Social entrepreneurs get chance to pitch for free coaching

Social entrepreneurs across the North West are being offered the chance to pitch for 12 months’ free business coaching to grow their enterprise and increase their social impact.

The 2017 Accelerate programme, run by the EY Foundation, an independent charity founded by EY, is focused on helping young social entrepreneurs (aged 18 to 30) in addition to social enterprises which have a focus on supporting young people into employment, education or enterprise in the region.

Successful participants receive 12 months one to one business coaching, providing practical guidance and advice with the overall goal of helping to grow their enterprise but also, crucially, to increase their overall social impact.

Applications for the 2017 programme are now open.

The Accelerate programme also offers tailored workshops, to help social entrepreneurs understanding of the key operational and financial levers of the business; networking events to connect with other social entrepreneurs as well as potential clients, supporters and advisors; and even project support where needed.
Ed Cox, co-founder of Reason Digital, a digital consultancy in Manchester, took part in the EY Accelerate programme last year.

The company uses digital expertise to tackle big social issues such as violent crime, drug and alcohol addiction, the food poverty crisis, and diseases that define our times – HIV/AIDS, dementia and diabetes.

He said: “One of the things I got out of Accelerate was pitching my ambitions higher than they originally were.

“I had a fixed view on where I wanted the organisation to go, but being on Accelerate and talking to the experts at EY opened my eyes to some of the things we could do, or didn’t consider at the time.

“Another thing I got out of it was access to expertise and networks I didn’t have before. Getting assistance with finance and tax was really useful because they can be very complicated, and EY’s expertise was not the kind of thing we would have been able to afford.”

To qualify, applicants need to be either a young social entrepreneur aged 18 to 30 or a social enterprise supporting young people into education, employment or setting up their own enterprise.

They must also meet three of the following four criteria:
•    An enterprise that is already established with 1+ years of trading
•    Working full-time on the business
•    £50,000+ turnover per annum
•    Have a credible plan to grow at a local, regional or national level which in turn will create employment opportunities in the future

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