The Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF), the leading international forum for social entrepreneurship and social investment, is set to be hosted in Addis Ababa next year.
With growing popularity of social enterprises in the country, the gathering is to be the first time such an event has taken place in the region which was first started in Edinburgh in 2008, rotating in a number of countries around the world.
This is the second time it will be held in the continent after it was held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2011. Supported by the British Council and Social Enterprise Ethiopia as a strategic partner – the Social Enterprise World Forum will be held on October 2019 in the capital and is expected to attract more than 1000 delegates from many countries.
Social Enterprise in Ethiopia has been a growing movement starting in 2015 when the British Council – the United Kingdom’s arm of its cultural relations unit in the world – started the program locally.
The Association of Social Enterprise Ethiopia has a mission of supporting local social enterprise ecosystems.
“Social enterprise is crucial for any country committed to creating sustainable growth,” said Bruktawit Tigabu, the board chair of the new group and co-founder of the popular “Tsehai Loves Learning,” creator of the famed children’s learning show. “Social Enterprise addresses the biggest societal problems while offering market-based solutions”.
The British Council in Addis Ababa estimates there are approximately 55,000 existing social enterprises in Ethiopia.
source.thereporterethiopia.com