Rethink Ireland is happy to be offering places on its Start a Social Enterprise Business Course, now running for its third consecutive year. In partnership with IPB Insurance and the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund, Rethink Ireland will be providing you the opportunity to participate in this one of a kind, Start a Social Enterprise Business Course, as well as the chance to take your idea to the next level once the course is complete.

A key strategic objective for Rethink Ireland is to support social enterprises to grow, scale their operations, and deepen their social impact. We do this for social enterprises at all stages of growth. This course represents an innovative approach to developing and supporting grassroots social enterprise ideas in Ireland. It takes the social innovator’s emerging idea and gives them the tools to take it to the next stage. It is the launchpad and, importantly, a pathway to additional support. In turn, it supports a new generation of social enterprises to deliver social impact, create jobs, and tackle societal challenges.

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What is a Social Enterprise?

Social enterprises are organisations whose mission is to have a positive effect on society. They generate revenue through their products or services and reinvest their profits back into their social mission.

Social enterprises are innovating every day by inventing and developing solutions to Ireland’s most pressing social issues. They are creating jobs, supporting members of marginalised communities, and fostering community development. We believe there is a need to champion and invest in these social enterprises to allow them to expand their impact and spread their solutions throughout the country.

What does the course offer?

The Start a Social Enterprise Business Course is a six-week course that covers the key areas to support you as you start your own successful social enterprise. This includes:

• Six online workshops and one in-person event
• Access to a network of aspiring social enterprise founders
• A workbook that supports you to build strong foundations for your social enterprise
• The chance to apply for follow-on business supports to the value of €10,000 and access to a bespoke Accelerator programme

The course uses specialist training in business skills and social impact to achieve the following:

• Increase the knowledge of the steps to starting a social enterprise
• Provide a clear pathway to the development of a social enterprise
• Build the skills of participants to support them in taking their idea to the next level
• Support the growth of the social economy in Ireland
• Increase the sustainability of start-up social enterprises
• Provide a potential route for participants onto other funds
• Raise awareness among innovators of the benefits of the social economy
• Increase the skills and knowledge within the sector
• Become part of a network of start-up social enterprises

Where and when will the course take place?

The course will be held online over six mornings as well as one in-person day for up to fifty participants. The first day of the course will be Wednesday 24th of April 2024 and will subsequently take place on the following five Wednesday mornings. The sessions will run from 10 am until 12.30 pm with different industry experts each week. The in-person day will take place at the end of the course, on a date to be confirmed in June, and will involve networking, workshops, and guest speakers.