How to promote collaboration between social enterprises and large companies: our success stor

Each of the 15 social enterprises gave a brief one-minute speech, introducing their company and the products or services they could offer to large businesses. Afterward, the 15 large businesses also presented their companies in one-minute pitches, outlining their needs and desires for collaboration with social enterprises.

During these valuable 15 minutes, SEAL members, the social entrepreneurs, learned that some large companies already collaborate  or have collaborated in the past with SEAL members. For example, Riga International Airport has worked with “Everybody Can” (“Visi Var”) and “BlindArt”, “Rīgas Satiksme” with “Apeirons” and “DHL” with “SOS Children’s Villages” (SOS bērnu ciemati). These partnerships have been successful, so the large companies are interested in learning more about other social enterprise offerings.

While there were some overlapping interests and visions for collaboration among large companies, there was also a lot of diversity. The most frequently expressed needs included venues for corporate events, employee well-being through team-building activities and gifts, education on sustainability issues, and partnerships in material recycling.

After learning about the needs from both sides, the large and social enterprises were paired up, and within five minutes, they had the opportunity to discuss potential collaboration models face-to-face. There were three rounds of such discussions.