Transformative Ventures: Exploring Collaborative Social Entrepreneurship Models, led by COSV

Event date: June 11, 2024

This AFF Member-Led Session comes to you from COSV, a nonprofit association that three years ago founded CoProfit, a benefit corporation focused on social, sustainable, and inclusive development and an AFF member.

In March 2024, COSV, Oxfam, and the Beyond Group completed their Social Entrepreneurship Ecosytem (SEE) Change Project, aimed at helping individuals and social enterprises address the social and economic challenges in several regions of Lebanon. COSV’s Social Justice Incubation Program (SJIP) uses the SEE Change framework to give financial and technical support to various social enterprise initiatives. The SJIP has also produced a series of policy papers on the interplay between social and solidarity economy (SSE) initiatives and the promotion of social justice, offering invaluable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and academics invested in fostering sustainable and inclusive development.

COSV shared these insights in a workshop convened by AFF. The 75-minute session aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of emerging social entrepreneurship models in Lebanon, emphasizing the crucial role of collaboration in amplifying social and economic impact – particularly in fragile economies like Lebanon.

Participants learned how these models can help advance human rights and catalyze market transformation, and came away equipped with a clearer understanding of how to effectively target their organizations' SSE programs for maximum efficacy.

From nonprofits looking to move into a more entrepreneurial direction to donors seeking ways to amplify the impact of their investments in SSE projects, this session explores new ways of making long-lasting social change.