Are you a social entrepreneur interested in learning more about social procurement as a tool to help you scale your business and impact? Or are you already working toward being a supplier for corporates, and other small or medium enterprises, and want to learn from other experienced social entrepreneurs and business professionals?
Join Buy Social Europe’s B2B social procurement training and mentoring programs for social entrepreneurs! The programs are free of charge and offer:
Online training program
The online training program of Buy Social Europe B2B, led by experts from Reach for Change, will provide information and advice on the following topics, divided into five pre-recorded video trainings:
- Introduction to social procurement: definitions and benefits
- The how of social procurement: an overview of the process from the supplier point of view
- Is procurement right for my organization: does social procurement align with your business goals, values, and capabilities?
- B2B sales and marketing: understanding how mainstream entrepreneurs choose their suppliers and how to approach them, preparing a sales pitch, social enterprise verifications
- Writing a compelling bid: bid components and how to prepare
- Implementation and reporting: contracts, resource assessment and planning, impact measurement and storytelling
Registered participants will receive access to the video training, along with additional materials for self-preparation and self-guided learning, including worksheets and information sheets, self-assessment tools, checklists, case studies, and access to Reach for Change’s Toolkits for impact measurement.
In addition, Reach for Change will organize rolling Open Q&A sessions where participants can get tailored guidance and peer-to-peer sessions where they can exchange experience with other social entrepreneurs taking part in the training.
Peer-to-Peer Mentoring
Social entrepreneurs planning to engage in social procurement can be matched with advanced social entrepreneurs, or relevant experts, who can share learnings and advice from their own experience of being a supplier for mainstream enterprises, or preparing well for this exercise. When possible, the matching will bring together social enterprises and experts from similar industries and geographies.
To join, social entrepreneurs-mentees should have a clear basic business model and an understanding of whether B2B trade is suitable for them. Social entrepreneurs who want to join as mentors should have at least two years of experience and insights into how to approach and collaborate with mainstream enterprises.
The mentoring program will be coordinated by Social Entrepreneurship Network Germany (SEND). Pairs will be matched and connected mid-August 2024, and will have two months for individual mentoring sessions. The dates and timing of the sessions will be set up between mentor and mentee.
Pro-bono consulting by SAP skilled professionals
In addition, social entrepreneurs can be matched with skilled SAP business professionals. This pro-bono consulting and mentoring can focus on getting social procurement ready or other specific needs of the social entrepreneur.
This special opportunity is provided in cooperation with the TRANSFORM Support Hub, powered by MovingWorlds, which connects social enterprises with corporates, peers, learning content, and a global community of pro-bono professionals to deliver market-based solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
How to join:
If you're interested in joining Buy Social Europe’s online training program, and/or the peer-to-peer mentoring program please fill in this form. You will have a chance to choose whether you want to take part in one or both of the programs, or if you want to join as a mentor. Register now to ensure ample time for the careful pairing of mentors and mentees, enhancing your experience in our training and matchmaking program. Through this form you can also subscribe for future news updates, or matchmaking opportunities with potential future customers.
To apply for the SAP pro-bono consulting and mentoring, you can register directly on the MovingWorlds TRANSFORM Hub here.
For any questions, email: team@buysocialeurope.eu
About Buy Social Europe B2B:
Buy Social Europe B2B empowers social and mainstream enterprises to find each other and forge sustainable trade partnerships, aiming to take the social procurement movement in Europe to the next level. The transnational initiative is co-funded by the European Commission and by SAP, and unites in one movement 23 partners from 17 countries, among which are some of the longest-standing and most experienced experts in the field of social procurement.