Pioneers Post

The Editor's Post: The resilience of Ukrainian social entrepreneurs | by Julie Pybus In Ukraine, social enterprise is “a key instrument in building resilience”. At Impact Europe’s Impact Week event, Alena Kalibaba, CEO of the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund, reminded the audience that more impact investment was needed from external sources as the country continued to resist the Russian invasion. Social enterprises are providing rehabilitation and work integration programmes for people injured in the war, supporting displaced people, as well as continuing to fulfil many of the roles they carried out before the conflict. I’m writing this from the Basque city of Bilbao, in northern Spain, where #ImpactWeek is concluding today. More than 1,000 delegates have been exchanging experiences about the work that they do and we heard about activities across the continent, and further afield. As ever, it’s the stories told by social entrepreneurs themselves which are the most affecting. One of these social entrepreneurs is Alina Marnenko, who founded Museum in the Dark, which enables visually impaired people to convey how their world appears to sighted people. The museum featured in a film, called Underseen, screened yesterday, and which tells the story of the museum’s founder, Alina, as she navigates the challenges of operating a museum during wartime – even moving its location from Kyiv to Lviv as the bombing intensified. The perspectives of some of the museum’s visually impaired team are also highlighted as they consider the effects of the missile attacks on their lives. As the war continues, the museum’s work has become more significant in supporting soldiers who have lost their sight through injury. “It’s important to stay in the country and fight, and not to leave,” Anna Gulevska-Chernysh, co-founder of social enterprise support body SILab Ukraine told the Impact Week audience. Many other social entrepreneurs think the same, as there is increasing demand for the accelerator programmes and support that SILab offers. There are even mounting requests from mainstream businesses for support to become impact-focused, she said. Of course, this commitment to their country comes at a potentially huge risk. “I’m the mother of a soldier,” said Anna, adding that she’s “always waiting for an SMS” about him. “I have to take care of my team members who are going through the worst things,” she said. Anna is also chair of the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund: “When I hear about missile attacks in places where our investees are based, we are then getting in touch to see how they are.” The Pioneers Post team first spoke to Anna during the very first days of the war, in early 2022. The country’s social entrepreneurs were already mobilising their skills and networks to support their homeland. Three years later, it appears their energy remains undimmed. “It’s a stupid, normal reality for us at the moment,” said Olena. 📸 A guide at Museum in the Dark – Underseen film.

“It's not large corporates that are feeling the pain in this, it's going to be the ones who are employing people in low paid sectors, and therefore the pain is going to be passed on to those people. In the future, as companies struggle to cope with costs, there will be job losses and there will be fewer jobs for those people to apply for. It feels completely at odds with [the government’s] policy position.” Ian McGrady, managing director of Edsential, told Pioneers Post the rise in employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs), lowered NICs thresholds and rise in National Living Wage would cause his social enterprise's cost base to increase by £1m (Edsential has a turnover of £20m per year). A new report from Social Enterprise UK found one third of social enterprises were pessimistic about new UK government’s potential impact on their business even before announcement of employer National Insurance Contribution increases. The NICs changes announced by the UK government in the Autumn budget must be modified or social enterprises providing public services may be forced to shut down, said Social Enterprise UK. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/egV9NifA #socent

Jimmy van Santen, Chartered MCIPD from Roots HR CIC, a specialist consultancy for human resources for the social sector, will be sharing his expertise at this week’s #SE100 Social Business Coffee Breaks webinar. Book now to find out how to be a brilliant social enterprise employer and find the answers to questions on HR, employment law and more. https://lnkd.in/ewXUfHSy NatWest Social & Community Capital

This week in the Pioneers Post newsletter: 🌊 A building wave: The corporate-Indigenous partnerships doing things differently Hogan Lovells - HL BaSE 🇬🇧 Amend new employer tax policy, Social Enterprise UK tells Labour – as survey scrutinises new government’s impact 🎙️ The Good Leaders Clinic Episode 1: 'Taking the leap' with Kerrie Jones, founder CEO of Orri Liam Black And more... Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eXdtP2sj #socent #impactinvesting

NEW: Amend new employer tax policy, Social Enterprise UK tells Labour – as survey scrutinises government’s impact One third of social enterprises were pessimistic about new government’s potential impact on their business even before announcement of employer National Insurance Contribution increases, according to new report. Read more 👇 https://lnkd.in/egV9NifA Dean Hochlaf | Ian McGrady #socent

