Citibank Europe plc,
Organisational Unit
March 31, 2011
Record Rise in the Number of Candidates for Social Entrepreneurship Support
Record number of 27 civil society organisations submitted their applications to the NESsT – Citi Social Enterprise Competition in the Czech Republic where social enterprises present their business ideas.
PRAGUE – Another year of NESsT – Citi Social Enterprise Competition educational programme funded by Citi Foundation and aimed at social enterprise development is about to start in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia simultaneously. The aim is to provide enterprise development support to 10 selected non-profit organisations in each country. Three best organisations in the programme will then be awarded financial support in the amount of USD 10,000.
“As 2011 is the European Year of Volunteering, we would like to strengthen our support for NESsT. Therefore we are encouraging Citi employees to volunteer in selected projects. We know through feedback from the non-profit organizations taking part in this program, how much they appreciate the professional advice and support they receive from from Citi volunteers,” says Branislav Cehlárik, Citibank plc Public Affairs Officer for the Czech and Slovak Republics.
A wide range of ideas were represented among the record number of applications this year, including enterprise concepts aimed at finding innovative solutions to help people with mental or physical disabilities, marginalized communities as well as youth at-risk. There were also striking concepts promoting environmental protection, civic participation and human rights.
“We are glad to witness this continued high interest among non-profit organisations in our program. This year, we not only saw an increase in the number of applications, but also a marked shift towards more developed social enterprise concepts. We see an increasing number of organizations turning to social enterprise as a solution to critical social problems, such as unemployment or marginalization, as well as a sustainable funding opportunity”, said Roxana Damaschin, Enterprise Development Director for NESsT Europe.
In Czech Republic, the USD 10,000 award in 2009 went to Pohoda Association from Prague for a high-impact training agency that offers high-quality training to social workers, government officials and families of people with mental disabilities with the aim to improve interaction, communication, and ultimately the integration of disabled people into society. The award has been helping to implement social enterprise which promises to be a sustainable business while also bringing significant social impact and raising awareness of the issue of disabilities.
“NESsT - Citi Social Enterprise Competition educational programme and financial support has helped us strengthen and expand our know-how to launch and run our social enterprise. Thanks to NESsT, we were able to improve especially our financial management systems and marketing skills in which as social workers, we felt considerably behind,” adds Petr Eisner, manager of the educational agency of the winner Pohoda Association.
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About Citi Foundation
Citi Foundation aims at strengthening economic capabilities of individuals and their families, especially those in need, in communities where we work in order to help improve living standards. Globally, Citi Foundation is particularly interested in the following strategic areas: microfinance and micro-entrepreneurship, small and emerging businesses, education and financial capability. Citi Foundation closely cooperates with its partners from the area of microfinance, micro-entrepreneurship and small and emerging businesses to develop environmental protection programmes and innovations. For more information visit www.citifoundation.com
About NESsT
Non-profit organization NESsT works to solve critical social problems in emerging market countries by developing and supporting social enterprises that strengthen civil society organizations’ financial sustainability and maximize their social impact. Since its founding in Budapest in 1997, NESsT has provided financial and business mentoring support to hundreds of social enterprises in 40 countries. NESsT currently operates in ten countries: Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Peru and has offices in Budapest (Hungary), Santiago (Chile), Lima (Peru) and California (USA). For more information visit www.nesst.org
Social Enterpreneurship
Social entrepreneurship seeks though independent and ongoing business activity and market participation primarily to deal with issues of employment, social cohesion and local development. The activities promote solidarity, social inclusion and increase social capital, particularly at the local level with maximum respect paid to sustainable development.
Social Enterprise
Social enterprise is defined as “social entrepreneurship entity”, i.e. legal entity, its unit or a natural person, which follows the principles of social enterprise. Such enterprise is launched and developed in accordance with the principle of triple benefit – economic, social and environmental. Creating profit / surplus is desirable, but it is not the primary goal. For a social enterprise, making profit and creating public benefits is of equal importance. Any profit is used predominantly for the development of social enterprise or activities of the organization – it is in all cases used to the benefit of the community.
Media contact:Branislav Cehlárik
Public Affairs Officer for the Czech and Slovak Republics
Bucharova 2641/14, 158 02 Praha 5, Czech Republic
Mob.: + 420 775 864 444; + 421 905 894 845
Tel.: + 420 233 061 661; + 421 2 58230 472