Business and social entrepreneurs collaborate to tackle unemployment in Belgium
This edition focused on tackling unemployment, which is also the strategic focus of Accenture’s Skills to Succeed program that has so far equipped 1,2 million people around the world with the skills to enter employment or start a business.
Socially oriented business plan
The Impact program breaks down siloes by connecting social entrepreneurs with the world of business. On top of three months coaching, the selected organizations attend collective workshops hosted by experts to further refine their scale-up strategy. Based on Ashoka’s, they learn about impact measurement, organizational and economic models and many other crucial topics around growing a successful social enterprise.
More than just an accelerator program, Ashoka Impact is a unique opportunity for high potential social entrepreneurs to meet, exchange and learn from each other. It is also a platform for businesses and social entrepreneurs to collaborate and re-think the employment ecosystem together in order to have an even greater social impact.
As today’s societal challenges are so complex, it requires multiple perspectives and collaboration across sectors to create innovative, large-scale and lasting solutions
To be selected for the Impact program, the Belgian social entrepreneurs had to answer four main criteria:
- Be innovative and truly system changing
- Have proven social impact and potential to scale-up
- Have a vision about their development strategy
- Be highly motivated and believe in the benefits of the whole program
Meet the nine Ashoka Impact 2016 social entrepreneurs and discover the game changing work they are doing!
DiversiCom
Founder: Marie-Laure Jonet
DiversiCom promotes diversity in the workplace and facilitates the employment of people with disabilities on the basis of their skills by coaching the disabled jobseeker and advising employers.
Solentra
Founder: Geertui Serneels
Solentra provides support to cope with the psychosocial impact of migration through culturally sensitive career counseling.
Kiron CodeSchool
Founder: Juan D. Mendieta and Pedro Favuzzi
Kiron CodeSchool facilitates integration on the labor market by training refugees to become successful software developers.
KONEKT – LetsCo!
Founder: Koen Deweer and Miriam Hemelsoet
LetsCo! organizes practical trainings for adults with intellectual disabilities and enables them to find a job in a normal working environment.
Activ’Action
Founder: Emilie Schmitt and Pauline Voldoire
Activ’Action aims to reduce the psycho-sociological risks linked to unemployment and to equip the unemployed with the skills they need to enter the labor market.
Funds for Good
Founder: Nicolas Crochet, Patrick Somerhausen and Marc Verhaeren
Funds For Good encourages the reintegration of people in precarious situations by giving them access to the resources they need to become entrepreneurs: funding and coaching.
Nos Oignons
Founder: Samuel Hubaux and Marie Desbarax
Nos Oignons creates partnerships between mental health institutions and small-scale agricultural businesses to welcome patients in a collaborative and professional environment that accelerates recovery.
InternsGoPro
Founders: Pierre-Julien Bosser and Regis Pradal
InternsGoPro boosts youth integration on the labor market by promoting high quality internships and rewarding employers with the European Label for the Best Internships.
Rising Youth
Founder: Benjamin Gérard
Rising Youth supports young refugees and migrants through sports, teaching them rope and climbing techniques they can then use to find employment in specific industries (telecom, building maintenance…).
More info on the Ashoka Impact 2016 program on www.ashokaimpact.be
Magali Frankl