Gründer 50plus

GOALS & PROCESS

Between August 2013 and February 2014, orientation workshops and intensive workshops were held in Bremen with a total of 19 participants. An evaluation in February 2014 showed that 60% of the participants in the intensive workshop had founded an enterprise. 

Of those who had founded:
- 55% male
- 45% female
- approx. 60% ALG I or ALG II recipients (ALG stands for Arbeitslosengeld, which refers to unemployment benefits)

The investment requirement was between EUR 2,000-15,000 per case.

The business set social key performance indicators:

• 75 franchise partners under contract in 32 locations by 2021.
• About half of the workshop participants are unemployed or Hartz IV recipients. The state subsidy amounts to approx. 70-80% of the total costs of a workshop or seminar.
• A total of about 19,8000 participants in an orientation workshop by the end of 2021.
• At least 5,940 (small) businesses are to have been founded by the end of 2021.

Why did you choose this funding type?

In order to be able to successfully scale the concept, Ralf Sange opted for a social franchising concept. A fee is charged to the franchisees a fee is charged on the seminar sales.

Successes & Challenges

• The more successful the social business model, the higher the social effect 
• The more effective the solution to a social problem, the more probable it is to find support  
• Hybrid business model makes it easier to integrate several (different) methods of funding 
• Mixing philanthropic and financial investment accelerates the social mission   

Takeaways & Additional Information

Social entrepreneurs are advised to seek professional support, both for investment readiness (online tools, etc) and for financing itself. 

Source: FASE Deutschland