Euclid Network Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise

For 15 years, Euclid Network (EN) has fostered social entrepreneurship and social innovation in Europe through knowledge exchange, capacity building, networking and international advocacy. EN combines the expertise from  26 European countries to empower social enterprise* in achieving positive change.

In the spirit of empowering women leaders in Europe’s social enterprise sector and accelerating progress towards a more gender-equal world, EN has launched the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise initiative two years ago. Through this initiative EN celebrates women in the social enterprise sector, spotlighting their impact journey and achievements, connecting them to learn from and inspire each other. By celebrating the Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise every year, EN also aims to showcase the barriers women in social enterprise are still encountering i.a. regarding access to finance and investment, by sharing their stories and experiences with the wider social enterprise community.

With this initiative, EN wants to spotlight women as role models in the social enterprise sector in all their diversity. We therefore welcome nomination and self-nominations from women of all backgrounds, lived-experiences and corners of Europe. For this reason, we have made our nomination form more accessible  and have set-up a helpdesk for people who need support in completing the nomination form (more information in the info-box below).

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This initiative will celebrate women leaders in two categories:

• Social Entrepreneur
  For women founders or managers of a social enterprise. Their work has demonstrated significant social and/or environmental impact in the past year, preferably addressing one or more United Nations Development Goals (UN SDGs). They have achieved remarkable results and impact in the social enterprise ecosystem and are driven by innovation and positive change.
  

• Social Innovator
  For public and private social entrepreneurs, leaders of intermediaries such as social incubators and national networks of social enterprise and academics. Public social entrepreneurs may work at regional, national, supranational, or international level. Social innovators have demonstrated significant impact in the past year, with an explicit mission to solve a social and/or environmental challenge in line with the UN SDGs. The business model of their organisation is accordingly resilient, realistic and impact-oriented.
  

*We understand social enterprises as enterprises with the following characteristics:

• The enterprise has a clear social or environmental mission that is set out in its governing documents.
• The enterprise is independent and generates revenue through trading activities.
• The enterprise sees profit as a means, not an end goal.
• The enterprise is governed and owned in the interest of the social or environmental mission.
• The enterprise is transparent about how it operates and the impact it makes.