What is a social enterprise

A social enterprise carries out social activities while doing business.

On this and related pages, you can find information and tools to start a social enterprise in Denmark.

The following characteristics must be met in order to call yourself a social enterprise:

Social enterprise

In Denmark, there is an agreement that a social enterprise must be defined as a company that:

Has a social aim - to do good for individuals or communities
Sales products or services - and is not just a project that seeks financial support
Reinvests any profits back in the company - shareholders cannot take out dividends
Registers as a business with a CVR number - it must be a company, not a project or part of the public sector
Is democratic and citizen-oriented - it is legitimate in relation to its surroundings

Although many companies have a respected social approach in the community, they are not defined as a social enterprise unless they follow the above characteristics.

Social economic entrepreneur

The entrepreneurs behind a social economic activity are social economic entrepreneurs. A social economic entrepreneur can also spark initiatives within a traditional business or organization.

The definition of a social economic entrepreneur is:

One or more individuals, groups or initiatives that
identifies a societal or individual unresolved problem and
develop innovative initiatives
with a significant social and economic value and
manages to engage the civil society as part of their venture

Examples of social enterprises

In Denmark, we have had social enterprises for many years - the cooperative dairies, slaughterhouses and Brugsen (supermarket chain) were the earliest.

The social enterprises that have won the Socio-Economic Prize the last four years are:

Bybi.dk - sustainable town honey that creates new opportunities for people on the fringes of the labor market making the city healthier and bringing together people of Copenhagen who are acquainted with its natural surroundings
Skovgaard hotel - people with a disability have the opportunity to be "employees" rather than "users" and become "citizens" instead of "clients"
Allehånde Kitchen - serving lunch schemes and other food while they employ and educate deaf people in the cooking profession
Baisikeli - getting recycled bikes back in working order and renting them out, and sending bikes to Africa to increase the mobility of poor Africans

Entrepreneur works in three worlds

It is somewhat more complex to be a social economic entrepreneur than an ordinary entrepreneur.

A leader of a social enterprise must be able to work within the three pillars on which the Danish society is structured around:

The public sector - we have for several generations decided that the government handles the welfare state. Public institutions follow certain rules and documentation requirements
The business / market - private companies produce and sell goods and generate income for individuals and societies
Civil society - is "free time" where people can express themselves. They play football, engage in political work and make contributions within volunteering organizations.

A traditional entrepreneur only has to relate to the market. A social economic entrepreneur must also relate to the rules of the public sector and the unpredictable volunteers from civil society.