Spearheading a movement towards environmental conservation this Earth Month, Impact Hub Manila and Forest Foundation Philippines launch a local scaling program for community-based social enterprises.
The Social Entrepreneurship Engagement & Development (SEED) program aims to catalyze growth of the Philippine social enterprise pipeline through providing entrepreneurs in the provinces with the same incubation opportunities that startups in Manila have access to.
However, participants of the program will not only have business profit on their minds. Integral to the development program is its emphasis on ecosystem management. The weavers, farmers, and fishermen will be taught best business practices that support the UN’s Global Sustainable Development Goals.
The research team has conducted research in Palawan and Sierra Madre, immersing in the communities to evaluate the existing social enterprise ecosystems in each. Indubitably, the provinces are teeming with untapped business potential. There is prominent support for community members’ own ventures that ranged from aquaculture to woodcarving. Although the program will reinforce the ecosystems in each community, it will also give entrepreneurs a chance to take things up a notch.
The SEED program will spark eco-innovation within the social entrepreneurs by awarding a grand prize of continuous incubation support from Impact Hub Manila, hoping to ignite the Filipino inventive entrepreneurial spirit. This will feature free one-on-one coaching and consultancy, access to working space, and several opportunities in the global network of industry leaders and business pioneers.
With an ambitious goal of strengthening the country’s social enterprise ecosystem across the regions, the program will also draw support from the dynamic startupsphere of major cities in the Philippines. For those who are interested in sharing important social enterprise insights, Impact Hub and Forest Foundation encourage successful entrepreneurs and startups to become a part of the program by signing up for its mentors pool.
You can learn more about the SEED program on Impact Hub Manila’s site here.
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Isabell J. Kittel is the research officer of Impact Hub Manila, the world’s largest network focused on building entrepreneurial communities for impact at scale.
