5 discussions in 5 different cities: ”You and social entrepreneurship-is it necessary?”

During September Ministry of Welfare of the Republic of Latvia in cooperation with the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia organized discussions in 5 different cities of Latvia with the title: ”You and social entrepreneurship-is it necessary”. Discussions took place in Liepaja, Valmiera, Daugavpils, Jelgava and started at the beginning of September and were finalized with the event in Riga on September 26th.

During the events, participants had the chance to learn what social entrepreneurship is and what it is not, what is the up-to-date situation and statistics in the social entrepreneurship field in Latvia, what benefits are provided with the implementation of the relatively new Social Entrepreneurship law. Moreover, specialists and field practitioners informed how to obtain the status of a social enterprise, and what are the most popular mistakes that entrepreneurs commit in their attempts to qualify for such status.

What is more, representative of the Development finance institution Altum informed about the conditions that have to be met in order to qualify for the grant, shared tips on how to successfully create grant applications as well as what are the most common mistakes when writing the grant applications.

In each discussion event, there was also a field practitioner – a successful social entrepreneur who shared the every-day specifics of the business told about the most notable challenges that they face as well as opportunities that social entrepreneurship provides. Discussions were moderated by the director of the Social Entrepreneurship Association of Latvia Liene Reine-Miteva, and participants not only had a chance to listen to experienced entrepreneurs and specialists but also were engaged in a practical-creative workshop.