Consulting and support for social enterprise in Canada

Category: Socent News (Page 1 of 3)

Small Business: It is where we work.

Statistics Canada reports that small businesses (1-19 employees) employ 10.3 million people, representing 63.8% of the total Canadian workforce. (2022 data)

Let that sink in.

Employing more than 3 in 5 Canadians, small businesses are the source of tax revenue, a wide array of products and services, and provide the majority of employment opportunities in the country. Social enterprises are almost all small businesses. They are part of the ballast and sails that keeps our economy—our country—upright and in motion.   

For comparison, businesses with over 100 employees only employ 15.1% of the workforce.

Interestingly, there is a keen desire in Canada to be entrepreneurial. According to a 2021 report, half of all Canadians believed they have the skills to start their own business, and a full 23% claimed to have plans to do so. Moreover, Canada has the largest number of early stage entrepreneurs (those with businesses less than 42 months old) per capita than any of the G7 nations, including the US.

Of new businesses started in 2021 in Canada, 58% were started by people aged 34 or younger and 52% offered consumer-oriented products or services.

These statistics are interesting in that they paint a picture of many young Canadians choosing to start their own business. There seems to be an understanding that entrepreneurship offers an opportunity for employment and a meaningful livelihood, even if running a business is difficult.

Another interesting fact about businesses started in 2021: 76% of the entrepreneurs report that their product or service was not new (although it might be new to their geographic region).

Again, pause for a moment to reflect on that.

Most new businesses are NOT innovative, they are simply providing a product or service that consumers already know and which those same consumers are (presumably) willing to buy.

What is the message for social entrepreneurs? First, you are in good company, as you are part of the majority of workers in the country. Second, you are competing with all those other small businesses trying to create and meet demand. Third, you don’t need to create something innovative to create revenue for your mission.

As we start 2025, one can only assume that 2021/22 data will change, given the changing economic and political landscape. However, the findings from the days of early economic recovery suggests (post-pandemic) that more and more young people are looking to take control of their work lives as entrepreneurs, and possibly infuse their personal social mission into their vocation.

We, as Canadians and the governments we elect, need to support this growing desire to build the foundation of our economy with small businesses that seek deliberately to improve the society we live in through their commercial activities.

Municipal Partnership

Rather than writing a post outlining the ways municipal governments can support positive social change, I defer to my colleague Shaun Loney. Shaun is a social enterprise leader in Canada and has drafted an opinion piece in the Winnipeg Free Press that lays out concrete and cost-effective ways to improve the lives of the citizens of Winnipeg.

His observations and recommendations should be considered by all local governments.

Social Enterprise Job Opportunity in Ottawa

OREC (the Ottawa Renewable Energy Cooperative) is seeking to hire a part-time Communications Manager to support the day-to-day operations, member and investor relations, and public-facing communications of the co-operative.

You can see a full job posting on their website, here: https://www.orec.ca/careers/

Applications for this position are to be submitted by December 7, 2021.

Plastic Bricks. Of course.

Every once and a while a story crosses our desk that makes us wonder why nobody had done that sooner.

Nzambi Matee is a social entrepreneur in Kenya who is making construction-grade bricks out of plastic that are purportedly 7 times stronger than concrete.

We always hear that plastics take generations to decompose and break down, and yet few of us might have asked ourselves the question: “In what circumstances do we specifically need something that will never deteriorate?”

The answer is blindingly obvious: buildings, walls and walkways.

We celebrate the longevity of Roman roads, medieval castles, the pyramids, Angkor Wat, and the crypts beneath Paris’s streets. We have been (over) building with concrete for decades to create edifices–from dams to skycrapers–that we hope will stand the test of time.

At the same time we are producing plastic waste that is clogging our waterways and burdening our landfills.

Matee is an engineer who has designed a heat and pressure process to combine plastic waste (of various grades) with sand to create strong and colorful building bricks. A sort of lifesize Lego. She designed and built the machines necessary, and since 2017 her company, Gjenge Makers, has repurposed 20 tons of plastic waste. The factory now creates 1500 bricks a day.

The social benefit of Matee’s work goes beyond environmental sustainability. She is also proactively creating employment for women and youth in Nairobi, including jobs for “pickers” who are often facing significant barriers to employment. Click here for more information, and to view a video celebrating this incredible business venture.

Social Delta celebrates the social entrepreneurs like Nzambi Matee who take equal parts dissatisfaction, conviction, ingenuity, skill and savvy to solve a social problem and meet a market need at the same time.

We are inspired. We hope you are too.

Dutch Social Enterprises: Leading by Example

In the Netherlands there is a national organization dedicated to promoting and supporting social enterprise.

They recently released a report that documents how leading social enterprises in their country are affecting the way business is done. Those social enterprises, by doing business the right way, are leading by example.

