On January 26, 2023 City of Zagreb organized an online event „2nd Social Economy
Mission“ within the EU project „Strengthening Social Economy for Innovative and
Resilient Regions – SOCRATES“ framework, which gathered project partners, local
stakeholders from partner countries, and guest speakers from Croatia and Slovenia.
The goal of the event was a dialogue on common challenges that had previously
been detected by partners, as well as exchange of experience and best practices.
Experts who presented their view on challenges regarding the social
entrepreneurship development come from different sectors and encourage social
entrepreneurship development in various ways. Therefore, Goran Jeras,
(Cooperative for Ethical Financing, CEO) from Zagreb talked on social
entrepreneurs’ projects financing models, Ana Raguž (IMPACT HUB Zagreb) from
Zagreb presented the impact of IMPACT HUB network globally, Nina Erjavec Ceglar,
(Regional Development Agency Savinjska Ltd.) from Celje presented socially
responsible procurement application challenges that may arise in practice, Filip
Brničević, (OAZA, CEO), a Mentor and Trainer from Zagreb, on a very practical
example, showed us how to do business in a successful and sustainable way, as
well as how to include a vulnerable group in a business.
Meeting conclusions are that the regions face similar problems and challenges, in
particular: undefined legal framework, financing, sector visibility, slow sector
development, lack of education and insufficient skills development, underdeveloped
business models, sustainability and capacity issues.
This will represent a valuable input for the final recommendations and guidelines for
improvement and social entrepreneurship development in each specific region, as
well as a basis for local action plans development. Certain progress is expected in
the development of social entrepreneurship, including the entire economy of the
regions, with the ultimate goal of environment improvement and the well-being of the
inhabitants.
