Building capacities of European social economy support organisations in facilitating scaling of later-stage social entrepreneurs

91% of social entrepreneurs in Europe wish to scale their enterprises. Although VET provision for this target group has increased in recent years, very few SESOs (e.g. incubators/accelerators/netw...

91% of social entrepreneurs in Europe wish to scale their enterprises. Although VET provision for this target group has increased in recent years, very few SESOs (e.g. incubators/accelerators/networks) currently provide training programmes linked to scaling. This project therefore aims at building the capacities of support organisations and their ability to support scaling. Through that we will ultimately support Social Entrepreneurs (SEs) across the European market to scale their enterprises.

Based on data collection and validation of needs, partners will produce and user-test a new Self-assessment tool and Guide on scaling for SESOs. These deliverables will be disseminated to the wider sector through a series of webinars, a helpdesk and an online campaign. Partners will also individually develop new in-house training tools linked to the topic of scaling, aided by a process of peer learning, and user-testing, that will enable more widespread adoption of scaling programmes for SEs.

The Self-assessment tool and Guide should build capacities of European SESOs on how to establish a scaling support programme. Dissemination of these deliverables should reach at least 55 organisations external to the consortium. Partners’ individually developed training tools should deepen expertise on scaling and increase the quality of their support programmes. These tools and training material will benefit SEs across Europe, leading to a more vibrant and well-functioning social economy.