Next week we’ll be joined by Roots HR CIC’s Jimmy van Santen, Chartered MCIPD as we explore how to be a brilliant social enterprise employer. Jimmy’s an HR and people management expert and will share his knowledge on topics including employment regulations and flexible working. Book a free place here: https://lnkd.in/ewXUfHSy NatWest Social & Community Capital

What does ‘flexible working’ actually mean and how do you set boundaries while meeting expectations? We’ll discuss this question and more in our #SE100 Social Business Coffee Break webinar next week. Book here to join us: https://lnkd.in/ewXUfHSy NatWest Social & Community Capital | Roots HR CIC

NEW: Big business has a dismal record when it comes to respect for Indigenous peoples and local communities. That’s starting to shift, as even the most profit-hungry CEOs grasp what those closest to the land have always known: that our futures are all interconnected. Are the efforts of trailblazers like Patagonia a sign of a new era for corporate-Indigenous relationships? Read our latest Earth Fixers feature, produced in partnership with Hogan Lovells - HL BaSE: https://lnkd.in/etrRXTfx 📸 by Jason Chute Home Planet Fund | Sustainable Fibre Alliance | WV Technologies | Indigenomics | Carol Anne Hilton, MBA, ICD.D | Dilafruz Khonikboyeva | Dahr Jamail | Una Jones | Jamie Miller | Kurt Gruber | Survival International | Johnstons of Elgin | Kelly Tubman Hardy | Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) | World Resources Institute | Patagonia

"Despite their positive repayment trends, [social enterprises led by black, Asian and ethnically diverse founders] face significant challenges, including limited access to the right form of capital, systemic biases, and insufficient tailored support. Their success in repayments, despite these obstacles, underscores the resilience and resourcefulness of these founders." Read expert insight on how inclusive investing yields better repayments by Isabelle Irani from Sumerian Foundation: https://lnkd.in/eGgPG7yT #impactinvestment

The Editor's Post: The resilience of Ukrainian social entrepreneurs | by Julie Pybus In Ukraine, social enterprise is “a key instrument in building resilience”. At Impact Europe’s Impact Week event, Alena Kalibaba, CEO of the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund, reminded the audience that more impact investment was needed from external sources as the country continued to resist the Russian invasion. Social enterprises are providing rehabilitation and work integration programmes for people injured in the war, supporting displaced people, as well as continuing to fulfil many of the roles they carried out before the conflict. I’m writing this from the Basque city of Bilbao, in northern Spain, where #ImpactWeek is concluding today. More than 1,000 delegates have been exchanging experiences about the work that they do and we heard about activities across the continent, and further afield. As ever, it’s the stories told by social entrepreneurs themselves which are the most affecting. One of these social entrepreneurs is Alina Marnenko, who founded Museum in the Dark, which enables visually impaired people to convey how their world appears to sighted people. The museum featured in a film, called Underseen, screened yesterday, and which tells the story of the museum’s founder, Alina, as she navigates the challenges of operating a museum during wartime – even moving its location from Kyiv to Lviv as the bombing intensified. The perspectives of some of the museum’s visually impaired team are also highlighted as they consider the effects of the missile attacks on their lives. As the war continues, the museum’s work has become more significant in supporting soldiers who have lost their sight through injury. “It’s important to stay in the country and fight, and not to leave,” Anna Gulevska-Chernysh, co-founder of social enterprise support body SILab Ukraine told the Impact Week audience. Many other social entrepreneurs think the same, as there is increasing demand for the accelerator programmes and support that SILab offers. There are even mounting requests from mainstream businesses for support to become impact-focused, she said. Of course, this commitment to their country comes at a potentially huge risk. “I’m the mother of a soldier,” said Anna, adding that she’s “always waiting for an SMS” about him. “I have to take care of my team members who are going through the worst things,” she said. Anna is also chair of the Ukrainian Social Venture Fund: “When I hear about missile attacks in places where our investees are based, we are then getting in touch to see how they are.” The Pioneers Post team first spoke to Anna during the very first days of the war, in early 2022. The country’s social entrepreneurs were already mobilising their skills and networks to support their homeland. Three years later, it appears their energy remains undimmed. “It’s a stupid, normal reality for us at the moment,” said Olena. 📸 A guide at Museum in the Dark – Underseen film.