Capacity building program in Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia funded by the Citi Foundation to start in March

US$ 10,000 financial support awarding the best social enterprise business plan in each country

Thirty-nine civil society organizations (CSOs) submitted their application to the 2009 NESsT-Citi Social Enterprise Competition in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia funded by the Citi Foundation. Building on the results of a particularly successful cooperation between the leading social enterprise development team in Central Europe and the global financial services company, this year's competition was launched again to provide enterprise development support to 25 selected CSOs and award the best three with financial support in the amount of US$ 10,000 each.  A wide range of ideas were represented among the record number of applications, including enterprise concepts aimed at finding innovative solutions to help people with mental or physical disabilities, marginalized communities or at-risk youth, or promoting environmental protection, civic participation, and human and animal rights.

"We are glad to witness this continued high interest among CSOs in our program. This year we not only saw an increase in the number of applications, but also a marked shift towards more developed social enterprise concepts. We see an increasing number of organizations turning to social enterprise as a solution to critical social problems, such as unemployment or marginalization,  as well as a sustainable funding opportunity", said Eva Varga, Enterprise Development Director for NESsT Europe.

Batara Sianturi, Citi Country Officer for Hungary said, "We know through the feedback received from the civil society organizations taking part in our program how much they appreciate the professional advice and support they receive from our Citi employee volunteers. We wish to provide a good example of engaged and long-term corporate partnership with high impact nonprofit organizations, such as NESsT and the social enterprises it supports."

The program consists of a series of workshops and one-on-one mentoring to help each selected participant to assess the feasibility and plan the most efficient implementation of its enterprise idea, in furtherance of both a social goal and the search for financial resources for the CSO. Participants will learn about key business planning concepts and techniques and get hands-on advice and coaching from NESsT and Citi volunteer experts. The first workshop will be organized in late March and the program will culminate in an awards ceremony for the best business plans in a year's time.

The 10,000$ award last year went to Barka Foundation, which runs a workshop to produce a high quality, designer product line of home decoration and gift items and employs people with intellectual disabilities.

"It was essential for the Foundation to combine the business philosophy with our social goals, and to create an enterprise that is viable in a competitive market environment", said Aron Jakab of Barka Foundation, last year's winner. "Having received ongoing support from NESsT, we have managed to significantly increase sales since last summer; we added new products to our initial product line and launched a new brand, Fruit of Care. The workshops and mentoring support enable us to grow and professionalize our social enterprise, while keeping its core attributes: handmade, designer products and social responsibility", added Jakab.