Citibank Europe plc,
Organizational Unit
Prague, 16 December 2010
Social Enterprise Academy Accelerator Welcomed New Students
Fifteen managers from five non-profit organizations from the Czech Republic
entered a new year in the Social Enterprise Academy Accelerator, an
assistance programme of the VIA Foundation for the promotion of social
enterprising among non-profit organizations.
Out of more than five candidates for participation, five organizations have been
selected: Rozmarýna, o.p.s., InBáze Berkat, o. s., Generation Europe, SANANIM, o.
s. and Slunečnice o. s.
"A social enterprise is always established to solve a current social problem. This
could involve giving jobs to people who have problems looking for them and even
bigger problems keeping them, or meeting a specific need of the local community,"
says Hana Vosmíková, of the VIA Foundation, which organizes the Social Enterprise
Academy Accelerator. "The profit of a social enterprise is mostly invested into its
further development or is used to fulfil the mission of the non-government
organization that established it. The social enterprise therefore brings benefit tot he
community whose problems it deals with, and also to the non-government
organization as such in the form of free money," Vosmíková adds.
In the course of one year, the Accelerator will help the representatives of nongovernment organizations to think through and plan a social enterprise with the goal
to maximize the efficiency of its operation. It teaches them to incorporate their
business in their everyday lives and to develop the organization and the social
enterprise in accord. Social enterprising is closely related to the issue of financial
education and development of small business, i.e. areas supported in the Czech
Republic by Citibank through its Citi Foundation in the long term.
"In Citi we believe that education and approach to capital are essential for doing
good, which also applies to non-profit organizations," says Branislav Cehlárik, Public
Affairs Officer for Czech and Slovak Republics. "Support for the Accelerator was
therefore a logical step for us. We are happy we can help non-profit organizations in
the Czech Republic on their way to self-sufficiency," he adds.
The accelerator offers annual support for coaches who take the selected
organizations through the whole process. At its end, the selected social enterprises
will have their annual development plans in place, along with a business plan. At the
same time, the participants will undergo a complex educational cycle of economic
and managerial education, tailored for non-government organizations. The
participants of the Accelerator can also use small grants if they need further
professional assistance during the participation in the programme. Another important
part of the programme are meetings of the Social Enterprise Academy Club, which is
a venue for meetings between current and past participants and other social
enterprising professionals.
Jasna Flamíková, Director of the Veronica Foundation, explains the benefit of the
Accelerator for her organization: "The Accelerator helped us professionalize our
foundation business. An internal shift was the most important for us - social
enterprising cannot lose its business nature, even though there are environmental
and social parameters embedded in it."
The Accelerator is an assistance programme of the VIA Foundation to support the
social enterprising of NGOs. The programme was financially supported by Citibank
through its Citi Foundation, by the VIA Foundation and by Philip Morris Czech
Republic. The professional sponsor of the educational part of the programme is the
Faculty of Economy of the University of West Bohemia in Plzeň. The educational part
of the programme is supported by PwC Czech Republic and the Coaching Centre.
Social enterprising
By means of independent and consistent business activities and market presence, social enterprising
mostly deals with the issues of employment, social cohesion and local development. Through its
activities, it supports solidarity, social inclusion and social capital growth, in particular at the local level,
subject to maximum regard for sustainable development.
Social enterprise
A social enterprise refers to a "social enterprising entity", i.e. a legal person, its part, or a natural
person that meets the principles of a social enterprise. It emerges and develops according to the triple
bottom line principles - economic, social and environmental. Generating a profit/surplus by a social
enterprise is desirable, yet it is not its primary goal. For a social enterprise, generating a profit is as
crucial as promoting public wealth. Its profit is preferably used to develop the social enterprise or the
activities of the organization; at any rate, it is used to the benefit of the community.
About Citi
Citi, a leading global financial services company, administers about 200 million client accounts and is
active in over 140 countries worldwide. Through Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides natural
persons, companies, governments and institutions with a range of financial products and services,
including personal banking and credit products, corporate and investment banking, securities trading
and wealth management. For more information please visit www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.
About Citi Foundation
Citi Foundation focuses on strengthening the economic knowledge of individuals and their families, in
particular those in need, in the communities of our presence so that they could raise their standard of
living. Globally, Citi Foundation focuses on the following strategic areas: micro-finance and microbusiness, small and emerging firms, education and financial education. Citi Foundation closely
cooperates with its partners in micro-finance, micro-business and small and emerging firms on the
development of programmes and innovation to protect the environment. More information is available
at www.citifoundation.com
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Media contact:
Citibank Europe plc, Organizational Unit
Branislav Cehlárik, Public Affairs Officer for Czech and Slovak Republics
Mobile: + 420 775 864 444; + 421 905 894 845
[email protected], www.citibank.cz
VIA Foundation
Hana Vosmíková
Tel.: + 420 233 113 370
[email protected], www.nadacvia.cz