As a member of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs, we are proud to announce the launch of the Leaders on the Front Line: COVID Social Enterprise Action Agenda. This report provides an overview of the state of the field today, recommended actions as well as the work and stories of the members and social entrepreneurs on the ground.
“We call on all actors to stand by social entrepreneurs as first responders to the COVID-19 crisis and as pioneers of a green, inclusive society and economic system”
— Members of the COVID Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs
Social Entrepreneurs, small and growing businesses (SGBs) have been acting as frontline responders during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing services to the most vulnerable populations. But the crisis shed light on the constraints and challenges they face. We call on corporations, (impact) investors, funders, support organizations and government institutions to stand by social entrepreneurs as first responders to the COVID-19 crisis and as pioneers of a green, inclusive society and economic system.
Last week, Euclid Network together with 60+ leading actors in social entrepreneurship – under the umbrella of the WEF’s COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship – published the COVID Social Enterprise Action Agenda. The latter provides practical guidance on what each of us can do to help social entrepreneurs play their part in fighting the pandemic and in charting the way towards recovery and a reinvention of our systems.
As an Alliance, we have identified five core principles for supporting social entrepreneurs during, through and beyond the crisis:
- Make the voices of social entrepreneurs and their communities heard
- Prepare to respond, recover, and reset – taking the opportunity to ‘build back better’
- Collaborate across sectors in recognition of the complexity and scale of the crisis
- Look beyond healthcare, given that COVID-19 touches all parts of our lives
- Support the shovel-ready solutions that grassroots organisations are already able to provide today
COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs was initiated in May 2020 by Yunus Social Business and WEF’s Schwab Foundation. This alliance is an unprecedented collaboration between 60+ global organizations to support social entrepreneurs during the global pandemic and its aftermath. The main goal is to ensure that social entrepreneurs are able to continue their invaluable work during the current crisis as well as that they assume a central role in post-Covid-19 social and economic rebuilding.
Learn more about the COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurs here.
