May 2022 Social Impact News Roundup: A Tipping Point for Social Entrepreneurship

Every month, we share leading social impact insights, trends, job opportunities, and events to help you drive positive change from wherever you are. Here are some highlights from May 2022:

The Rise of Social Enterprises in the Formal Economy is at a Tipping Point 

For the first time, social enterprises have been included in the formal agenda at the World Economic Forum annual meeting. This year at Davos, social entrepreneurs shared the stage with corporate CEOs, elected officials, celebrities, and more. Their message was clear: Social enterprises are pioneers of an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable economy – and by partnering with the public and private sectors, they can accelerate its adoption. Sharon Thorne, the Global Board Chair of Deloitte, said it best: “There are amazing examples of corporates and social entrepreneurs working together, and that should give us real hope for the future.”

World Economic Forum Partners with MovingWorlds to Scale the TRANSFORM Support Hub

At the 2022 World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, MovingWorlds, SPC., – in partnership with SAP, TRANSFORM, and Unilever – announced that the TRANSFORM Support Hub is expanding through a new partnership with the World Economic Forum’s Global Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship. This new partnership promises to make it easier for corporations to support social enterprises while finding partners to develop regenerative value chains, and for social enterprises to find more non-financial support, sales opportunities, and capacity building. Learn more about this exciting new partnership here. In addition to the World Economic Forum, we are pleased to welcome Mercy Corps Ventures, ChangemakerXchange, Yunus Social Business, and PYXERA Global as partners to the TRANSFORM Support Hub.

Boosting Climate Resilience Through Social Entrepreneurship

A new whitepaper from the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship explores the role of business acceleration programs in helping promising social enterprises to optimize their impact and business performance potential. By using the right metrics to choose social enterprises for their programs, and by providing social entrepreneurs with important skills, knowledge, support, and connections during the course of those programs, accelerators can help multiply the impact of the most high-potential social enterprises. Learn more in the full whitepaper here. Also, check out the summary of our co-hosted webinar here with tips about how social enterprises can scale-up.

A New Resource for Young Changemakers

A new initiative from ChangemakerXchange, Google.org, and SAP launched this month to make it easier for young changemakers to access the support they need to change the world for the better: the Possibilists Directory, a global repository of 500+ support offers for changemakers, including grant-making, capacity building and support organizations. 

Sector Spotlight: Fashion & Textiles

Yunus Social Business is launching its first ‘Sector Spotlight’ on Textile & Fashion, starting by conducting a survey targeting social entrepreneurs and impact-focused ventures in the industry to understand their current capabilities, their difficulties, and opportunities to grow. If that’s you, please complete the survey here! Next month, Yunus Social Business will then host an event (invitation to come soon) to share the results and help social enterprises network with interested companies. 

Social Impact Job Opportunities

• Angaza is hiring for a Head of Credit & Risk (remote within US)
• Aspen Institute is hiring for a Senior Policy Manager – Shipping Decarbonization (based in Washington, D.C.)
• Avanade is hiring for a Citizenship Program Manager, Strategic Programs (based in Seattle, WA)
• Citizen University is hiring for a Program Manager (based in Seattle, WA or remote)
• FSG is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Manager of Communications & Marketing (based in Boston MA, Washington DC, San Francisco CA, or Seattle WA)
  • Associate Director (based in Boston MA, Washington DC, San Francisco CA, or Seattle WA)
  • Consultant (based in Boston MA, Washington DC, San Francisco CA, or Seattle WA) 
• Fundación Capital is hiring for a Head of Data (remote within Latin America, English and Spanish required) 
• Google is hiring for a Manager, Sustainability Engagement & Partnerships (based in San Francisco, CA)
• Kate Spade New York is hiring for a Social Impact Associate (based in New York, NY)
• The Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship is hiring for multiple positions (all based in Santa Clara, CA), including:
  • Sr. Manager, Campus Engagement
  • Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
  • Manager, Impact Investing
• Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is hiring for an Analyst, Sustainable Financial System (based in UK, will consider other EU locations)
• RyeStrategy is hiring for multiple positions, including:
  • Sustainability Manager (remote)
  • Business Development & Partnerships Manager (remote) 
• SIY Global is hiring for a Program Coordinator (remote within U.S., preference for Pacific Time)
• The United Nations Environment Programme is hiring for a Chief Digital Officer (based in Nairobi, Kenya)
• Unreasonable is hiring for a Senior Manager, Global Partnerships (based in Boulder, CO or remote)
• Urban Spring is hiring for multiple positions (all based in Hong Kong), including:
  • Software Engineer
  • Senior Data Analyst
  • Business Development Manager
• Yunus Social Business is hiring for a Brand & Communications Director (based in Berlin, Germany)