I particularly like their analysis which indicates that social enterprise can effect change in three ways:

  • Raising the possible are the activities that show how business can be done responsibly, so that other businesses can choose to adopt those sustainable practices as well.
  • Raising the desirable are the activities that change norms and values in society and increase cultural pressures, which motivates executives to act sustainably.
  • Raising the acceptable are the activities that contribute to higher institutionalized, formal standards, so that it becomes unacceptable not to adopt more sustainable practices.

To paraphrase, social enterprises can show what is can be done, they can challenge existing business practices and they can actually set the bar higher for other businesses to emulate.

The report is full of excellent resources, ideas, and indications of what success looks like for any social enterprise. It offers an aspiration view for social entrepreneurs wishing to grow their social impact.

Social Delta recommends it as inspirational (yet practical) reading. Download it or read it online for free here.

Rock Camp for Girls+ online

Girls+ Rock Ottawa is fueling creativity and community during uncertain times. Social Delta loves what they do, and strongly encourage girls and gender diverse individuals aged thirteen to eighteen to apply for the flagship Rock Camp for Girls+ program online.

In this exciting new digital format, campers will be able to learn their instrument through online learning modules and weekly interactive group video sessions with local music teachers. Camp participants will write an original solo and film their performance, which will be shared at a live virtual showcase. 

The virtual camp will run over the course of eight weeks, from October 7 to November 26, 2020, and is open to No musical experience is required and instruments will be provided to participants who need them. 

Registration is now open and more information about this new Rock Camp for Girls+ format is available on the Girls+ Rock Ottawa website. Special thanks to the Ottawa Community Foundation for their support of this year’s brand-new Rock Camp format and to MusiCounts for providing our instruments to help us keep music accessible. 

About Girls+ Rock Ottawa
Girls+ Rock Ottawa is a volunteer-run community organization that provides music-based programming to foster empowerment, inclusivity and community to girls, women, and gender diverse individuals – all while having fun. The organization also hosts monthly jam sessions where girls can access studio space to practice and hosts a variety of workshops about different aspects of the music industry and creative skills where girls can organize a music show while gaining project management, communications and financial literacy skills.

Get your Ottawa Social Enterprise on the map!

CSED invites Ottawa area social enterprises to take part in the 2020 Spotlight survey! The survey is being conducted to develop an economic and social profile of Ottawa’s social enterprise (SE) sector as a way to build community awareness, understanding and support.

Who this survey is for
The survey is open to Ottawa area social enterprises operated by charities, nonprofits, co-ops and for-profits (with a clearly defined social mission). Aspiring social entrepreneurs who are in the process of starting a social enterprise are also invited to complete the survey.

Why this survey is important
Your participation will help create a collective and common understanding of Ottawa’s social enterprise sector and its impact, and help shine a spotlight on the products and services that are available.

How the information will be used
An aggregate profile will be shared with social enterprises, governments, funders and others to enhance understanding of the sector and inform future support and investment activities. As a way of complimenting their own promotional activities, SEs that complete the survey can also choose to include their products and services in a new business directory that will be launched on CSED’s website.

Complete the survey for your chance to win!
All surveys completed by Friday, September 18th will be entered to win one of three free passes to Unleashed 2020, CSED’s annual social enterprise conference being held on November 19, 2020. The winning names will be drawn randomly and announced in the September issue of SE Connections.

If you have any questions about the survey or need help, please contact: [email protected].

Click HERE to begin the survey!

Ottawa Tool Library: online store now offers tools for sale at great prices

The Ottawa Tool Library (OTL) has just opened an online webstore to sell high quality, tested used tools and surplus “nearly new” inventory from corporate partners.

During the COVID pandemic, it appears that more and more homeowners, apartment dwellers, and others are becoming avid do-it-yourselfers. If that sounds like you, then you should at least take a look at the selection of tools that are for sale through the OTL webstore.

Perhaps you are in the market to buy a push lawnmower, a set of saws, a drill, or some other tool that you’d like to have at the ready whenever you need it.

Visit the new store and take a look at the fantastic deals they are offering on quality, tested used tools. Tell your friends. The inventory is updated regularly, so check back often.

Every dollar earned through the webstore supports the mission of the Ottawa Tool Library (and their parent non profit, the Society for Social Ingenuity). The organization offers programs and activities that provide affordable access to tools; promote self-sufficiency, reuse, and repair; and reduce our collective impact on the environment.

The OTL, of course, loans tools to all who want to become a member. They offer unlimited borrowing of almost any tool you can think of for an annual individual membership of $200. (there are, monthly, family and student rates as well) Click here for more information on membership options.

Job Opportunity

An established Ottawa social enterprise is looking for a Business Manager: Apply by May 31/2019

The Community Laundry Co-op (CLC) is looking for a Business manager to handle the operations of the social enterprise. The Community Laundry Co-op is a charitable co-operative that provides accessible and affordable self-service laundry facilities for low-income and isolated people in Ottawa.

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