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After a review of the Slush in Helsinki – here is the promised Link to the YouTube channel of the festival – as well as the Ultimate Demo Day of the UnternehmerTUM, we dedicate ourselves to the main topic of the episode: Social Entrepreneurship. To get you in the mood (from minute 2:50) we provide some figures on the social commitment of Germans. According to the GfK German citizens donated a total of over 5.4 billion euros to charitable causes last year. A full 20 percent of these donations were made in December 2020 alone. In addition, around 30 million German citizens volunteer.
Social startups are at least partially opposed to this: Even though their primary focus is on the social impact of their business activities, they also pursue the goal of generating profits. This, however, has the advantage that social startups are not dependent on donations like many foundations. However, some social entrepreneurs are content with their startup's revenues covering their running costs.
Coffee and cake for a good cause
The first startup we will introduce in this episode is Bean United (from minute 4:10). The company, founded in 2018 by twin brothers Philipp and Thomas Greulich, sells fair-trade coffee from Guatemala, Brazil, and India. It is refined in a factory in Bavaria. The Munich-based company, together with Welthungerhilfe, uses the proceeds to finance school meals in Burundi. Since its founding, Bean United has provided over 650,000 meals.
Hey is all about coffee and other snacks like pastries or ice cream. The startup allows customers in cafés, bakeries, ice cream parlors, and other participating businesses to easily treat others. Hey wants to bring people closer together in their local area and make the world a little more mindful and loving. The Munich-based company also operates "Momo Listens," a listening room where guests can talk about their concerns without comments or judgments. We explain exactly how both concepts work starting at minute 5:55.
Equal opportunities and diversity
A completely different form of social engagement is offered by Volunteer Vision (from minute 8:00). With their software-as-a-service solution for digital mentoring, the startup's founders offer online courses on topics such as careers, training, and leadership. They use this to support, among others, refugees seeking language sponsorships or studying, young people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds with career guidance, and people with disabilities entering the workforce. With funding from Bonventure, the startup, founded in 2016, has now grown to around 25 employees.
The topics of diversity, variety and inclusion are Working Between CulturesThe company, founded by Maria Prahl and Eliza Skowron, offers training, workshops, consulting, and coaching that teach skills in dealing with diversity. They want to enable people to showcase their potential and abilities regardless of their background or other personality traits. You can hear more about the services and history of the startup, founded in 2012, starting at minute 10:00.
The social entrepreneurship ecosystem
To conclude this episode, starting at minute 11:50, we take a look at the network that has formed in Munich around social entrepreneurship. We will introduce you to the Social Entrepreneurship Academy, the Impact Hub Munich, the investor Bonventure, as well as the network organizations Social Entrepreneurship Network Germany and Ashoka shortly before.
