Exploring social entrepreneurship models

The power of investing in social enterprises

This learning session is aimed both at nonprofits seeking a better understanding of how they can move in a more entrepreneurial direction as well as donors who are looking to amplify their impact and deliver long-lasting social change.

Hosted by the Arab Foundations Forum (AFF), the session is led by AFF members, COSV, a nonprofit behind CoProfit, a benefit corporation focused on social, sustainable, and inclusive development.

In March 2024, COSV, Oxfam, and the Beyond Group completed their Social Entrepreneurship Ecosytem (SEE) Change Project, aimed at helping individuals and social enterprises address the social and economic challenges in several regions of Lebanon.

COSV’s Social Justice Incubation Program (SJIP) uses the SEE Change framework to give financial and technical support to various social enterprise initiatives. The SJIP has also produced a series of policy papers on the interplay between social and solidarity economy (SSE) initiatives and the promotion of social justice, offering invaluable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and academics invested in fostering sustainable and inclusive development.

COSV will share these insights during a 75-minute session that aims to provide a comprehensive overview of emerging social entrepreneurship models in Lebanon, emphasising the crucial role of collaboration in amplifying social and economic impact – particularly in fragile economies like Lebanon.

Participants will learn how these models can help advance human rights and catalyze market transformation, and will come away equipped with a clearer understanding of how to effectively target their organisation’s SSE programs for maximum efficacy.

The panel is built around the findings and recommendations of two policy papers produced through the SJIP, which you may like to read in preparation for the session. “Evolving Social Justice through Solidarity Economy: Analysis of New Emerging Models of Social Entrepreneurship in Lebanon” takes an in-depth look at new models of social enterprises emerging in Lebanon, while “Transformative Synergies: Catalyzing Vocational Excellence and Social Entrepreneurship through Lebanon’s School-Enterprise Model” focuses on the challenges confronting Lebanon’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector and analyzes three distinct school models, highlighting their profound impact on the students and the community, as well as on the governance structures of public vocational institutes.

Speakers

• Aisha Habli
  Social Justice Incubation programme manager, COSV
• Annalisa Contini
  Social Solidarity Economy senior specialist, COSV
• Mohammad Makki
  Social and Solidarity Economy expert; research coordinator, COSV Faculty member, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK)
• Nibal Dahouk
  Founder & CEO, 0WasteCommunity Co-founder, SCOPE Solidarity Cooperative of Professional Educators
• Dr. Hafez El Zein
  President, Lebanon’s National Development Committee
• David Sacca
  Architect and humanitarian consultant

Notes

The session runs from 4pm (Dubai). You can register here.

For more information, contact Walid Nagi - nagiw@arabfoundationsforum.org