Good practice:

Plan de Empresa Social (Social Enterprise Plan)

This political instrument is managed by the General Directorate for Enterprise/ Extremadura Regional Ministry for Economy, Science and Digital Agenda, and was designed to address social challenges the territory was facing. Created in the framework of EFES Project (INTERREG POCTEP), it lets social entrepreneurship flourish in the region thanks to a specific and comprehensive programme to stimulate and consolidate social entrepreneurship. In short, this is a specific tool to guide entrepreneurs in the development of their social enterprise project.
Based on this idea, the Social Enterprise Plan has a series of particularities that clearly and explicitly reflect the commitment, mission, vision and values of the social enterprise.
Within the framework of this tool two “Social Entrepreneurship Accelerators” have been created offering to beneficiaries: 25 hours specific training (per project) and specialized & customised consultancy. This accompaniment created to guide the new social businesses, is divided into 5 steps:
• Agile prototyping to apply to social projects
• Development of social business models
• Product and service design with impact
• Social marketing and communication strategy with clients
• Social business plan.

On the other hand, microcredit lines and crowdfunding are mainly used to finance these businesses.
The development of this initiative is based on social and citizen participation activities, social entrepreneurship and open social innovation.

The design of the “social plan” was made by three staff members of the EFES project and it is being used and managed with entrepreneurs by the Business Support Offices of Extremadura Region.
The IT development cost of this tool was of: 6,000 Euros

• 290 business plans with an impact of 103 new social job created and generating 2.946.581,09€ investment
• Through EFES project, the progress of a comprehensive entrepreneurship system (guides, training to improve & create new skills, awareness-raising events, funding, ...) has been achieved
• Awareness of social innovation, both for citizens and entrepreneurships
• The new Cooperative Law including 2 formulas of social character evidence our Regional Gov. commitment with Social Innovation

Many European regions are facing important social challenges that need to be solved. This tool guides entrepreneurs in a more efficient and agile way to materialise their business ideas while responding to a social challenge of the territory.
The main success factors that this initiative has contribute to solve are the following:
- Depopulation: it facilitates the creation of new social companies in the region to solve local social challenges
- Rurality: this tool contributes to promoting sustainable development models through the creation of companies with a business and social value in the rural territory
- Unemployment: promoting self-employment as a way to capitalize talent in the territory
- Social capital dynamization: encouraging the creation of social entrepreneurship networks and initiatives to consolidate ecosystems
- Knowledge as a transformation engine and identification of real inspiring initiatives that can be replicated in the region