Upcoming Events & New Programs

• June 16: PCDN is hosting The Social Impact Career Popup, a virtual event gathering the world’s most talented innovators and organizations working at the forefront of impact careers. Register here.
• June 22: Join the TRANSFORM Support Hub for “ScaleOut: Business Expansion Live Coaching,” the second of a two-part webinar series featuring the team from Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship and its new ScaleOut framework for new market expansion. Register here.
• July 19-20: ANDE is hosting its 2022 West Africa Regional Conference on the theme “Accelerating SGB Growth in Africa,” which will focus on critical talent challenges in the SGB sector, as well as how SGBs can help developing economies achieve the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in the context of rebuilding a sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem post-COVID. Learn more and register here.
• June 30: Yunus Social Business is hosting a “Sector Spotlight on the Fashion & Textile Sector,” to share insights from social entrepreneurs in the space and discuss them with procurement managers, other intermediaries, and social enterprises. Register here. 
• Ongoing: If you lead a mission-driven social enterprise looking to scale a proven impact model, Miller Center’s Silicon Valley-based, globally recognized accelerator programs help leaders develop pathways to scale and prepare for next-level investment. Learn more and apply here.
• Ongoing: Applications are open for the One Million Leaders Africa (OMLA) Fellowship 2022/2023. If you are a young African who wants to be part of the OMLA movement to guide Africa to a better future by 2030, apply here!

Congratulations to….

• All of the inspiring impact organizations recognized by Escape the City alongside MovingWorlds as the “Best Companies to Escape to in 2022”
• Blue Dot for becoming an official vendor to SAP
• Arqlite for closing a new partnership with Cemex, one of the biggest concrete companies in the world, to start using Arqlite Smart Gravel to produce a green concrete that would help tackle plastic pollution
• Sesa Recycling and its partners, CFAO, Suzuki, BizGps and The Coastal Development Authority (CODA) for inaugurating a permanent community buyback centre for plastic waste recovery in Nungua
• ReliablyME Inc. for graduating from the 9th cohort of the Rally Social Enterprise Accelerator in Orlando, Florida, and launching its new public beta
• Khushi Kantha on the publication of its first impact report

Join us in Welcoming the Newest Partners of the TRANSFORM Support Hub

We are proud to welcome these new partners to the TRANSFORM Support Hub:

• Mercy Corps Ventures: An impact-first, early-stage investor using catalytic capital and targeted support to fuel startups growth. 
• ChangemakerXchange: A global community providing safe, supportive, fun, and empowering spaces for changemakers.
• Yunus Social Business: A social business fund and corporate social innovator founded by Peace Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus
• PYXERA Global: A development organization that facilitates mutually beneficial partnerships between the public, private, and social sectors that leverage the unique attributes of each to tackle complex challenges.

A Final Bit of Inspiration

“Disruption is the new normal, and all businesses have to step-up and take action… we have to expand the social economy… the things that businesses can do to be effective are to collaborate with, support, and invest in … social enterprises.”
Sharon Thorne, Global Board Chair of Deloitte