every second DSEM social enterprise was (co-)founded by women
The 5th DSEM 2024 demonstrates the enormous potential of social enterprises: They operate in all sectors, particularly in education, health, and social services. More than 75 percent of the companies offer products or services for or with specific target groups. These often particularly target children and young people, people with a migrant background, women, and people living in poverty. Furthermore, over 90 percent of social enterprises rely on solutions that address several of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on social and environmental sustainability.
In addition, the social enterprises surveyed are:
- Established: More than a third (35 percent) have been active with their company for more than a decade.
- Impact-oriented: More than half (62 percent) already measure their impact today in order to make informed decisions, and a further 29.2 percent plan to measure their impact in the future.
- Female: More than every second DSEM social enterprise was (co-)founded by women.
- Environmentally conscious: Ecological responsibility in the supply chain plays an important to very important role for the vast majority (76.0 percent), and 58.4 percent also address ecological development goals in their business model.
- Digital: Artificial intelligence and machine learning are by far the most relevant technologies in your business model.
Financing for social enterprises remains challenging
Financing remains the biggest challenge. More than half of social enterprises report that appropriate public support systems are still lacking and that the allocation of public funds is often difficult to understand. Furthermore, 57 percent of DSEM social enterprises would like politicians to better understand their needs. These include:
- Needs-based financing instruments that address systemic injustice and address the needs of social enterprises, regardless of their market participation or legal form.
- Creation of an ambitious Social Impact Fund, fed from dormant bank accounts and with a clear market development mandate, that mobilizes capital from various sectors without burdening the federal budget.
- Structural anchoring in the Federal Government through the creation of special departments in the BMWK and BMBF, as well as cross-departmental management rounds between different ministries in order to effectively promote social entrepreneurship and to anchor the measures of the National Strategy in law.
