Fabiana Pompermaier, DIESIS Network, Project Manager of the Buy Social Project – BFSE B2B Project, spoke at Enterprising for Tomorrow 2024 conference about the contributions of the Buy Social project, particularly in developing social enterprises within the European Union, including Romania.

Fabiana highlighted the project’s comprehensive approach to supporting social enterprises through policy advocacy, capacity building, and fostering B2B partnerships, aiming for a sustainable and inclusive economic impact.

Key points

Framework and Objectives of the By Social Project

The project aims to enhance the capacity of the social economy to contribute to sustainable and circular value chains. It aligns with the broader EU agenda to promote sustainable business practices.

Identified Needs and Actions

The project addresses three main needs identified across various countries: lack of knowledge and mutual understanding between traditional and social enterprises, lack of networking opportunities, and lack of training and capacity building.
Actions include collecting and presenting good practices from across Europe, creating and promoting B2B partnerships, and developing EU policy recommendations.

Capacity Building and Networking

The consortium focuses on capacity building through training and workshops on legal forms for social enterprises and matchmaking events to promote mutual understanding.
Efforts are made to prevent misconceptions about social enterprises’ economic capacity and avoid issues like greenwashing.

Awareness and Promotion

An awareness-raising campaign aims to promote access to a wider public for social economy products and services. This includes partnerships with retail companies to sustain and scale the impact of social enterprises.

“We are trying to actively and concretely promote the access to a wider public for social economy products and services.”

More about the Buy Social project here.